| If you are going
to launch an effective communication strategy to support
an internal management or HR initiative, understanding
the employee audience is key. Time spent initially getting
the understanding right will provide good returns later
and may well avoid some irritating bounce-backs form
the workforce.
We have all been communicating since we were born,
so I guess we think that we are all pretty good at it.
Internal communications tends to include the same assumptions.
An MD of a government agency in the agricultural sector
summarised it for me: ‘tell them what you are
going to tell them, tell them that you are telling them,
tell them that you’ve told them, then kick ass
if they weren’t listening.’
Well, that was a while ago and we like to believe that
management style has changed. However, apart from displaying
classic command and control behaviour, he avoided any
real understanding of what motivates people to listen.
Yet try selling the idea of listening to many managers
and they usually agree with you but reject it on the
basis that it takes up too much time and results won’t
wait.
Whatever the initiative, it is likely to involve change:
getting people to adopt new values or work processes,
accept a merged situation or even a downsizing. What
is vitally important as a communication objective, is
to build a positive reputation for the change. There
is nowhere better to begin than in recognising where
people are starting from.
There are a number of qualitative listening techniques
which avoid the need for companywide surveys and yet
provide insight into the current state of the corporate
culture:
1 Internal focus groups
Small discussion groups drawn from a single function
or from a number of departments responding to a single
topic or several questions.
2 Cross-functional sensing interviews
One-to-one or one-to-few interviews, carried out in
confidence and, if the situation is sensitive, by an
outside consultant.
3 Communication focal points
These are members of staff from all functional areas
and at different levels who have an interest in communication
and are willing to be part of a network to share information
and feedback. Typically, they source information for
newsletters or provide feedback on the effectiveness
of cascade briefings.
4 Email or intranet poling
Useful for testing a sample of the workforce with a
short questionnaire delivered electronically or via
telephone interview.
5 Tapping the grapevine
The grapevine, is often a vibrant communication channel
and is a collective interpretation process. It is at
its strongest when formal communication is offering
little.
The result of the listening exercise is to help build
an evidence base. This will not have the authority of
a full survey, but such qualitative evidence has its
role in influencing communication strategy. Also, the
very act of listening can raise expectations which then
need to be managed positively.
In carrying out this type of inquiry, most employees
and managers treat the communications or HR professional
as a conduit. Unvarnished truth may not always be in
good supply and many interviewees will take the opportunity
to send a message. The information gathered about attitudes
and expectations can be captured through a simple force-field
chart showing the forces or opportunities which will
advance the initiative and the obstacles which will
retard or even sink it.
This is not a particularly scientific method, but one
that could greatly influence the success of the initiative.
The benefits are:
- Provides a barometer for likely success of the initiative.
- Identifies possible objections or obstacles and
enables responses to be developed in advance.
- Maps departmental, functional or strata attitudes
which may need to be addressed differently.
- Gives a guide to current pain points (which may
not be related to the proposed initiative but are
high up the employee or management agenda.
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