This blog is about 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.
Reaching the front lines
Connecting for big business benefits
This morning I came across three articles. Three different perspectives. Same conclusion. The more connected we are as leaders and as organizations the better.
Perspective 1 - CEOs. A study of 65 chief executives from around the world discovered that CEOs spend an average of 6 hours out of their 55-hour work week alone. The remainder of the time is spent in business meetings [virtual and face-to-face] and lunches and on the phone. CEOs may not like it, but it is how their work gets done and confirms Henry Mintzberg‘s seminal study “The nature of managerial work” [1973].
Perspective 2: Leadership teams. In their new book Strategy & Business, Rob Cross and Jon Katzenbach describe how: “In most companies, the phrase top team is a misnomer…” Instead, they go on to say: [P]ower comes from … members’ informal and social networks, their determination to make the most of those connections, and their ability to work well in subgroups formed to address specific issues… [A]s much as 90 per cent of the information that most senior executives receive and take action on comes throughout their informal networks – not formal reports or databases.” The conclusion: Enriching networks enriches organizations.
Perspective 3: Organizations. ”Web 2.0 … promote[s] significantly more flexible processes at internally networked organizations: respondents say that information is shared more readily and less hierarchically, collaboration across organizational silos is more common, and tasks are more often tackled in a project-based fashion.” This study goes on to demonstrate that the more networked an organization the more business benefits. If you, or your leadership team, ever had any doubts it’s worth taking a look.
Connecting is what we as human beings do. We’re social creatures. Our organizational work gets done with, and through, other people.
Helping your employees connect. A little idea with huge potential business benefits.
It’s a potentially beautiful thing.
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Two days. Two stories.
It started at a recent lunch with a past client. She’s a senior executive who’s been around the board rooms of some of Canada’s largest and most influential companies for most of her career. We were talking about the ‘soft’ side of institutional life and the potential power there is in strengthening the employee relationship. “I agree with you”, she said. Then came the bomb… ”but unfortunately the executives I know just aren’t interested. This is simply not on the agenda in the C-Suite”.
Fast forward a few days and I’m attending an evening with Dr. Jody Heymann, Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy and head of McGill’s institute for Health and Social Policy. She and Magda Barrera co-authored the recently published book “Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce”. After years of research their conclusions are simple – listen to employees [especially those ‘at the bottom’], treat them with respect and you will reap the rewards of higher profits. This is not necessarily new news. Nor is it a surprise. It makes sense that you treat people well and they will be more engaged and productive.
So, how do we think about this apparent discrepancy between the research results and C-suite priorities? What’s going on?
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When the dog doesn’t bark…
You may recall Sherlock Holmes in Silver Blaze where he describes how he’s able to solve the mystery as a result of “… the ”curious incident of the dog in the night-time”:
Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”
Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”
Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”
Holmes: “That was the curious incident.””
What does this have to do with employee communication? Well, quite a lot I think.
Today, I’ve been catching up on e-mail after over a week away and I read an interesting e-mail from a friend of mine who is serving in Afghanistan with the US Air Force. He writes thoughtful and provoking letters on a pretty regular basis and his mindful missives are always compelling. He’s definitely not what you’d imagine as your usual guy at war.
This e-mail was especially interesting because he described what happened on his base in Kabul in the hours leading up to the announcement that Bin Laden had been killed. Specifically, “…we were ready for the kick-off of the morning update meeting where everything in the AOR (Area of Responsibility) is covered – this is a computer briefing so you just log into the site and watch-listen. Briefings at this meeting are given on everything from what is being built in the AOR to the current threat level. It always starts on time, except for today. Turning on the TV to kill some time clued us into what was going on. The nation was on stand-by awaiting the President’s “Special” announcement late night in the States but early the next day here in Kabul. We could overhear people making comments about high level members receiving important calls (they didn’t mute the conference mic) – and then the media broke the story, Osama Bin Laden was dead and the U.S. was responsible.”
So, just like it was for Sherlock Holmes, these troops recognized there was a ‘curious incident’: not meeting when they’d come to expect their regular morning meeting. While communicators were busy working on positioning and timing for the announcement, the troops were already reading the signs and coming to their own, and surprisingly accurate, conclusions about what was going on. You can’t fool mother nature. And, it seems you can’t fool employees.
Sometimes what we don’t do speaks more powerfully and accurately than what we do do.
My question: How can knowing this help us be better at institutional communication?
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Humanizing cold hard facts
Yesterday, my cousin’s wife [thanks Star], sent me a link to Lightening in a Jar.
It’s a slide show. It has no special effects. The photography is mediocre. The graphics bland. It’s got the sappiest music ever. There’s no action. No voiceover. It’s just a series of pretty dry facts.
I’ve seen it before. It struck me then as it did now. It’s so cheesy and still so very compelling. Why?
