This blog is about improving the relationship between organizations and the people who work for them. And, it’s dedicated to the millions of people around the world who go to work every day wanting to do a great job.
Archive for May, 2010
Spin is still in
Today’s article titled “Air Canada raises number of stock options for execs” raised my hackles. Not because of the specific case, but what this story really tells about the state of communications today. We talk in our bubble about transparency and authenticity, but almost daily reports tell another story.
In this case, the company’s shareholders decided to quadruple the shares available for stock option plans for senior executives. And, you can imagine that if the stock option plan at Air Canada had been wildly out of whack with the market there would certainly be a business case for doing this. You can imagine that getting and keeping good leadership in an industry as challenged as the airline industry isn’t easy. And you can even imagine that total potential compensation is the key attractor for senior executives.
And then, the CEO said: “There will be no change in compensation plans for senior executives.” What? If increasing the number of available stock options doesn’t change compensation plans then why are they doing it?
Now, I’m not naïve. The company has negotiated an agreement with their union that says there will be “no change in compensation plans of senior executives.” And, I understand that going back and renegotiating with them on this point might not be an option. But, falling back on a statement that is technically accurate without being true is just not right.
Every time any CEO does this they [and their leadership teams] lose credibility. Every employee and every person reading the article knows that the total potential compensation for senior executives has most certainly changed.
What do you think? Do you think spin is still in? And if so, where do you stand?
Do you see this kind of thing in your organization? If you’d been at the table when the decision to announce this change was made, what advice would you have given?
Random Posts:
Random Posts:
“Resistance is futile”
At first glance social media is pretty alien. It’s another technology getting in the way of face to face relationships. And, as communicators we know in our hearts this is not a good thing.
And yet this is the irony of social media. This technology that on the surface seems to dehumanize in the end enables us to accomplish one of the most human of all needs – to connect with each other.
In the past week or so I’ve been reading about how GM management believe that giving employees access to social media “humanizes” the company with their clients and potential clients. But, I’m afraid this misses the real power of social media: The power to “humanize” institutions internally.
The organizations that embrace social media on the inside are enabling their employees to connect with each other across:
- time,
- geography,
- function, and
- level.
They’re helping employees access the information and expertise they need, when and how they need it to do their work. They’re energizing not just the formal organizational networks, but the informal as well.
Today the number of organizations who are giving employees full access to social media inside and out are few. Tomorrow they will be many. “Resistance is futile.”
What will this change mean for the Corporate Communications or Internal Communications functions? Not only what we do, but how we do it. I’d love to hear what you think.
By the way, as predicted by my social media mentors – Michelle Sullivan, Julien Smith, and Mitch Joel - I’ve learned that social media doesn’t get in the way of face to face relationships. In fact, quite the opposite. And, that’s a very good thing. Thanks you guys.
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Not all jobs are in cubicles
It’s easy to forget when you’re working in an office at HQ that not all jobs are in cubicles.
When I first began working at Alcan [now Rio Tinto Alcan] our then CEO, Jacques Bougie, insisted on beginning every talk with employees by talking about health and safety starting with the stats for the last quarter. As the newly appointed Director, Internal Communications, I thought this was simply a terrible way to begin every talk. I was wrong. He was right.
The recent explosion of the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon and the deaths of 11 workers reminds us that every day men and women around the world go to work at dangerous jobs. Some very dangerous jobs.
The “Deaths on the Job Report” for 2010 reports that for the USA alone “In 2008, 5,214 workers were killed on the job—an average of 14 workers every day—and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases. More than 4.6 million work-related injuries were reported, but this number understates the problem. The true toll of job injuries is two to three times greater—about 9 to 14 million job injuries each year.”
What role do you play in communicating health and safety information to your employees, your customers? Your shareholders? What role should you play?
