Leading IT Transformation – Workshop 9 (Effective Communications)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Leading IT Transformation is provided by Ms. Drabenstadt MBA BBA Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 24 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
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Learning Provider Profile
Ms. Drabenstadt is a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) at Appleton Greene and she has experience in Information Technology, Information Governance, Compliance and Audit. She has achieved an MBA, and BBA. She has industry experience within the following sectors: Technology; Insurance and Financial Services. She has had commercial experience within the following countries: United States of America, Canada, Australia, India, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Her program will initially be available in the following cities: Madison WI; Minneapolis MN; Chicago IL; Atlanta GA and Denver CO. Her personal achievements include: Developed Trusted IT-Business Relationship; Delivered Increased Business Value/Time; Decreased IT Costs; Re-tooled IT Staff; Increased IT Employee Morale. Her service skills incorporate: IT transformation leadership; process improvement; change management; program management and information governance.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
Like all other business processes, in IT transformation too communication is key. IT transformation is usually a huge change for an organization and getting everyone aligned on the task is quite challenging. There are various people involved and for the transition to be seamless, everyone must be aware of what the final goal is or what the action plan is. This is only possible with effective communication. People are, in general, resistant to change. Employees in an organization tend to become comfortable in the current state and find it hard to understand why a transformation is necessary unless it has been clearly explained. They must know why they need to work for this change and how it is going to positively affect them. Moreover, it is not just the people on the digital transformation team that need to adapt to the change but all other employees who will gradually become a part of it. So it is important to have a strong strategy for effective communication within the company. There should be a multi-channel approach to communication so that everyone can be reached on their preferred communication channels. Companies need to use their intranet, emails, messaging apps, employee portals, websites, or any other channel possible to share important updates. The company culture should also evolve to support effective communication. Information should flow in all directions. Important updates in strategy or policies should be clearly communicated by the leadership, while employees should convey their concerns and challenges so the leadership can work on them. There should be enough authoritative resources for the employees to learn from. Also, technical teams should avoid using complex technical language so that everyone is able to understand their messages. These are some signs of a good communication strategy. Effective communication is able to improve employee engagement and, thus, increase productivity.
Objectives
01. Communication Strategy: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Leadership’s Role: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Internal Communications: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Communication Channels: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Communicate Frequently: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Creative Communication Campaigns: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Personalized Communication: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Two-Way Communication: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Easy Access to Business Documents : departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Celebrate Employee Success: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Accountability: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
Strategies
01. Communication Strategy: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Leadership’s Role: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Internal Communications: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Communication Channels: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Communicate Frequently: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Creative Communication Campaigns: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Personalized Communication: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Two-Way Communication: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Easy Access to Business Documents: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Celebrate Employee Success: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Accountability: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
Tasks
01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Communication Strategy.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Leadership’s Role.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Internal Communications.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Communication Channels.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Communicate Frequently.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Creative Communication Campaigns.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Personalized Communication.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Two-Way Communication.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Easy Access to Business Documents.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Celebrate Employee Success.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Accountability.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness.
Introduction
The Importance of Communication in IT Transformation
From how we connect with one another to how we share and analyze information to how businesses work, technology is transforming the world. The most successful businesses are those who quickly adopt new technologies to better their operations and stay ahead of the competition. Today, more and more firms are opting for IT transformation. However, without a clear communications plan in place, the IT transformation process may take longer than expected, or possibly fail to take off at all.
Communication’s Role in IT Transformations
An IT transition might take years, depending on the size and structure of the firm. While The Home Depot took only two years to complete their shift, Microsoft took five years, Best Buy took seven, and Target took eight. Regardless of the time commitment, each of these digital transitions was a significant success, with stock price increases ranging from 59 to 258%.
Not all digital transitions succeed, but they are undeniably important in communications. The CIO (or management equivalent) must ensure that the roll-out plans and execution methods are clearly communicated throughout all departments, as the IT department will most likely lead the digital transformation. To succeed, an internal change of this magnitude, which often affects the majority, if not all, of the organization, requires an aggressive internal communications plan. However, because the IT department is not traditionally associated with excellent communication abilities, a digital transformation process in many firms can suffer as a result.
A digital transformation that isn’t properly communicated can:
• Take longer than expected, resulting in higher costs
• Leave employees frustrated and perplexed about the changes
• Cause a rift between IT and other departments, affecting corporate culture
• Never be properly adopted by employees
• Never be “complete” due to a variety of internal issues despite significant investments
Don’t Count on Emails: Use a Multi-Channel Strategy
There’s a good chance that a significant number of employees in your company ignore communications from the IT department. Regardless of how much higher management highlights the necessity of the new IT digital transformation initiative, some people simply ignore it.
Implement a multi-channel strategy to get through this stumbling block. Your staff can connect with one another through a variety of channels, including the intranet, mobile apps, and Slack. Engage with your employees on their preferred channel so that they are more likely to grasp the information shared by your IT department.
Source: https://firstup.io
Improve employee engagement to build a great corporate culture.
Employees from other departments are less inclined to accept new practices that aren’t explained to them. Explaining why transformations are taking place can help CIOs raise employee engagement dramatically. There’s always a compelling reason for change, and letting employees grasp the transformation’s aim can help them feel more involved.
Let’s face it: connecting with employees is difficult for any team, let alone IT. (In 2021, Gallup estimates that only 20% of employees globally will be engaged at work.) However, IT input, updates, and information are vital for employees to feel connected, generate innovation, and maintain high productivity. And a platform for workforce communication can make all the difference.
You’ll build a strong business culture that supports learning, development, and growth through enhancing employee engagement—all of which are essential for employees to embrace an ongoing digital transition positively.
CIOs are now expected to play a key role in fostering a productive and successful corporate culture. CIOs should think of their culture as a “employee experience initiative,” according to Leigh McMullen, VP analyst at Gartner.
Your projects are more likely to fail if the majority of employees are disengaged and don’t understand why decisions are being made. Content that doesn’t merely “tell” but also “shows.” Employees must be transformed into actors in order for the company’s story to be told effectively. Employees become stakeholders in the success of the digital transformation program when they have a role and a voice.
How WashREIT Changed the Culture of the Company
Here’s an example of developing a discourse (or igniting a new kind of engagement) between workers and the management team using a workforce platform.
“As we think about how technology enables people to do their jobs, to me, it’s meeting people where they are. That’s so much of what makes for good communication. It lets people work where they want to work, it lets people consume information in the way they want to consume it, in the time they want to consume it. It gives them that flexibility to blend that life experience with the work experience.”
— Susan Gerock, CIO at WashREIT.
The problem – how to reach out to employees who are spread out across the country.
WashREIT’s employees are genuinely mobile. They have a large remote staff, and many of their employees are always on the move, interacting with people outside of the office, visiting development and building sites, and touring properties. Washington REIT recognized the importance of having a strong approach to communicate with all of their employees and made it one of their strategic goals for the year.
The solution — a platform for employee communication.
None of the tried-and-true methods of reaching out to staff worked. They turned to Firstup, a workforce communications platform that delivered the mission-control technology they needed to reach their employees where they were and on their preferred channels, such as a mobile app.
IT teams, for example, seized control of their own content distribution platforms. One of IT’s early programs was to raise awareness about phishing emails. It drew some of the highest participation of their entire employee communications program because it was so innovative, popular, and easy to access. In addition, IT used engaging questions and interviews to introduce their personnel to the rest of the organization, resulting in stronger personal relationships and the development of their company culture.
Ensure that IT uses non-technical jargon when communicating.
While it may appear that conveying a transformation’s plans and goals to other departments is a simple task, it is not. When an IT staff communicates in technical jargon, the message is not being received. Other departments may get confused, hostile, and frustrated with IT as a result of this. Employee cooperation can be reduced, projects can be slowed, and corporate culture can be impacted by these attitudes.
The key to breaking this cycle, according to Wavestone US, is to allow IT to interact with all of the company’s business segments. Treat IT as a “customer service organization” that assists all departments. Each department can choose an IT representative to whom they can direct questions, problems, or ideas. This can help to bridge the gap in communication and keep projects on track.
Make a Place for Credible Documentation
Finally, an IT transformation is a difficult process that will have a varied impact on each function inside an organization. By retaining a location for authoritative documents, the IT department may assist in resolving any ambiguity. This could be a go-to spot for employees looking for:
• The rationale for the digital transformation
• The digital transformation’s aims
• The anticipated schedule with regular updates on progress
• Passwords, how-to resources, and contact information
To be competitive in today’s business, digital transformations are required. However, if the IT department does not lead the rest of the company through the process, the project will be greatly slowed or fail.
According to Forbes, 80 percent of companies believe their digital activities encompass the entire business, indicating that these companies have effectively communicated their value proposition to their employees. Shareholders may achieve stronger returns and a better Customer Experience by prioritizing internal involvement.
Despite having a strong reputation in this era, there have been numerous failed digital transformations in significant corporations, with $900 billion squandered on failed projects. They’ve all agreed that communication was a major factor in the trip’s failure. Failure to communicate their aims, strategy, and purpose to their staff has landed them in hot water from the outset.
Every business should take use of digital technologies, but doing so requires the proper foundation. Improving internal communication and engagement within firms is a fantastic place to start. Create a clear goal, evaluate engagement, and be ready for change to guarantee communication is at the center of digital transformation.
Figure 1: According to Gartner, employee communications play a strategic role in the digital workplace.
Developing a Common Goal
Employees will feel much more involved if you focus on the ultimate aim and purpose of digital transformation and communicate it effectively to them. Explain where the company is going, why it is changing, and why the changes are necessary. It’s excellent if you can show them how essential their contribution is and how it might effect them on a personal level. This will assist them in being more motivated to achieve success. Improved corporate results can be fueled by a connected workplace and better communication.
Measuring the Relationship
When the message does not get across, communication is useless. It’s much more than just getting the word across. To guarantee that the message was received, the organization should track employee engagement and response to the message. Measure the engagement with information and the actions performed by different business units to quantify the digital transformation journey. It’s best to get real-time input so you can make changes as needed.
Become a Change-Ready Company
Change does not always involve the use of new tools or processes; it can simply indicate the existence of a culture and communication system that can adapt to any situation. Humans thrive on regularity, but the rate of technological and corporate evolution is unending, and it is only prudent for businesses to be prepared for change in order to achieve effective digital transformation.
Communicate the Correct Growth
Organizations must become more innovative in the channels they use in the digital world to enable the faster ways of working that digital transformation necessitates. Focus on the people and motivate them to help the company succeed. Empower employees to take a more systematic, agile, and effective digital transformation journey. With proper internal communication amongst all business groups, Enterprise Architecture Development may begin the process of digital transformation. The capacity to create goals might be jeopardized by a lack of communication skills, which can result in unproductive Enterprise Architecture outputs. With the help of Enterprise Architecture, organizations can develop a Business and Technology Strategy Plan that can accelerate digital transformation by reducing complexity and aligning business with technology —
When it comes to digital transformation, how do you meet employee expectations?
While digital projects may appear to be all about technology, their success is dependent on how successfully you can interact with your employees inside. Employees have high expectations for the quality of engagement they receive from their corporate teams in today’s on-demand society. You may improve the employee experience and streamline workflows by combining your communications stack with a workforce communications platform.
CIOs who take on the task of engaging their staff demonstrate how much they appreciate them—and set their teams up for very successful digital transformations and a boost in the company’s IT brand.
Employee productivity and workplace communication
Workplace communication has an impact on a wide range of corporate functions. However, the most popular reason why Chief Communications Officers and other communications professionals are investing in internal communications more than ever before is to boost employee productivity.
Employees in organizations with good internal communication are 20 to 25 percent more productive than those in companies where employees are not connected.
One of the issues that businesses face time and time again is how to keep staff motivated and engaged.
Keeping your staff updated about key events inside your company is one of the finest methods to keep them motivated.
Business profitability and workplace communication
Business performance and profitability suffer as a result of poor workplace communication. To put it another way, the cost of inadequate internal communication is enormous.
According to a survey of 400 organizations with 100,000 employees, insufficient communication to and amongst employees costs each company $62.4 million each year.
Furthermore, a survey by Willis Tower Watson, a global risk management and advisory firm, found that companies with good communication techniques earn 47 percent higher total returns to shareholders than those with poor communication.
Three Ways Workplace Communication Is Changing
Due to COVID-19 restrictions and potential risks, most businesses have asked their staff to work from home. As a result, the move to remote employment has resulted in long-term changes.
Simply said, we won’t be able to work the same way we did before the epidemic.
The fact that most businesses continue to offer flexible work arrangements is one of the key reasons why there is no such thing as “return to normal.” Working from home is becoming more common.
For businesses, this means various things:
1. They’ll have to reconsider their IC plans.
The adoption of new internal communication technologies by most firms is likely to be one of the most significant shifts in the near future. Because emails and even video conferencing capabilities will not be sufficient to keep organizations functioning properly.
When corporations allowed their workers to work from home, the majority of them began providing video conferencing technologies to make distant meetings more manageable.
But one-on-one or team sessions aren’t the only ways to collaborate remotely.
Because the current global environment is significantly transforming the workplace, IC teams will need to figure out how to:
• Ensure that staff are aware of safety and security protocols.
• Assist staff in keeping track of what other teams are working on so that their efforts can be better aligned to achieve deadlines. The era of cross-functional collaboration has arrived!
• Make it simple for employees to stay up with corporate news so that they are well-informed about the firm’s direction and do not feel isolated from the rest of the workforce.
2. One of their major responsibilities will be to assist employees in finding the optimal work-life balance.
Because remote work is almost certainly here to stay — at least in part — IC and HR teams will need to assist employees in finding the correct balance between work and personal life.
People are more productive when they work remotely, according to research. According to HubSpot, 77 percent of employees believe that working from home increases their productivity. However, for the most part, this entails working longer hours.
According to Business News Daily, remote employees work 1.4 more days each month than their office-based counterparts, resulting in over three weeks of more labor every year.
As a result, 29% of remote workers say they struggle with work-life balance, and 31% say they’ve had to take time off for mental health reasons.
As remote work becomes more prevalent, HR and IC teams will undoubtedly develop new processes to assist employees in their everyday tasks while also protecting their mental health and wellness through efficient workplace communication.
3. The IC and HR teams will need to come up with new techniques to onboard new recruits.
Onboarding is a crucial step in the process. Employees’ early impressions of the company have a direct bearing on their inclination to stay.
New recruit retention improves by 82 percent when onboarding is done properly. Furthermore, new workers who participate in a well-structured onboarding orientation program are 82% more likely to stay at a company for three years.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Communication Strategy
An effective communication strategy is essential for firms to carry out a successful IT transition. There could be a negative influence on the workplace if it isn’t provided. Furthermore, firms face the possibility of erroneous information being disseminated throughout the organization, resulting in discord and poor business decisions. As a result, managing organizational communication should be at the heart of each firm because it allows information to flow freely across all levels of a hierarchy.
Through internal and external communication, communication strategies guarantee that critical information reaches the proper individuals. All employees must be on the same page in order for the workforce to be more efficient. Key information should be disseminated equitably throughout the organization, with no details overlooked. Employees may find it challenging to fulfill their tasks properly if they do not have all of the necessary information. For example, if your company makes a policy change, your clients and staff should be fully informed.
Standardized communication
Employees can resort to a standardized plan to interact with managers, coworkers, and clients after implementing a communication strategy. A communication plan guarantees that everyone engaged has enough information to talk about it, ensuring workplace uniformity and avoiding ambiguity.
Brand Image
An efficient communication plan aids in the preservation of a company’s public image. A professional and standardized approach of communicating with external contacts ensures a positive image of the organization. If two contradictory pieces of information are sent to external contacts by separate employees, it may indicate that the company is unorganized and dishonest.
Enhanced motivation
Employees may be left out due to ineffective communication or uneven dissemination of knowledge, especially if management fails to share essential information. A solid communication strategy plan guarantees that information is disseminated evenly and on a regular basis throughout the company. This also enhances employee trust in the organization by creating a sense of transparency.
There are numerous advantages to having a communication strategy in place inside a company. Effective communication methods in businesses experiencing IT transformations can help enterprises increase overall worker efficiency, establish a positive market presence, and instill a sense of trust among employees. These elements play a significant effect in a company’s success.
The purpose of this course manual is to explain why and how a communication strategy may be adopted in a company.
Chapter 2: Leadership’s Role
Developing strong communication is one of the leaders’ top priorities.
Many business leaders feel that effective internal communications can greatly boost staff productivity throughout an IT transformation project.
Although communication appears to be straightforward, when we try to communicate with others, there is always the possibility of misunderstanding, which can lead to conflicts and disappointments in personal or professional relationships.
You may improve communication in the workplace by developing strong communication skills. You can better connect with your friends, coworkers, and boss by developing strong communication abilities.
Why do leaders need to improve their communication abilities?
We are receiving, sending, and processing a great amount of communications every day in this modern day.
However, effective communication entails more than just exchanging knowledge; it also necessitates an understanding of the emotions that underpin that information.
Successful communication can strengthen personal and professional relationships. They can help us understand people and circumstances that occur on a daily basis in our personal lives.
Developing communication skills can assist us in avoiding disputes, reaching compromises, and making better decisions.
This course manual provides an excellent outline of why leadership communication skills are critical during an IT transformation.
Managers with good communication skills can accept and give negative or heavy messages without becoming frustrated or losing trust. This is critical in order to keep staff engaged and motivated.
Employees nowadays expect to be kept up to date on all aspects of the company and not miss any vital information.
They expect leaders to convey their duties and objectives on a frequent basis. They want constant feedback on their work and to be able to locate information they require in a matter of seconds.
Employers who are able to effectively convey their company’s principles and business goals to their employees have much lower employee turnover rates.
Furthermore, the manner in which managers communicate with employees during times of change has a direct bearing on the company’s bottom line. In fact, most digital transformation plans fail due to a lack of workplace communication.
As a result, businesses must have a well-defined strategy for keeping their staff informed and motivated.
Although we can improve our communication abilities, spontaneous communication is more successful than following a set of rules. The spoken word has a distinct reverberation than spontaneous speech.
Of course, developing these skills and becoming an effective speaker takes time and work. Communication abilities will become more spontaneous and automatic as you put in more effort and practice.
Chapter 3: Internal Communications
Internal Communications (IC): The What, Why, Who and How
Every company’s internal communications department is critical. Internal communications are used by companies to keep their staff informed and engaged about what is going on in their company.
You’ll learn why internal communications are vital, who is responsible for them, and how to establish a successful IC strategy in this course handbook.
Internal Communications (IC) is a term used to describe how a company communicates internally.
Internal communications (IC) is the function in charge of ensuring effective communication among employees within a company.
The scope of work in IC departments differs depending on the organization and practitioner. They may be in charge of creating and delivering messages and campaigns on behalf of leaders and managers, as well as facilitating two-way communication and helping staff improve their communication skills.
Why Does Internal Communication Play a Role in Digital Transformation?
Internal communications is responsible for driving awareness and engagement across your organization, therefore digital change should begin there.
Employees that are well-informed about new workplace technology, understand its benefits, and have a channel to voice their questions and concerns are more likely to succeed in digital transformation.
Your digital transformation method and schedule must be informed by employee feedback. Otherwise, your teams will feel as if their viewpoint is being ignored.
As a result, people may become disengaged from, or even reject, the IT transformation process.
You may quickly collect and analyze employee input on digital transformation using dependable digital communication technologies and channels. These findings can then be used to create a data-driven digital transformation strategy.
Not to mention, when you start providing knowledge on the digital transformation process, you’ll have a captive and interested audience.
Internal Communications Technology to Drive Digital Transformation
Digital employee engagement solutions are intended to promote communication among your company’s employees. However, because of their position at the top of the firm, they are an excellent resource for promoting digital change.
Here are a few of our favorite digital employee communications tools for leading your company’s digital transformation:
• Employee intranets
• Video internal communications
• Employee SMS
• Staff forums
• Employee podcasts
• Interactive email newsletters
Chapter 4: Communication Channels
Keeping your staff productive, motivated, and aligned with your company goals during IT transformation requires implementing the correct communication channels in your organization.
Employees today feel more alienated and disconnected from the rest of the company than they have in the past.
The core problem, according to a recent survey, is that 60% of employees are unenthusiastic about internal communications. Internal communications at their company are stagnant, according to 44% of them, with nothing changing in the last five years.
