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December 01, 2004
What the news can teach you about employee communication (part 1)
Yesterday morning I found myself at the Radisson hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire, eating breakfast and reading USA Today (what I was doing there is a tale I’ll tell another time.) Although I think USA Today is terrific, I don’t always read the newspaper—even a publication junkie like me has to draw the line somewhere (three newspapers a day is my limit).
But once again I was struck by the fact that I usually find something in USA Today that directly relates to employee communication. Yesterday, I hit the jackpot: There were three articles that describe issues that impact many companies and their workers. During the next several days, I’ll provide information about each of these, giving you a link so you can read each article for yourself, and sharing a few insights about what each story can teach about employee communication.
The lead story, “Think your commute is tough? For extreme commuters, 90 minutes is quick,” was a terrific exploration of a growing trend: To find affordable housing and a better lifestyle, an increasing number of employees are choosing to commute very long distances. According to reporters Debbie Howlett and Paul Overberg, 3.4 million Americans endure an extreme commute of 90 minutes or more each way to work. They’re among the fastest-growing segment of commuters, whose travel times are more than triple the national average of 25.5 minutes each way. (For more, link to http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-29-commute_x.htm)
Communication impact
If your organization has locations in major metropolitan areas, chances are good some of your employees are extreme commuters. This presents a challenge—these folks have even less spare time than the rest of us—and an opportunity.
Consider: Are your communication channels taking advantage of the time commuters spend in a car or on a train or bus? (Example: some companies are now providing radio-style audio reports recorded on CDs for sales representatives. Would a broader segment of employees find this useful?)
Other issues to consider: Is your communication sensitive to employees' time pressures? Are there ways communication could actually make commuters’ lives easier?
Got any ideas or best practices? Please share them with us. Thanks.
Posted by Alison Davis at December 1, 2004 12:33 PM