The real work of your institution may be happening in places without cubicles, without internet access, maybe even without computers. By workers who farm, chop trees, provide patient care in hospitals, pack groceries, load container trucks, bottle beer, or teach in classrooms. Who may or may not be literate? And if they are may or may not be speaking French or English as their first language. Their cultures and their lives may be vastly different than yours.
How well do you and your executive understand their employees experience of their work and the organization they work for? What are the implications for how well they/you can do your job?
When was the last time you went and spent time with people on the front line? What was that experience like? If not, why not? If so, when will you do it again?
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Your washroom. Your culture.
In an all but forgotten corner of every office is the washroom. And, in the places I’ve worked they have been the most sterile, cold and soulless places in the office. And that’s saying something given some of the spaces I’ve worked in.
Kate Rutter believes ‘office bathrooms are key indicators of team culture’ because they should “…signal what’s important to the team…” On May 8th DNTO’s Tori Allen took this insight to CBCs workplace washrooms. The episode is fun.
Years ago one of my brothers-in-law, Richard, who at the time owned a gas station in Toronto, replied when I complained about the state of station toilets – “A dirty station is a busy station”. Enough said.
And it got me thinking. If workplace washrooms are key indicators of culture then they must be a key lever of change. And, maybe washrooms are something we should be paying more attention to.
I’m serious. It doesn’t need to take much. In the DNTO episode they added a plant [a cactus to be exact], some 3-ply toilet paper, tic tacs, gum, dental floss and post it notes. These small changes humanized the space and created an almost immediate uplifting affect within the team.
While we’re busy trying to create collaborative and innovative cultures how much effort is being put into designing spaces [including washrooms] that humanize the workplace and encourage employees to interact, share ideas, and create together.
Funny since our work spaces are the most visible reflection of our organizations with employees and other key stakeholders. You’d think it would be the first we’d place to start.
What do you think? Should we start in the workplace washroom?
Random Posts:
Random Posts:
“Open book policy can inspire staff”
This headline from the today’s newspaper caught my eye. The article describes the experience of two businesses that had successfully implemented an open book policy with employees.
Pretty courageous for privately held businesses I thought. And then I read this… “Although bullish on open-book financials, there is one line element you won’t see passed around among employees: salaries. “Revealing individuals’ salaries “would create too much drama,” Mr Sim. “Maybe one day we will figure out the salary thing, but our culture isn’t ready for that level of discourse.””
Is it the culture that’s not ready? I wonder.
Imagine if salary structures were as competitive, equitable and fair as we tell employees they are. Why couldn’t we? Why wouldn’t we share this information?
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Lessons from the newsroom
The need for news is and always has been a fundamental human need. What we get and how we get it certainly has changed fundamentally thanks in part to Web 2.0 and social media. And, it’s changing the newsroom forever. If it hasn’t already, it will change our Corporate Communications function and our profession forever too.
So, my interest peaked when I heard Tom Rosenstiel, Director Pew Research Centres Project for Excellence in Journalism, interviewed the other day on CBCs The Current. Here’s the change he described:
| From | To |
| Journalists and their editors decided what was important for us to know and when [basically from 6am to 10 pm] | We decide what we want to read, listen to and watch and when [any time] |
| Editors decide what’s of interest to us based on instinct [surveys are expensive] | We can find out what’s of interest to our ‘readers’ immediately |
| Traditional media are trusted | Traditional media are distrusted and they are most distrusted by those of us who are the biggest consumers of news |
| Large news rooms and good budgets with the ability to follow many stories | Shrinking news rooms and limited budgets means following only a few stories |
| Social consensus – we all knew basically the same things at the same time | No social consensus – we may or may not know the same things at the same time. We may be more informed [ie: go deeper on a story] or completely uninformed [doesn’t interest us so we go elsewhere] |
| Story telling was everything | Story telling is only part of the story. News media need to provide:
|
| Product | Service |
What do you think? Are there lessons here for us:
- As professional communicators?
- In terms of our function? What we do? How we do it? When we do it? What skills and experience we need and how we’ll get them?
- In terms of our professional associations?