Companies are now employing innovative ways to increase their internal communication efforts as a result of this.
Effective workplace communication, on the other hand, is difficult to achieve. The objective is to deliver relevant content to the right personnel at the right time via their preferred channels and devices.
We’ll go over a list of internal communication channels to consider for your company, as well as some of its benefits and drawbacks, in this course manual.
Definition of Workplace Communication Channels.
The mechanisms by which people in an organization communicate and interact with one another are referred to as communication channels.
It’s difficult to connect employees with company goals, break down silos, and promote IT change in the workplace without the necessary communication channels in place.
Additionally, the communication channels you deploy at work have a direct impact on the employee experience you provide, employee engagement, and your capacity to assist your colleagues in improving their productivity, thought leadership, and communication skills.
The problem is that, with the shift to remote work, professional communication has become more complicated in recent weeks.
As a result, many companies are having trouble figuring out how information moves through various channels, resulting in a lot more grapevine communication.
Using unsuitable channels for workplace collaboration, peer-to-peer, and top-down communication might, unsurprisingly, have a negative impact on your company’s success.
Digital Communication Channels in the Workplace are on the Rise.
The popularity and use of digital communication channels in the workplace increased in 2020 as a result of the rise of remote work, and we predict this trend to continue.
Companies must develop innovative ways to keep their remote and non-wired staff connected, informed, and productive as more people become physically separated and dispersed.
However, the majority of them are well aware that email communication is insufficient. It’s not the best way to keep staff informed about the company’s everyday activities.
We also recognize that this communication channel isn’t the best option for enhancing cross-functional collaboration in the workplace, which is more vital than ever.
Employers could instead adopt more modern, intuitive, user-friendly, and mobile-first communication channels and technologies that are similar to the apps that employees use in their personal life on a regular basis.
Without a doubt, technology has drastically transformed the way we interact, and this transformation is still occurring.
Effective two-way communication enabled by electronic communication channels can promote peer collaboration, information sharing, and streamline and streamline the work of internal communicators.
Simply put, the greatest communication channels are those that allow you to send the correct message to the right person at the right time and keep all pertinent information at the fingertips of your staff.
Chapter 5: Communicate Frequently
Teamwork in the Workplace: Frequent and Effective Communication
During an IT transformation, effective teamwork requires clear communication and alignment. According to one survey, 97 percent of respondents felt that a team’s lack of alignment plays a significant role in the outcome or influence of the team. Understanding how to put clear communication methods into action, on the other hand, is frequently — well — less clear.
How can you foster a good workplace teamwork ethic through communication? The answer is twofold: ensure regular and good communication within teams.
Frequent Communication: “I Know What I Need To Know”
Keeping everyone in the loop requires frequent communication. When everyone is on the same page, teams can work more efficiently. First, when knowledge is shared, team members avoid duplicating their efforts.
Second, while each team member has a distinct position, those responsibilities are intertwined, therefore speaking about one’s role frequently speeds up the process. Let’s imagine one team member is unable to begin her duty until another has received the outcomes of a specific task. Knowing when the other member completes the work keeps her – and the IT transformation – moving forward in this situation.
To maintain constant communication, the team should revisit key ideas and ask questions as needed. If the team appears to be hesitant to communicate frequently, it is up to the team leader to model the desirable communication behavior. Leaders should begin each meeting with a “catch-up” on accomplishments since the previous one and conclude with a “recap” of what was discussed.
Effective Communication: “I Understand Everything”
Simply communicating frequently isn’t enough when it comes to effective team communication. Even if team members are aware of everything that is going on within the group, they may still be in the dark. How? They don’t understand everything because they don’t understand everything. Consider the difference between doing well on a quiz that involves rote memory and doing poorly on a task that requires you to connect the quiz topics together.
Effective communication necessitates not only a high level of awareness of what’s going on inside the team, but also a thorough understanding of what’s going on. When your team consists of the following individuals, this can be challenging:
• Coming from various regions of the department or firm
• Having dramatically diverse levels of competence
• Having varying levels of comfort with processes
• Using knowledge sets that they haven’t worked with before
Each team member should be able to summarize each significant point made by a speaker if asked, in order to achieve effective communication. If something doesn’t make sense during a meeting, he or she must speak up and ask for clarification. It takes effort to ensure that your team communicates well, but you’ll save time in the long run by avoiding costly mistakes caused by a lack of understanding.
Cultivating Psychological Safety for High Performance Teams
It’s far easier said than done to cultivate a team that communicates effectively and frequently as indicated above. Why? People, especially in a group context, dislike admitting they don’t grasp or understand something. This is when the psychological safety tenet comes into play. Psychological safety was first defined by Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor whose work influenced Google’s recent team study. It relates to the idea that a team creates a secure space for “interpersonal risk taking.”
This includes the danger of seeming vulnerable by revealing your knowledge deficiencies. Team members don’t have to worry about being embarrassed or mocked if they remark, “Hey, I think I missed something” — or, more crucially, “Hey, I don’t understand something” — in a psychologically safe setting. Teams with high levels of psychological safety have individuals that ask a lot of questions, especially team leaders, which encourages everyone in the group to speak up more without fear of being judged. A team must establish a culture of psychological safety in order to communicate effectively and frequently. According to Edmondson, a high-performing team is formed when psychological safety and accountability are combined.
When team building activities go beyond traditional communication exercises, such as developing listening and feedback skills, and instead focus on frequent and effective communication, workplace teamwork will actually blossom.
Chapter 6: Creative Communication Campaigns
What Characterizes the Most Effective Internal Communication Campaigns?
Everywhere we go, we are bombarded with messages. A steady stream of information is supplied to us whether we are at home, at work, or anywhere in between. Every day, each person receives approximately 105,000 words. Or, to put it another way, 23 words every second — that’s a lot of data.
This helps to explain why our brains are designed to filter out so much data. And why internal communicators must work harder than ever to capture the attention of employees.
Messages must be repeated multiple times in order to be noticed, and even more in order to impact behavior. That’s why, when it comes to advertising efficacy, the ‘rule of seven’ is so popular. It holds true in the workplace as well.
Kiss the ‘one and done’ type of communication goodbye if you want your internal communications to be truly effective. Welcome to the world of campaigns.
What Are the Benefits of Internal Communication Campaigns?
Employees are rarely reached by single communications conveyed through a single channel. They’re focused on their work and don’t appreciate interruptions. Campaigns that focus on frequency and format help to tackle this problem.
Employee awareness is increased when messages are sent more frequently. A more diverse channel mix increases comprehension and, as a result, results.
Higher Frequency x Broader Channel Mix = Communication Campaigns
As internal communicators, we strive to accomplish one of two goals: to motivate others to take action or to influence change. Priority notifications necessitate prompt attention and action. Changes in employee behavior or company culture are slower-burning and necessitate longer-term message exposures.
A campaign approach aligns to each target by reaching employees enough times and in enough engaging ways so the message penetrates through and results are driven by understanding.
Using a campaign-style approach to internal communications:
• Ensures delivery, reading, and measurability of key messages
• Cuts through workplace noise, ensuring important messages are discovered
• Ensures recognition and acceptance of important messages
What Makes a Campaign Successful?
The message is reinforced and cut-through is increased by repeating it across several channels. Managers who conveyed a message numerous times and through various channels completed their tasks faster and more smoothly than those who did not, according to a Harvard business research.
A multi-channel strategy makes the most of each channel’s strengths. Prior message conditioning using passive formats improves the effectiveness of priority messaging in this way.
When single messages are effective, it’s because earlier messages have’seeded’ knowledge in the minds of employees, resulting in comprehension. Multi-channel marketing succeed because they employ the entire communication spectrum to capitalize on each channel’s distinct characteristics.
The structure of a campaign has a significant impact on its communication performance. A sequence of messages make up an internal communications campaign, which is often made up of many ‘nurture’ messages and a single ‘validation’ message.
Nurture messages provide information and raise awareness by encouraging employees to learn more and modify their behavior.
Employees must comply, acknowledge, or confirm their understanding of validation messages at the end of a campaign.
The ability of campaigns to deploy, track, and measure communication efforts over time determines their effectiveness. Important company messages are always sent to the correct individuals at the correct time.
Chapter 7: Personalized Communication
Audience segmentation, which enables content localization, personalization, and relevancy, is one of the most difficult tasks in internal change communications. However, if you send your employees more than a few irrelevant emails, you may expect them to ignore you in the future.
If you execute change, it will most likely have different effects on personnel in the United States and Asia, remote and in-office employees, digital and blue-collar employees, and marketing versus production staff.
Again, the current situation exemplifies the necessity of content relevancy, particularly in the healthcare, travel and tourist, and retail industries. Front-line workers in those industries may be more susceptible to infection than those who work from home.
As a result, not all change communications messages can be the same. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution!
To match evolving expectations, delivering personalisation at scale is essential
Personalization is prevalent in social media and marketing, as well as in the workplace. Employees demand not only competitive pay and benefits, but also a compelling employee experience. While this shift in expectations began before the epidemic, the challenges and adaptations made in 2020 accelerated it.
Workers are less willing to relinquish control in order to accommodate work into their lives. Organizations are concentrating on human needs and how work may improve life to attract top applicants and engage their employees. To better predict and address employee demands, hyper-personalization of the employee experience relies on technology and real-time data. New HR technologies aim to tailor hiring, learning and development, and communications to the preferences of individual employees.
Organizations are providing more flexibility to workers in the post-pandemic workplace, prioritizing health and safety, and accommodating a variety of workstyles and preferences. Today, there is a greater emphasis on feeling at ease in the job, regardless of location. Social cooperation, community development, flexibility, and technologies that link work and life are prioritized so that everyone feels included and engaged.
Chapter 8: Two-Way Communication
What to know to make two-way communication at the workplace successful
The underutilization of two-way communication in the workplace is a widespread problem that bothers both large and small businesses.
Within a business, two-way communication is a critical aspect that influences employee engagement and trust. It promotes a free flow of knowledge in both directions and allows both leaders and staff to continue to grow.
One of the many steps pushing modern firms in the right direction is a more purposeful fostering of two-way communication within internal workplace communication networks.
In this post, we’ll look at the concept of two-way communication, why it should be considered the most crucial part of every firm, and how you can make it work in yours.
What is two-way communication?
Consider two-way communication in the context of a tennis match. The player on the opposing end is expected to return the ball once it has been served; else, the game is over.
This constant back-and-forth between two or more players is both what allows the game to exist and what keeps it exciting. To say the least, playing in an empty court, with no one else allowed to join, and expecting the spectators to stay immersed in the game is ridiculous.
In the workplace, communication works in a similar way. Employees become apathetic and unmotivated as a result of talking to them rather than to them, which reflects in their general engagement and job performance. Employees who believe that their voice is heard – that they are working with, rather than for, management — are more motivated, engaged, and productive. In other words, unlike one-way communication, two-way communication includes both upward and downward communication (from employees to management) (from managers to employees).
Chapter 9: Easy Access to Business Documents
We don’t just want immediate access to the data we require. When it comes to IT transformation, we expect it. Our expectation, as well as that of your staff, is that business-critical information will be available swiftly and simply.
However, according to a survey on global workplace trends for 2018, there is a significant disparity between the ease with which employees access data in their personal life and the ease with which they get critical information from across the firm. A real-time picture of in-progress projects throughout a department, for example, or fast access to sales materials, budget and performance statistics needed to make educated decisions.
According to the report, important information is often difficult to acquire and process, preventing employees from having the consumer-grade digital experience they anticipate at work. Information silos, restricted rights, and a lack of consolidated and updated content are all contributing issues.
Increased Access Has Competitive Advantages
It’s certainly worth the effort to give your employees the ability to access and process data. In reality, it can give your company a competitive advantage in four ways.
1. Improve customer service.
Better customer service can be achieved by providing personnel with immediate access to essential information. Customers don’t call you when they have a problem with your product or service expecting to be put on hold for a while or to wait a few days for a response to their email. They want answers, and they want them now. You must empower your team to meet their needs.
Employees who are well-informed and engaged, and who have instant access to vital data, can get to work helping customers fix their problems; others who work in organizations where information is segregated, cannot.
2. Build Trust.
According to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer research from 2017, typical firm employees have a high level of credibility. That’s one of the many reasons it’s critical for employees to feel a sense of belonging to the firm, whether it’s understanding the vision or knowing how to get the data they need to provide excellent customer service.
Employees who feel connected are not only more engaged while interacting with customers and partners, but they also become great brand ambassadors after the work day – or night – is done. Your employees are bound to be asked the one question that seems to translate seamlessly between cultures, whether they’re vacationing on the other side of the planet or taking classes across town: What do you do? Simply said, employees who believe they are being set up for success by their bosses are more likely to compliment them!
3. Drive Profitability.
Employees that have access to centralized information sources make better decisions. Your organization loses twice if a customer spends time on the phone with one of your staff to handle one issue, then has to start over with another person to resolve the next issue. For starters, you give up a good first impression in the service sector. Second, by having staff execute redundant jobs, you’ve depleted your profit margins (never mind productivity).
Companies that scored higher on employee engagement, on the other hand, had various benefits, including better earnings per share, according to a Gallup survey.
4. Empower Business Leaders.
To spot trends, visualize bottlenecks, focus on the most critical issues, and swiftly gain the information they need to make educated business decisions, your business executives want quick and easy access to company data. This real-time access to crucial data can make the difference between a well-oiled machine and one that is swamped with data, plagued by inefficient processes, and without the visibility needed to stay competitive.
Chapter 10: Celebrate Employee Wins
When employees are recognized for their hard work and accomplishments, they feel valued. Employee satisfaction is heavily influenced by recognition, and bosses that celebrate victories can boost morale, build teamwork, and make work a far more enjoyable environment. This article offers advice on how to recognize and reward your employees’ achievements.
Why should we celebrate success at work?
Professionals have always had a difficult time celebrating their achievements. While many of us identify achievement with hard work, we are more likely to associate celebration with our personal lives or leisure time. Even if we can congratulate each other on promotions and significant sales, we’re not so adept at celebrating the smaller week-to-week victories that keep overall growth consistent.
Some executives are concerned that celebrating tiny victories would encourage complacency or divert attention away from more important objectives. Others are simply not accustomed to receiving praise and do not equate joy with continued achievement.
Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, confesses that it doesn’t feel meaningful or productive to him, even if it does to his workers.
“If you’re only concerned with the difficult aspects of business, you’re probably not too concerned with what happens once you reach the summit of the mountain.” You simply move on to the next battle in order to win it. However, this can be hazardous.”
— Gary Vaynerchuk, VaynerMedia’s CEO
However, 79 percent of employees in the United States who leave their jobs do so because they feel undervalued. That’s not unexpected given that 65 percent of employees say they haven’t received any acknowledgment in the previous year. 35 percent have a negative influence on their productivity as a result of underappreciation, and 78 percent believe they would work more if they were given more credit.
The advantages don’t end with retention. Celebrating success, according to organizational anthropologist and CEO Judith Glaser, stimulates feelings of “inclusion, innovation, appreciation, and collaboration” in the brain, paving the way for creative thinking, calmer work environments, increased focus, and stress resilience – even during high-pressure situations.
Let’s not forget that humans are social creatures: it’s no coincidence that we call our businesses organizations and corporations, because progress requires the cooperation of many people. Celebration is an important part of social bonding because it allows us to identify with a group or culture. It’s time to raise your celebration game if you want loyal employees and a strong work culture.
“As you celebrate your wins, others look for ways to participate in what you have successfully built.”
— Bill Carmody, Trepoint Founder and CEO
Chapter 11: Accountability
Compaines undergoing an IT transformation are increasingly adopting a multi-layered approach to their communication plans, with a specified emphasis area established at the organizational level and responsibility for team or department level action held at the appropriate level. This frequently prompts HR to ask, “How do we ensure that our employees will act?”
Workers, in our experience, often act on criticism because they are innately motivated to ‘better their lot,’ but a lack of tools, expertise, or communication can be a roadblock to action. The approach should be one of empowerment: putting data and tools in the hands of those who are best suited to effect change and action. Many times, the people who should be in charge are not in HR or at the executive table. Many of us, regardless of seniority, experience, or job title, require additional support when making behavioral changes. This is where we may apply the principles of positive psychology and expert coaching to find the most effective forms of accountability assistance.
It’s crucial to note that no piece of software can keep someone accountable or push them to take ownership. As previously mentioned, what communication can do is:
• Help us exchange experiences about what works
• Provide access to shared ideas that others acting on comparable focuses have found success with
• Make the process of taking action more clear
• Set an individual or team up for success by tracking, nudge, and reminding us about action
Some Useful Information About Accountability
Accountability is defined as accepting and taking responsibility for one’s actions. This indicates that words and actions are in sync. People have the power when they choose to keep themselves accountable while also appreciating the assistance of others who can help them reach their goals. A good coach will always assign a job or activity for their clients to complete before the following session. The client chooses an action that they want and agree to take, and that they believe will help them achieve their desired end goal or behavior. Given these three factors (desire, agreement, and belief), as well as the awareness that their coach will inquire about their progress toward their goals in a follow-up session, they will feel responsible for the desired adjustments and activities.
Frequently, People’s Perceptions Of Where Accountability Lies Are Incorrect
When it comes to digital transformation, corporate leaders rely on IT leadership to get communication done. If IT is unable to make it happen, a chief digital officer (CDO) or chief citizen experience officer is frequently hired (CCXO).
That is the crux of the issue. Yes, technology is required for digital transformation, but it is merely a facilitator. The fundamental driving force behind transformation, or even optimization, is well-thought-out communication strategy for changing corporate policies, processes, and regulations across organizational silos. The CEO (or someone with a similar status) should be in charge of digital transformation, not the CIO.
“Governments that put technology leaders in charge of true transformation or optimization fail to deliver results,” says Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst John Kost. “Not because technology leaders don’t know how but because they don’t have the authority to communicate what they don’t control.”
Chapter 12: Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
How To Measure Effective Communication
When your company is undertaking an IT transformation, it is critical to develop and evaluate communication skills in the workplace. Effective communication, as previously said, can boost employee engagement, productivity, and reduce attrition. It also aids in the maintenance of a positive work atmosphere and may help to avoid confrontations. It is your obligation as a leader to establish suitable internal communications metrics and take the necessary efforts to improve them.
Tip:
Internal communications can be measured through employee surveys, email open rates, intranet analytics, and focus groups. To gain insight into their communications strategy, leaders might track attrition rates and observable behaviors such as work performance.
Tools for Evaluating Communication Skills
The evaluation of employee communication can help your company’s culture and overall performance. It also gives useful information about employee involvement, commitment, and work ethics. Individuals who are able to express themselves clearly and feel heard are more engaged in their work. Team members that struggle to communicate with their coworkers will fall short of their full potential and fail to satisfy your expectations.
There are a variety of instruments for evaluating communication abilities in the workplace, ranging from performance management apps to employee pulse surveys. You could, for example, design an employee app that allows users to exchange comments and simplifies communication between departments. This not only makes it easy to communicate with your staff, but it also makes it easier to evaluate their communication skills.
Employee apps, according to the Harvard Business Review, can improve internal communications, resulting in increased productivity, efficiency, and compliance. Furthermore, they may help to reduce squandered time and eliminate inefficiencies that impede work effectiveness. Slack and Facebook Workplace are examples of employee service platforms, engagement apps, and collaboration solutions that can be just as productive.
Employers can use pulse surveys, for example, to gauge employee satisfaction and learn how they feel about their career prospects, work-life balance, corporate culture, salary, and other topics. As a manager or owner of a small firm, you can use this information to assess their communication abilities.
Send pulse surveys to your employees at regular intervals, such as monthly or quarterly, for the greatest results. Include up to 15 open-ended questions about the topics that you’re interested in. You can use pulse survey technologies like Culture Amp, Glint, or Waggle, depending on your business goals and budget.
Measure Communication in the Workplace
Internal and external communications can be measured through surveys, but they are not your only option. Website analytics, email click-through rates, and intranet data can all be used to gain a better understanding of how your staff communicate. Intranet analytics, for example, can disclose which areas get the most views, as well as how your employees feel about current concerns and what they care about. Website analytics can also reveal new information about customer and employee behavior.
According to a study published by East Tennessee State University, workplace feedback can be facilitated through surveys, focus groups, management discussion groups, and suggestion boxes. Employees can anonymously voice their ideas about their coworkers, management, or the company as a whole via suggestion boxes, for example.
