Internal communications audit

What kind of tools can you recommend for doing an internal communications audit?

It really depends on the scope of the audit: what you're trying to find out and how extensive is the audit. Generally, we use a mix of quantitative (surveys, data, cost-benefit analysis) and qualitative (interviews, focus groups, benchmark surveys, best-practice analysis). For example, if you're auditing all communication, then I would include a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative measurement using a cross-section sample of employees. If it involves web, I would also look at usage patterns, usability, navigation, and do user testing. We've done simple audits where we combine best-practice analysis and a number of interviews, and base our recommendations on that. But we prefer to go deeper. In short, there's no simple formula. It depends on how deep you want to go (from a single communication vehicle to all electronic, print and face-to-face communication?), what data you'll need to drive change in the organization (from smart recommendations from consultants to extensive survey data involving every employee), and of course, budget.

The requestor and requestee

In a communication setting when subject A requests something of subject B, who is responsible to ensure follow-through - the requestor or the requestee?

The traditional communication model states that the "sender" and "receiver" must share equal responsibility in any communication exchange. Another popular academic theory is that the "listener" must assume more responsibility for communication to be effective.
Our opinion is simply that if someone asks me a question or makes a request, it's my duty to respond. On the other hand, if I leave a voicemail for someone and don't hear back, I also feel it's my duty to follow-up. For me, it goes both ways.

We've worked with a number of companies to create e-mail standards and rules of etiquette, but never applied them to all business communication regarding responses. I agree with David that this is an etiquette issue, and that it helps for companies to have roles and rules regarding business communication.

Each person has his or her own style when it comes to responses, which means that some people believe that it’s their responsibility top respond back in 24 hours, while others think they can’t be bothered ever responding, unless the request is from a superior. There are ways to label e-mails and other messages to clearly state that a response is required, and expected in a certain amount of time. But I think the most effective way is to have rules of the road in how people use e-mail and respond to requests from co-workers. And then, communicate, train and manage performance to support these rules of etiquette.

Tents on your table?

I would like to know what the pros/cons are to using table tents as a potential communication vehicle. Specifically, when are these appropriate to use?
– New to the process, Newark, DE

Dear New:
Table tents work great when executed well, because they stand out in an environment where people are not typically overloaded with visuals—the employee cafeteria or break room. Even in a busy environment like a Chili’s or Applebee’s, we read the table displays to check out the specials and it influences what we order. To use table tents to influence your employees, here are some pointers:

• Table tents are best when used to promote events, new benefits or services for employees, business tools, company initiatives, product launches and promotions.
  
• They’re less effective for breaking news, business changes or sensitive topics where people need to engage in dialogue.
  
• Know your tent card policy (or develop one). Coordinate with other departments who may want to communicate using tent cards, to manage distribution, posting/take-down schedules and maintenance. Have standards for size, design, approvals and system management.
  
• Use table tents as part of an overall communication program, to make sure you engage people in remote locations, sales and those who don’t make it to the cafeteria.
  
• Coordinate tent cards with other employee communications as part of your overall communication plan, so messages are layered and consistent.
  
• Display different messages at the same time, and scatter the choices throughout the cafeteria or break room because employees don’t always sit at the same table and get bored with the same messages.
  
• Display the table tents for no more than four to six weeks. For ongoing programs, take a break for a few weeks and then put the tents out again.
  
• When new messages are available, begin to seed these new messages in with the existing ones.
• Promptly replace any table tents that become worn, torn or defaced.

Matt Davis

Employee recognition/awards programs

Where can I find out about best practices in employee recognition/awards programs? Am interested in talking with vendors who have worked with companies that do this well (i.e.,both program design and award ceremonies), in addition to people in the "best practice" companies themselves. Would also be interested in speaking with vendors who have developed successful "salesperson of the year"-type recognition programs (again, design and ceremonies). Can you help? Thank you.
– Rewarding Employees

Dear Rewarding:
The best advice I can give you is to do a lot of research with the employees that your company wants to reward or recognize or honor. First find out what results the company wants these employees to achieve—and what that will mean to the company in terms of saved expenses or increased revenue. Next, find out what the employees would value in terms of recognition or reward. Is it the same from one location to the next? Depending on job level, salary, age, sex, length of service, if any of these apply, what differences and similarities do you see?

What you may find is that company money would be better spent in giving an employee money, or something the employee values, like paid time off -- or providing award winners with a family event the company pays for -- than an expensively produced awards dinner or ceremony.

