Internal communication

An Outside Perspective:Looking Internally at

CommunicationsTom Petersen

Presentation to the National Association of Cancer Centers Development Officers

May 4, 2008

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The Unique Attributes of Internal Communications

Why is internal communications important?

How does it work?

How do we do it better?

How do we deal with special situations?

Organizational changes

Business issues

Crisis communications

Rumor mill

Unique issues for matrix organizations

5 tips to improve your internal communications

What are your greatest issues with internal communications?

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Tom Petersen

Currently Director – Communications for ITC Midwest

Subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ITC) nation’s largest independent electric transmission company

Until December 2007, was Director – Corporate Communications for Alliant Energy

Vertically-integrated electric and natural gas utility serving 1 million customers in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin

Former public relations agency assistant vice president and account supervisor

Former newspaper reporter

Former congressional campaign staffer

Husband of a Hodgkin’s survivor

Tom PetersenDirector – CommunicationsITC Midwest201 Third Avenue SE, Suite 300Cedar Rapids IA 52401(319) [email protected]

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The Role of Internal Communications

Internal communications is critical to achieving organizational goals

Internal audience needs to know what’s going on for their own purposes:

So they know how to make the decisions that align with company direction

So they know what tactics need to be done so they can perform them

So they can decide their level of commitment to the organization

Internal audience needs to know what’s going on because they are a critical channel to external audiences

Formal contact (customers, regulators, vendors)

Informal contact (family, neighbors, community)

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How Internal Communications Works

Internal communications is a big mystery to many organizations

“Why didn’t employees know that?”

“Why don’t they ask questions if they don’t know?”

“Why don’t they believe us?”

“Why don’t they do what we want them to do?”

“Why do they continue to spread rumors that aren’t true?”

“Why do they complain?”

“Why do they hate us? (We pay their paychecks!)”

So easy to fall into the “us vs. them” mindset

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Revisit Maslow’s Hierarchy

Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep

Security of body, employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property

Friendship, family, sexual intimacy

Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others,

respect by others

Opportunity to work for a great cancer center

Esteem

Self-actualization

Love/Belonging

Safety

Physiological

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Revisit Maslow’s Hierarchy

Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep

Security of body, employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health, of property

Friendship, family, sexual intimacy

Self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others,

respect by others

Moralitycreativity,

spontaneity,problem solving,lack of prejudice,

acceptance of facts

Esteem

Self-actualization

Love/Belonging

Safety

Physiological

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Sender

(Customer)

Receiver

(Audience)Action

Channel (format)

Message (content)

Frequency (volume)

Feedback

Results

At its most basic, communicating is a simple process with three major elements (Sender, Communicating, Receiver) that results in Receiver taking Action for Results.

Improving communications means addressing the performance and performance gaps of these steps in the process.

Filters

Communications: The Basic Process

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Next Steps: Unpacking the Communications Process

Sender

(Customer)

Channel (format)

Message (content)

Frequency (volume)

Who is the Sender?

Is the Sender credible to the Receiver?

Can the Sender cut through Receivers’ filters?

What channel/medium should we use to communicate strategy that will generate Receiver understanding and correct action?

How should we package the message that has the right impact on Receivers? (How do we define the issue for the Receivers? Not the “what” but the “how”?)

How often should we communicate the message?

Y = f(x)

These are the controllable variables on which we can focus

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Receiver

(Audience)

Action

How do we define the Receiver? All employees? Managers? Opinion Leaders?

What are Receiver’s felt needs that communications can address to ensure those needs are met?

What are constraints that prevent Receiver from receiving the information?

What action do Receivers need to take upon receiving the communications?

How is that action defined and measured?

Y = f(x)

Filters

Next Steps: Unpacking the Communications Process

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Feedback

Results

What are the customer desired results?

How do we measure the effectiveness of communicating in order to drive results?

How would changing communications improve results?

What is the role of Receiver feedback in this process?

How should we use feedback to improve communications?

Y = f(x)

Next Steps: Unpacking the Communications Process

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Figure out where your gaps are and fix them Understand the variables you’re dealing with (Cause and Effect

Diagram)

Determine which variables are most likely to break (Failure Mode Effects Analysis)

Use secondary research to determine best practices for key variables

Develop action plan

Implement

Evaluate

Continually refresh and reinforce communications to improve effectiveness

How Do We Make it Better?

Not going to use this for every communications, but focus on your most important and you’ll get better at routine communications, too

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Sender

Channel

Frequency

Message

Receiver

Feedback

Likeability

Credibility

Understandability

How often (in sender’s eyes?)

How often (in receiver’s eyes?)