On the Institute for Public Relations website, Ethan McCarty, a former executive at Bloomberg LP, advises that corporate leaders should measure desired behavioral changes rather than internal communications. Managers should keep track of observable behaviors like employee interaction, email open rates, and work performance, according to him. If your company publishes an article about a new sales strategy and then sees an increase in sales, that’s a sign of good communication.
Keep a close eye on employee turnover rates as well. According to Forbes, effective communication reduces turnover. If one of your employees is leaving the company, attempt to figure out why they are going. In this regard, surveys, face-to-face meetings, phone conversations, suggestion boxes, and other feedback channels may be useful. Another alternative is to perform an internal communication audit every few months and develop conclusions based on the information gathered.
Curriculum
Leading IT Transformation – Workshop 9 – Effective Communications
- Communication Strategy
- Leadership’s Role
- Internal Communications
- Communication Channels
- Communicate Frequently
- Creative Communication Campaigns
- Personalized Communication
- Two-Way Communication
- Easy Access to Business Documents
- Celebrate Employee Success
- Accountability
- Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Distance Learning
Introduction
Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Leading IT Transformation corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.
Study environment
You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.
Study tools & rules
Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.
Successful distance-learning
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.
Self-assessment
Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.
Accepting responsibility as a student
Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.
Planning
By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.
Management
Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.
Study objectives & tasks
The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.
Study forecast
As a guide, the Appleton Greene Leading IT Transformation corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.
Performance management
It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.
With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.
With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.
Keeping in touch
You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.
Work colleagues and family
You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.
Making it relevant
The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.
Distance-learning check-list
Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Leading IT Transformation corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Leading IT Transformation program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Leading IT Transformation corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.
Making structured notes on the course manuals
When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.
Organizing structured notes separately
You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.
Question your understanding
Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.
Clarifying your understanding
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.
Question your interpretation
Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.
Clarifying your interpretation
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.
Qualification Requirements
The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Leading IT Transformation corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Leading IT Transformation Specialist (ALITTS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.
Leading IT Transformation – Grading Contribution
Project Study – Grading Contribution
Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%
Qualification grades
A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.
When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:
Pass with merit
A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory
Pass with distinction
An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory
Preliminary Analysis
Online Article
“Don’t Let Digital Transformation Make You Less Human
by
Martin Lindstrom, Harvard Business Review,
May 20, 2020.
We all understand that customers and colleagues should be treated with respect — and we all know, too, that digital technologies can get in the way of that happening. Whatever the “job to be done,” key communications tend to become less direct and more impersonal when the job’s digitized. That’s just the nature of the beast: Apps and other technologies are doing a lot of the work that people used to do — and you can’t train an app to have empathy. It doesn’t help that engineers tend to optimize efficiency, rather than user experience, when they redesign work flows.
This isn’t a straightforward problem; it’s not possible or desirable to turn back the clock on digital transformation, of course, and it’s not always easy to re-engineer operations without losing the personal touch. That said, this is a particularly good moment to remember that efficiency won’t get you anywhere if emotional intelligence isn’t built into your operations. Because of Covid-19, your employees and customers are working under extraordinarily stressful conditions. Many of them are isolated and forced to work with new technologies, fast. They’re worried about their jobs, their health, and their loved ones. You need your employees to work harder and smarter than ever before, and you need your customers to be patient and loyal — and none of those things will happen if they don’t feel valued, respected, and heard.
Fortunately, there are common-sense ways to keep the importance of human experience front-and-center even as you update your operations.
Keep an eye on incentives – especially if you centralize services.
Maersk, the giant container ship company, has long operated with a high degree of rationality; it has unusually advanced IT systems. Several years ago, the company set up a Global Shared Services department with the goal of boosting efficiency via digital oversight of all the scattered logistics operations supporting shipments, including the call centers.
The new department wanted to improve call center performance and, with that in mind, introduced key performance indicators (KPIs) and standardized online forms. Instead of a general mandate to help customers, call center staff had a “tick-the-box” approach, where they could offer certain kinds of help only if the customer’s situation met certain criteria. Staff also had a four- to five-page form to fill out after every call, so the company could learn from customer complaints. Bonuses were tied mainly to the KPI for the number of calls an agent covered each day.
This well-intentioned plan fell flat, however, as many agents felt pressured by their remote taskmaster. They started to check off a heretofore rare explanation for a shipping problem —“force majeure” — meaning that something outside the company’s control had delayed or damaged a shipment. For force majeure cases, agents had to fill out only a single-page form, so they could move quickly to the next caller – i.e., they didn’t need to spend time understanding the customer’s problem or looking for solutions. Customers, needless to say, were not happy. The agents were gaming the system, but the company had essentially created incentives for them to do that.
After a sharp fall in the stock price and a $2 billion loss in 2016, Maersk eliminated Global Shared Services and gave each region autonomy in how it ran logistics. Most call center employees now got common-sense metrics that yielded much better information about customer problems. Customers were happier, too: The company’s worldwide Net Promoter Score doubled in a single year. Local autonomy undoubtedly introduced some inefficiencies, and the regions now had to negotiate with each other over common challenges rather than rely on the central department. But the greater connection to customers made that worth it.
The same thing happened on a wider level in 2017, when a devastating cyberattack forced the company’s entire IT system offline for a week. To keep shipments on track, employees had to leave their screens and call customers and dock managers, and in some cases even drive over to the port. It was absurdly inefficient, and profits took a short-term hit. But managers say morale and productivity rose substantially once everything was back online. People suddenly got to see and hear the people they were working with; they weren’t just entries on a screen. The newly energized organization went on to eliminate a variety of nonsensical policies, and earnings more than doubled in the year after the attack.
Find the right tool for the job.
The Dorchester Collection is a group of nine world-class, elegant hotels, and it wants to stay that way. To ensure excellent service, back in 2017 it gave its hotel staff detailed digital checklists with such items as “Ask guests about newspaper delivery —but don’t show a religious or political preference,” and “Mention the option of room service.” Some of the items were focused on getting the staff to relate to customers in a human way, for example: “Look the guest in the eye for three seconds as they approach the counter for the first time.” The company used mystery guests to grade the staff, and those whose eye contact was too short — or too long — saw their pay docked.
The elaborate guidance left the staff anxious, focused on the checklists rather than on how their guests were actually doing. They stopped truly seeing the guests as individuals, and instead treated everyone the same. The Dorchester tried a different tack. It dropped the checklists, and encouraged the staff to use their judgment when interacting with individual customers. Then it launched an internal initiative, “If Walls Could Talk,” with stories about interacting with famous guests: The house piano player who grudgingly allowed someone to sing along — who turned out to be Whitney Houston. The staff member who told Frank Sinatra on December 7, 1941, that Pearl Harbor had just been hit. This kind of story encouraged staff members to see their guests as real people — and to see the hotel as an institution with a glorious past. Checklists can be a powerful tool, of course, but not when you’re aiming for highly personalized service.
Change the presentation culture.
People have been making fun of slide presentations for years, yet companies seem to be using them as much as ever. Slides are so efficient at displaying information quickly that we can’t resist.
But we can. London-based Standard Chartered is one of the world’s largest retail banks, with extensive operations in Asia and Africa. At some point leaders realized that PowerPoint presentations were cutting down on the most important kinds of communication. At meetings, people focused on the slides and paid little attention to the presenters. So the bank substantially reduced slide usage in 2018. People no longer focused on the detailed information (which could, of course, be communicated in other forms). They started to make eye contact and to treat the presenter’s talk as just the starting point for discussion. The sheer volume of information fell, but nuanced discussion and collaboration shot up.
Remember that digital communication sometimes works better than traditional communication.
When the Baltic Sea froze over in 2015, it really was a case of force majeure, but Maersk’s customers still complained. The call center agents tried to explain, often without success. But then the company had its ship captains take photos of the difficulty of navigating through the ice. It posted the photos on a Twitter account, “WinterMaersk,” and cell agents pointed people to the account. Many customers suddenly appreciated what it took to deliver their cargo and weren’t so upset over delays. The company gave that newfound sympathy partial credit for securing an uptick in orders the following year.
Most companies appreciate the importance of relating to colleagues and customers in a human way. They offer training courses in emotional intelligence and communication skills. But when it comes to designing their operations, they too often default to what looks to be the most efficient, digitally-advanced approach. Fortunately, we can gain many of the efficiency benefits of technology without sacrificing the human touch, so long as we stay focused on customer satisfaction and employee engagement.”
To view the original article, please visit: www.hbr.org
Online Article
“Communication: The Driver of Digital Transformation
by David Vindel
EMEA Practice Leader, Technology
April 3, 2019
This article is a synopsis of the March 28th World Business Forum on Digital Transformation workshop in Madrid, Spain.
Digital transformation is already a global reality, but it is a reality that has reached different levels of maturity across the planet. The digital transformation of organizations takes place precisely at the intersection of three elements: innovation, talent and technology.
Today, it is no longer astonishing that, according to IDC analysts, more than 2.1 trillion dollars will be spent on digital transformation in the next two years and that, globally, the number one priority for Fortune 1000 CEOs is digital transformation. Furthermore, the latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum states that a country’s ability to innovate, manage talent and make use of technology contributes to more than a third of a country’s competitiveness prowess.
The real impact of digital transformation is that companies embracing it grow twice as fast as their competitors in the realization of digital technology. According to a study by The Design Institute, companies that invest in the user experience with digital transformation exceeded their peers by 219% between 2005 and 2015. Many companies already recognize this positive business impact and have created new roles such as Customer Experience Manager, CCO (Chief Customer Officer), and Director of Customer Experience. And it’s already in place.
Unfortunately, not everything is so simple with digital transformation and, according to a McKinsey study, 70 percent of the organizations that begin digital transformation journeys encounter major obstacles, struggling with the pace of change. There are five main reasons digital transformations can lag:
1. CHANGE – What best encourages teams to change their ways of thinking? Which obstacles are impeding progress? Can we make this transition easier? Where is there resistance? How do we preserve knowledge and tradition?
2. VISIBILITY – What change is the digital transformation effecting? When? How many stages? What is the objective?
3. INFORMATION – What are the new and changing processes? Are we adapting? How Is the company tracking progress? Who’s collecting feedback? Is there a continuous flow of information?
4. TRAINING – Am I prepared? How is my role changing? Do I have the same responsibilities as those in my job description? Is my way of working changing?
5. LEADERSHIP – Does the management team really believe in this? How do they see it? How do you tell? What priority do they give digital transformation?
Communication should be the number one priority when facing these challenges as it helps solve the following three digital-transformation-related issues.
Firstly, communication promotes why change is necessary. It starts by facilitating access to information and knowledge for all members of staff. Managers and directors should be those who lead by example and are more willing to understand and promote digital transformation.
Secondly, communication and training are vital. Management promoting change can be much more effective if it is carried out in a transparent and communicative environment. This implies involving professionals, addressing their doubts, and informing them of the processes; above all, they need training to understand and handle the new tools and digital processes associated with digital transformation.
Thirdly, communication facilitates participation. Every professional is interested in maintaining their job or being able to opt for a better job. Understanding this, it is necessary that they are an active part in the digital transformation process. Listening to their needs and opinions becomes much more important.
Given its strategic significance and power to expedite change, digital transformation should be enacted via a campaign encompassing both external and internal communications. Storytelling is crucial because communication must connect with multiple audiences while “what is said” must really impact the organization. At the same time, it is important to choose multiple channels, ensuring connection to different audiences. Finally, communicate frequently, with rigor, with impact, with visibility and with transparency – these are key factors in the successful communication of digital transformation.
True digital transformation affects all company activity but aligning an entire organization can be a daunting task. Without the participation and commitment of the employees, even companies investing in digital will experience difficulties reaping the fruits of this investment. Effective communication is the driver for digital transformation, especially when considering the change produced by digital transformation. As Charles Darwin rightly said, “it is not the strongest or the most intelligent that will survive, but those who manage the change best” and, to manage change, communication is essential.”
To view the original article, please visit: www.hkstrategies.com
Online Article
“Comms Leaders’ Role in Digital Business Transformation
By
Jordan Bryan,
Gartner,
September 14, 2019.
Corporate communications leaders are well-positioned to build employee digital dexterity and create value for the organization.
The digital business era, characterized by the rapid inception and adoption of digital technology, is radically transforming the way businesses and employees operate. In a world where every employee is a digital employee, the communications team is key to creating an environment in which digital dexterity is valued and modeled for maximum impact. In particular, communicators can foster digital dexterity among employees in two ways:
• Craft a digital business narrative.
• Implement digital initiatives that engage a broad spectrum of employees with digital strategy.
Digital dexterity is in short supply
Employees with both the ability and desire to use and apply existing and emerging technology to drive better business outcomes are considered to have digital dexterity. “Unfortunately, the 2018 Gartner Digital Dexterity Survey finds only 9% of employees have high digital dexterity,” says Alexandra Earl, Senior Director, Advisory, Gartner. “Organizations that want to execute successful business transformations must first cultivate digital dexterity among their employees.” Gartner research finds digital business transformations succeed when employees are digitally dexterous. Highly digitally dexterous employees are 3.3 times more likely than moderately digitally dexterous employees to execute quickly and effectively on digital initiatives.
Create an effective digital business narrative
Gartner research finds that regularly discussing the company’s digital business narrative with employees can more than double their digital dexterity. Communicators can drive this effort by leveraging their storytelling ability. “Only 17% of organizations discuss narratives consistently,” says Earl. “A successful digital business narrative highlights the importance of digital dexterity and builds a consistent, shared understanding of what digital business transformation means and how individual employees should contribute.” Gartner research finds that effective digital business narratives share four key attributes:
• Transformational. Discuss business model transformation, not just enhancements to the current business or use of new technologies.
• Customer-centric. Emphasize customers’ needs and the jobs they want done.
• Integrated. Avoid mixed messages. Make the corporate narrative and the company’s digital business narrative the same or embed the digital business narrative into the corporate narrative.
• Relevant to employees. Help employees understand how to adapt their own jobs and beliefs to support digital business transformation.
Embedding these attributes in the narrative increases the likelihood that it will resonate with employees.
Engage employees in digital initiatives
Communicators’ expertise in channel selection, audience listening, messaging and accountability systems is valuable in driving employee engagement. Organizations may find that efforts tailored toward their employees’ existing digital capabilities and attitudes are more effective at developing digital dexterity. Gartner research identifies five digital personas that reflect different employee attitudes toward digital dexterity.
• Caretakers are those who believe that digital skills don’t help them and that their organization gives them poor technology.
• Engineers are late-career experts in digital technology who are satisfied with their work.
• Mavericks are younger workers who bring their own technology to work and have distinct attitudes about digital work.
• Navigators are mid-career and deft, but not expert, with digital technology.
• Pilots are mid-career, comfortable with technology and spend less time at their desks.
Communications leaders can use these personas or develop others to create targeted engagement solutions for each profile, and to better inform IT leadership decisions on how to offer digital training and support.”
To view the original article, please visit: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/comms-leaders-role-digital-business-transformation
Online Article
“Communication Changes in the Digital Transformation
By
Daniel Newman, IBM Global Technology Services,
October 2, 2017.
Usually, when we think of digital transformation, we think of the cool technologies—artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning—that help our businesses run faster and smoother. But those technologies do more than enhance our productivity. They also change how we communicate—with our fellow employees and with our customers.
It would be easy to chalk all the communications changes up to “mobility”—the seemingly unstoppable force allowing us to be accessible—and “on”—anytime and anywhere. But within the advancement of mobility itself, there are numerous different waves of communication changes—many of which do not even involve “human” communication at all. The following are just a few examples.
On the Internal Side
In the past, we saw internal communication as a subsect of either human resources or marketing—somewhat of an afterthought to the larger priority of keeping the customer informed. But nowadays, with culture playing such an important role in a company’s digital success, internal communication has risen to become a top priority for many companies. They’re communicating faster, clearer, and on more channels—and they’re willing to invest in keeping their employees connected and in-the-know. In fact, 100 percent of internal communications departments today are using digital communication—and they’re spending more than half of their budget on those efforts.
So where is that budget going? By and large, today’s most savvy companies have already moved past email to find smarter, faster ways to connect from home or office. This includes unified communications platforms that allow employees to chat, video conference, text, and share documents, all from their mobile devices. It also includes things like automated workflows that speed up the processing of internal documentation—while also cutting out the possibility of human error.
The real question, of course, is what is the greater benefit of this communication shift? I’ve already discussed the greater challenge of burnout with 24/7 employee access—and I’m guessing we’ve already experienced it ourselves. But what about the upside? Obviously, enhanced digital communication allows for faster, more seamless workflows, increasing efficiencies enterprise wide. Ideally, it can also help break down silos by increasing employee access to leaders and other departments. It can help empower employees to share feedback, think bigger, and feel part of the greater company mission. Unfortunately, just over 40 percent of HR and internal communication departments measure the effectiveness of their communication efforts. Nevertheless, while the jury may be out on how effective those communications are—the fact remains they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. With digital natives making up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, communications are only likely to get faster and more digital in the coming years.
On the External Side
When it comes to customer-facing communication, most companies are realizing their customers are more than connected—they’re hyper-connected to today’s brands, issues, and celebrities. They don’t just want more meaningful communication—they expect it. And they expect it now, on their terms.
For today’s companies, that means mobile-first is the bare minimum they need to achieve when it comes to customer engagement. Indeed, studies show humans are absolutely obsessed with their phones. The average smart phone users touch their phones more than 2,600 times per day. It’s no wonder companies are putting so much focus on mobile connectivity as customers seek to buy, solve, chat, research, and work from their mobile devices. From social media interaction to 24/7 chatbots, and from live video-streaming to app-based services, companies are catering to the type of communication their customers want: fast, consistent, and engaging—usually with a personalized incentive or experience attached.
To keep up with hungry customers’ demand, businesses are realizing the importance of marketing automation, including smart beacons, artificial intelligence and live data-streaming that allows marketing departments to tweak campaigns instantly for greater personalization and impact.
Creating a Transformative Communication Strategy
Not surprisingly, not all companies are created equal—especially not during digital transformation. Smaller businesses and start-ups have a leg up on larger, legacy-era companies that are still buried in paperwork, complicated hierarchies, and inefficient workflows. Still, that doesn’t mean they need to give up on digitizing altogether. As with any decision in this era of change, the most important thing any company needs to do is solidify its purpose and vision. Once you determine what you need, you can then choose the right tool to get you there. While person-to-person communication might be dying out—the uses of creative human vision is still paramount to any great company’s success.”
To view the original article, please visit: www.futurumresearch.com
Course Manuals 1-12
Course Manual 1: Communication Strategy
Within the organization, frequent contact between coworkers, human resources, and management personnel is required. Outside entities, such as suppliers, clients, and the general public, are also communicated with by businesses. In business, a communication strategy plan spells out how to handle the company’s numerous types of communication. Understanding the advantages and goals of a communication strategy can aid in the development of a successful IT transformation.
Plan for Formal Communication
A documented communication strategy establishes a consistent means of communicating with coworkers, managers, and other company contacts. Rather than leaving it up to the employees to decide how they should communicate, the strategy specifies how they should do so. The plan might, for example, require that all material be disseminated through memo or email, with everyone in the team receiving the email. This ensures that workplace communication is consistent, reducing confusion and information gaps.
A communication strategy can also be used to implement plans for establishing brand recognition, reaching target audiences, differentiating your company, and expanding into new markets. In fact, according to Home Business, a communication strategy is the only method to build a company.
Information Dissemination
Internally and publicly, a communication plan ensures that all significant information is disseminated to the appropriate persons. A highly efficient workplace requires everyone to be on the same page. If some employees aren’t aware of important information, they may be unable to do their tasks properly or perform labor that they don’t need to.
You may have clients or suppliers who are ignorant of policy changes, future events, or other pertinent corporate information if you don’t have consistent communication tactics for external business relationships. Mind Tools also emphasizes the need of effectively utilizing a range of communication methods to reach your target audience, such as well-run virtual meetings with participatory activities like web polls.
Company Image
The value of communication tactics extends to the image of the company. You present yourself as a professional company with good organization if you have a consistent, professional manner of communicating with the public and your external business connections. You depict your firm as a disorderly unit if communication is intermittent and information arrives from different people in different ways.
