The Inside Story. What Internal Communicators in every organization need to know: tools, resources, how-to's, issues, strategies, and plans. Find me on Twitter @kzinke
"Beginning around 2011, content curation was a hot topic. There was no end of workshops and keynotes and blog posts and books. Today, you can talk about curation and hear a pin drop.
Curation is alive and well even if it seems quaint compared to Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, voice tech, and some of the other technologies that have pushed it aside."
Read the full article to find out more about:
who is curating effectively
why it should be considered
new business uses for curated content
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Curation - a topic near and dear to my heart. I curate articles here that I hope provide valuable insights and resources to internal communicators. To do it well, it takes time to cultivate your sources and key words, go through numerous articles to find the gold nuggets, and write a brief intro and your thoughts.
I believe curating as an internal comms tool is a fabulous way to encourage staff collaboration. Every organization has topics of interest to their staff, community, or clients. Encourage people to share articles and their insights. They're probably already collecting and sharing the articles among their peers. They could be a regular or sporadic contributor. A great recognition tool as well.
"We are thrilled to launch IC Around the World, a new series of interviews featuring communication professionals who share their views on IC in their countries."
Read the full article to gain access to this ongoing weekly series and find out how communicators across the world answer these six questions:
How has internal communication developed in your country in recent years?
What do you currently see as the greatest challenges for internal communication in your world?
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for internal communication to make a difference in the next year or two?
What internal communication resources (websites, conferences, associations) do you make the most use of?
Who are the international internal comms experts and personalities you pay attention to the most?
Have you came across a piece of data - a study/report/research/case study/article - that proves your bosses/clients the value of IC investment generally, or to support a particular tactic or initiative?
With a lack of understanding, an already heavy workload and an expectation to share ready-made messages that don’t necessarily ‘fit’, it’s no surprise that line managers may be left feeling like an awkward kid in someone else’s running shoes.
So how can we make those messages a more comfortable fit?"
Read the full article to find out more about how we as communicators can help create organizations that are full of great communicators, not message regurgitators:
Upgrade skills
Call on your coaching abilities
Promote storytelling
Encourage ownership
Ease up on perfection, welcome the wonky
Take the weight off them
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
This is a great reminder that we need to help develop our middle managers skills and confidence. I'm a fan of the cascading technique, but as this article points out, it's only a good strategy if your audience knows what to do with it and how to make it their own.
“We don’t call them tattoos any more,” says the chairman of Harley-Davidson, instead, "they are now dermatological graphics.” Really?
"For many communicators, the biggest obstacle to writing clearly isn’t that they don’t know how to get the gobbledygook out. It’s that their approvers love the gobbledygook.
So here’s a list of reasons to avoid jargon. Use it to convince your most incomprehensible colleagues that jargon not only hinders communication, it also hurts business."
Read the full article to find out more these reasons to avoid jargon:
Makes your website harder to find and use.
Reduces media coverage.
Cuts back on friends, fans and followers.
Makes readers work harder.
Makes ideas harder to “see.”
Suggests poor performance.
Demonstrates your ignorance.
Causes buzzword backlash.
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
“Never impose your language on people you wish to reach.” — Abbie Hoffman
So very true. Here's a great example from the medical industry from a related article:
We say “sutures”; they say “stitches.” We say ” metastasize”; they say, “the cancer is spreading.” In fact, more than three-quarters of Americans didn’t know that “hemorrhage” meant “bleeding.”
If you want to reach your audience, use the language in their head, not yours. And a great time to also pitch plain language.
"You and I are probably a lot alike. How, you ask? We both likely have the same daily struggles: striving to gain the attention of our worksite audience and get participants to take action.
That challenge got me thinking about a marketing conference I attended last fall. One of the speakers used the phrase “KNOW, BELIEVE, DO” when it comes to engaging your audience and getting people to “Do” what you want them to do. The conference speaker’s ideas have changed the way I approach everything I do now."
