Let this be a reminder to executives who want to ‘control’ and ‘contain’ the message by withholding and delaying information to staff - it doesn’t work. Check out the video from Sky News of the angry mob of workers who received one hour’s notice that 850 of them would be losing their jobs immediately. This story made world headlines.

The bottom line is that whatever you plan to announce - good news or bad - you employee communication simply has to come first. And it has to be delivered in such as way that is meaningful to them. For example - what you tell your shareholders or donors, or board about efficiency and cost savings would NOT be the same information you explain to your staff - who most likely translate efficiency and cost savings into working more for less, or losing jobs.

Here’s an excerpt:

Overcoming cynicism is a tall challenge for any leader. But overcome it, you must. The engagement and cohesion of your people can mean the difference between survival and collapse. Ignore cynicism, and you allow its corrosion to undermine the organization you have worked so hard to build.
 
By cynicism, we mean a toxic attitude among would-be followers that assumes the worst of your intent as a leader. Instead of embracing the nobility of your intention, instead of granting you the benefit of doubt, the cynic sees only manipulation and control. He is quick to do the math on the cost to himself.

If you want to read more of what Thomas has to say click here.

Within the communications sector, popular blogs and networks are full of articles on employee engagement, developing strong internal cultures and building networks. There is good information out there, if you are willing to wade through a whole lot of theory and professionals within the networks commenting on each others’ theories.

The problem is, most of the information is written by professionals working in the profession for other professionals in similar roles, and not of much use for the human resources manager, executive director, communications or marketing officer, or professional fundraiser looking for practical information.

Employee engagement is, and always will be a most important challenge for any kind of organization. Without staff who understand the point at which their personal goals, talents, abilities and purpose intersect with that of others, and the organization, no organization can hope to succeed. With all the chatter about the need for innovation, the big question should not be how, but why?

Most of the time, the temptation is to try to persuade - by sharing numbers, projections, and lately - threats - that jobs will be lost, etc. without the commitment and boot-pulling of staff. This doesn’t work. This is data. Data is logical. Human passion and drive is emotional. There is a hierarchy of needs and emotion at work that has nothing to do with organization structure.

Start with why? Think about why this is important. Put yourself into a staff member’s shoes. What’s in it for them? What hopes and fears do they have? Is there common ground between their’s and the organization’s? How can you help?

I realize this may seem oversimplified - but as with many things in life, simple works. Start there in 2009!

Take a peek - while the article was written with a nonprofit audience in mind, many of the same rules apply for other organizations. Social media is here to stay and it is changing the face of communications and marketing.

If you want to see how quickly a comment gets around the world, check out the exchange between international chairperson of the International Association of Business Communicators Barb Gibson and bloggers when she questioned blogging for pay as a marketing strategy.

Especially in the current economic environment, we need to unbutton the formality and actively seek out conversation, input, and sharing. This is usually the opposite of what most executives expect, and are comfortable with.

More tips on this topic:

• From Melcrum, How Not to Conduct a Town Hall Meeting
• My November enews - Communicating in Hard Times (you might also want to read September and October 2007 articles in the newsletter archive)

• Facebook is the 4th most trafficked website in the world
• It is the largest photo sharing platform in the world
• Facebook has 125 million users now and is predicted to reach 500 million by 2011
• The average age of Facebook users is 35 yrs old, and the demographic is mature, university educated people with higher income.

Another little known fact: you can collect email addresses from Facebook friends, as you would on your own organization’s web page. Simply install the application called Profile HTML and then paste the optin code from your website into your Facebook page.

You could use this for a promotion, for an alumni or employee club or association, or to offer information about your organization to potential customers or staff.

Old habits are hard to break. If you tend to think of dealings with staff as “telling them what they need to know” you have the equation only partly right.

Here are the new rules:

1. Listen then talk
2. Ask what they want then provide
3. Don’t write anything until you talk to real people who you want to reach
4. Get to know their interests, what’s keeping them up at night, what gets them out of bed in the morning, and what makes them want to stay home
5. Think of yourself as the United Nations instead of the Vatican - representative vs. traditional authority
6. Forget trying to sell your organization’s message - focus on sharing information and a two-way relationship with the people that are part of it

The old way of cascading, top down information does not work (if it ever did…). We all expect and deserve more. We want connection, answers and most of all, to be heard.

Perspective is the most important skill an effective communicator possesses. Whether you are working with a person on staff, a volunteer or a consultant, you are wise to listen! A great communicator will not tell you what you want to hear; he or she will advise you on what to do for your best chance of success.

For example, if you are rolling out a project, it is easy to think this is the most important topic for staff across your organization. Most of the time, it isn’t! There is a point where it may be, but an all-staff, all-information approach can backfire on you.

I love this excerpt from a post from Joseph Phillips, a certified project manager, and a savvy communicator:

Communication planning comes down to this key question: Who needs what information, when do they need it, and in what modality?

Who needs what? This tackles two major issues in any project. “Who” describes the stakeholders with whom you and your project team need to communicate. “What” describes the information that they’ll need.

Not all of your stakeholders will need the same information. Sure, that sounds obvious, but have you ever met one of those moron project managers (yes, the guy a few cubes from you) who sends out all project information to everyone who’s even heard of his project? This guy thinks he’s covering all of his bases because everyone has all of the information. The problem with this approach is the same problem with giving your cat the whole bag of cat food at once: Only give what’s needed or things will get messy.

1. Opportunity for personal control or latitude in decision making
2. Opportunity for skill use acquisition and development
3. Clear goals
4. Variety in job content and location
5. Role clarity and feedback
6. Positive contact with others
7. Good pay
8. Physical security
9. Valued social position
10. Supportive supervision
11. Career outlook
12. Equity (justice for both the individual and the community)

The secret to a great leader is someone who can recognize potential in others and set them free to do what they do best. Effective communication, as a leader and as an organization, helps to foster this environment.

Leaders need to be passionate because it’s through passion that we actually get people enthusiastic…[wanting] to go in that same direction. That’s the case in every sector. We have to distinguish between leadership and management. You need both for an organization to work effectively. But on the leadership front, it’s very much about communicating a very clear vision and destination, doing it in a passionate way so people get excited about issues. It’s also recognizing that leadership can’t be just at the top of the organization; leadership has to be shared at various levels of the organization. A good leader will normally try to encourage people within the whole organization to play leadership roles at different levels.