If you don’t have a defined communication plan in place, you risk releasing contradictory information. Forbes recommends a few books on strategic communication that can help you design effective communications across multiple channels.
Employee Attitudes
Employees become frustrated due to a lack of communication or uneven information dissemination. Employees may feel left out if management fails to disclose critical information. Employees may be left wondering what is going on with the company if there is a lack of communication, and they may begin to suspect that the management team is hiding information on purpose. Rumors and gossip may spread quickly.
Management, on the other hand, can increase employee trust and loyalty by adopting a strategic communication plan. The organization fosters a sense of transparency by sharing information with employees on a regular basis, giving employees the confidence that they can be trusted to know what’s going on.
Workplace Communication Strategies That Work
Communication, both internal and external, is critical to the success of any company. It’s so important, in fact, that you should create a specific communication strategy for your organization. We’ll go over what a communication strategy is and eight examples of good workplace communication tactics in this article.
What are the different types of communication strategies?
Simply said, a communication strategy is a plan that a corporation develops for its multi-channel communications activities. Communication strategies are comprehensive; they cover every aspect and mode of communication that a firm may use.
They can be tiny or huge in scale, focused or broad in scope. They show the necessity of business planning at its most basic level. It’s vital to get down with your brain trust and build a clear strategy in order to execute difficult objectives.
To be sure, communicating across many media is a complicated process, so it’s critical that your company and its leaders take the time to develop an effective strategy. In this article, we’ll go over several considerations to make while developing a communication plan.
Effective communication tactics have a number of advantages.
Effective communication strategies provide a lot of advantages, the most important of which is that they will help you reach your communications goals more efficiently.
Training your company’s management in excellent interpersonal communication strategies is one strategy for improving one-to-one communication. Professional management training can help all managers, but especially those in charge of big and diverse teams.
Because one-on-one meetings are at the heart of collaborative business practices, it’s worth investing time and money in improving your manager’s ability to conduct them effectively.
Communications strategy can enhance your company’s marketing and outreach initiatives on a bigger scale. Because your customers are your most valuable asset, adopting a well-thought-out strategy for communicating with them is critical to your company’s overall success.
Overall, having a good communication plan will increase productivity, improve the working atmosphere, and encourage creativity.
We’ll look at some tactics for good workplace communication in the sections below.
3 Advantages of Good Communication Strategies
Communication is crucial to how businesses operate, communicate, and even socialize. Poor workplace communication can lead to a variety of problems in a company.
According to one survey, 45 percent of US workers are dissatisfied with how senior management communicates, which has a detrimental impact on employee engagement. Employees feel out of the loop, isolated, and unheard as a result of this.
When employees feel heard, on the other hand, it produces a pleasant ideal work environment, boosts productivity, and encourages workplace creativity.
1. An Optimistic Workplace
A collaborative foundation is the cornerstone for a positive work environment. Encouraging team members to ask questions and express their perspectives empowers them, improves team collaboration, and fosters a feeling of community that contributes to the group’s success. Finally, a team that prioritizes team togetherness is a stronger team that is pleased and willing to collaborate.
2. Productivity Improvements
You can have a deeper understanding of your employees’ abilities, expertise, and talents by communicating effectively. This makes it easy to give clear instructions and assign work to members of the team who have the most relevant expertise. Furthermore, using efficient communication tactics improves team collaboration, reduces errors, and boosts productivity. In a recent poll of Lifesize users, an astounding 99 percent agreed that greater communication and cooperation has resulted in increased productivity for their teams.
3. Increased Invention
Employees are significantly more likely to bring fresh ideas to the table when they feel free to express their ideas and opinions without fear of ridicule. You may boost creativity within your company by sharing ideas and opening up avenues of communication.
8 workplace communication strategies that will help you be more productive
#1 Make good use of communication tools
Your communication plan is only as good as the tools you use to carry it out.
CloudTalk is a sophisticated contact center software that simplifies the implementation of complex communication strategies. Power dialer and callback enhance telephone communications efficiency and customer happiness, while easy-to-integrate connectors with top CRMs let you to construct comprehensive communications strategy for your company.
#2 Have a face-to-face meeting with employees.
Despite the fact that many of us have been compelled to do more and more business remotely in the last year, I believe we can all agree that we’ve been missing something in our contact with coworkers.
A lot of crucial nonverbal communication happens when we have a face-to-face conversation with someone. These nonverbal cues have a bigger impact on the flow of a discussion than you may imagine, and they shouldn’t be overlooked. Furthermore, when you are physically present, people are more likely to pay attention to you.
We advocate holding key meetings and conferences in person, even if it isn’t practicable for every organization.
#3 Provide detailed directions.
The most important thing you can do to guarantee jobs are completed in a timely and competent manner is to be clear and direct about what you’re asking an employee to do.
Giving your staff clear directions, both verbally and in paper, can actually set them up for success. Make certain you do it!
#4 Make use of visuals
Did you know that visual learners account for more than half of the population? It’s no surprise, then, that practically every successful communication plan includes a significant amount of visual content in its materials.
When giving a presentation to a large group, visuals can assist break down difficult ideas. Important facts about your business goals can be relayed via infographics and diagrams in particular. Audiences are objectively more engaged by visuals than by blocks of text.
#5 Create a welcoming atmosphere
When people feel free to throw out ideas without fear of scorn or rejection, they are more innovative. That is why it is critical to work to create an open environment at your place of business.
If your budget allows, one method to achieve this is to hold team-building retreats for your employees. Retreats can be small or large in scale, but they always provide an opportunity for coworkers to interact over shared interests outside of the workplace.
Allowing anonymous input during meetings might help to promote an open climate in the workplace. Although anonymity may appear to be at odds with transparency, allowing for this type of criticism can really assist employees feel as if they can say whatever they want without fear of retaliation. This kind of transparency and independence will not only make your employees feel more at ease, but it will also encourage creativity.
#6 Recognize accomplishments
Everyone loves praise for a job well done, regardless of their position within a firm. Managers must not only congratulate their staff on a regular basis, but also develop a structure for employees to provide positive feedback and constructive criticism to one another.
There are apps that cater to this type of intra-company feedback. Through its interaction with Slack, Officevibe, for example, can regularly request comments and compliments from employees. But that’s just one example; we encourage you to look around and see what’s available to discover the greatest fit for your firm and its personnel.
#7 Make cross-departmental connections
Any successful communications plan requires cross-departmental coordination. The rationale is simple: any effective communication strategy will utilize several communication channels, requiring the assistance of those who manage them.
For example, a marketing team’s communication plan involving phone calls will almost certainly necessitate the assistance of sales representatives.
Similarly, with the support of your product partnership team and finance division, a communication strategy based on partnerships with social media influencers will need to be planned and managed. The list continues on, but the point is clear: communication effectiveness requires cooperation.
#8 Be receptive to criticism
There are likely to be some errors or oversights in your thinking, no matter how much effort you spend developing your communication plan. This isn’t meant to be a criticism of anyone’s ability; rather, it’s a natural outcome of collaborative work. Collaboration fosters innovation and is a powerful tool for building communication methods. The disadvantage is that management teams are prone to groupthink, which can lead to them believing in the validity of a bad idea.
As a result, it’s critical for your company’s leaders — the people who devised the overall communication plan — to be receptive to criticism from all employees, regardless of their position.
Anonymous surveys or questionnaires are a fantastic technique to facilitate this feedback. We recommend sending out these surveys one month after launching a new communication plan. People will have had sufficient time to assess the plan for themselves, but it will still be early enough to make any necessary revisions.
Course Manual 2: Leadership’s Role
Leaders – managers and bosses who have direct responsibility over individuals going through the change – must support and implement change in their sphere of influence for IT transformation to be successful. Effective leaders recognize that their contribution is critical to success and pledge to do their share.
Change has a face and a voice, and leaders are the face and voice of that change. They interact frequently in order to convey knowledge, keep others informed, and encourage them. When employees hear several messages throughout the organization, their immediate supervisor is the one they pay attention to the most. Leaders tailor the change message to their reports’ needs while remaining consistent with the overarching message. Transparency and consistency are two qualities that leaders possess.
What is the definition of leadership communication?
Leaders utilize leadership communication to convey information about the company’s culture, core values, mission, and critical messaging in order to establish trust and encourage people.
In practice, this entails presenting a common vision and persuading people to believe in it. It describes the organization’s core beliefs and demonstrates how the company is delivering on that promise. Leaders can manage their organization through any change, big or small, through effective communication.
Leadership communication also fosters trust within the organization, both among leaders and among employees, as well as between employees and the organization as a whole.
It helps employees align better inside the firm by explaining business culture and structure. This communication encourages open communication throughout the organization, as well as collaboration, teamwork, and candid feedback.
Finally, it aids in the prevention of internal miscommunications and guarantees that all staff are kept up to date on critical information.
What Is the Importance of Leadership Communication?
Without effective communication skills, becoming a good leader is extremely tough. Good communication skills, on the other hand, are not as common as they should be.
According to a research published in the Harvard Business Review, 69 percent of managers said they are uncomfortable talking with their employees in general.
This is a large number, particularly given the critical role of effective leadership communication.
1. Effective leadership communication boosts employee engagement.
Employee engagement is critical because engaged people work harder, remain with the company longer, provide better customer service, and produce better business results in general.
Employees must have faith in both their leaders and the organization in order to be engaged.
Effective leadership communication can help with this. Leaders share the company’s vision and demonstrate their commitment to it via their actions.
Employees will buy into that vision, pouring their energy into making it a reality, if they are upfront and honest about what is going on, positive or negative, and do not silo information.
2. Employees are more aligned with strategic goals when there is clear communication.
Employees can’t be aligned with organizational goals if they don’t know or grasp what they are. The answer is that they are unable to do so.
It is the leadership’s responsibility to preach these objectives and raise employee knowledge of them. Not only that, but leadership must provide regular updates on what the goals are, why they were chosen, and how they will be achieved.
All of this helps to engage employees, and their strategic alignment with the organization’s goals leads to greater business results.
3. It fosters transparency and fosters confidence.
According to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, there is a global leadership crisis.
There is a rising confidence gap in all types of leadership, from government leaders to religious leaders, CEOs to journalists. There is no one type of society leader who can be trusted to do the right thing. People are also turning away from talking heads, who are seen as political and untrustworthy.
In many countries, trust in CEOs has reached an all-time low. CEOs in Japan have only 18 percent credibility, whereas CEOs in France have 22 percent. As CEOs seek to address issues in their companies, industries, and the world at large, this lack of credibility will be a significant obstacle to overcome.
People still expect businesses to step in where governments are absent or inept, despite their lack of trust. CEOs are expected to apply their expertise for the greater good of society and the world, rather than only for the benefit of their firm and shareholders.
Now, there are a variety of reasons for this lack of trust in CEOs, but one proven approach for a leader to earn trust is through effective leadership communication.
People will be significantly more likely to trust leaders who engage in honesty and transparency, and thus the organization as a whole. Observers are significantly more inclined to engage positively with a firm if they believe they understand its vision, goals, and future course – especially if those visions and goals fit with their own.
4. It can foster a culture of collaboration and accessibility in the company.
Effective leadership communication leads to improved communication throughout the workplace.
Employees are more likely to adopt positive communication methods in their own workplace discussions if you demonstrate what effective communication looks like and lead by example.
Not only that, but having a thorough knowledge of vital material makes it far more accessible to everyone. Rather than digging through training manuals or corporate paperwork, a new employee can just question a coworker and get a solid, right answer.
5. Effective leaders are developed through leadership communication training.
As previously said, about 69 percent of managers are hesitant to communicate with their employees.
Your firm will upskill managers in a variety of areas and make them far more productive by taking the time to develop leadership communication skills.
Mentorship, problem-solving, and project management are all enhanced by leaders with strong communication abilities. This leads to more confident and successful leaders who are confident in their ability to handle any challenge that arises.
12 Leadership Communication Strategies and Best Practices
1. Be truthful.
Since we were children, we’ve all been told that honesty is always the best policy.
It is extremely important in the corporate world.
If employees discover that they are being misled, particularly about critical topics such as the firm’s financial state or a major imminent change, they are likely to seek employment with a new organization – one that they feel they can trust.
Building trust requires more than simply words; it also requires actions that correspond to those words.
2. Always follow through on what you say you’re going to do.
Make certain that you have a perfect track record for doing what you claim you’ll do.
Nothing is more certain to destroy trust than failing to keep promises made – and, as previously noted, trust is essential for effective communication.
If you promised to resolve a problem during a feedback session, make sure you follow through.
When you establish a reputation as a trustworthy, credible leader, your staff will go the additional mile for you because you have demonstrated that you will do so for them.
3. Communicate carefully and strategically with a plan.
We’re all busy, and nothing is more inconvenient than devoting time to something that turns out to be uninteresting or unnecessary.
Worse, the topic is vital but has been badly communicated, resulting in knowledge being lost or misconstrued.
To avoid this, make sure you have a plan in place before you start communicating.
If you’re announcing a new project, for example, you’d describe the project, the target outcome, the timescale, and resources, as well as any other pertinent information. Then do it again. Using a bulleted list to ensure that you don’t forget anything vital can be beneficial.
4. Place your feet on the ground.
You won’t just need people to listen to you to be a good communicator; you’ll also need to listen to them.
Make yourself visible among your staff, become personal with them, and ask for their views and opinions – and pay attention to what they have to say.
People will trust you more because they have a personal relationship with you, and they will be more willing to tell you the truth if there are concerns inside their team or department if you have one-on-one encounters with them.
You’ll reap the benefits of greater communication if you cultivate excellent relationships throughout the organization.
5. Demonstrate empathy
This suggestion is in line with #4. Always attempt to default to empathy when creating relationships with employees.
Employees will not trust a boss who reacts aggressively or negatively to difficult situations, and they will not be delivered harsh, but important, realities.
You can develop a strong link with your colleagues by acting with empathy, that is, putting yourself in the shoes of the other person, listening intently, and attempting to understand the issue.
6. Condense the complicated into something simple and unforgettable
Great communication leaves a lasting impression.
That’s why slogans and taglines are so popular: a short, punchy sentence sticks in the mind much better than a long, complicated text.
Great communicators realize this and are adept at distilling down difficult topics into simple, easy-to-understand terms.
These phrases don’t have to be stand-alone; you might give the line, explain the notion behind it (avoiding jargon and business jargon), and then circle back to the sentence, and it would still be an effective approach to communicate.
7. Value honesty and candid feedback.
Being wrong, as terrible as it is, is an important part of learning and growing.
These are the kinds of interactions that leaders should never avoid!
Leaders will gain the benefit of understanding other ideas and being known as open-minded and fair people by conversing with those who hold starkly opposed viewpoints.
Leaders win the trust of their staff by accepting honest comments. In both circumstances, they demonstrate that they value other people’s opinions, enhancing their reputation as a skilled communicator.
8. Practice speaking to groups as individuals.
This is a difficult skill to master, but it is well worth the effort.
A genuinely effective communicator can address a huge group while making each member of the audience feel as though the speaker is speaking directly to them.
Understanding the audience you’re speaking to and tailoring your message and delivery to them is crucial.
You’ll use different phrases for a highly technical group of engineers than you would for a customer support team.
If you’ve spent time getting to know your audience in one-on-one scenarios, you should have a good notion of how to give a speech that’s targeted to them and leaves them feeling like you spoke directly to them.
9. Communicate and behave in a consistent manner.
People thrive on consistency, and they expect it from their leaders in particular.
Take your time before speaking to ensure that you are delivering accurate and well-informed facts or ideas.
This will prevent you from changing your mind from day to day, and people will know that what you say today will be the same as what you say next week.
10. Communicate with your staff on an equal footing.
Make sure you’re communicating with personnel at all levels and in all departments of your company. There should be no obvious disparities in who you speak to – and who you listen to – from part-time employees to executives.
Keep track of who you spend the most of your time with. It’s critical to make sure you’re not preferring any one person, department, or personnel level over another. These are things that people notice!
11. Bring people together around a same goal.
Commonalities can be a powerful tool for bringing people together. This could be anything as simple as a quarterly objective, but it could also be the company mission, the organization’s culture, or the company’s long-term goal.
A common aim will bring your employees together and provide them with a clear target to work for.
12. Exude self-assurance
This is another one that will take some time and talent to master, but it is crucial: Always have faith in yourself.
You should exude confidence in your acts and words. There will be times when you don’t know what to do or something bad has happened, but you may still respond confidently to challenging situations.
You will create trust with your employees as a result of this, and we all know that nothing is worse than a leader who isn’t confident in their words.
Course Manual 3: Internal Communications
Internal Communications are Important for a Variety of Reasons
Internal communications departments are found in almost every significant corporation. Having thousands of employees can make employee communication difficult and inefficient. As a result, internal communications experts exist to promote collaboration and provide a better work experience.
Here are some of the most compelling reasons to establish an internal communications department.
1. Employee participation
According to employee engagement studies, 90% of leaders recognize the value of staff engagement. Only half of them, however, are aware of how to resolve the problem.
Internal communications are critical for increasing employee satisfaction. Employee engagement has been demonstrated to be substantially greater in organizations with superior internal communications.
Setting clear staff expectations is one way to increase employee communications and generate improved employee engagement.
• Keep your personnel up to date.
• Make it simple for staff to locate critical information.
• Encourage open communication in order to identify problems and obstacles.
• Pay special attention to employee feedback and recognition.
• Encourage others to talk and share their ideas.
2. Employee contentment
Employee satisfaction is linked to employee engagement. Employees who are less engaged are generally dissatisfied. One of the key factors could be a lack of internal communication.
Furthermore, 65 percent of US employees believe that how their boss communicates with them has an impact on their job happiness. According to 45 percent of them, their employer performs a poor job of communicating with employees.
3. Productivity of employees
Employee productivity is boosted by high levels of employee happiness and engagement. Internal communications that are well-structured have increased productivity, revenues, and profits. Furthermore, companies with highly engaged employees have 2.3 times the revenue growth of companies with less engaged teams over the course of three years.
Employees will work harder to achieve their goals if they know exactly what they are aiming for, are informed about what is going on in the firm, and receive frequent feedback on their work.
Take a look at these five ways that improved communication can increase staff productivity.
4. Managing Change
One of the most important responsibilities of any internal communications expert is to communicate company changes. Companies that use effective change management accomplish or exceed their project goals 94% of the time.
Employers must have a strategy for quick and effective change management in the world of agile work culture.
The majority of changes to your company’s service, product, consumers, or workers must be communicated to others.
Here are some communication ideas for effective change management.
• Keep in touch with one another on a regular basis.
• Use a variety of mediums to communicate, including speaking, writing, video, training, focus groups, bulletin boards, and internal communication tools.
• Communicate promptly and give staff ample time to prepare for the change.
• Provide all pertinent details regarding the change.
• Describe how the change will impact the company or individual jobs.
• Make careful to present both the benefits and drawbacks of the adjustment.
• Involve others and solicit their feedback.
• Make two-way communication a priority.
• Set up one-on-one or group meetings for those who will be impacted the most by the change.
• Pay attention to employees’ queries and concerns and respond promptly.
• Arrange for interactive forums or workshops to be held.
• Make it simple for staff to communicate.
• Keep tabs on your change management efforts.
• Recognize and reward staff who have executed assigned modifications successfully.
5. Teamwork When it comes to encouraging and facilitating teamwork, internal communications are critical.
The majority of today’s employment necessitate collaboration. Employees and team leaders must be able to communicate readily with one another for this to be achievable.
As a result, companies that invest in internal communications have a significantly better chance of improving teamwork within their enterprises.
6. Employee advocacy.
You have a strong possibility of turning knowledgeable employees into brand ambassadors if they demonstrate high levels of motivation.
Internal communications are critical for achieving employee advocacy, which is something that every organization strives for.
Find potential brand ambassadors, enroll them in employee advocacy or social selling initiatives, and thank them for their efforts. For both companies and employees, it’s a win-win situation.
7. Brand recognition
Employee advocacy leads to increased brand recognition. Your staff can reach ten times the number of people as all of your company’s social media outlets combined.
Finally, happy staff and customers are the best kind of advertising for your company.
Here are some more advantages of employee advocacy.
8. Retention of employees
Employee retention is heavily influenced by employee communications and relationships. Employees who feel misinformed, left out, or unsure about their objectives frequently change jobs.