One airline discovered that perfect attendance from all employees was critical for high productivity, so they began rewarding the behavior they wanted by having a drawing every quarter of those employees with perfect attendance. The winner won a Jeep Cherokee. I bet the chance to win that one highly valued prize was more of an incentive to employees than any beautifully executed annual awards dinner for those with perfect attendance.

If you must produce an awards dinner, I'd call your counterparts in companies likely to honor a similar group of employees -- these companies can be competitors as well as companies that the management of your company admires -- and get details about what they do and what resources they use. Even your competitors are typically happy to share information if you provide all participants with the results of your research, listing companies anonymously if necessary.

When I've been involved in awards dinners, I've found working with creative graphic designers has produced wonderful results. You need to work with talented, creative people, but I don't believe you necessarily need to work with people who specialize in award dinners.

Hope this is helpful!

Here are some web sites that might be helpful too. I would start with organizations, such as:

http://www.recognition.org

http://leadership.gc.ca/static/pride_recognition/best_practices/international_e.shtml

You can also try:

http://www.worldatwork.org

http://www.shrm.org

Thanks-

Developing a mission or culture statement

I'm working in a start-up company and have been asked to put together a mission or culture statement. This is a new one for me! Do you have any good examples or tips? I do have input from various people across the organization which will be beneficial.

Dear Want to Do This Right,
What an exciting opportunity you have to add value to your business! This is one of those assignments where the process you follow will have a huge effect on the end result.

Here are my tips:

1. Start with research first.
Find out what mission statements your company’s peers and competitors have posted on their web sites. Find out which companies your company’s management admire and check out their mission statements on their web sites.

I asked my colleague Matt Davis which mission statements he especially likes, and here’s his response:

“Here are just a few of the links I found on a short search. The best is Johnson & Johnson’s. They work hard to keep it in people's minds and even do a Credo survey each year, to see how people know, live and embody the Credo. I think this is one of the challenges—keeping the mission statement alive and fresh.”

Matt’s list:
http://www.pfizer.com/are/mn_about_mission.html

http://www.jnj.com/our_company/our_credo/index.htm

http://www.elfun.org/chapters/atlanta/mission.asp

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/mission.shtml

After looking outside your company, talk with people at all levels inside the company to get their perspectives about what kind of a company they’d be proud to work for. You mentioned you already have some internal research, and I recommend adding to it.

2. Involve employees throughout the process.
As you work to create a possible mission statement, involve employees from throughout the company in the process of reviewing and commenting on possible mission statements. The more people have a say in “what this company stands for,” the more invested they are in the company’s success.

For example, you might have a focus group session and invite some employees in for a free lunch and discussion about what kind of company they want this to be.

Plus, when you finally communicate the mission statement, the story of how it was created will resonate well with employees because it was a collaborative effort—not a “tops down” decision.

3. Keep it brief.
A brief mission statement is superior to a lengthy one for a lot of reasons. It’s easier to remember, first of all, and it should help employees make daily decisions because it clearly spells out what the company values and why the company is in business.

Good luck!

Death of an Employee

I have a question that I have not seen addressed elsewhere: How do you communicate the death of an employee? Over the weekend, one of our employees died at a young age. We are currently doing some internal research to obtain more information about this case, but I thought it was important to go outside and see what the "industry standards" were for this type of crisis. Even though we are a large organization, this is not something we have a lot of experience with...

Your prompt communications guidance is appreciated. Thank you.
Best regards,
Saddened

Dear Saddened:
In my experience, the death of an employee may be communicated in a variety of ways, mainly depending on the employee's job, length of time at the company, and therefore, his or her ongoing relationships with others in the company. Those with a need to know should be informed; company-wide announcements are not usually necessary, especially in a large company.

If possible, the employee's co-workers should be notified in person by the departmental supervisor. Others, inside and outside the company, could be informed via e-mail or phone, whichever seems most practical or appropriate, and should include information about memorial or funeral services, and if the family requests charitable contributions in lieu of flowers, details about how to contribute should also be included.

In some cases, if the employee leaves small children, I've seen co-workers put together a binder with letters to the child or children, describing the employee and why the co-workers enjoyed working with him or her.

Hope this is helpful. I'm basing my answer on personal experience, but you may also want to consult Lettitia Baldridge's book about business etiquette.

Trademarks

What is the purpose of trade marking? Is it possible to trademark the title of an internal publication?

Manufacturers of products or services use a trademark, which can include a name or symbol, to distinguish what they offer from their competitors. They formally register their trademark so no one else can use it legally. While it's possible to trademark the title of an internal company publication, I'm not sure there would be any point to it since the publication isn't in competition with other publications.
-Jane

Building a Communications Function

Our institution is looking to develop a dedicated internal communications function. Do you have any benchmarking data regarding internal communications at other educational or corporate institutions?
—Building a university communications function

Dear Building:
I don't have the kind of benchmarking information you request, but I can offer some suggestions.

