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

“Resistance is futile”

by Deborah Hinton

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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Deborah Hinton Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Permalink Communication, Internal communication No Comments

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Learning from the Vatican [part 3]

by Deborah Hinton

Today, few believe the Vatican was unaware of the ‘priestly sexual abuse’ that occurred over several decades in Ireland, the US and more recently reported in Germany.  Instead, it is widely assumed that they knew and their response was ‘cover-up, evasion and criminal negligence’.  It is “a time for contrition” it is also a time to reflect on the role of internal communications in this most terrible story.

In the Roman Catholic Church as an organization there are many features we would wish for as corporate communicators [part 2] including a clearly a structured disciplined communication system designed precisely to feed very “rich” information up and down the system [part 1].

It is impossible to believe that what was going on in individual parishes around the world wasn’t known within those communities.  Institutionally, they either knew or they didn’t.  If they didn’t then as communicators I think we need to ask ourselves why?  And, if they did and didn’t act.  Again why?

Collecting such vast amounts of rich information may have contributed to

  • Seeing and not recognizing
  • Listening and not hearing
  • The long time delays

And may also underscore the importance of the art rather than the science of communication.  What can we do to ensure institutionally we’re listening wisely?

Once the institution understood what was going on that same in depth knowledge may have actually served to enable the cover-up and manipulation rather than ensuring swift and appropriate action. Unfortunately and as we’ve seen during the global financial crisis and the aftermath this may not only be an isolated situation.  We as corporate communicators have been fighting to get to the strategic table, so if you’d been in the room when these issues were discussed what would you have done?

And, finally, a lesson:  If the leadership of any organization values the institution over the employees or its clients – where the means justify the ends – then all the great communications systems in the world aren’t enough.  If that is so, what are the implications for us as corporate communicators?

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Deborah Hinton Friday, April 2nd, 2010
Permalink CEO, Communication, Corporate communication, Culture, Internal communication No Comments

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Learning from the Vatican [part 2]

by Deborah Hinton

At the time, I found the nun’s description of the disciplined efficiency of the Vatican communication at once awe inspiring and horrifying [see earlier post].  And, even more now as every day brings news of new sexual abuse scandals and questions about who knew what and when?

I have no ‘inside’ knowledge and use the situation of the Church to explore what can and does go wrong in organizations and perhaps gain some understanding of what that might mean to us as communicators.

As an organization, the Church had much that corporate communicators wish for:

  • A clarity of vision, mission and values [more on this later]
  • A trusted and recognized brand
  • Strong and visible and articulate leadership
  • Powerful rituals and symbols
  • A relationship rather than a transactional focus to clients
  • Few layers between the CEO to the front line
  • A structured and disciplined approach to communicating
  • A continuous flow of rich information out of HQ and back from the ‘front lines’
  • A global network of potential communicators [priests] who by calling and training are more empathetic than your average manager
  • Opportunity for weekly conversation with clients and potential clients.

So, what happened?  And what can we learn from this? [to follow]

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Deborah Hinton Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Permalink Communication, Corporate communication, Culture, Customer, Internal communication No Comments

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