Companies with poor communication and disengaged staff have a 34 percent turnover rate on average.
Millennials and younger generations desire frequent contact and feedback, as well as ongoing interactions. You’ll need to improve your internal communications approach if you want to keep them from leaving.
9. Employee empowerment.
You must communicate effectively with your staff if you want to empower them. To improve employee decision-making, constant communication and feedback are required.
Employee motivation and retention are aided by giving them autonomy and responsibility to make their own decisions.
Employees who feel empowered to make decisions are 20 percent more likely to stay in their jobs, according to a TINYpuls survey.
Many companies, on the other hand, are still unsure how to empower their workforce.
For successful employee empowerment, trust is essential. Managers who trust their staff and engage with them on a regular basis often have no qualms about giving them more power.
10. The culture of the company.
Employees must be highly familiar with their companies, whether you’re attempting to attract or retain talent. They must have a thorough awareness of the company’s mission, vision, and goals.
Internal communications can aid in the development of a positive corporate culture.
In today’s highly competitive market, a well-functioning internal communications system and the healthy work atmosphere it produces will provide your company an advantage.
11. Creativity and innovation
To acquire a competitive advantage at your organization, you must be innovative. In order to foster an innovative culture, your internal communication system is critical.
It’s not enough to have a strong product team, large funds, or even an R&D department to foster innovation and stay ahead of your competitors.
In order to succeed in business, you must foster an innovative culture. Internal communication is the key to establishing such culture.
12. The level of customer satisfaction.
Ineffective change management, for example, caused by a lack of communication, can have a negative impact on customer satisfaction.
If your organization undergoes a transformation, it will have an influence on your customers in some way.
As a result, maintaining constant and clear communication about any changes that are being introduced can help to avoid a reduction in client satisfaction.
13. Employer branding.
Employee advocacy has already been discussed as a means of increasing brand awareness. Employer branding is no exception.
Employees who are well-informed and engaged are happy to help with Employer Branding and Social Media recruiting. It is, nevertheless, critical to provide clear directions and promote the flow of information.
14. Knowledge transfer
Employee knowledge exchange is more efficient in organizations with effective internal communications.
It is critical for your company’s success and growth to foster a culture of information sharing.
Building a culture of knowledge sharing from the ground up is the key to success. An open line of communication is essential in this situation.
In a circle of equals, there is no such thing as top-down communication. The most crucial step in removing obstacles holding an organization behind is to break down information silos among teams, departments, or people.
Internal Communications: Who’s in Charge?
Many firms that have yet to establish internal communications departments frequently face the problem of determining who is accountable for internal communications.
The answer to this issue is complicated because good communication is the responsibility of many people inside a firm.
These three groups should be involved in most circumstances, whether or not there is an internal communications department.
1. Executive Management
Internal communication fails for a variety of reasons, one of which is a lack of top-level support.
Internal communication is primarily about encouraging people to talk to one another. These discussions should be initiated by top leaders. They should publish more frequent company announcements and updates, as well as invite people to voice their opinions.
Your company’s CEO, for example, may make weekly or monthly films to provide important updates. People can interact with these videos by making comments or asking questions on the company’s internal communication platform.
2. Human Resource Management
The majority of HR departments strive to make their organization a fantastic place to work. HR professionals understand that how an organization communicates with its employees affects employee engagement and happiness. As a result, HR departments today play a much larger role in internal communications than they always did.
HR has traditionally been in charge of transmitting messages such as performance management, administrative announcements, and so on. They are frequently in charge of employee relations nowadays.
3. Managers of teams
This one is self-evident. Any endeavor that is to be successful must be addressed on both a macro and micro level. Top management and HR can assist build and lead the internal communications framework. Managers and team leaders, on the other hand, must take it to the next level.
4. Internal Communications Experts
Larger organizations may have departments dedicated solely to internal communications. The purpose of these experts is to keep employees informed at all times and to make it simple for them to get critical information.
Steps to a Winning Internal Communications Plan
The following are the 16 steps that successful internal communication methods take:
1. Consider your company’s mission and culture.
Your internal communication plan should be in line with your company’s overarching strategy, objectives, and values.
As a result, it’s critical that your internal communications plan reflect the company’s values, culture, and mission.
If one of your company’s principles is trust, for example, your internal communications strategy should reflect that. Employees should be able to observe that you live up to that value.
2. Examine your company’s objectives.
It is not necessary to implement an internal communications plan only to have one. It, like any other department, should have goals and objectives that are in line with the company’s overarching objectives.
One of your strategic company goals, for example, could be to boost staff productivity. Employee motivation and engagement affect employee productivity, thus an internal communications plan that improves employee relations could promote employee engagement.
3. Assess your present internal communications strategy.
If you already have an internal communications plan, you must first determine why it needs to be improved. There’s no point in trying to improve anything if you don’t know where the bottlenecks are.
Do you know how long it takes your staff to find the information they require, for example?
Here’s a startling fact:
So, if this is also true in your firm, you have some work to do!
4. Identify obstacles.
As part of your internal communications strategy, address a business issue. When you’re trying to persuade executives to invest in internal communications, this is critical. As though you were presenting a business case, approach your internal communications strategy.
For example, you may discuss how internal communications can aid in the speedier resolution of customer complaints or how internal communications can improve employee motivation and business culture.
5. Speak with your employees.
Talking to your own personnel is the best method to identify problems. Arrange for interviews, focus groups, or surveys to discuss what they believe should be improved.
Find out what they need to improve on. Inquire about how they prefer to communicate. Inquire about their satisfaction with their leaders. These are major causes of employee unhappiness, and internal communications are critical in addressing them.
6. If at all feasible, set clear and SMART goals.
You’ve undoubtedly heard about this one before. But, in terms of internal communication objectives, what does this mean?
Every communication plan should specify which business change or goal you’re attempting to influence. Increased sales or staff engagement, or providing reassurance amid a revolutionary change, are not SMART objectives.
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based goals are essential.
Here’s an example of a SMART internal communication objective:
Improve employee engagement by 20% in the next two quarters to increase customer retention from 80% to 90%.
Communication goals can be difficult to identify at times. Employee attitudes and behaviors are frequently the focus of communication objectives when it comes to achieving corporate goals. As a result, make them as explicit and quantifiable as possible.
7. Determine who the important players are.
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. A well-thought-out internal communication strategy should make it apparent who you’re communicating with. The more precisely you define your target audience, the better you may personalize content and appeal to each segment.
Then there are stakeholders, or those who have a direct influence on communication activities. It’s also a good idea to make a separate plan to address their demands. Employees, unions, shareholders, and customers, for example, could all be included.
8. Encourage your workers to participate.
Employee collaboration is required for a successful internal communication plan. As a result, it’s critical to involve kids right from the start.
Employee engagement, like any other aspect of a work, is critical to success. Internal communications are no different. It can be difficult to reach communication goals and objectives if you can’t get your staff to participate.
However, there are tools available to assist with this.
9. Select the appropriate tools.
There are a variety of technologies available to promote employee engagement, communication, and advocacy. Internal conversations are made faster, more entertaining, and more productive with these tools.
Important: It is critical to avoid using too many tools. Many studies have shown that having too many tools can greatly increase employee stress levels. Select a centralized employee communication system that your staff will enjoy utilizing.
10. Make things simple for your employees.
Internal discussions have become lot easier and more productive thanks to employee communication technologies. Millennials and younger generations demand a simple way to communicate, keep informed, and have access to all relevant information.
11. Maintain a level of consistency.
Internal communication tactics that are effective are consistent. To put it another way, after you’ve set your goals, you should always strive to achieve them.
The worst thing you can do is keep changing your strategy, goals, and objectives since it will confuse your staff.
12. Be open and honest.
Internal communications must be transparent in order to function well. Employees increasingly expect their employers to be open and honest with them. Some firms have even gone as far as to implement complete transparency, such as publicly disclosing everyone’s pay.
Furthermore, employee engagement is aided by openness.
13. Produce and distribute engaging content.
To increase employee engagement, it’s critical to create relevant and interesting material. Employee involvement is critical for a successful internal communications plan, as we’ve already discussed.
Expect your staff to not be interested in reading or listening to what you want to say. Your content should be intriguing and relevant to your employees’ jobs.
14. Don’t overwhelm.
Too much of anything is never a good thing. Employees may become disengaged if they are exposed to too much information.
It’s also not necessary to share everything with everyone. That is why segmentation and the provision of relevant content are critical. Choose who gets what kind of information carefully.
15. Measure.
Setting defined goals is one of the first steps in developing a good internal communications plan. Goals must be measured after they have been set.
Case Study: Nationwide Building Society
Background: In an award-winning five-week BIG Conversation, Nationwide Building Society gathered thoughts from all of its 18,000 workers in a company-wide collaboration. The goal was to re-establish Nationwide’s feeling of purpose.
Approach: TalkBack events, online questionnaires, and a large listening exercise were used to provide staff and members the opportunity to contribute to the organization’s future. Nationwide opened up a free-flowing conversation with its employees by conducting a company-wide internal communications survey.
As a result, a new strategy and marketing campaign centered on the new concept of ‘creating society, national’ – assisting people in improving their quality of life – have been developed. This case study in company communication shows the value of actively listening to and acting on employee suggestions.
Course Manual 5: Communicate Frequently
7 reasons why it’s critical to communicate with your employees on a daily basis
In recent years, the modern workplace atmosphere has evolved significantly. Employees now are not the same as they were five years ago. This indicates that all of the important aspects of the organization, such as its culture, policies, values, norms, standards, and operating procedures, are all different.
As a result of these and other changes, the value of perfect communication inside a company organization has increased significantly. Particularly in today’s world, when employees must communicate both in person and through technology. It makes little difference whether a corporation employs a basic project management application. Its benefits will be limited if staff do not communicate effectively with it.
Managers and business owners are responsible for establishing communication standards. They must lead their staff and teach them how to communicate effectively with one another. Here’s why you should interact with your employees on a daily basis, and how doing so may benefit your entire company throughout IT transition.
Why Is It Important to Have Consistent Workplace Communications?
Many organizations recognize that effective communication is critical to a company’s success and survival. Increased productivity, improved efficiency, and improved employee satisfaction and morale are all good effects of workplace communications. Despite the numerous advantages of successful communication, many businesses place a greater emphasis on communicating with their external customers than they do with their internal customers. Internal communication is frequently neglected while exterior communication is handled flawlessly.
Internal communication that is effective follows the 3C’s: correct, consistent, and constant. Correct indicates the information presented is correct and comes from a trustworthy source. Everyone in an organization should have access to accurate information, not just their own interpretation of events.
Internal communication should be delivered in the same way every time. Whether your company employs internal chats, social communities, newsletters, SMS, or regular team meetings to communicate with internal customers, the approach should work for them and ensure that everyone in the organization is on the same page at the same time. Ensure that the flow of information is steady by ensuring that your business offers accurate information and using consistent techniques.
Internal communication is sometimes inconsistent in many firms. This is due to the numerous communication channels accessible, each of which has a unique style of providing information. This should not, however, be used as an excuse to avoid good and regular communication. Here are a few indicators that you aren’t communicating consistently and should be.
• You only communicate when unpleasant news arrives.
• You just meet with employees as needed.
• Employees frequently express surprise when they hear from you.
• Employees are surprised to hear from you by email, phone call, or message because you haven’t held a staff meeting in over a year.
Consistent workplace communication is critical.
Businesses gain a variety of advantages by communicating consistently:
1. Keeps employees up to date
No one wants to hear information from a third party. Imagine a warehousing employee hearing on the news about an impending layoff. He is dissatisfied because he believes he is undervalued. Dissatisfied employees cost a company more than $16,000 per person, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Low productivity, absenteeism, and high turnover rates all contribute to these expenditures. Employees are informed and do not obtain information secondhand when internal communication is consistent.
2. Increases staff motivation
Employee engagement improves when there is a communication strategy in place to synchronize the flow of information. Because they are well-informed about their firm and industry, employees believe they are significant.
Employee communication schedules, whether published or presented, can be used as a communication strategy. It might be a platform where employees are informed about corporate topics and issues on a weekly or monthly basis and encouraged to reply.
3. Promotes a pleasant working atmosphere
Internal communication that is consistent fosters a positive work atmosphere that is marked by trust and productivity. All staff work together to complete everyday responsibilities while overcoming challenges.
4. Attracts and retains great talent
You are more likely to attract top personnel if your organization has open and regular communication. Employees enjoy honest and consistent communication more than employee benefits, according to 15Five blog research. Out of 1,000 employees polled, 81 percent said they would like to work for a company that values open communication and offers a competitive benefits package. Millennials place a premium on open communication. In the report, nearly 84 percent of Millennials prefer open and regular communication to company advantages.
Consistency in internal corporate messaging has disadvantages.
• Keeping employees in the dark can make them feel undervalued because they don’t know what’s going on at work.
• In some cases, staff rely on questionable sources for information, which can lead to false information being disseminated.
• Staff discontent with work resulting in low morale and high turnover rates. • Poor company performance resulting from poor employee productivity and low morale.
Tips for ensuring that internal communication is consistent
1. Set the tempo.
Leaders should set the tone and speed when it comes to communicating effectively. Leaders should practice regular communication and stick to the channels that have been established. They should be willing to discussing essential matters with employees, including as money, plans, workplace morale, and employee ideas.
2. Describe how and why decisions are made.
Employees occasionally disagree with top management’s decisions or ideas. They have no idea where the idea came from or why it is being implemented. Senior management should explain why a choice was made and how it aligns with the company’s strategy and objectives.
3. Develop a plan for internal communication.
Who needs to know what, when they need to know it, how they need to know it, and how often they need to know it are all outlined in an internal communication strategy. You may eliminate major impediments to consistent communication, such as silo thinking, language confusion, and notifying staff too late in the process, with a communication strategy.
4. Select the appropriate channels
When communicating with internal customers, it is excellent practice to use the appropriate channels. It’s pointless to communicate if your employees don’t understand what you’re saying. As a result, select the communication techniques that employees use on a regular basis.
Whether you choose intranet, message, email, or social media to provide business communications, it’s critical to think about the ways that will be most effective. Importantly, evaluate the effectiveness of your chosen strategy to ensure that it is not a waste of time and resources. You can even ask employees if the method is acceptable to them.
5. Develop feedback loops
It’s a two-way street: you send a message, and the recipient answers. Similarly, when an internal communication is sent, employees should be given the opportunity to respond to the message. As a result, strict feedback loops should be in place to maintain uniformity in internal communication.
Employee surveys, a ‘inbox’ for ideas and feedback, and feedback meetings are all options. This demonstrates to employees that you care about their thoughts and are willing to act on them.
In business, if “content is king,” “consistency is queen.” Customers expect consistent decent cuisine if you manage a restaurant, for example. If you deviate even slightly from this, you will lose consumers and your credibility will be compromised. Internal communication is the same way; consistency is essential for keeping staff happy, informed, engaged, and satisfied.
Several solutions are available to help companies improve internal workplace communications. A firm intranet is one of the most effective tools. For all firm information, it’s a single source of truth.
Course Manual 6: Creative Communication Campaigns
Best Practices for Internal Communication Campaigns
Take a more strategic or holistic approach to internal communications to get the most out of it. Chris Leonard, CEO of SnapComms, refers to this strategy as 360-degree campaigns.
“Take a campaign approach to your end-to-end employee communications,” he advises. “I firmly believe 360-degree campaigns are more important than ever in today’s noisy, info-overloaded business world.”
This approach necessitates a thorough understanding of employees’ mindsets throughout the engagement process, including both informational and emotional mindsets. The messaging and implementation can then be tailored at each step in order to achieve positive results.
For communicators, this includes reaching out to employees at times when they are most receptive (such as the start of the day or the start of shifts) and through channels tailored to diverse surroundings (such as mobile for field-based staff or digital signage for non-desk workers).
To affect employee engagement, best practices for internal communication initiatives include maximizing channel selection and message delivery.
This condensed timeline of a typical day in the life of a corporate office demonstrates how complementary channels work together to improve communication success.
Scenarios for Internal Communication Campaigns
To strengthen your communication campaign activities, the SnapComms platform delivers captivating content across different platforms. It’s a service that caters to the requirements of every company unit.
For Internal Communications:
• Measure the impact of behavior change over time by repeating and reusing regular communication campaigns
• Measure the impact of behavior change over time by repeating and reusing regular communication campaigns
Information Technology (IT) and Information Security (IS):
• Create buzz and influence opinion around digital transformation projects by educating employees on how to maximize productivity during IT outages.
• Deliver and repeat security awareness programs and analyze their impact.
Human Resources (HR):
• Encourage good workplace culture transformation by promoting projects and encouraging involvement from employees.
To Ensure Compliance:
• Educate and influence compliance and ethical conduct to create a culture of compliance
In ten easy steps, you can create an internal communications campaign.
Getting and keeping your employees’ attention is a difficult task. If you have a message that needs to get out, creating a creative internal communications strategy can help you engage your employees and get the word out.
During an IT transition, we must communicate a variety of important information to our staff. Cutting through the noise in today’s digital workplace, however, is no easy task.
For good reason, customer-facing marketing campaigns are all over the place. They grab people’s attention, offer a clear message, make businesses unique, and leave an indelible impression. They motivate us to take action.
A well-executed creative campaign can produce similar results within our organizations.
Communication campaigns, as previously stated, are campaigns that use the media, messaging, and a coordinated set of communication actions to achieve certain objectives in a large number of people over a set period of time.
While many internal communications teams don’t have the same funding and resources as a full-fledged marketing department, it doesn’t mean we can’t come up with innovative and eye-catching campaigns that achieve results.
Here’s how to run a successful internal communications campaign in ten easy steps.
#1. Set a clear goal for yourself.
A defined goal is essential for a successful internal communications effort.
A campaign is a collection of interconnected actions aimed towards achieving a specific goal.
Before you start working on anything creative, make sure you know exactly what you want to accomplish. It will be in relation to your company’s IT transformation in this situation.
Whatever the brief, try to be as explicit as possible about the objective you want to achieve, including a timeframe and any success criteria. Starting with the end in mind will guarantee that your campaign is focused and effective.
#2. Define and identify your target audience Who are you trying to reach with your message?
Even if high management tells you to “educate all of our staff,” every internal communicator knows that our audience is extremely diverse. This will have an impact on the way your campaign is designed and implemented.
Make it obvious who needs to hear this message and how their needs, behaviors, and situations differ. Take into account their demographic characteristics, such as age, geography, job title, and digital fluency. What drives them, what irritates them? What methods do they like to obtain information, and what types of content or messages do they respond to?
You may build a personalized and more compassionate message by defining audience personas and being clear about who you’re addressing. As a result, their responsiveness and engagement will improve, making your internal communications strategy more effective.
#3. Determine your audience’s ‘WIIFM’ component.
Your message’s value may be evident to you, but it isn’t for your audience. Now that you know what you’re attempting to say and to whom you’re saying it, it’s time to respond to the question, “Why should I care?” ‘How does it benefit me?’
This entails putting yourself in your audience’s shoes and determining the influence on them as individuals.
Give your staff the parts of the presentation that they are most interested in.
Your frontline employees are more concerned about job security, process changes, and interruption to their day-to-day tasks than they are about the financial and operational benefits of a merger.
Take an employee-centered strategy rather than focusing on the ‘what.’ This means that for every piece of data you consider include in your campaign, you should consider ‘what this means for you/how this benefits you,’ so you can provide your employees the information they want.
#4. Create a channel map.
In our workplaces, we have a variety of communication tools at our disposal, including Slack and Yammer channels, the corporate intranet, video-streaming a town hall meeting, and the more classic ways of company-wide email and watercooler posters.
Every campaign will not be acceptable for every channel. Fill in the blanks with your audience research: how do they consume their content? Are you wanting to engage frontline workers who primarily use their mobile devices, or office-based employees who can be engaged via digital signs in the canteen?
The more channels you use, the more influence you’ll have, and the more likely your message will stick.
Consider the content of the communication. For big business change communication that is expected to elicit a reaction from employees, a company-wide email, for example, may be perceived as cowardly because it does not allow employees to raise questions or voice concerns. Is a one-line SMS going to enough when you’re announcing big news and your employees are likely to want the whole story? You could want to explore sending workers bite-sized first communications that direct them to more information.
