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Communication Strategy to Enable Inclusive Employee Engagement


Middle managers hold the keys to ACTION and success

at every company.


So how do we engage middle managers?


Tina Hawkins• 18 years helping companies effectively

communicate with employees• Advised over 50 large global

companies• Winner of IABC Silver Quill Awards

and Hermes Creative Awards• Regularly partner with PR firms and

HR consulting firms• Certified Educator

Employee Communication

Enthusiast


Today, we’ll discuss…

Manager’s Unique Point of View

How to Engage: Messaging to Support D & I

How to Engage: Tactics

Activity

Wrap-Up & Questions


You’ll walk away equipped to…

• Adjust your messaging to make a bigger impact

• Use existing tactics in more innovative, effective ways

• Introduce new tactics

• Train your managers to communicate





Activity

Wrap-Up & Questions


Managers Experience Tension Trying to Balance Priorities• The company’s needs

• Their team’s needs

• How they’ll support individuals on their team

• Their own individual needs

This makes them ideal communicators.


They’re Equipped to Play a Key Role

• Often longer tenure within the organization

• Familiar with daily operations

• Networks of relationships

• Understand the “real” organization

• Best translators into language and concepts that are meaningful to employees





Activity

Wrap-Up & Questions


Diversity is the mix. Inclusion is making the

mix work. Caroline Wanga

Director, Diversity and Inclusion

Target


Engaging Managers in D&I

• Managers can be hard to engage if they:

– Don’t buy into the business case

– Are uncomfortable with the topic

– Assume that diversity and inclusion has nothing to do with them

– There’s no accountability / it’s easy to hide

– Are good practitioners but not good people managers


SolutionsManagers don’t buy into the business case

• Change is easier to digest if you know the why

– Meets psychological needs for novelty and challenge

– Be as transparent as possible

• Share the why in a hands-on way

– Not an email!

– Meeting, training, web conference

• Encourage conversation and input


SolutionsManagers are uncomfortable with the topic

• Acknowledge the potential discomfort

• Include a recent convert when presenting the business case

• Use informational, non-controlling style and tone

– Controlling is ineffective in the U.S. culture

• Offer resources and regular touchpoints

• Make sure the message is ironclad from the leadership


SolutionsManagers assume diversity and inclusion has nothing to

do with them

• With education, add a personal touch, like ambassadors

–Run role-plays

–Give scripts

• Create interactions to discuss D&I:

– Ask for suggestions and input

– Feature leaders discussing business case on webinars, videos, blog posts, podcasts


SolutionsThere’s no accountability / it’s easy to hide

• Realize that acquiescence doesn’t mean agreement

– Create a model that adds a personal touch, like ambassadors

• Empower them with authority

• Provide expectations, goals, consequences

• Tie into their goals

• Incentivize results


SolutionsAre good practitioners but not good people managers

• Offer hands-on leadership training





Activity

Wrap-Up & Questions


Most Effective Communication Channels

EmailIntranet

Line managers

21

3


Appeal to All Ages


7Communication Tactics


1 Town Halls


Townhalls THEN

• Extended planning effort

• Mobilizing employees to locations; rental space

• Always a business topic

• 90% content / 10% questions (at best)

• Carefully curated questions

• Limited presenters


Townhalls NOW

• Ad hoc based on need

• Virtual participation

• Use it to reinforce company core values

• 50% of the time on questions, some real-time

• Focus on the conversation, not just the message

• Multiple presenters

WHAT’S WORKING


Townhalls NOW

EXAMPLE 1 – AD HOC

WHAT’S WORKING


Townhalls NOW

EXAMPLE 1

WHAT’S WORKING


Townhalls NOW

EXAMPLE 2

• Townhall one week after U.S. election

• Email announcement w/request to submit questions

• Virtual participation

• Real-time questions

• Provided one action employees can do immediately

WHAT’S WORKING


2 Huddles & One-on-Ones


Huddles & One-on-Ones

THEN

• Managers asked to communicate but not told how

• Managers skip the topics that make them uncomfortable

• Messages aren’t connected to the business

• Announcements with no context



NOW

• Invest the time in this as one of the most effective ways to communicate and build relationships

• Provide detailed scripts to guide talks with employees

WHAT’S WORKING



NOW

EXAMPLE 1

During a time of uncertainty in the company (e.g., rumored layoffs) or country (e.g., protests); word-by-word scripts so that they can communicate with employees via:

• Text

• Chat

• Talk

WHAT’S WORKING



NOW

EXAMPLE 1 (CONT)

• Suggest exactly what to say

• They can adapt to their own style, but this provides a place to start

• Provide guidelines, not rules

WHAT’S WORKING



NOW

EXAMPLE 2

Provide manager training on more detailed initiatives:

• Webinars

• FAQs and toolkits

• Direct contacts

• Create networks of managers to support each other - Slack, Yammer and similar tools

WHAT’S WORKING


3 Video


Video THEN

• Tightly scripted edited and or use of teleprompter

• Slick/high-production

• High-cost

• Not timely

• Limited use of technology to support it

• Around 5-7 minutes as ideal length


Video NOW

• Creating a culture of pocket-driven video experiences

– Immediacy

– Realness

– Transparency

• Less-scripted

• Less production

• Leaders and managers of any level, any size team

• 5 minutes max

WHAT’S WORKING


Video NOW

EXAMPLES

• Unscripted “Man-on-the-street" videos

• Smartphone videos wherever leaders are

– Conference rooms / offices

– Walking through the office

– Tradeshows, clients

• Feature other employees

WHAT’S WORKING


4 Enterprise Social Media Solutions


Enterprise Social Media

THEN

• SharePoint

• Yammer (because it’s free)

• No clear business case

• Uneven adoption across the organization

• Often unused

• Inconsistent use of leadership blogs, often ghostwritten



NOW

• Pick a purpose

– Have better conversations

– Create collaboration

– Engage employees

– Create more employee leaders

• Leverage features to support D & I

– Employee resource groups

– Manager support

WHAT’S WORKING



NOW

EXAMPLE – Manager Engagement

• Weekly content provided by managers

– Blogs

– Photos

– Success stories

– Challenges

– Polls

• Invites to D&I events

WHAT’S WORKING



NOW

EXAMPLE – Manager Engagement (CONT)

• Message board

• Scripts

• Even if no one is using the platform, it’s ok to use it for this dedicated purpose

– Preload w/materials

– Offer a way to contact/ask for help

WHAT’S WORKING


5 Mobile


The average user

spends 2 hours, 38

minutes on their

mobile devices daily...


...and checks it

around 150

times a day.


MobileTHEN

• Email

• Vendor apps


MobileNOW

• Access on personal devices (BYOD)

• Daily-use systems

– Intranet

– Internal communication apps

– Mobile sites

– Cloud-based information

• Podcasts

WHAT’S WORKING


6 Text Messaging


Text Messaging


Text Messaging

Manager to Employee or Team

Match your style to the employee

Use to build relationships

Company to Employee

Requires permission!

Reserve for important or urgent issues


7 Infographics


Infographics

• Replacing written content

• Visually present complicated content

• Raises an emotional response

• Great for dashboards and stats, too


InfographicsEXAMPLE



How to Engage: Messaging


Activity

Wrap-Up & Questions


Group Activity

1. Divide into groups 2. Develop a communication

approach that would be effective for the scenario you have


Report back on solutions!


SCENARIO 1

You have new inclusion target and plan to create a few new employee resource groups and other programs to reach the target.

Your leadership team doesn’t represent diversity.

What is your communication approach?


SCENARIO 2

A tragedy or social issue has impacted your headquarter city/state. Many employees in those locations are impacted due to heighten emotions and conversations around social issues.

How do you use communication to handle this situation at headquarters? What about other office locations?


SCENARIO 3An employee of your company was involved in a high-profile misuse of social media and has been fired. The story was covered on traditional media.

How do you deal with this? Keep in mind that you should concentrate only on the INTERNAL (employee-facing) communication needs. Assume that PR will handle the external needs.

What is your communication approach?


SCENARIO 4Managers are acting resistant to the request to increase diversity hires. They have reported that no qualified diversity candidates are coming across their desks.

How could you use communication to help this situation?

Which messaging and tactics would you use?


SCENARIO 5You would like managers to attend employee resource group programming at their locations.

How do you use communication to make that happen?



How to Engage: Messaging


Activity

Wrap-Up & Questions


Questions?


References

• http://www.inc.com/alison-davis/7-reasons-your-employee-town-hall-needs-an-extreme-makeover.html

• http://www.worktolive.info/blog/how-to-get-employees-to-buy-in-to-change-because-they-want-to

• https://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html

• http://www.Resourcefulmanager.com

• www.diversityinc.com/news/engaging-middle-management-in-diversity-and-inclusion

http://www.worktolive.info/blog/how-to-get-employees-to-buy-in-to-change-because-they-want-to

http://www.worktolive.info/blog/how-to-get-employees-to-buy-in-to-change-because-they-want-to

https://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html

http://www.resourcefulmanager.com/

http://www.diversityinc.com/news/engaging-middle-management-in-diversity-and-inclusion/


Communication Strategy to Enable Inclusive Employee · PDF fileCommunication Enthusiast. ... •Smartphone videos wherever leaders are –Conference rooms / offices –Walking through

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