The genius is that it brings the humanity back to something that is otherwise just conceptual – the population of the world [can anyone picture billions], the number of people who wake up hungry [can anyone picture a %?]. They take what is otherwise incomprehensible and sometimes overwhelming data and translate it into something very human; something we can all picture – a small village of 100 people. It’s a simple idea, not all that well implemented, and the result is brilliant.
There’s something for every manager and communicator to learn here. Conceptual cold hard facts can tell stories that are relevant, meaningful and emotionally powerful! Now for that simple idea.
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Great idea # 3: Building pride – The Hudson Bay Company story
An occasional post on a really great idea for employee communications
– simple and high impact.
For those of you who don’t know, The Bay was incorporated “…by British royal charter in 1670 as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s Bay” making it “… the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world.” [source] I grew up knowing it as The Hudson Bay Company. Somewhere along the line it became HBC and The Bay.
And somewhere along the line the adventure was over. The Bay had become a tired and dowdy department store owned by venture capitalists. You couldn’t even find a Hudson Bay Company Point Blanket anywhere in the store.
And somewhere along the line over 70,000 employees and millions of customers had lost the spirit. Products were uninteresting. And the service was nonexistent or surly.
Enter Bonnie Brooks, Chief Adventurer (aka President and CEO), The Bay, Hudson’s Bay Company. The store, here in Montreal, looks the same from the outside. But inside there’s a lot going on and it’s all good.
In the two years since she was named, Bonnie Brooks has managed to transform this dying department store. And she’s done it by going back to basics: Building pride in the founding spirit of adventure and discovery. The things that connect the business to this incredible 400 year history that had been lost. And, she’s managed to take mostly hourly minimum-wage employees with her by building their pride – in the institution, in leadership and in the work they do for customers every day. Genius.
She’s “invited employees on a mission”. A mission to engage with the business and their customers. And they are. Their pride in the company and what they are doing is palpable.
She’s managed in a very short time to reignite pride in the institution and the heritage and tradition of the past. She’s changed the employee experience. And in doing so she’s changed the customer experience.
A simple idea. Incredibly well executed. Good for employees. Good for customers. And good for The Bay.
Congratulations Bonnie!
PS: The iconic blanket stripes are now trademark protected and you can now find the Hudson Bay Company Point blankets, pillows and other gift items that reflect the traditional bay colours and spirit in their in-store boutiques.
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Learning from Indian royalty
I just saw an amazing exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario – Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts. The role of the royal procession in Indian culture is a key element of the exhibit. It is at least as rich and opulent as you would imagine. Stunning.
In the first room a Maharaja talks about the power of the royal procession. I admit that I expected him to talk about how the procession is designed to position the Maharaja as a powerful god-like being. Whether the turbaned and bejewelled Maharaja is riding in a gold and silver ‘howda’ on the back of an elephant dressed in highly embroidered ornaments or in a silver and enamel landau carriage [yes silver!] or in a aluminum on saffron and Phantom II Rolls Royce, the royal procession is a spectacle. And, it’s designed to be spectacular [start at 3 minutes on this video].
But, what the Maharaja said made me stop. He said that the real power of the procession isn’t the spectacle. Instead, it’s a profound reminder of his responsibility to the people in his kingdom.
Now, I know your CEO is no Maharaja. And our organizations are not feudal kingdoms. But, are there any events or moments in organizational life that connect senior executives to employees in a way that gives them a powerful and direct understanding of their responsibility? If so, what are they? And if not, should we be thinking about how we can better make that connection?
For those of you interested in what it took to dress an elephant for such a procession [no irony intended]:
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Corporate Karaoke
There is no one solution for employee communications. But one thing is for sure, formal cascades are still around, and unfortunately in many organizations they are viewed as just that: The way we get information out there.
Now I’m actually a supporter of formal cascades – for the right kinds of communications, and done the right way at the right time and never as a standalone. Check out our tip sheet.
More often than not though, messages are pushed out to managers who don’t know exactly what and when they have to communicate [we've forgotten to tell them]; don’t have the skills or the time to translate them for their employees; are ill prepared to answer questions; and worse don’t have the courage to have honest conversations with their superiors about the issues and concerns they and their employees might have.
It’s like a really bad night of Karaoke. The lyrics are beautiful. The tune catchy. The voice is excruciating. The pacing painful. And, the drinks are watered down.
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How not to do internal communications
It’s been one of those days where it just hits you over the head. There’s a lot of bad communications going on in organizations.
It started when a friend sent me this note that had arrived in his in-basket this morning:
Dear colleagues,
This is to inform you that the payments for all professors this term has been delayed due to delays related with the reserve courses. The Associate Dean of Academic Relations signed and gave all the necessary paperwork to XXXX in late August. However, he had to keep all contracts (extra teaching and reserve) until all issues related to the union were resolved, which is now the case.