Read the full article to find out more how these 3 steps can guide your communication and marketing efforts:
Know
Believe
Do
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
As the author points out, we often jump to the "do" because that's the fun part. But we need to build up to that to get their attention and buy-in. This is a very simple format to follow and keep us from jumping the gun.
"Internal branding is about connecting employees with your external brand; showing them what that brand means to them and ensuring they understand and really live the company mission.
Internal branding is a corporate philosophy that focuses on bringing the company’s core culture, identity and premise to its employees as well as its consumers, and usually looks to make workers at all levels “ambassadors” or true representatives of the company and its values.”
Read the full article to find out more about these 5 ways to go about creating and embedding an internal brand that will transform workers into true brand ambassadors who contribute to the success of your business:
Define your values and mission
Engage your people
Give your internal brand an identity – and align it with the external
Communicate your internal brand strategy and embed it
In this YouTube video you'll find out how easy it is to look better when connecting virtually, or recording yourself, from your computer using these 4 tips:
Quiet place, no distracting sounds
Good background; camera at eye level & arm's length
Good lighting
Make sure you look good
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Great easy tips for a better looking video! They can also be applied to internal video podcasting or recording executive (or staff) updates. You can also download his checklist for quick reminders when setting things up.
"Can you articulate your organization’s strategy in a meaningful way that all employees would understand? Would all of your leaders say it the same way, no matter the division they lead? And is it integrated into all of your internal communication programs? Are you sure?
Corporate strategy drives our future, how we focus our efforts, and it provides our ultimate goals. It’s our North Star. And it’s what leadership cares about.
Imagine if employees and leaders had different versions of the North Star – we’d never reach a shared vision or goal.
This is where Internal Communication should be connecting the dots and providing context to make sure all are aiming toward that one direction. Corporate strategy is the ultimate common thread that stitches all internal communications together. But many of us have not truly integrated it everywhere. We have help – and it’s just down the hall."
Read the full article to discover how you can use education to teach leaders about strategy, communication, and their accountabilities for both:
It’s time to partner
Try education to kick-start your new relationship
Strategy workshop
Workshop must-haves
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Providing context and connecting the dots - these are often the solutions to many engagement and communication issues. Internal communicators who can draw that information out and relay it in an easily understandable manners will find the rest of their job gets easier.
The intro to the case study this article was formulated after, highlighted what can prevent us from getting there.
"Leaders who themselves aren’t always bought into – or don’t necessarily understand – corporate-wide strategy often downplay or tweak communications to the point that both employee engagement and line of sight to strategy gets muddied."
Whether it's strategy (or any other topic), don't trust when people tell you they know. If you see this behaviour from anyone in your organization, they likely don't and may not even realize it. More than likely you'll also see a correlation to dissatisfied or floundering staff.
"The people most involved with the intranet massively influence how it serves everyone else in the organisation. Intranet managers define their roles by their personal priorities and daily actions.
What kind of intranet are you nurturing?"
Read the full article to find out more about what tactical and strategic intranet managers are concerned with.
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
As the article points out, one isn't better than the other. Both roles are necessary. If you're a solo act, finding a balance is worth the challenge.
"A few days ago, IC Kollectif posted the following question to communication professionals via its Twitter account: "Who are the IC thought leaders you are reading or listening to these days?" Over 50 names were received."
Read the full article to find the list of people you should be following. You can also follow them all by subscribing to the Twitter list IC Thought Leaders.
"We created the Internal Communication Canvas to help communication professionals measure and evaluate their internal communication strategy and practices. The Internal Communication Canvas is based on Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas and transformed to the needs of internal communication experts."
Read the full article to access a downloadable copy of this template and get more insight on how to fill in each of these sections:
Employee Segments
Key Stakeholders & Partners
Value proposition and communication goals
Employee relationships
Communication channels
Key communication activities
Communication team resources
Added Value
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
I like that this format is all on one page. It allows you to quickly capture your model in a brief summary.
