The People Formula: part 6 – internal communications

In the fifth part of this exclusive series for Ambition, Jane Sunley offers advice on how to implement an internal communications strategy that runs like a thread through your business

In the same way that your culture and values are the glue that sticks everything together, clear communication must also run as a thread

through all that you do. It is not a subject that can be taken lightly, nor left to a handful of people to implement. Good internal comms is difficult to achieve and maintain, though it becomes considerably easier if everyone knows how to do it and plays their part. Great comms has to be the responsibility of everyone in the organisation; it’s up to you to facilitate this.

Despite its vital role in business success, communication is one of those things that can always be improved. If you ask any employee how they’d rate their organisation’s internal communication on a scale  of one to 10 (with 10 being ‘it’s brilliant’), you’d be lucky to raise a five in most organisations.

We live in a world where everyone is bombarded  with information 24/7; where business moves faster than ever before. While many companies put a lot of time and effort into communicating, so much of what is conveyed simply gets lost.

For instance, suppose you want to communicate a change in the structure of your IT team. You email it out. You put a revised organisational chart on your internal comms platform. You ask line managers to mention it in their next team briefings. Then three months later, people say they weren’t informed.

People fail to see the notice on the wall. The news update is lost among thousands of other emails. People leave meetings without  clear understanding of what they’ve just been told and need to do next. They’re so busy concentrating on their own stuff that what’s happening somewhere else right at that time just gets ‘deleted’. It’s like throwing a tiny noodle into  a huge plate of well-sauced spaghetti and expecting someone to find it when they’re not all that hungry.

And this is not only happening within big business. In smaller organisations, particularly growing ones, people often believe that information  will  be picked up somehow ‘by osmosis’. Or even where communication is done well and diligently, there’s still so much to do and so much going on that messages are lost.

A SIMPLE 10-POINT PLAN TO ENHANCE YOUR INTERNAL COMMS:

1. Make every communication as clear and simple as possible – bullet points are a great tool for action-orientated communications like presentations and emails. Communicate the ‘top line’ signposting to the detail.
2. Teach people how to communicate effectively: introduce writing guides and so on (start with your leaders).
3. Make communication relevant to the recipient(s), using facts, examples and stories to explain what you mean.
4. Use uncomplicated, contemporary language.
5. Write it, edit it down, check it, run it by a colleague or if spoken, plan/practise it.
6. Ban unnecessary communication such as endless copying in of team members to emails; proceed on a ‘need to know’ basis.
7. Ensure people know where to find information centrally as and when they need it, for example via an intranet or shared folder in the cloud.
8. Never assume that if you’ve sent it out, people will take it in.
9. Use a variety of approaches to communicate an important message, repeating as necessary.
10. Check your people have understood by asking them about the communication in a one to one.

Less really is more.

There was a low-paid, part-time barman who had a simple idea relating to a different way of cleaning beer pipes. He’d held back from suggesting it, not wanting to overstep the mark.

Then a new comms platform was launched, whereby one of the features was to submit ideas. He made his suggestion and

when the change was rolled out across the company, it saved his employer £500K per year.

He’d assumed someone must have tried it already. Previously n o one was ever asked for their opinions. Opening up two-way communications enabled him to make his simple-yet-brilliant suggestion.

Open communications channels

Imagine just communicating the important stuff and having less need for endless unnecessary communication because people were just getting on with things. They’d know where and how to find out what they needed as and when they needed it.

Create an environment in which communication channels are open and two-way; it’s vital you are able to access the stuff from the grassroots.

The people who are ‘doing the doing’ know more about your organisation and its customers than you do. So instead of sitting in the board room deciding things, then expecting information to cascade downwards magically (through that often murky middle-management layer), get out there and involve people from the bottom up. This way, they will know what’s going on and are more likely to buy into the decisions made.

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ‘DOING THE DO’ OFTEN HAVE THE BEST IDEAS – IDEAS THAT CAN BOOST SALES AND PROFITS OR SAVE YOU MONEY.

Since you (hopefully) employ adults rather than children, they deserve adult-to-adult relationships and an equal voice. This sounds obvious and some organisations are excelling in the way they communicate with their people. However, many are not.

The people who are ‘doing the do’ often have the best ideas – ideas that can boost sales and profits or save you money. Why wouldn’t you want to access this valuable ‘free’ resource?

Communication is always going to be a work-in- progress, but is an essential component of your people formula. The good news is that as soon as people of influence start communicating effectively, others will follow – role model behaviours breed role model behaviours.

A quick note about meetings

Meetings are one of the most popular methods for disseminating information, though very few  are run effectively. Some people have meetings for meetings’ sake – or worse; unproductive meetings that go on too long, bore everyone to death and achieve very little. There are people who love the sound of their own voices or just enjoy having a rant while chairing the session. Some people spend so much time trawling through past detail and conducting ‘post mortems’ of former strategies or events, they never get on to the good stuff – the future.