XXXX is verifying that all contracts are now on the system. If they are, you should be paid in the upcoming pay run. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
All the best,
A few issues just haven’t been dealt with in this communication:
1: Why is this the first time you’re hearing about it? It’s already a few weeks into the term. My friend has been working since mid-August.
2: If you’re contract isn’t in the system, then what? Wait until another pay run? Wait until hell freezes over?
3: What are they doing to make sure this never happens again? Well no sign of anyone thinking about that here.
Sorry, sincere apologies just don’t cut it.
This is the kind of communication that leaves everyone feeling cheated. The person who wrote had to write the letter and who ends up defending the boss who did “all the necessary paper work”. The boss who looks completely ineffectual. XXX who sounds like they are hopelessly caught in an unrelenting bureaucracy. The union whose fault it clearly is [?]. And, my friend [and all the other profs] who have mortgages to pay and no pay in the bank.
“All the best”? For who?
And here’s the kicker. I just heard that this whole issue is actually only about 4 or 5 profs. Wouldn’t a phone call have been a bit more human?
The second happened at a very high end retail outlet here – Holt Renfrew. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I wasn’t there to buy something swish, just lipstick. The business section this morning had another article about their new president. He’s focused on making the place more friendly – hot pink name badges and greeters in pink tartan suits are part of the plan. And he’s increased sales 15% in women’s wear, so something is working, but for how long?
I happened to be there over lunch. The person that was serving me seemed to be the only one working after one sales clerk after another drifted off for lunch – all with a friendly wave goodbye and mumbled reasons why they couldn’t wait.
Now, I’ve run retail operations before and lunch is a pretty busy time. And this is a high end shop where service is key. The woman that was serving me – proudly wearing her new bright pink badge – Magali told me in frustration that this issue comes up again and again at their weekly meetings. “And, nothing changes. Same girls every time.” And no consequences I said. “No consequences.” She confirmed. All the communications in the world and no consequences for bad behaviour aren’t going to add up to much.
The focus on new pink badges and a greeter aren’t bad in and of themselves, but if the same energy and money were focused on fundamental service issues, well then you have lift off. It’s hard to be friendly [or familiar] when you’re not there.
Magali you deserve a star! And I’m just glad that I arrived when you could serve me. The line was growing as I left.
How ’bout you? Have you got any ‘how not to do internal communications” from this week that you can share?
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“Always look on the bright side …”
Well no, not always. Sometimes it’s just the wrong thing to do. A lesson I hope the staff at Planet BP — an online, in-house British Petroleum journal – learned this week.
You can imagine the challenge the BP internal communication team has. You can picture them gathered in a room with their other communication colleagues looking for something positive to report to their employees. Something that would uplift and motivate them.
And, so it is not too surprising to hear as The Wall Street Journal reported that “… a “BP reporter” dispatched to Louisiana managed to paint … [a rosey]…picture of the disaster… “Much of the region’s [nonfishing boat] businesses — particularly the hotels — have been prospering because so many people have come here from BP and other oil emergency response teams.” Indeed, one tourist official in a local town makes it clear that “BP has always been a very great partner of ours here…We have always valued the business that BP sent us.””
The Planet BP story shows yet again that the BP communications team does not understand what is on the minds and in the hearts of people they are trying to reach and connect to. Can you imagine a Tylenol internal newsletter reporting on the positive impact of their disaster on Tylenol container makers? What is BP thinking?
Ragan Communication picked up the story. Their conclusion: “Now, more than ever, BP’s communication efforts—internal and external—require transparency.”
But, the problem here isn’t transparency. The BP article was accurate and transparent. And it is definitely propaganda. It is “disingenuous” and manipulative.
Why is that? As I have said elsewhere, you can’t fool Mother Nature and you can’t fool employees. And, I’m sure this article didn’t fool BP employees.
This isn’t the time. There’s nothing at this stage that is good about what it happening in the Gulf. And BP employees know it maybe better than anybody.
So what kind of employee communications do they want? My guess is that BP employees want to know what the company is doing to clean up the mess from an insider point of view. And they want to know what the company is doing to ensure that a disaster like this can never happen again.
And, they want communications that help them feel confident in their leadership again. And, that build pride in their work and the company they work for.
This story misses on all counts. Manipulative communication – internal or external – always destroys relationship.
Sometimes looking on the bright side is just wrong. This is one of those times.
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Recent posts
- Decisions based on compromise
- Grey zones are costing your organization big time
- Saying goodbye to jargon
- Don’t leave them laughing
- A master class with Ed Sullivan
- Innovation & collaboration: Strategic priorities or not?
- The truth about the number 1 fear
- Want to know the secret to writing a great speech?
- Connecting for big business benefits
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