Writing a letter to your parents, brewing beer together, playing Cards Against Humanity: these CEOs have cracked the code on engagement.
Read the full article to find out more about these unique ways leaders have connected with their staff:
A weekly vblog sharing strategies and information, and interviews with other company leaders
Start a book club
Reach out to their families
Go on a motorcycle tour
Knock down office walls
Give everyone your cell phone #
Talk about dreams over cocktails
Plan the week together
Start a company microbrewery
Hold family dinners
Play games
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
If you're looking to move away from the tried and true channels you don't have to look very far for inspiration. Find out what your leaders enjoy doing. Build off those passions. The motorcycle tour is a perfect example. It brings a very personal element to the channel, letting staff see the human side of their leader. And what a great ice breaker.
How do you get started? Read this article from the SmartBlog on Leadership on how Bill Marriott connected with front line workers and explains how to use these 5 tips to guide you through the process:
"If the content for your website, newsletter, landing pages or email campaigns isn't producing the results you want, consider shifting some of the marketing team's power to employees in other departments."
Read the full article to find out more about these 10 ways to get employees involved and share their insights and stories:
Ask for and share compelling client or customer stories.
"How do you best communicate with today’s mobile & social workforce, and particularly millennials? How do you engage them and inspire them to stay, and commit to your company? Unlike their predecessors in the GenX or Baby Boomer generations, millennials are already predisposed to leaving your company sooner — often for greener pastures where they see more opportunity, a bigger vision, more autonomy, or the chance to make a difference.
CEOs need to do better. They need to communicate more, setting a consistent drumbeat of vision and inspiration. Many leaders might be surprised to learn that there is some low hanging fruit here."
Read the full article to find out more about these reasons why your CEO should consider issuing a company wide weekly message:
Executive communication is a top reason employees stay…or leave.
Your company will become more nimble, move faster, and achieve more.
Employees will feel more connected to you, your vision, and your goals.
Common causes align, inspire and motivate.
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
A great idea especially when staff are spread out and don't get a chance to interact with the CEO on a regular basis. It doesn't have to be a long piece, and really no need for it to be if this is a weekly occurrence. There are many ways it could be issued - email, video, graphic, social channels. Making it an informal personal message will go a long way. And be sure to ask staff what they'd like to hear about.
"This new tool is a comprehensive community resource created to simplify the science of IC. It captures the essential elements of IC and collates them all in one place to help people strategise, plan, problem-solve and communicate.
The Periodic Table of IC began as a simple listing of elements, and things have certainly moved on. Now communicators can dig deeper into each of these elements to discover, research and explore resources."
This article links to and summarizes what you will find on the website Elements of IC. The content is split into the following seven categories containing over 150 elements - all leading to a number of related links, articles, videos, visuals and podcasts from diverse sources:
Strategy
Objectives
Themes
Audiences
Formats
Channels
Metrics
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
I am so excited to see this new iteration! And it's not finished yet. You're invited to submit sources and new elements on the website.
"Inspired by The Skimm, Target began reaching out more proactively to its employees with a daily newsletter.
Christening the newsletter "Briefly," Dustee Jenkins, SVP of communications at Target, wanted to make sure it was bold, accurate, and that her team would be accountable for the content.
"Briefly is meant to be an honest conversation we have every day with our team," said Jenkins. Its content includes information about the retailer’s strategic roadmap, transformation, and even stumbles along the way, mixed in with fun facts about products and pop culture and the occasional positive story about Target or even a competitor.
Making sure it lives up to its name, Jenkins’ team made sure the newsletter was no more than a five-minute read, cutting out the "mumbo jumbo" and "corporate speak." Its average read time is 40 seconds.
The first Briefly went out to 14,000 staffers on March 23, 2015, and the first-day readership was 81%. Jenkins said that number is still above 80% more than a year later, when it reaches 28,000 staffers."