A multi-channel approach may be the best way to go when dealing with a broad audience. The more channels you use, the more influence you’ll have, and the more likely your message will stick.
#5: Create an offensive strategy.
This is where the magic happens. You can start thinking about the how once you’ve identified the what, who, and where.
You can afford to have a little fun here, depending on the nature of the campaign and the message you’re sending out.
Are you going to drip feed the knowledge to your employees over a period of time, for example, to ease them into it? Before the Big Day, perhaps you want to build some excitement by ‘teasing’ personnel with tidbits or snippets that only hint at the major message? Perhaps you’re working to meet a deadline and need to get everything ready to go online at the same time?
Creativity at work: Accountants International Federation
The International Federation of Accountants developed a teaser campaign to hint at the LUCA intranet’s impending debut and arrival.
The network, which was named after Luca Pacioli, an Italian 15th century friar and mathematician known as the “Father of Accounting,” had a full persona and character.
Prior to the launch, the internal communications team decided to have some fun and keep the staff in the dark, surreptitiously gathering content and soliciting employee feedback through an internal focus group.
Posters began to appear two weeks prior. They were vague, with no mention of an intranet, and they immediately piqued interest. Staff began to respond with a flurry of guesses, requests, and questions, all eager to learn ‘who or what is LUCA?’
Everything was disclosed on Launch Day. A 72-inch motion-activated, talking cardboard cut-out of LUCA greeted employees and invited them to a luncheon. Staff were given an overview and training on their new intranet, with a high level of attendance, as they were eager to have their curiosity satiated!
#6: Be inventive
You’ve laid the foundation; now it’s time to let your imagination run wild.
Your campaign, like any other marketing effort, should have its own micro brand. Great ads are usually offshoots of their parent brand, but they have an element that distinguishes them.
As a result, your internal communications campaign will be consistent with your internal brand while also having a unique element that helps it stand out. Staff should be able to tell that a banner on your intranet, a separate poster in the canteen, and a message on your company’s Slack or Yammer channel are all connected by looking at a banner on your intranet, a separate poster in the canteen, and a message on your company’s Slack or Yammer channel.
Additions to your campaign that are outside the box can give it a much-needed boost and help your message stay.
Consider coming up with a campaign tagline or key messaging. If your company uses social media, a designated #hashtag will make it easier for employees to keep up with what’s going on. Perhaps you’d like to associate your campaign with a specific picture, icon, typeface, or color. Only one piece, repeated throughout all advertising materials, can give the much-needed consistency and connectivity.
Additions to your campaign that are outside the box can give it a much-needed boost and help your message stay. For example, online retailer ASOS opted to introduce its new intranet with an online video presentation, as well as a bottle of water, popcorn, and a pair of earbuds ‘for the show’ to get employees involved.
If your budget doesn’t allow for customised gifts, the essentials might be surprisingly effective. Curo, a housing provider, updated its intranet in 2018, and on the day it went live, it gave each employee a pack of Refresher sweets. Simple, yet powerful.
#7: Personalize and tailor
Personalization, as we all know, is the way to go.
You’ve got a message, a brand, channels, and a strategy in place. It’s worth reviewing your audience research and the ‘WIIFM’ aspect when it comes to actually developing your campaign materials to fine-tune your internal communications campaign to distinct staff personalities. Personalization, as we all know, is the way to go.
This may mean that your frontline personnel receive an app notification/SMS alert as well as an in-store maildrop of goods or additional information, whereas your corporate headquarters receive an email or Slack notification directing them to a page on your corporate intranet.
The tone, wording, and level of detail used may also differ depending on the staff you’re addressing. Is it necessary for senior-level managers to be provided different information than the people they supervise in order for them to be better prepared to answer questions? Maybe you’re unveiling a new process that requires some employees to be completely taught while others only need to be made aware of it at a high level?
#8: Make a D-day (or week, or month…) plan.
It’s time to put your project manager hat on and get prepared, whether you have a campaign launch date or activities planned across weeks or even months.
A basic calendar or tasklist can go a long way toward ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Plan out what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and by whom. What resources or assistance do you require? Is there a process for approval or sign-off that could cause delays? Do you need to place orders or collaborate with third-party vendors, and what are their deadlines?
Consider how and when your campaign will be published or distributed. Outside of office hours, unlike consumer-facing efforts, you’re unlikely to see much engagement. Check out peak traffic or usage hours if you already have internal communications tools with data.
Do your employees access your intranet during their lunch break or on a Friday afternoon slump? Knowing when to strike for greatest impact can help you achieve more success.
If you have the capacity to time-delay communications, such as getting everything uploaded, proofed, and ready for a later publication date, you may relieve some of the stress on the big day.
#9: GET OUT THERE!
It’s now or never. Press the publish button, then click the send button to send the update.
If you want employees to take a specific action as a result of your internal communications campaign – whether it’s to register for an event, read and acknowledge a new policy, try out a new piece of software, or update their personal information – make sure the call to action (CTA) is prominently displayed and explained.
Have options in place for staff to seek information or help if they need it, including names of people to contact. Being available to answer questions as a significant stakeholder in the campaign is generally a smart idea. Human interaction is essential even in today’s digitally driven settings!
#10: Get feedback and track your progress.
Never undervalue the importance of determining success.
While your internal communications campaign may not have a six-figure budget or necessitate a 10-page report on the ROI created, internal communications teams are increasingly facing pressure from the C-suite to demonstrate value. Displaying your value and demonstrating results will help you gain buy-in, budget, and resources.
Getting comments can also help you learn more about your audience, channels, and approach by revealing what worked and what didn’t.
Depending on the goal of your internal communications strategy, success will appear different. Metrics to examine include email click-through and open rates, completion of a specific workflow or process, event registrations, and more. Return to your initial objective. Did you accomplish what you set out to do?
Consider using anecdotal or soft ROI measurements in your strategy by directly asking your employees what they thought worked well, what they found interesting, and what they responded to. The more data you collect, the more you’ll learn, and your future campaigns will be better.
That’s all there is to it. There are ten phases to planning, designing, and implementing an internal communications campaign that will impress and win over your staff.
• Promote compliance and ethical behavior by educating and influencing employees.
Case Study
Unilever & Weber Shandwick
Campaign: Unmute
Weber Shandwick and Unilever won the internal comms campaign prize at the PR Week internal communication awards for their initiative “Unmute,” which aimed to raise awareness and engage their 150,000-strong workforce on the subject of domestic violence.
Unilever sought to draw attention to the growing problem of domestic violence, which had increased by 20% during the global pandemic’s lockdowns. Domestic abuse is not being challenged, supported, or exposed in order to safeguard people who are coping with these situations. Unilever’s 150,000-strong workforce was mobilized by the campaign slogan “Unmute: End the Silence Against Domestic Violence,” which was a play on the popular Zoom phrase “You’re on mute.” Unilever CEO Alan Jope convened a virtual townhall meeting with Tarana Burke, the creator of the #MeToo movement, to provide critical guidance and tools to managers and employees on how to deal with the challenges. The dialogue’s training policies were also made public to continue the discourse and draw attention to the relevant topic.
The campaign resulted in a record 6,000 employees participating in the townhall, with 200 employees seeking additional help or training from Unilever domestic violence services within the first month of the program’s debut. Unilever’s goal was to uncover and support the cause of ending domestic abuse, even if only one person was protected as a result of the campaign.
The Internal Comms Judges at PR Week praised a sophisticated creative communication campaign that capitalized on the virtual nature of our lives during the epidemic, which was skillfully handled and targeted an important and sensitive problem.
Course Manual 7: Personalized Communication
• Every day, we are overloaded with information
• 320 billion daily emails will be sent next year
• Personalization and relevancy help sort through the noise
• Target communications and reach employees via preferred channels
• Embrace mobile – communicate on the device that’s always with us
According to studies, we are exposed to around 100,500 words every day, or 23 words per second, via email, the internet, television, and other forms of media.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the workplace and specifically internal communication. According to one estimate, 269 billion emails were sent and received per day in 2017, with that number predicted to rise to about 320 billion emails per day next year. According to another report, the average office worker got about 90 emails per day and sent around 40 business emails per day between 2014 and 2018.
How are our brains supposed to process all of this data?
Created just for you
Consider what occurs when you stream a video or song through one of the many streaming services to answer the above issue. You can listen to or watch whatever you want, whenever you want, on any device, and you’ll get personalized suggestions based on your online activity, history, and tastes.
Because of the algorithms used to select information for you, you’ll be shown stuff that is relevant to you every time you use the app. In reality, this is true for practically anything you do on the internet. “Google, Instagram, and Amazon are ideal instances of how adverts, ideas, and interests are directed to us through “behavioral targeting,” that is, by utilizing our profiles to push stuff to our screens, a technique also known as personalisation,” according to a Forbes article.
Personalization is the only way to sift through the massive amount of information “out there” and understand what is important to us in today’s digital environment.
One-Size-Fits-None
Employers are having to rethink how they communicate with employees as a result of individualized experiences provided by streaming services and e-commerce sites.
Simply put, communication that is more individualized is more successful. Despite this information, many businesses lack efficient communication tools and procedures today. According to an Ark Group survey of CEOs, nearly 95% of those polled believe that “good internal communication” is vital. Only 22% of those polled believed that effective internal communication was being delivered.
Today’s workplace includes baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z. However, with the recent arrival of Gen Z, a “one-size-fits-all” strategy to communication is no longer sufficient.
Yes, there is a mobile application for that.
Did you know that while at work, 82 percent of employees keep their phones within eyeshot? This gives employers a significant edge because employees routinely check their phones and can see when they receive new notifications or messages right away. Employers need not worry: research shows that 60% of the applications employees use at work are indeed work-related.
“There’s an app for everything” or “There’s an app for that” are phrases we’ve all heard. Despite this, 59 percent of employees believe their employers are taking too long to integrate applications into their operations.
Leading companies now use an employee platform or benefits platform to give their workers access to personalized messages and information about their jobs, such as pay stubs and benefits. Employers may contact their employees on the device that they always have with them by choosing a benefits platform provider that has its own app. Employers may send push notifications or messages from within the platform to reach and engage their employees anywhere, at any time, whether they’re commuting, in between meetings, or on the couch.
“Ready, Aim, Fire.”
You can develop targeted messages, customized and customised to certain audiences, utilizing the integrated communication engine of your benefit platform. When it comes to personalisation, tailoring and targeting your messages is crucial.
To make your messages more individualized while yet appealing to a broad audience, consider the message you want to convey. Then, using the filters in your communication engine, send messages to specific departments, age groups, nations, or even individuals who are (or are not) registered in a particular benefit. After there, choose which channels you want to use.
While the message’s substance is vital, knowing which communication channel(s) each generation likes is equally important when it comes to personalisation. Companies should embrace platforms like Slack, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Snapchat as Generation Z enters the labor market at a rapid pace.
What can you do at work to make more personalized experiences?
Employees nowadays have a choice of employers. When it comes to changing occupations or organizations, they want more than simply a steady wage and adequate benefits.
What matters most to employees, and what keeps them engaged and satisfied? Here’s what some new research has discovered.
Employees want to work for a company that shares their mission, vision, and values. Workers who feel aligned to their company’s mission, vision, and values are more likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work (70 percent vs. 25 percent), to say their work gives them a sense of personal accomplishment (72 percent vs. 29 percent), and to quit (33 percent vs. 44 percent).
Employees are putting their physical and mental well-being first. When it comes to picking where to work, nearly three-quarters of employees (71%) believe workplace health and safety is a top priority. This isn’t surprising given that individuals are burnt out two years into the pandemic, with nearly two-thirds (58 percent) of workers claiming that their job is the primary source of their mental health issues.
Employees desire better technological experiences, especially as hybrid and remote work become more common. Workers who think that technology helps them be more productive are 158 percent more involved in their professions and have a 61 percent greater intention to stay at the company for more than three years than those who don’t.
Understanding how employees think and feel about their jobs is critical to understanding the why behind turnover and burnout. With 28% of employees planning to quit in the next year, understanding how employees think and feel about their jobs is critical to understanding the why behind turnover and burnout.
How can employers keep up with their employees’ shifting requirements and expectations? Understanding how certain periods in time during an employee’s journey affect their entire experience and, ultimately, their willingness to stay with the company, is the key to finding the answer.
The key to individualized experiences is holistic listening.
Over the last two years, companies all over the world have increased their use of employee feedback or begun to develop an employee listening strategy, which includes what employees think about their remote work experiences as well as their overall well-being. Company leaders, on the other hand, frequently focus on evaluating experience data—how people think and feel about work—for specific points in time, rather than connecting the links between how different moments or experiences affect one another. As a result, businesses are unable to obtain a complete picture of how their people are performing, and they miss opportunities to identify and address issues that have the greatest influence on employee retention, engagement, and productivity.
Employee Experience ID from Qualtrics brings together data from employees’ experiences throughout time, such as their preferences (i.e. how and when they prefer to work), engagement, performance, and comments about their jobs.
This allows business leaders to spot patterns among similar groups of employees and take steps to improve engagement and productivity. Organizations may, for example, identify female middle managers as one of the most likely employee groups to leave and then solicit feedback on what improvements leaders can do to improve those groups’ experiences. Employers can gain a competitive advantage in their efforts to recruit and retain top personnel if they have this degree of understanding.
When it comes to providing more tailored employee experiences, employees must have confidence that their personal information will be kept private. For example, how a person replies to a quarterly pulse on their job experiences will remain anonymous.
Individual experiences and their impact on engagement and retention
Employee Journey Analytics is a new tool enabled by Employee Experience ID that displays the impact of individual events in an employee’s journey, such as hiring, onboarding, management interactions, technology experiences, and more.
For example, a large multinational retailer discovered that when managers contacted new employees on their team before the first day of work, those employees were more likely to say their jobs met or exceeded their expectations on day 30 and were less likely to experience on-the-job stress than those who did not hear from their manager before the first day of work. They also discovered that managers who spoke with employees via text had a greater beneficial impact on engagement than those who communicated via email. This organization encouraged managers to take a minor but critical measure to effectively welcome new workers and greatly improve their team’s future performance by assessing input from onboarding with engagement data.
People want to work for — and do business with — companies that demonstrate that they listen and respond with empathy. Organizations that use operational and experience data to tailor the workplace experiences they provide—giving individuals what they want and need to feel engaged at work—will stand out to existing and future employees.
Course Manual 8: Two-Way Communication
You know the reality: highly engaged employees outperform their less-involved counterparts and contribute to the company’s bottom line.
Two-way communication in the workplace is one of the most crucial aspects of employee engagement. You may question why I include the terms two-way in my description because they are implicit in the definition; nonetheless, I see a lot of communication that is truly information because it lacks the back and forth that is necessary for communication, among other issues.
What is the difference between two-way communication and one-way communication?
Tennis serves as an excellent metaphor for two-way communication. Volleys are a big part of fantastic matches. Think of two-way communication in the same way: as a back-and-forth discussion or conversation. This helps to secure a number of critical conditions for our efforts to succeed:
• We make a point of planning our most essential messages so that we can be more purposeful and boost our chances of succeeding.
• We’re focused on our audience and where they’re coming from, rather than what we think and want to say, so they can hear and understand what we’re saying.
• We set aside enough time for a back-and-forth conversation; we listen as much as we speak, if not more. We pay attention to what is said, as well as what isn’t spoken.
• We welcome comments and ask questions that encourage it; feedback is also utilized to help shape future communications.
• We test our audience’s comprehension on a regular basis to ensure that we’re on the same page.
What are the advantages of two-way communication?
It’s impossible to overestimate the value of creating opportunities for effective two-way communication — dialogues and conversations. When our two-way communication is well-planned and executed, our organizations benefit from:
When our two-way communication is well-planned and executed, the following benefits accrue to our organizations:
• Increased job satisfaction by providing an outlet for employee concerns, ideas, and opinions
• Increased productivity by reducing ambiguity about roles, responsibilities, and actions
• Improved collaboration across the organization, which can lead to more creativity and innovation
• Improved trust between leadership and employees, which builds internal bran
“What one step can you take to further encourage two-way communication, increase employee feedback and reap the benefits of doing so?”
— Grossman, David
Workplace Communication: How to Use Two-Way Communication
Leaders who recognize the value of successful two-way communication – and the fact that you can’t lead without it – provide employees with a variety of communication channels to assist them connect the dots between individual efforts and corporate goals.
However, having procedures in place to collect employee feedback and demonstrate its value to the organization is just as vital as any leadership message. You may construct a vital structure to boost employee engagement by establishing channels to encourage and filter feedback from employees to leaders.
How can you increase workplace two-way communication?
We’ll go over ways to increase two-way communication in the workplace now that we’ve reviewed some of its primary benefits.
Utilize the appropriate channels of communication
Understanding your audience, i.e. your staff, is a key component of building excellent communication. Millennials are a perfect example of this. In the workplace, there is still a mix of tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy generations, but Millennials now make up the majority of the workforce in the United States.
Millennials dislike phone conversations and face-to-face interactions, according to Businesswire. Instead, messaging platforms (55 percent) are their preferred way of corporate communication, with emails (28 percent) coming in second. I can vouch for this being a Millennial myself.
Rather than forcing an unwelcome mode of communication on employees, it would be more productive to analyze their preferences and meet them on their own territory to make communication more comfortable for them.
Internal communication software that enhances two-way communication
Most of us have experienced the discomfort of having an overloaded inbox and being unable to locate the information we require among those emails. It’s no surprise, given that the average office worker receives 121 emails every day, according to some studies. According to Adobe, some employees spend more than five hours every day checking emails, both work and personal, which is an absurd figure.
While it’s impossible to avoid utilizing emails in business, employing internal communication software is one approach to prevent these problems. Internal communication software is designed to look and feel like the everyday chat apps that most people use. As a result, they promote more informal and unstructured communication. Employees are more likely to express their thoughts and opinions with one another as a result of this, resulting in a healthy and unhindered flow of knowledge throughout a company. Messages are also instantaneous, unlike emails.
Make an effort to be open
Communicational transparency is the key to achieving an open and trusting work atmosphere. Transparency in communication is defined as “the act of both good and bad information being shared upward, downward, and laterally in a way that allows all to see the why behind the words” according to Michigan State University. They claim that the following are some of the advantages of open internal communication:
• Improved teamwork
• Increased creativity and teamwork
• Increased trust
• Opener communication
• Freer exchange of ideas
• A better-informed workplace
Employers set a good example for employees by demonstrating a willingness to be honest and straightforward in their contact with them. Transparency breaks down obstacles to communication and encourages healthy, two-way internal dialogue.
Ascertain that leadership development is provided
Leaders are expected to lead by example. When people are promoted to positions of leadership without receiving adequate training, they are expected to perform admirably.
We are frequently informed that someone is a “natural leader,” yet this is untrue. Through experience, leaders learnt how to lead. “You are not in your job because you have all the answers; you are in your job because you have what it takes to find the answers,” Dave Jennings, WSJ bestselling author and author of “The Pit of Success: How Leaders Adapt, Succeed, and Repeat,” put it succinctly.
The best method to teach leaders how to lead is to teach them how to take advise, accept criticism, and admit when they are wrong. However, in order to do so, the organization must have a culture that encourages delivering constructive feedback to superiors. As a result, the first skill that leaders should master is listening and accepting feedback.
Empathy training
Setting overly high expectations for employees and expecting everyone to perform to their full potential at all times is one of the most common blunders companies make. However, each person is a unique individual with their own life and set of difficulties that they do not leave at work. Indeed, our personal lives frequently spill over into our professional life, affecting our performance. In his speech about leadership and empathy, author and inspiring speaker Simon Sinek mentions this.
Employers can better understand their employees with two-way communication in the workplace. Although it is impossible to be friends with everyone in their charge, a basic level of interest and empathy for employees is required to establish a trusted connection.
Employers who have no knowledge of their personnel are distant and prone to viewing them as robots. Employers who connect with their employees, on the other hand, may learn that a child is ill or that a family member has died, and show compassion if the employee’s productivity suffers as a result. This type of gesture can be far more successful than a pay boost in terms of fostering employee loyalty.
Give your opinion
Although most managers loathe delivering feedback, it is an important aspect of employee development and is required to instill confidence in employees as well as a feeling of direction in their work.