First, the question of where to put an internal communication department, and how to staff it, have been debated vigorously for years. In my experience, what matters most is that you head the function with a person who is senior enough to function as a peer to all the department heads, etc. that he or she will need to work well with in order to get the job done.

Second, you can check with professional organizations like IABC or PRSA to see what research has been done. Another resource in this area is academic institutions. I recently heard Colleen Keough at the USC Annenberg School for Communication speak at a Council for Communciation Management conference, and she seemed to know a lot about what kind of research has been done in internal communication and what is available.

Third, you could hire a firm to get just the specific benchmarking information that would be useful to you. You could investigate several universities or organizations that would be of most interest to your management. Davis & Company has done a significant amount of benchmarking research projects for companies and would b glad to help you on this, but you may have the academic resources to conduct the study yourself.

Motivating Employees in a Fiscal Crisis

Our company was recently sold, and despite plans to reinvest in the company, money is very tight. Upper management has decided that we need to be honest with our employees (900+) about the situation and encourage them to think of creative ways that we can add revenue and cut costs—even the non-revenue generating areas like corporate communications. What suggestions do you have for communicating our financial situation? I’m interested in content and tactical ideas as well as thinking outside the box about a campaign.
—Cutting costs in the Carolinas

Dear Cutting Costs:
A good place for you to start planning your campaign is to read Jack Stack’s The Great Game of Business. In it, he describes how to help employees at all levels understand the financial side of your business as well as develop ideas for new revenue streams. You could create a one-page overview of the key points in the book and how they would apply to your organization and how you can employ them in your campaign (posters, e-mails, articles entitled “7 ways you can help cut costs,” and “7 ways you can increase revenues” on your intranet or in your publications).

Since your company is relatively small, I’d try to kick off your campaign with some face-to-face meetings to explain the financial situation and challenge employees to develop revenue-generating and cost-saving ideas. It would be great to get people in similar jobs but perhaps different departments or locations together in meetings where a representative from senior management presents the issues, and the larger group can break into smaller groups to discuss possible solutions. This way, you begin to form some peer networks within the company, and you avoid the possibility of more junior employees being intimidated or afraid to speak up by the presence of more senior participants.

As much as you can, I’d help steer people as to what you’re looking for in both revenue-generating and cost-cutting ideas—give some good and bad examples that would resonate with your audience. The key to any campaign is ongoing recognition and reward for the behavior you want. Choose a theme suitable to the season. Team sports offer great analogies for business problem solving. If it’s baseball season, each great idea could win an “It’s a hit!” award.

Tied up in Approvals

I'm so tied up in approval for communications that I can't accomplish anything. Our manager is frequently questioned by high-level executives about things such as word choice in our communications to employees. It drives our manager to insist on approving everything that is produced from my team. I currently have to submit a weekly report of our customer satisfaction to five individuals for approval prior to distribution; this is considered a low-impact project. It is killing morale and drive among my team. How can we provide awareness without creating a bottleneck that prevents us from producing timely information distribution?
—Fit-to-be Tied in Kansas

Dear Fit-to-be-Tied:
Over the years, I’ve used a variety of techniques to break approval bottlenecks, which I’m happy to share with you.

Regarding word choices, each of us should be focusing on doing what we can do uniquely well to help our enterprise succeed. Since you’re the professional communicator, you are a better wordsmith than the high-level executives. When I send materials for approval, I make it clear that the review is for quotes, names and facts only, not for writing or word style. Identify and eliminate “problem words” (consistently chosen as no-nos by Legal or executives) and replace them with equally good alternatives. Your manager will look better in the eyes of management and he or she will buy in to your new way of sending out pieces for review.

As to the approval process itself, this is one of the biggest time and money wasters for corporations. Once, my team was producing a monthly publication that I joked was read by more people before it was produced than after. Since sharing timely information gives your company a competitive edge, then everyone should collaborate to reduce the time between an event and the distribution of information about the event (or product, service, etc.).

Work with your manager to set up a system for approvals and share those expectations with all key executives. Ask who really needs to approve something, not just what executive would like to see something. This will keep it to the three or less key people who have a bird’s-eye view of the business and eliminate others who are redundant reviewers or who are likely to create bottlenecks. As part of the system, include production schedules with approval times, approval forms and if needed, show the effect on budgets when approvals get dragged out. One measure I’ve seen work is an approval form that states “if we do not receive this back by XX date, we’ll consider this approved.” By stepping up and creating a better system that helps focus on the activities important to the business (and minimizing low-impact activities), you will be seen as a communicator who’s a strategic partner in the company—all while boosting the morale of your team!

