If you want a high performing organization, you need to engage and inspire your middle managers. They are the key to employee engagement, according to research conducted for the UK Chartered Management Institute. This is even more important now during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. But middle managers, those whose team is on the frontline, need good lines of communication from top management in order to engage their own staff. Unfortunately, good contact ...
Read moreOrganizations need to ride out tough times. They need to adapt to changed conditions, and they need to communicate to all key stakeholders what the changed priorities are during difficult periods. The global financial crisis was clearly one of those times - and now the world is dealing with a pandemic health crisis. What sort of information is important to communicate during difficult times? It is important to get back to fundamentals and to ...
Read moreEmployees report on what they wanted from communication with them, in response to a survey conducted by international HR firm, Willis Towers Watson. The respondents detailed these expectations: Open and honest exchange of information Clear, easy-to-understand materials Timely distribution Trusted sources Two-way feedback systems Clear demonstrations of senior managers’ interest in employees continual improvements in communication Consistent messaging across sources. However, these expectations are not often met. For instance, the latest Gatehouse State of ...
Read moreResearch consistently shows a strong correlation between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Economics experts report from their global study that "Higher employee wellbeing [satisfaction] is associated with higher productivity and firm performance." They found "correlations between employee wellbeing, employee productivity and firm performance across all industries and regions." Writing a 2019 article for the World Economic Forum, George Ward and Christian Krekel from the London School of Economics, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve from University ...
Read moreResearch has found it is very important to connect people’s work with outcomes. When people know their work has a meaningful, positive impact on others, they are happier and much more productive than those who don’t make a connection. How can a link best be established? Put one person in front of another. Put a recipient in front of a provider, and the beneficial change will happen. Just being aware of the impact your ...
Read moreWhy is it important for all managers to communicate well with their team members? It's because "the manager accounts for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units," according to the 'State of the American Manager report' 2017, by Gallup Inc., the world's biggest organizational analytics and advisory firm. Gallup consultants believe "Engagement should be a manager's primary role responsibility." [Keep in mind there are many different definitions of ...
Read moreA vital role for communicators is to tell all stakeholders, especially staff, about the decisions and the planned outcomes from the strategic planning process. Key messages need to be passed on consistently and effectively throughout the organization in a tailored way, not as mass-communication, head-office gloss or propaganda. Link the 'big picture' with the 'little picture' for employees The messages should link the ‘big picture’ with the ‘little picture’ so that staff can see ...
Read moreOne of the managers I admire tries to explain concepts by using a marker pen and whiteboard – in his office or in a larger venue. Vincent thinks visually. I look at what he has quickly presented on the whiteboard in his office and marvel at the way those concepts have become clearer through his use of visuals – diagrams, graphs, and little flow charts. What’s more – the whiteboard images can be quickly ...
Read moreTraditionally, measurement has been a weak area of public relations practice. For various reasons, many PR people haven’t used measurement as much as they could to plan and implement PR activities. The various reasons for the reluctance of practitioners to engage in measurement include: Pressure of time to start and/or complete communication activities Lack of interest in numbers (apart from their own salary!) Lack of professional/research expertise Inertia against learning new skills The view ...
Read moreIf your organization is seeking guidelines to use for an employee communication policy, the following 10-point policy, written in plain English, may be helpful. It was developed by internal communication specialist, Rodney Gray. Be aware, however, such a policy is just the start – it needs to be consistently modeled and supported by senior management. The exchange of meaning Communication is the effective exchange of meaning or understanding in formal and informal communication. It ...
Read moreImage: World Economic Forum 'COVID Action Platform.' More details in the 'Resources' section below. The effects of the catastrophic COVID-19
If you want a high performing organization, you need to engage and inspire your middle managers. They are the key
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