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Some of the keys to their success: timely, honest, authentic, brief, plain language, lack of sign-offs, and mix of content. I'm curious to see how they will be get this into the hands of the other 330,000 employees not currently on email. Maybe a mobile app?
It was great to see that their internal communications strategy goes beyond newsletters to include events and experiences such as Spot On (employee advocacy), RED Talk (like TED Talks), and an Instagram page dedicated to employees.
"A detox is all about improving and optimising a particular function. Which is precisely what your internal magazine requires… regularly.
Eliminating tired content and replacing it with fresh, vibrant, engaging material – working together with your complimentary functions to create one super-boosted comms channel."
Read the full article to view the infographic and find out more about these 12 tips that can help recharge your employee magazine, keeping it fresh, fit and healthy:
"Employees need two-way communication to work hard, work smart, and drive business results.
Right now, however, it’s common for leadership to lay out goals for the organization with little intel from the people on the ground. Behera said this only perpetuates high-intensity work environments.
The resulting pressure cooker culture prompts people to give the perception that they’re working harder, which they are, but they have less time to prioritize and think strategically about what will make an impact. The result is a burnt out worker"
Read the full article to find out more about why a two-pronged system of communication can prevent that kind of downward spiral.
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
I'm a huge supporter of cascading messages but as the term cascade implies, it often only goes one direction. For the cascade model to be really effective it should start from the top, move through managers to the front line. Then managers should talk with employees and get feedback and move that information back up the chain.
I also loved this point about the # of projects an individual should be working on:
"Ideally, employees should have two or three main projects they are working on at any given time. If it’s ever 10 or more, there’s a problem with focus, and nothing gets done.
"Learning how to write a newsletter is relatively easy. Constantly generating newsletter content ideas is not.
Before we list the newsletter ideas, however, there’s one important thing to keep in mind: You need to think like an editor.
Why? Because magazine and newspaper editors are pros at coming up with content ideas. They know that the best way for their publication to engage readers and attract new subscribers is to produce a variety of diverse, interesting content. The same is true for your company newsletter.
This list of newsletter ideas was compiled with that idea in mind. You might not use them all, but incorporating a variety of the content types listed below will make your newsletter much more effective."
If you're running out of ideas to keep your newsletter fresh & interesting, read the full article to discover 24 content ideas and few additional resources to inspire you.
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Even though this is an older article, the ideas are still valid. Whether you're looking for a regular feature or a one off article, this list will provide plenty of inspiration. Even the items that are focused on an external audience, like customer testimonials, can be tweaked so that it's relevant to an internal audience.
"One such group that we work with is what we have called the ‘elite’. These communities tend to work within highly skilled, technical based sectors in roles such as professors, scientists and engineers. They pose very specific challenges when it comes to communication.
Using a broad brush to describe the most challenging of their character traits, they can be ego-driven and may believe themselves to be superior, ‘above the law’ and beyond general levels of communication. They could be classified as ‘refuseniks’ (well informed but disinterested), a term used by Bill Quirke to describe the general attitude trait of a particular audience.
They're held in high esteem and often have an essential presence within their chosen industry that supports the organisation. It’s these peoples’ vast experience, passion for their work and unquestionable value to the business that seems to distance them and makes them hard to reach."
Read the full article to find out more about these tips to understand and engage elite communities:
Creatively connect them with business objectives
Give them the time and space to stretch their own thinking
Tell people what they need to know, not everything we have to tell
Use your ignorance to your advantage
Run problem solving workshops
Allow people to come to their own conclusions
Provide strong leadership
Listen and dig deep up front
Establish goals and a clear WIIFM
Help the elite communicate out
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Great tips! Getting to know your audience and their wants and needs should be first on any communicators list.
"The key disconnect that Chuck and I chatted about is that executives and employees have different views about employee engagement and the things organizations do to improve it. This is the result of what we call the Engagement Gap. During our conversation we delved into the state of engagement from this perspective and in particular, what our findings had to say about the impact on internal communications."