Hint: if you don’t feel excited about going to a meeting, the other parties won’t either. Do something about this. Conducted well, meetings can be dynamite (in a good way):

• Decide what needs to be covered and the outcomes you would like to see – then plan a timed agenda (or better still, let go and ask one of the attendees to plan and chair the meeting – then you don’t have to it and they’ll feel more trusted and are highly likely do a great job).

* Record action points only (what, who, when, what if – and possibly, though not necessarily – how).

Presenting to a group

Communication via a presentation provides leaders with a golden opportunity to engage a whole lot of people at the same time. Good times. Unfortunately, it is also so very easy to disengage and bore them. Bad times. It’s therefore vital the right people are saying the right things at the right time, in a simple, clear and engaging way. If you know your stuff and can communicate it well, it is more likely the audience will be engaged, will interact and will take the required action as a result. Yet so many organisations mess this up; here are a few tips.

A SET OF 10 TIPS FOR PRESENTING TO GROUPS:

1. Get the timing right (when, pace and duration).
2. Think about the group – what will get members excited and interested (what’s in it for them?) Talk their language, using stories and examples to which they’ll relate.
3. Each person takes in information differently, be it verbally, visually or through feeling or doing. Cover all bases if you can.
4. If possible, keep to three main messages and expand on these as required (people will remember your three points and forget most of the rest) – sum up clearly.
5. Bin your notes, instead using prompt words on a card (or better still learn them) and talk from the heart instead (get someone in to teach you how).
6. Get the tone right, using humour if appropriate. For negative news, be frank and honest, yet kind and empathetic.
7. Use emotion. If you’re excited sound that way; and smile; if you’re conveying serious stuff, empathise.
8. Vary vocal tone and physical position (though avoid fidgeting about).
9. Make any visuals simple, appealing and visible from the back of the room (and never read them out verbatim).
10. Read the mood in the room – are people listening, nodding their heads (or otherwise)? Adapt your approach to keep them interested and on your side.

Employee surveys

Finding out what people think and feel is an effective first step towards being a great place to work and therefore becoming more productive, profitable and high performing. If you and your fellow leaders, managers and supervisors are interacting regularly with your people and have created trusting relationships  with them, you’ll know what they think. There are times, though, when you might want to take a ‘snapshot’ of how everyone feels about a range of issues – or perhaps one specific topic – and that’s when employee surveys can come in handy.

Employee surveys do not replace dialogue – they should promote and support it. In smaller organisations, just ask people.

There is now a new breed of survey whereby instead of asking the same questions of everyone, respondents are first asked what’s important to them in a ranked order and then score those aspects. This makes the feedback personal to the individual  and highly relevant to the business – highly recommended by me.

Employee surveys not only find out what people think, they let people know that you care what they think – which is very important. This only works if you make a great job of doing something with the results.

Avoid long, boring surveys that are hard to fill in.

This ‘spray and pray’ approach is confusing for everyone and gives too much detailed data, which you’re unlikely to have the time or resources to analyse and address fully.

EMPLOYEE SURVEYS NOT ONLY FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK, THEY LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOU CARE WHAT THEY THINK.

Make your survey visually attractive and on brand. Use pictures. Keep the language simple and contemporary. For best results, consult a professional – there’s a science and art behind constructing smart questions.

You should only run a survey if:

• you feel you’re culturally ready to deal with this type of intervention

• you’re prepared to take the feedback on the chin, without recriminations (bearing in mind some of it might not be what you were expecting)

• you’re able to act on it, and for the things that can’t change, you’re willing to explain why honestly

• you’re prepared to communicate what you’ve learned and what you’re going to do about it, in a transparent way

• you’re doing it to make real business improvements and not just tick a box (it happens).

Don’t just take it from me

“Great employee engagement represents the involvement of everyone in the things that move a company forward. It is not a tick-box exercise or one way communication to staff. These types of communication don’t drive engagement. It’s about involving people and helping them understand that they contribute to the key objectives of the company and how the bigger company strategy relates to them. Engagement is not a distant thing – it is present and it is powerful.

“It is about making sure employees are connected. It’s about making people see that there is more to their job than turning a handle. At EE, we have an in-house social media system called Splash, where employees can chat and post updates. Here, our people come up with loads of great ideas and innovations. It’s important to allow openness to encourage this level of engagement.”

ROBERT PURDY, DIRECTOR OF IT, CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY, EE

“Our people are so central to the success of our business that engagement and our talent pipeline sits alongside profit and customer service in our list of priorities. We’ve digitised our talent management approach and created a business communications hub where people regularly record ‘coffee chats’.

“In order to engage our millennials, many of our business areas have local Facebook groups and tell us we are making marked improvements in our communication. Our focus remains on people leadership, internal communication and social collaboration which is transforming our business.”

MOIRA LAIRD, HR DIRECTOR, VALOR HOSPITALITY PARTNERS