Translating Tech Talk

As part of my job, I have to communicate what my company’s top scientists are working on to the rest of the organization. I have a hard time understanding what they’re talking about, never mind writing about it in a way so that other employees can understand it. Do you have any suggestions?
—Bewildered in Boston

Dear Bewildered in Boston:
Experts sometimes are too close too a topic and know too much about it to clearly explain it to people who aren’t experts. By asking great questions, you can experts explain their projects to you in a simple way. Don’t be afraid to ask the “stupid” questions like, “Why?” or, “How would you explain this to someone in high school?” Smile when you ask a question and preface it with, “This may seem like a really basic question, but . . .”Also be sure to ask for clarification or examples if you don’t understand something.

Killing corporate speak

I’m having a hard time eliminating “corporate speak” from my company’s communication vehicles. Do you have any suggestions?
—Needs Help in New Jersey

Dear Needs Help in New Jersey:
The first step toward eliminating dreaded corporate speak, which includes anything from jargon to meaningless phrases like “we need to all work smarter, not longer,” is to keep things simple. If you’re doing the writing, make sure you know exactly what leaders are trying to communicate. Ask them to explain, with examples, what working smarter means to them. Once your copy is written, ask an impartial colleague to read it and to highlight jargon or meaningless phrases and then rework them. It also helps if you spell out acronyms and use contractions to make your messages more conversational.

A paperless environment

My company has just instituted a ‘paperless environment’. Should we simply move all previously printed information onto the web?
—Confused in Connecticut

Dear Confused in Connecticut:
The best communication programs offer a variety of communication venues and vehicles so don’t rush to eliminate all of your print materials. First of all, you need to consider whether or not all of your employees have access to the web. Does your organization include manufacturing employees? Drivers? Warehouse employees? Store employees? Traveling sales people? In many organizations, these employees don’t have access to the intranet, so eliminating your print vehicles shuts them out of important company messages. Even if employees have access, some still prefer print materials since they’re portable and can be read at home, on the road, etc.

24/7 or twenty-four hours, seven days a week?

What is the preferred way to write 24/7, twenty-four hours, seven days a week, etc.?
—Troubled in Time in Virginia

Dear Troubled in Time:
In most cases, I like to keep the writing easy and conversational, but “24/7” is an exception. The term is well known, especially by internet-savvy people used to writing in short abbreviations. But a quick media search confirmed what I suspected: the term “24/7” is typically used informally and colloquially, for quotes and conversation (or in press releases about IT services or software!). I prefer “24 hours a day/seven days a week,” at least on first reference in an article, for two reasons:
First, So meaning is clear for non-wired or older audiences not used to the term.
Second, because 24/7 is starting to be used as a term of expression meaning “most of the time.” I’ve also seen people write 24/7/365. This is definitely overkill. In most cases, “24 hours a day” does the trick.

Tied up in Approvals

I'm so tied up in approval for communications that I can't accomplish anything. Our manager is frequently questioned by high-level executives about things such as word choice in our communications to employees. It drives our manager to insist on approving everything that is produced from my team. I currently have to submit a weekly report of our customer satisfaction to five individuals for approval prior to distribution; this is considered a low-impact project. It is killing morale and drive among my team. How can we provide awareness without creating a bottleneck that prevents us from producing timely information distribution?
—Fit-to-be Tied in Kansas

Dear Fit-to-be Tied in Kansas:
Over the years, I’ve used a variety of techniques to break approval bottlenecks, which I’m happy to share with you.

Regarding word choices, each of us should be focusing on doing what we can do uniquely well to help our enterprise succeed. Since you’re the professional communicator, you are a better wordsmith than the high-level executives. When I send materials for approval, I make it clear that the review is for quotes, names and facts only, not for writing or word style. Identify and eliminate “problem words” (consistently chosen as no-nos by Legal or executives) and replace them with equally good alternatives. Your manager will look better in the eyes of management and he or she will buy in to your new way of sending out pieces for review.

As to the approval process itself, this is one of the biggest time and money wasters for corporations. Once, my team was producing a monthly publication that I joked was read by more people before it was produced than after. Since sharing timely information gives your company a competitive edge, then everyone should collaborate to reduce the time between an event and the distribution of information about the event (or product, service, etc.).