Feedback, on the other hand, should not be limited to one way. Consider giving feedback in the style of a constructive dialogue rather than a lecture or a list of problems that need to be changed. Good feedback is a two-way interaction in which the tone and manner of the feedback is changed to make the session more enjoyable.
Encourage people to provide their opinions
Aside from the typical top-down feedback that most businesses use, any organization committed to encouraging free and open-minded internal communication should also encourage upward feedback.
Because it asks employees to criticize their superiors or bosses, upward feedback is a contentious topic in most firms. Outside of departure interviews, very few people are brave enough to do so. That is, however, the only thing I have to say about it. In an organization with a well-developed internal communication system, fear has no place.
In fact, when all communication barriers are gone, an employer knows they’ve succeeded in implementing two-way communication at their company. Employees can express themselves freely without fear of being evaluated, criticized, or worse, penalized in such an environment.
Communication: two-way vs. one-way
Internal communication is divided into two categories: two-way and one-way. They both have a role to play in establishing a transparent and effective workplace communication system. However, we must first comprehend the differences between them in order to use them successfully.
To summarize, successful two-way communication relies on ongoing discourse
It’s hardly rocket science to put together an effective internal communication system with two-way communication at its core. In reality, it’s founded on more basic common sense than most people realize. Employers, engrossed in their own commercial pursuits, have a tendency to forget that the people they employ are, well, people.
Employers can benefit from two-way communication by gaining a fresh viewpoint, and all it takes is a desire to engage in both casual and professional discourse.
Course Manual 9: Easy Access to Business Documents
Benefits of Data Access Simplification
Data is one of a company’s most valuable assets, but it is mostly underutilized for many. It’s kept in departmental silos, or it’s kept locked behind the doors of data specialists due to unnecessarily complicated access.
Data access should be made easier so that more employees can receive the information they need to make informed decisions. Employees should be able to study data on their own without fear of causing problems. They should be able to test their hypotheses and rely on data to provide insights and ignite debate.
Simplifying something complex like data and then making it available to everyone has a lot of power. Utilizing a diverse range of employee experiences by allowing them to test their theories with data could provide businesses with new views on current issues. When a group of scientists created the game Foldit, they did exactly that.
Foldit is a video game that allows amateur scientists to create novel synthetic proteins. Scientists predict that a revolutionary synthetic protein, like the ones in the game, could one day become a blockbuster cancer therapy. So far, the findings have been fantastic, and they’ve been published in one of science’s top publications. The extraordinary quality and diversity of chemicals that these gamers are generating has astounded scientists.
By giving people access to something complicated and allowing them to experiment with it, this program inspired fresh scientific ideas. Consider what would happen if businesses were able to do the same with their data.
Nearly 70% of businesses say they haven’t established a data-driven company, and 53% say data isn’t treated as a corporate asset. How can data become ingrained in the DNA of a company if only a few individuals have access to it and can investigate the results?
Source: blog.signaturit.com
Employees with limited access to data must request data from a professional. Companies are frequently trapped in this self-inflicted bottleneck because they view data as a complex numerical problem. Data is also seen as something that employees who don’t know what they’re doing shouldn’t touch with. What if they make a mistake and duplicate or remove something crucial?
Employees should be interested in learning new things. They should be able to look for facts that they are interested in. Employees would be able to test hypotheses and gain insights if they had access to relevant data.
Some of the businesses we work with are fed up with the inefficiencies that come with having to ask for data from their staff. All queries are often created by data specialists in response to a request. These are complicated questions with specific needs. Because the people retrieving the data aren’t usually the ones who will act on it, they won’t be interested in following up on any new leads that occur during the process. Then, once they’ve returned everything, it’s tough for the recipients to make any changes. If they do, the entire procedure may have to be redone.
There are tools that can make data more accessible to everyone and provide isolated locations where individuals can play with it and see what happens. However, tools are only one aspect of the puzzle. To improve their data literacy, new Facebook employees attend a two-week data camp. People can begin to examine data on their own with confidence after receiving training like this, and the firm gains a common vocabulary to address problems and develop data-proven solutions.
Great tools and training will not only help employees get new insights, but they will also free up specialists to work on higher-value challenges rather than simple data requests. You’ll also need to have your data environment in order if you want to provide easy access to data. It will entail consolidating data from several departments into a single location so that everyone has a clear picture of the organization. You’ll also need a single source of data truth that easily connects and updates. You can’t have two people discussing the “same” dataset but looking at separate numbers if you want everyone to speak the same language.
It takes some effort to clean up your data environment and teach your personnel, but it’s well worth it. It will help the entire organization run more efficiently by providing people with easy access through a single portal and, more crucially, data confidence. Employees will also have the opportunity to learn by doing. After all, you should be investing in your personnel in the first place. You might be surprised by the innovation that emerges if you focus on making data easily accessible.
64% of your employees can’t get the information they require to do their jobs
M-Files polled 250 UK-based IT decision makers from a variety of companies. The goal was for them to do a self-assessment of their information management and security concerns.
The staff are unable to locate the information they require.
Just under 36% of those questioned found it quick and straightforward to locate the papers and information they seek. This suggests that 64% of decision-makers have difficulty finding information about their organization.
The following are their three major challenges:
1. The data is saved in the wrong folder or system.
2. Files are preserved in several folders or systems in different versions.
3. Documents are incorrectly named.
If IT decision-makers are having trouble with this, it’s safe to imagine that less tech-savvy employees will have much more difficulty.
So, what’s going on here? Only 39% of those polled work for a business that has implemented a purpose-built document management solution. However, not all document and information management solutions prioritize employee usability and information accessibility.
Time and money have been wasted.
Because they couldn’t find it on the workplace network, over two-thirds of respondents admitted to replicating papers they already had.
Whatever the cause (such as whether documents were saved in the wrong area and titled wrongly by themselves or their coworkers), it’s evident that businesses are wasting time, money, and important resources by forcing employees to redo the same job.
Access from afar or on a mobile device is not a cure-all.
As firms minimize expenses by eliminating physical office space or try to recruit the best people by giving flexible working alternatives, remote working is becoming more common. This, however, is only a plus if staff can operate effectively outside of the office.
Only one in ten IT decision makers thinks searching for documents remotely or on their mobile device is simple and quick.
More than half of respondents said they’d like to be able to access and update documents when working from home or on the go. Because information access is such an important part of mobile information management, it’s troubling that employees are still having problems while working remotely.
Surprisingly, 75% found it difficult to approve papers from their mobile device. The most significant stumbling block is that certain documents require physical signatures to be approved.
These findings show that the vast majority of IT decision makers struggle to accomplish even a small portion of their responsibilities when working outside the office.
Personal File-Sharing Apps and Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) Aren’t the Answer
Many employees are turning to BYOD and personal file sharing programs to solve the problems they have with remote access to corporate information, according to research. However, many of these are doing so without their organization’s knowledge or permission. This means that employees may be placing secret company information at danger in order to get information when they need it, and the organization will be unaware until it’s too late.
Around a quarter of the decision-makers polled admit that their company has had a security breach in the last year as a result of employees utilizing personal mobile devices or unapproved file sync and sharing apps to find and manage company data.
As a result, practically everyone has taken efforts to decrease the danger of a data breach. While 75% of companies have adopted a written information security policy and trained employees on it, some have made it more difficult for employees to access information by modifying access privileges to sensitive information and limiting access to information via mobile devices.
The disadvantage of restricting device use or information access is that employees may see no other option except to utilize their own solutions to locate what they need, so increasing rather than decreasing the threat.
So, what’s the answer?
Employees can work more efficiently in and out of the office if they have access to an information management system that allows them to swiftly and easily access and manage the information they need from any device.
Furthermore, if the solution is user-friendly enough, people will want to use it, which will reduce the use of unapproved BYOD and personal file sharing apps, lowering the danger of a data breach.
7 Employee Document Management System Advantages
Companies have been preserving employee documents in manual and traditional ways for several years. The majority of office cabinets are crammed with heaps of employee files, making retrieval difficult. Companies, on the other hand, no longer have to deal with labor-intensive paperwork when it comes to document storage owing to employee document management systems. Above all, such systems rely on a database to store a large number of digital files on the cloud. This cutting-edge method of file storage works with both paper and digital information. To boost HR department productivity, today’s organizations must employ a document management system. The following are some of the most important advantages of having a document management system for your company:
Employee document management solutions have a number of advantages:
Document retrieval is simple
It might be tedious and time-consuming to look for documents. A document management system simplifies the process even further by allowing you to search for files or folders by inserting a term or phrase associated with the document into the search box.
Increased productivity
Employee records, such as identity numbers, resumes, and education certificates, can be stored instantaneously in a document management system for easy retrieval. Instead of having a lot of files in the office cabinet, HR can store employee documentation on a single interface. As a result, crucial documents will not be misplaced.
It is simple to update
Authorized users can change documents from anywhere, at any time, using a cloud-based document management system. Employees can update their documentation whenever there are modifications in this situation. This guarantees that all documents are current. It is unnecessary to send emails to employees asking them to update their paperwork.
Data security is improved
Only authorized people can access the organization’s critical papers with the help of software like this. As a result, you can restrict employees to simply reading and updating their own papers. In addition, HR may be granted access to company papers in order to prevent data breaches.
Information that is centralized
A document management system keeps all of your important documents in one location. Everyone in the workplace may now access specific papers through a single interface. As a result, the company’s management maintains track of what’s going on.
Cost-saving
You have to deal with a lot of paperwork with manual document management, including printing, ink usage, printer maintenance, and high electricity expenses. Document management systems, on the other hand, save money by reducing the amount of paperwork and document production. Employees will spend less time seeking for documents and more time conducting important work with such a system.
Accessibility
Users can access files and documents from anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. Users can easily update current papers in real time as a result of this.
Conclusion
To summarize, every business requires a dependable employee document management system that provides benefits that are tailored to the demands of the company. They include data protection, centralized information, cost savings, and access 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Course Manual 10: Celebrate Employee Wins
Workplace success: how to recognize and appreciate it
Employees leave their employment for a variety of reasons, one of which being a lack of appreciation; yet, 65 percent of employees have received no sort of recognition in the previous year.
Recognition is about bringing out the best in people and increasing your company’s bottom line, not just about launching employee programs or handing out expensive presents. Employees are increasingly expecting a productive, interesting, and entertaining experience from their place of employment.
We’ve got you covered, whether you’re an HR leader, a manager, or an individual who wants to celebrate more triumphs at work.
In this course manual, we’ll look at:
• What are effective ways to recognize others at work? We’ll break it down in this piece.
• When do you think you’ll be able to give credit?
• What are the best ways to express gratitude?
What are some effective methods to show your appreciation for your employees?
Employees were asked which sorts of acknowledgment they find the most memorable in a recent Gallup workplace study. The following are the top five methods:
1. Acknowledgement by the general public
2. A supervisor, a peer, or a consumer privately recognizing you.
3. Obtaining or receiving a high level of achievement as a result of evaluations or reviews.
4. A promotion or a shift in responsibilities and scope
5. Financial incentives, such as pay raises and trips
The format, quality, and distribution channel of the top two most memorable and powerful kinds of employee acknowledgment have nothing to do with money.
Public acclaim is an excellent way to recognize a significant accomplishment with larger economic implications. It not only gives the individual or team the most exposure and recognition, but it may also be used as an educational opportunity to enlighten others around the firm about the importance of their work.
It can relate to their performance or developing areas, and it can be more thorough and individual-focused. It can encourage, engage, and reinforce positive behaviors and outcomes when a manager takes the time to express gratitude and appreciation for an employee’s achievements on a regular basis. With the advent of project teams and more collaborative workplaces, it’s also critical to foster a culture where positive peer evaluation is shared among those with whom you work most closely.
Add a gift if you have the opportunity! A high-five or a handwritten thank-you note are nice, but there are times when more is required, such as when launching a new website, developing a new product/feature, exceeding sales objectives, and so on. Consider whether and what types of incentives would be most appropriate for individual teams and employees. Here are some examples of rewards that can be given in various forms:
• An additional day-off pass that can be used to extend a vacation or accommodate flexible work hours.
• Having lunch together to commemorate a joint accomplishment.
• A gift certificate to a fine restaurant to share with a loved one;
• A massage gift card to ensure
• A gift card for a massage to ensure they take time for themselves.
When will you be able to acknowledge your achievements?
It’s critical to give equal weight to great and small victories; in many situations, even the most significant undertakings and achievements are littered with minor triumphs and moments to be proud of. Both are equally valuable and influential to share.
After a project’s successful completion, recognition might be given in accordance with the meetings and milestones that led up to completion, as well as for the presentation of soft skills and company values in completing the project.
When given on a regular basis and communicated in the moment, recognition is most effective. It’s easy to put off sharing it for a lot of reasons, such as wanting to take your time crafting it properly, waiting to share it in person, and so on. Our acknowledgment rule is that the sooner it’s communicated, the better; it shows the individual that you’re paying attention to and appreciating their efforts. Even if you need more time to write or share the criticism in a more public location, acknowledge it in the moment, whether it’s a quick message on Slack or a high-five in the hallway. Official congrats or a bonus can be given later, but there is no reason to wait to express gratitude for an employee’s efforts.
What methods do you use to show that you care?
Context – Observation – Impact – Next is the preferred feedback format for providing both positive and constructive comments (C.O.I.N).
Context
Begin by identifying the achievement, behavior, or milestone you wish to honor. Give your coworker a particular example of when they might have demonstrated the behavior to which you can attach the good feedback. For instance, rather than commenting on their general contacts with others, let them know you’re explicitly referring to what happened during the team meeting the day before (even though you may have more than one example).
Observation
Describe the specifics of the behavior, talent, or accomplishment you’d like to highlight. Focus on highlighting the qualities you found admirable, rather than merely saying “excellent job!”
Impact
Describe the impact of this conduct on you, a larger team, or even the firm to help your coworkers understand why you’re commenting on it. While it’s wonderful to thank someone for a job well done, you also want to let them know how things have improved on a larger scale.
Next
After you’ve completed the arduous task of providing feedback, don’t forget to offer some suggestions or constructive encouragement for what they can do in the future.
What can you do to make it simpler to share praise?
Regularly recognizing achievements, big and small, may keep everyone focused on the mission and values that contribute to the organization’s long-term success. By cultivating a culture of acknowledgment, you may boost employee morale and keep your most valuable employees on board. Praise makes it simple to recognize achievements, promote progress, and reinforce great behaviors across the workplace – all from your browser, mobile device, or Slack.
Using Social Media to Celebrate Your Company’s and Employees’ Successes
Everyone enjoys being praised for their efforts and successes. So, why would you want to keep something good that happens to your company or your employees to yourself? It could be a significant corporate anniversary, a significant promotion for a long-serving employee, a successful month of high sales, or a favorable customer review.
On the other side, it could be something completely unrelated to business. Perhaps one of your employees has obtained a master’s degree, a music album, or a community service award. All of these are significant achievements that ought to be recognized – and acknowledged publicly.
Why? There are two key causes behind this. For starters, it gives the impression that your organization is prosperous. But, more importantly, it’s beneficial for the culture of your firm.
Consider the following scenario:
A great company is made up of great team members
Let’s begin by considering your employees’ individual accomplishments. Even if these achievements aren’t directly related to your firm, they’re nevertheless worthy of public recognition. This demonstrates to everyone that your company is operated by talented and accomplished individuals.
Besides, cheerfulness is contagious! Do you ever have those days when you go on social media, start scrolling, and everything seems to be negative? It makes you feel good to see posts that focus on something positive, such as these victories. It’s positivism like this that will keep your fans coming back for more.
This, in turn, leads to increased brand awareness. People are paying greater attention to your website, and they are associating positive emotions with your business.
Developing a Positive Workplace Culture
Celebrating your employees in front of others makes them feel valued and appreciated. This encourages employees to work more, enhances their morale, and increases their commitment to your firm. Finally, displaying your appreciation and value for your employees helps enhance employee recruitment and retention by establishing your company as a desirable place to work.
Employees will also appreciate the opportunity to root for one another. They get to see what their coworkers are up to, and they acquire a greater regard and admiration for them as a result. This is excellent for enhancing collaboration and fostering a better sense of teamwork.
Now for the Big Question: How Do You Rejoice in Your Victories?
So we’ve established why it’s vital to recognize your company’s or employee’s achievements, but how do you do it?
There isn’t really a right or wrong way to do things. On Facebook or Instagram, you can never go wrong with an original, genuine-worded post.
“But,” you reason, “won’t that come across as unduly promotional?” “Won’t it be cheesy?” you might wonder.
It’s a valid issue, but keep in mind that so much of what you post on social media is already unnecessarily promotional — as long as you’re genuine in your approach, there’s nothing wrong with congratulating yourself on a job well done. Your fans have liked your page because they genuinely care about you!
Start Inside
Allow for an internal celebration before announcing it to the rest of the world. This manner, you can discreetly congratulate the employee or employees on their achievement, or you as a team can celebrate the company’s success. A simple mid-afternoon break with champagne, cake, and cards for everyone involved should suffice.
Use this as an opportunity for your team to discuss what this means and why it excites you. Perhaps one of your employees will make an excellent point that you haven’t considered.
You can also take a few team photos from the party to share on social media afterwards. Create an honest caption that captures the essence of the occasion so that the rest of the world can appreciate it. “We took a minute to celebrate as a team today that we have been in business for a full year!” you might say. This is such a significant achievement for us because we knew we had something unique to offer from the start, but we weren’t sure how quickly news would travel around the community. We’d like to thank all of our customers for helping us have such a successful first year in business — and we’re looking forward to many more achievements in the future!”
“Congratulations to George for having the best sales of all our staff this month!” you could say. Anyone who has worked with George can’t help but admire his commitment and perseverance, and we enjoy watching his hard work pay off!”
Look for opportunities to rejoice.
When it comes to reasons to recognize your staff and what they’ve accomplished, don’t be hesitant to think outside the box. While achievements such as top sales are significant, they aren’t the only victories worth celebrating. If it helps, utilize your weekly team meetings to solicit shoutouts from the team, or consider creating a monthly peer-nominated reward for outstanding performance. Once you get into the habit of recognizing victories, you’ll see that they’re everywhere – and they’re all worth celebrating!
8 facts about employee recognition
Employees want to be treated with respect at work. They want to be recognized for their contributions to the success of the team and the organization.
While vital, recognition isn’t just about increasing employee engagement and making them feel good about their work. It can be a differentiator in an organization’s employee value proposition, and it can influence an employee’s decision to stay.
We’ll look at eight facts that show how important employee appreciation is for individual, team, and business success.
1. A lack of recognition is the most common reason for people to abandon their careers.
Source: Gallup
Don’t pass up the chance to thank your personnel. Celebrate employee achievements and progress throughout the employee cycle to show that you care about their professional development and success. Recognizing them on a regular basis demonstrates that you want to keep them motivated to achieve future goals.
Pro tip: Employees should be authentically recognized in real time.
2. Companies that had recognition programs had a 31% lower voluntary turnover rate than those that didn’t.
Source: Bersin by Deloitte
There are a few methods to get started if your company doesn’t have a formal recognition program. Find out if your staff feel valued and how you can enhance your strategy by holding one-on-one meetings or conducting employee surveys. If you do, make sure your staff are aware of it and how they can participate.
Pro tip: Keep the program alive by communicating frequently.
3. Companies with recognition programs have a 28.6 percent lower level of irritation than those without.
Source: SHRM Globoforce Employee Recognition Survey
It isn’t just about success and achieving goals that should be celebrated. A strategic recognition program can help you quickly recognize micro-moments along the way, such as great work, taking on new responsibilities, or going above and above for their team.
Pro tip: Recognize the employee behaviors you’d like to see more of.
4. 52.5 percent of employees want their immediate manager to give them more praise.
Source: Recognition in the Workplace, Quantum Workplace and BambooHR
All employees, especially managers, should be able to get recognition. Employees want to know what they’re doing right, how they can improve, and what kind of help they can get. Managers may see how often their staff give and get public acknowledgment, which has an impact on their individual engagement.
Pro Tip: Make awarding recognition public and simple.
5. Organizations with effective recognition programs have a 12x higher chance of achieving positive business outcomes.
Source: Bersin by Deloitte
One-on-ones, feedback, and talent reviews should all include recognition. Incorporating employee appreciation into regular performance discussions helps to cement the value of employee recognition in your culture and business. Employees are more willing to give again if they understand how their contributions benefit the firm (and are appreciated for it).