Read the full article to discover more information discussed in this recent ICology episode and links to:
Jostle's whitepaper - The engagement gap: executives and employees think differently about employee engagement whitepaper
Jostle's ebook - Bridging the Engagement Gap: How leaders can get the levels of engagement they strive for
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
If you haven't had a chance to listen to ICology, a podcast for internal communicators, this is a great episode to start with. It was interesting to hear Chuck & Bev's thoughts about the possible mistake of lumping internal communications and engagement together (around 23:00).
Jostle's ebook offers practical advice on how to close the gap with simple, actionable strategies to build engagement and take the right actions to create a healthy and happy workplace culture. The steps outlined in chapter four "Showing that work matters to the company" is definitely something internal communicators can run with.
"The role of Line Manager has been identified as mission critical. They hold the power of effectively executing the comms delivery and managing its impact. They can make the difference between truly engaged or disenfranchised employees. They are the representative of whatever the communication is. In short, they are a lot of things in this process.
As an Internal Communication Manager, a crucial part of your role is to ensure that your line managers are adequately coached and sufficiently developed in the fine art of communication delivery. You need to ensure they are fully prepared to deliver comms in the most impactful and meaningful way."
Read the full article to find out more about these five ways that you can support your line managers' development as skilled communicators:
Be the Three Cs
Be a two-way street
I (not necessarily) before E
Don’t cut the TAPE
Be a good translator
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Supervisors/line managers really should be one of your top communication channels. They are most often the best way to reach all employees. So help them help you.
What do they need from their Internal Communications manager? They need tools and materials to communicate effectively, be properly briefed, know what is expected of them, and know that you’re listening to their feedback.
"Consistent communication keeps employees from feeling that they're kept in the dark and fed, well, you know.
If you think you are already communicating enough to your employees, how do you know that's true? You can determine this by first reviewing the list of techniques below. If you are practicing at least two of the following communication techniques, my experience as a managerial coach tells me that you are headed down the right path of employee communications. Ideally, all of these communication techniques should be used, to increase employee engagement and retention."
Read the full article to find out more about these four communication techniques and why they're useful:
Real-time progress updates
Weekly newsletters to employees
Monthly 1-1 meetings
Quarterly 'town halls'
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
Excellent list of the basic internal communication channels every organization should incorporate into their strategy.
If so, what's the plan? This is a handy guide for newly recruited leaders in internal communications. It contains 22 tips drawn from our experience of working in internal communications for more than 50 years.
This is not a guide to management. It's a guide to internal communications - how to drive it forward inside a new and largely unknown organization."
Read the full article to find out more about the 22 tips to make a positive impact from day one in your new job in employee communications.
"CNO knows something many companies don’t: Nothing has a bigger impact on engaging employees than your leaders, and the quality of their communication. That’s why when many of the 4,000-plus employees at this financial services company said they wanted to hear more – and more often – from the CEO and senior execs, CNO came up with a smart way to connect them. Enter Now You Know @CNO"
Read the full article to find out how CNO is using a monthly 3-5-minute ‘Now You Know’ video for the intranet that reinforces key strategic messages and themes, along with those topics employees want to hear more about. Produced using an iPad.
Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:
A great example of how you can use video to get your leadership in front of staff without spending a lot of money or time. The channel is a great option if your workforce is spread out or you can't bring them all together at the same time.
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Curation - a topic near and dear to my heart. I curate articles here that I hope provide valuable insights and resources to internal communicators. To do it well, it takes time to cultivate your sources and key words, go through numerous articles to find the gold nuggets, and write a brief intro and your thoughts.
I believe curating as an internal comms tool is a fabulous way to encourage staff collaboration. Every organization has topics of interest to their staff, community, or clients. Encourage people to share articles and their insights. They're probably already collecting and sharing the articles among their peers. They could be a regular or sporadic contributor. A great recognition tool as well.