Aggregate #

Space b/w communications

Access

Attention

Availability of time

Timeliness

Accessibility

Credibility

Preference

Accuracy

Efficiency

Visibility

“Embraceability”

Actionable

Interesting

Accuracy

Context

Clarity

Availability of Feedback

Communications VariablesSender Receiver

Channel

Message

Frequency

Feedback

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Dealing with Special Situations

Organizational changes

Business issues

Crisis communications

Rumor mill

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Special Situations: Organizational Changes

Examples: “Big news” (mergers, layoffs, executive changes, etc.)

Challenges: So many stakeholders to tell, employees often get last treatment

Information leaks out before you’re ready

Recommendation: Have someone assigned explicitly to be the employee advocate in your

communications planning – frame the communications for employees

Lead with the human element

Consider a new channel to demonstrate importance of issue

Coordinate and align with other, ongoing communications

Messages need to be crisp – but pertinent to employees

(Leading Change, by John Kotter)

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Special Situations: Business Issues

Examples: Organization direction, regulatory or financial developments, operating changes, etc.

Challenges: May not be intuitive that employees need to know

Issue may not affect employees’ day-to-day activities

Information leaks out before you’re ready

Recommendation: Assume you need to communicate business issues to employees – first mover

advantage

Use channel commensurate with nature of communications

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Special Situations: Business Issues

Traditional model is communicate “from the top” to demonstrate corporate support, reinforcing through managers and materials Quality of communications trails off

by the time it gets to employees

Larkins’ model is to communicate directly to front-line supervisors (bypass middle management) so employees hear from immediate supervisors

Model: Direct to Supervisors (Communicating Change: Winning Employee Support for New Business Goals, by TJ and Sandar Larkin)

CEO

Senior managers

Middle managers

Middle managers

Supervisors

Frontline Employees

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Special Situations: Crisis Communications

Examples: Traumatic event, employee malfeasance, etc.

Challenges: Will undoubtedly catch you off guard – can never anticipate what or when

Time is your worst enemy

Overwhelms the system

Tendency to circle the wagons and pull up the drawbridge

Recommendation: Don’t forget employees – they see crisis as “moment of truth”

It’s 25% plan, 75% practice

Lead with the human element

Be disciplined enough to define audience, message and the facts

You get points for speed

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Special Situations: Rumor Mill

Examples: Organic or intentional information that moves informally through the organization

Challenges: Can’t identify where it started or where it is at any time

Tendency to want to wait, hoping it will go away

Executives often respond emotionally, rather that looking at why

Recommendation: Make an analytical decision – something that needs a response?

You get points for acknowledging what’s on peoples’ minds

Best bet: Proactively seek out what the rumors are (personally, not passively)

If you’re really good, you can use the rumor mill to your benefit (No, really!)

Any other situations you have to deal with?

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Unique Circumstance: “Matrix” Organization

The challenge of having shared employees

Challenges: Lack of identity with organization, let alone loyalty

Conflicting messages with other organizations

Channel challenges

Others?

Recommendation: Create affiliation

Give credit/Document contribution

Create a visual connection

Lead with WIIFM

Pursue employees (use values to appeal to self-identity/self-concept)

Others?

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Improving Your Internal Communications: Tip #1

Answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” Always, always, always communicate what your audience wants to

hear, not what you want to say

Assume that people don’t care what you’re talking about – and figure out what in your message they care about

90 percent of the challenge of breaking through the clutter is eliminated if you are talking about something employees are already thinking about

For the receiver, it’s all about proximity

No matter how good you think you are at this, you can always do better

(How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie)

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Improving Your Internal Communications: Tip #2

Match the approach to the content When communicating values, make it tangible

When communicating facts, be visual

When communicating emotional news, show empathy

When communicating vision, be consistent

When communicating urgency, communicate quickly

When communicating optimism, smile!

How you say it is more important than what you’re saying

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Improving Your Internal Communications: Tip #3

Find the right messages and stick to them

Core messages are gold –

They sort out what to say and what not to say

They provide framework for communicating

They force you to make decisions

They promote consistency of communications

If you have the luxury to do it, test your messages first to be sure they answer the Receiver’s WIIFM question

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Improving Your Internal Communications: Tip #4

Avoid the temptation to tell everyone everything

There’s always an urge to share lots of information that someone thinks is important

But don’t forget Tip#2 – WIIFM?

There is such a thing as too much communications

Telling everyone everything means nothing will get through

Find the right channels to segment information

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Improving Your Internal Communications: Tip #5

Move from Repetition model to Interest model Ignore the “7 times” guideline

Instead, focus on cutting through the clutter

SUCCESS (“Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die,” by Chip and Dan Heath)

Simplicity

Unexpectedness

Concreteness

Credibility

Emotions

Stories

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Discussion

Tom PetersenDirector – CommunicationsITC Midwest201 Third Avenue SE, Suite 300Cedar Rapids IA 52401(319) [email protected]