Pro tip: Acknowledgement should be given in the context of a wider goal or commercial result.
6. Four out of ten employees (41%) desire more recognition from their direct coworkers.
Source: Recognition in the Workplace, Quantum Workplace and BambooHR
Acknowledgment from immediate superiors is important, but recognition from peers and coworkers is also important. Give your team members lots of chances to cheer one other up and express gratitude. Peers typically have a better understanding of employee motivation and effort than senior leaders.
Pro tip: Treat employees as valuable members of your team, not as numbers.
7. One of the most important factors in attracting candidates is recognition for their work.
Source: Willis Towers Watson
If your organization is looking to hire, you might find that recognition is the key to attracting top talent. If you don’t have a formal recognition program in place, make an effort to demonstrate thanks in other ways. Employee satisfaction might be harmed by generic and inauthentic recognition tactics.
Pro Tip: Make sure your effort and outcomes are in sync, or your acknowledgment will be meaningless.
8. Companies who spend 1% or more of payroll on recognition see an increase in employee engagement of 85%.
Source: SHRM Globoforce Employee Recognition Survey
Awards, bonuses, and incentives are all terrific ways to show your appreciation for your staff, but they shouldn’t be your only means of doing so. Consider investing in user-friendly employee recognition software to improve the efficiency, accessibility, and personalization of your employee appreciation program.
Pro Tip: Choose the proper employee appreciation platform.
Examples of employee appreciation
A healthy work atmosphere necessitates recognition and gratitude. However, without the correct expertise, choosing the right words to recognize staff may seem strange or unpleasant. While you should tailor your remarks to each individual, we’ve put together a list of appreciation ideas to help you get started.
Acknowledging outstanding achievement
1. “I appreciate how you always go above and above in your work.” You’re a fantastic addition to this group!”
2. “Your capacity to produce consistent business results is impressive.” Thank you so much for everything you do for this firm!”
3. “I’d like to take a moment to thank you for all of your efforts. You’re progressing and raising the bar on a daily basis.”
Appreciating positive attitudes
1. “Your continual cheerfulness makes the workplace a better place to work every day.” When I get to work with you, I’m always ecstatic!”
2. “I appreciate your assistance with this project. You’re a great contribution to this group, and it’s not lost on us!”
3. “Thank you for demonstrating our firm principles on a daily basis.” You are an excellent role model for everyone in our team.”
Recognizing achievement of a goal
1. “Your determination to achieve this objective is inspiring!” Regardless of the challenges you confront, you always manage to overcome them and achieve incredible results.”
2. “Congratulations on surpassing your targets this quarter!” Your ability and drive are critical to our success.”
3. “Your versatility and willingness to take on any challenge is inspiring.” With this project, you fully exceeded my expectations!”
Course Manual 11: Accountability
Accountability is essential in leading IT transformation. You can have communication, standards, procedures, and all the bells and whistles in the world, but someone has to be held accountable. A digital transformation program without it will simply float about, waiting for the next disaster to strike.
It’s difficult to witness a digital transformation program go awry. It’s tough to comprehend how an organization, its leaders, and a group of individuals can sit around and chat about what needs to be done, but then accomplish nothing because no one is making decisions, and, more significantly, no one is held accountable.
The contrast to this picture might be striking: a digital transformation program managed by one person or a committee of people. The board and the CEO have given the person and/or committee the task of “getting the job done.” That is when things happen, improvements are made, and communication activities are increased, all to the company’s benefit.
Is it the board of directors or the CEO who sends out the message of accountability? They are basically throwing up their hands and letting the winds dictate business operations if they have no expectation of accountability from senior management.
Accountability is important for everyone, not just senior executives. It is a significant value that pervades the company’s culture. Employees who are held accountable are responsible for performing their duties efficiently and in accordance with management standards. Employees want to know what is expected of them so that they may feel certain that they have accomplished particular goals and objectives. It is a fundamental human desire and need.
In order to incentivize people and improve productivity, a firm must provide incentives and prizes. Holding everyone to the acceptable standard of performance is a crucial value that pervades an organization.
If a digital transformation programme lacks accountability, you can bet that many other company operations are missing out on the same crucial criterion. A company’s commitment to responsibility must be demonstrated in a variety of circumstances – digital transformation is a simple function to apply accountability to, and such a standard should apply not only to the senior management but also to top executives, managers, and employees.
Your code of conduct, which should be reinforced through an annual evaluation that includes a communication component, is the greatest approach to express this expectation. Everyone in a company should be held accountable for their communication abilities. Using the same criteria to evaluate everyone helps to promote organizational accountability.
Organizations Still Struggle With Accountability
93 percent of employees, according to author and transformational leader Anne Loehr, don’t even grasp what their company is trying to accomplish so they can align themselves with it. Furthermore, 85% of executives do not specify what their employees should be focusing on. And 84 percent say they’re “trying but failing” or “avoiding” accountability, even when they know what needs to be fixed.
The Importance of Individual Accountability
Those are alarming statistics for any leader to see. After all, accountability is critical to the success of your business.
1. Accountability Improves The Culture Of Your Firm
“A lack of accountability may have a snowball effect throughout the team,” said John Wright, director and vice president of marketing at MCGB Properties Ltd. “When an organization’s culture is embedded in honesty and integrity it enables people to acknowledge mistakes without fear of blame and to work with the team to reflect, learn and move forward positively” says author Pete Lowe.
It’s true: A healthy and happy work culture is created when everyone from the top down keeps their promises, doesn’t blame others for mistakes, and helps others achieve their goals. As a result, trust is built and productivity is increased.
How are you going to do it? You can entrench accountability by making it everyone’s responsibility, according to Wright. Before moving forward, set relevant goals and gain team buy-in. Build trust by supporting and encouraging your coworkers and demonstrating the conduct you wish to see. Individual team members will be empowered, and the team will be able to celebrate victories together.
2. It Boosts The Individual Performance Of Your Personnel
Getting the most out of your team is one of the most critical goals you should set as a business owner. What does this mean in terms of accountability?
For starters, accountability encourages participation and ownership because everyone understands their roles and duties. This not only teaches your employees to value and be proud of their job, but it also shows how it fits into the larger picture. It demonstrates that you trust them enough to allow them to operate in their preferred manner. Furthermore, because your team understands exactly what to do on a daily basis, time is saved on determining what to work on and in what order.
When you add it all up, you’ve got a more engaged, motivated, and productive team that’s producing higher-quality work. The best part is that you have a high-performing team that holds itself accountable without your help — when people are confronted with standards and adopt them for themselves, there’s little need for outside intervention. They want to be proud of themselves.
3. Accountability Leads To Greater Transformation Adherence
When it comes to employees following established and new company principles, laws, regulations, and standards, accountability is critical. People who understand the ramifications of failing to follow precise criteria are more inclined to do so, and entire teams that feel the need to meet those standards will work together to achieve them.
When individuals of an organization are held accountable for their conduct, it fosters a better, happier, and safer working environment in which everyone can concentrate on their work rather than dealing with inappropriate actions or behavior by coworkers.
4. Accountability Is Beneficial To Your Business
Finally, accountability can help you increase your profits. You and your team may dedicate more focus to the tasks that propel your business forward when you and your team aren’t wasting time identifying the sources of problems and making judgments. Furthermore, everyone is motivated to achieve their goals and improve their performance since they know they can’t rest on their laurels.
You’ll also outperform your competitors because they’re engaged – Gallup discovered that highly engaged workforces outperform competitors and generate 21% more profit. Adding a healthy level of accountability, as business consultant Jason Blumer puts it, can keep “the ideas flowing and the execution happening.” That is the easiest and most efficient method of expanding your business.
Although accountability is critical, thinking about it can be intimidating. The first step, though, is to establish what accountability means to you and your business. What will happen if no one is held accountable? Where do people require flexibility in order to be inventive and creative? Then, for everyone to follow, provide clear goals, expectations, and rules.
Most importantly, give your staff control. Allow them to figure out how to solve difficulties and work in their own way. You must, of course, establish parameters for them, such as deadlines and expectations. But giving employees ownership won’t just make them more responsible; it’ll also make them happier and more productive, saving you time and money while improving your cash flow. When — not if — they make a mistake, they will learn from it and improve.
Good habits are difficult to maintain, but if you avoid accountability, everything else becomes much more difficult. Make an investment in holding yourself and your teammates accountable for your actions. Your business, as well as your relationships, will profit.
Be Specific, Demonstrate Your Willingness To Assist, And Follow Up
A competent worker never blames his or her tools, but tools are useless unless you know how to use them. You may outfit your staff with the most cutting-edge technology and software available, ranging from high-tech content management systems to augmented reality headgear. However, if the user doesn’t understand how to utilize them, where they fit within the company’s journey, or the necessity of specific activities, they’ll often dismiss them and fail to complete the task at hand.
According to one study, supervisor support is the most important factor in employee satisfaction and trust in their employer. By providing ongoing communication, you can ensure that your team members will not only feel prepared for success, but will also be significantly more eager.
It’s all too simple to assign blame and find an external cause for why something hasn’t worked or won’t work. It’s impossible to avoid making mistakes and missteps, but how you react to them can help you create an environment where no one points fingers. Following this manual will help you build a support network in which people take accountability for their own projects or activities and correct faults or problems as they emerge.
Course Manual 12: Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
You should be measuring 12 corporate communication metrics.
Your conversations have a great amount of value, but how can you figure out how much?
The marketing sector has struggled to identify the main corporate communication KPIs against which a firm should be measured. “I’ve worked across a lot of different (marketing) disciplines, particularly on the media-buying side, and when I look at how drastically they’ve moved in the last ten years compared to us, that’s when the gulf really becomes apparent,” Allison Spray, Head of Data and Insight at Hill & Knowlton Strategies, said during a PRWeek Breakfast Briefing in late 2018.
While she was referring to public relations, this is arguably true of all forms of corporate communication. This is how your company interacts with internal and external audiences, ranging from employees and stakeholders to customers and the broader public.
The days of comparing the efficiency of various communication platforms based on column inches and Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) are gone. However, it is critical that you track the effectiveness of your business communications using real indicators.
What are the benefits of knowing your communication metrics?
Few would debate the importance or value of their communications at this level in their development — it keeps staff informed and engaged, ensures consumers are up-to-date on your advances, and plays a critical role in safeguarding your brand on a worldwide stage.
However, the value of evaluating how well it is achieving those goals, as well as the true cost of bad communications, is underappreciated. Communication obstacles cost an average of $64.2 million in lost productivity, according to a survey of 400 multinational firms in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Without a doubt, there is money that could be better spent, as well as an example of the hours that employees squander as a result of inadequate communications. In fact, according to Mitel study, inefficient communication costs businesses one day of work per week. In their report, they also discovered:
Furthermore, according to a Hollinger Scott poll, 41% of teams lack the ability to track their corporate communications in terms of user engagement and how much information is seen and interacted with.
It’s not enough to have a corporate communications strategy in place; you also need to measure the success of your communications to guarantee that this crucial aspect of your day-to-day life is running as smoothly as possible.
Why is it so difficult to measure communications?
While the capacity to quantify effective communication is critical, this does not imply that there is a standardized way to track these measures. The Barcelona Principles aimed to provide a benchmark for measuring communications, but they are insufficient.
This is due to the fact that the goals of communications aren’t always clear – it’s all about brand perception. And, while communications indicators like email openings, event sign-ups, and industry magazine columns can indicate that your strategy is working, it’s impossible to be certain.
This has led some to believe that internal communication metrics, in particular, should be tracked because this is, after all, a function designed to drive behaviors in order to achieve company goals. This can be tough to measure using traditional marketing KPIs.
• Lack of time/resources – communicators cover so much ground that tracking results might feel like another burden on an already stressful job.
Nonetheless, metrics are the language of business leaders, and without a way to measure your communications team’s actions, how will you know which areas need to be improved or if new tactics should be considered entirely?
But what corporate communications measurements and KPIs will indicate whether you’re meeting or exceeding your goals? As previously stated, there is no definitive solution to this topic.
Fundamentally, the method you use to assess good communication within your company will be determined by your specific business goals. A good way to measure the quality of your communications is to put them in the context of what your company and its partners are looking for and judge them against that, identifying any challenges or hurdles to achieving those goals.
This puts communications measurement in the hands of your senior leadership team; when key executives and your communications staff are on the same page in terms of what they want to achieve, tracking KPIs becomes much easier.
It’s possible that your organization wishes to instill a greater feeling of brand identification among its employees. Or that there’s a greater emphasis on your intranet or social networking tools, with less reliance on email? It depends on what you want to achieve with your communications efforts.
However, we can fairly assert that a mix of quantitative and qualitative corporate communication indicators should be included in your analysis in order to successfully assess them.
Employee awareness and feedback
• Employee awareness and feedback
• Open, read and click rates
• Page visits and logins
• Peak times of staff intranet use
• Corporate video views
• Mobile usage levels
• Platform adoption rates
• Employee advocacy
• Employee turnover
• Event and benefit sign-ups
• Media outreach and digital trends
• Speed and effectiveness of crisis communications
1. Employee awareness and feedback
Did you know that 74% of employees believe they are not kept up to date on corporate news and information? A crucial internal communication statistic to evaluate is how aware your teams are of the communications processes you have in place or how educated they are of the information you’re putting out there.
Establish a baseline, then poll and chat to your staff to see if they’re getting the messaging you’re giving out, and if not, why not? You can figure out where your messages are missing by assessing awareness and interest.
2. Open, read and click rates
While the open, read, and click rates of your emails and other messages may not provide a complete picture of the effectiveness of your communications strategy on their own, they do show whether people are paying attention to what you have to say. With an average read-rate of roughly 37% for company-wide emails, this will be a good indicator of the success of your internal communications.
Additionally, include components such as event sign-ups and other links in your communications to see if employees are actively engaging with them. While they may open the email, you’ll be able to see if they’re doing the steps you’ve suggested and genuinely interacting with your material.
3. Page visits and logins
Visits to a company-wide intranet can only tell you so much, similar to how email opens, reads, and clicks can only tell you so much. However, measuring unique page views, how often employees log in to the platform, how long they stay on there, and other metrics can help you determine how beneficial these are to your employees and whether a different approach is needed. Remember that only 13% of employees strongly feel that their employer communicates with them effectively…
4. Peak times of staff intranet use
It’s useful to know when your employees are logging into and engaging with your intranet or shared business platform, as well as how frequently they do so. Knowing what the busiest times are will help you determine when the best time is to make company announcements or send out news updates in the hopes of gaining the most involvement.
Timing is crucial in all forms of marketing; if you want to reach the widest potential audience with your internal communications, you should release them when they’re most engaged on your platforms.
5. Corporate video views
Another metric to consider. If you have one or more corporate videos on your site or in your communications, keeping track of their play-rate and view counts will help you determine whether they are resonating and attractive to your target consumers. Gathering this and other data on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) will enable you to notice any trends and respond quickly to protect your ROI.
6. Mobile usage levels
It’s crucial to know where your employees and consumers are coming from as well as how often they engage with your communications content. Knowing if your audience is following this trend when engaging with your materials will highlight whether a mobile-first approach will appeal to them more than focusing on an alternate avenue. With Brits spending more than two and a half hours per day on their smartphones, knowing if they are following this trend when engaging with your materials will highlight whether a mobile-first approach will appeal to your audiences more than focusing on an alternate avenue.
7. Platform adoption rates
How many of your employees have downloaded a new social app that you recently introduced? Consider this: if you’ve also implemented an employee recognition program, how many people have enrolled? Checking the adoption rates of various platforms designed to boost productivity and communication effectiveness will reveal whether they’re actually paying off, as well as how well your communications are received in general.
It could indicate that a different approach is needed, or that the processes involved in establishing this platform are too difficult or time-consuming for personnel to handle. Again, it’s all about spotting problems early and responding effectively.
8. Employee Advocacy
The value of turning your staff into passionate brand ambassadors cannot be understated – it is a natural, sociable method to link audiences to your company’s identity. The frequency with which your material is shared, liked, and circulated by your team members is a powerful indicator of how engaged they are with your brand and how comfortable they are with your various communication platforms.
Identifying any flaws with these corporate communication KPIs will determine where, when, and how you post material in the future, allowing you to make the most of this valuable resource.
9. Employee turnover
People who have a deep attachment to their workplace are unlikely to desire to leave. And, given that one of the key reasons employees leave is due to a strained connection with their boss, your employee turnover rates should serve as a useful communication KPI. The more turnover you have, the less likely your employees are to be engaged in business communications.
Employees have a higher sense of respect and trust for their firm when they are informed and understand what is going on. As a result, productivity, efficiency, and achievement improve. You may miss out on those rewards if your communications aren’t as successful as they could be.
10. Event and benefit sign-ups
If your firm offers a benefits program or has regular workplace activities, keeping track of how many people sign up and how quickly they do so will help you determine how effective your messages are. If the benefit is beneficial and doesn’t demand a lot of staff work to participate in, yet enrolment remains low, this corporate communications statistic can indicate that your present technique isn’t reaching or engaging people adequately.
11. Media outreach and digital trends
The quantity of press releases and other external communications sent out by your organization, as well as the response to them, can be a good sign of their effectiveness. You’ll get a better idea of how strong your material is on these platforms if they’re getting into well-known newspapers and websites with high domain authority.
Furthermore, whether it’s on Twitter’s trending hashtags page or on Google Trends, there are other (although not idealistic) ways to see if your messaging are having the right impact.
12. Speed of crisis communications
Finally, how quickly your communications team responds and handles difficult events is typically a good indicator of their effectiveness. Because crisis communications are such an important part of your entire communications strategy, it’s critical to keep track of how quickly this content reaches your target audiences and whether they respond as you’d like.
Keeping track of your company’s communication stats
This is only a sample of the communication KPIs that you should consider when assessing the value of your communications to your firm. Because of the all-encompassing nature of these communications and their relationships with your numerous audiences, both inside and outside your company, ensuring that they are performing as effectively and efficiently as possible is a top responsibility.
The bottom line is that the quality of your corporate communications has a direct impact on your profits. Can you afford not to keep track of the impact your business communications strategy is having?
Workshop Exercises
Effective Communications Exercises
01. Communication Strategy: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
02. Leadership’s Role: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
03. Internal Communications: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
04. Communication Channels: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
05. Communicate Frequently: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
06. Creative Communication Campaigns: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
07. Personalized Communication: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
08. Two-Way Communication: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
09. Easy Access to Business Documents: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
10. Celebrate Employee Success: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
11. Accountability: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
SWOT & MOST Analysis Exercises
01. Undertake a detailed SWOT Analysis in order to identify your department’s internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats in relation to each of the 12 Effective Communications processes featured above. Undertake this task together with your department’s stakeholders in order to encourage collaborative evaluation.
02. Develop a detailed MOST Analysis in order to establish your department’s: Mission; Objectives; Strategies and Tasks in relation to Effective Communications. Undertake this task together with all of your department’s stakeholders in order to encourage collaborative evaluation.
Project Studies
Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 3) – Finance
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 7) – Legal
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 8) – Management
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 10) – Production
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 12) – Education
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Communications process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Communication Strategy
02. Leadership’s Role
03. Internal Communications
04. Communication Channels
05. Communicate Frequently
06. Creative Communication Campaigns
07. Personalized Communication
08. Two-Way Communication
09. Easy Access to Business Documents
10. Celebrate Employee Success
11. Accountability
12. Measure Communication Strategy Effectiveness
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Program Benefits
Information Technology
- Agile IT processes
- Improved value delivery
- Decreased defects
- Continuous improvement
- Modernized infrastructure
- Re-tooled staff
- Increased morale
- IT Business partnership
- Meaningful metrics
- Effective sourcing
Management
- Decreased costs
- Aligned strategies
- Servant leadership
- Clarified priorities
- Improved effectiveness
- Improved transparency
- Reduced risk
- Measurable results
- Satisfied customers
- Vendor partnerships
Human Resources
- Empowered teams
- Servant leaders
- Re-tooled staff
- Improved teamwork
- Enhanced collaboration
- Improved performance
- Reduced turnover
- Improved loyalty
- Leadership development
- Employee development
Client Telephone Conference (CTC)
If you have any questions or if you would like to arrange a Client Telephone Conference (CTC) to discuss this particular Unique Consulting Service Proposition (UCSP) in more detail, please CLICK HERE.