Work with your manager to set up a system for approvals and share those expectations with all key executives. Ask who really needs to approve something, not just what executive would like to see something. This will keep it to the three or less key people who have a bird’s-eye view of the business and eliminate others who are redundant reviewers or who are likely to create bottlenecks. As part of the system, include production schedules with approval times, approval forms and if needed, show the effect on budgets when approvals get dragged out. One measure I’ve seen work is an approval form that states “if we do not receive this back by XX date, we’ll consider this approved.” By stepping up and creating a better system that helps focus on the activities important to the business (and minimizing low-impact activities), you will be seen as a communicator who’s a strategic partner in the company—all while boosting your morale!

Using e-mail more sensibly and effectively

My company uses e-mail so much that it’s almost becoming an ineffective means of communication. Is there a way to ‘reign in’ employees and encourage them to use e-mail more sensibly and effectively?
—Puzzled in Philadelphia

Dear Puzzled in Philadelphia:
Talk informally with 10-15 employees to find out what bugs them most about e-mail and then use their feedback to create an e-mail “dos and don’ts” list for your company. Some common complaints about e-mail include: messages are too long, take too long to get to the point and too many messages don’t apply to the receiver. Keep your list simple - under 10 suggestions - and then show it to a group of colleagues who you trust to get their feedback. If they agree it would be helpful to distribute the list, show it to your boss and talk about the best way to distribute it through the company.

Communicating new company goals

My company is preparing to announce new company goals and I’m having trouble figuring out how to make them easy to understand for employees. How can I communicate the goals in a way that doesn’t seem so overwhelming?
—Inquisitive in Indianapolis

Dear Inquisitive in Indianapolis:
One of the easiest things you can do is break big goals down into “bite-sized” chunks. In other words, think about the key milestones that must be accomplished along the way in order to achieve the goal. Then present the goal to employees in small pieces. Communicate how employees in different functions support the achievement of key milestones and be sure to tell employees when one milestone is met and what the next one is.

Public speaking skills

I’m terrified of public speaking and I’ve just been selected to give a presentation at a meeting next month. How can I overcome my fears?
—Anxious in Atlanta

Dear Anxious in Atlanta:
There are several different approaches you can take to improve your public speaking skills and allay your fears including taking a course or asking a trusted colleague to coach you. The most important thing you can do is practice, practice, practice. Make sure you know your material inside out, anticipate questions you are likely to get ahead of time and prepare answers to them as well. Make sure you smile and make eye contact throughout your presentation. These simple non-verbal cues help put you and your audience at ease.

An effective communicator

I’m working with a manager who’s in need of communication development. How can I help him become a more effective communicator?
—Wants to Help in Washington, D.C.

Dear Wants to Help in Washington, D.C.:
The first thing you should do is talk to employees who report to him and find out what’s working and what’s not. Ask them what type of information they need from the manager and how they want to get that information. Then talk to him to find out what he would find most helpful. Next, develop tools or a coaching process that meets both his needs and those of his employees.

Suggestions for research methods

I really need to persuade my boss to implement a new project, but I don’t have the budget to do any formal research to support my plan. Do you have any suggestions for low cost or no-cost research methods?
— Perplexed in Portland

Dear Perplexed in Portland:
One of the fastest and most inexpensive ways to conduct research is to conduct a mini phone survey. Prepare a short questionnaire and then randomly call 10 to 20 employees in different locations and functions to see what they think about your plan. Present your boss with the findings to help sell your ideas.

Forgot to Measure

Help! I think I made a mistake. I worked really hard on a project and forgot to include any measurement techniques along the way. Is it too late to get feedback on the project?
—Uncertain in Utah

Dear Uncertain in Utah:
It’s never too late to get feedback. The easiest way to measure a project once it’s complete is to prepare a brief survey and send it to employees in various locations and jobs. Restate the goal of the project at the top of the survey. Use a five-point scale (1=strongly disagree, 3=neutral, 5=strongly agree) and ask employees to rate whether or not they think the project met its goal. Also be sure to ask some open-ended questions, such as, “What did you like most/least about the project?”

Stuff Looks Too Good?

I work for a company whose top management truly believes in the importance of internal communication and provides a respectable budget for such. Our group acts as an in-house advertising agency for the company and therefore can produce high quality communiques at a fraction of the cost that we would incur if we had to hire outside sources. So what's the problem? People throughout the company complain that because our communiques look so good, we must be spending too much money on them. They continuously tell us that they would rather not receive the communiques but instead have the money go towards their bonuses. We have tried explaining numerous times that we do not invest large amounts of money in these communication vehicles (company magazine 6x/year, an annual report, communication calendar, etc.), and that we are merely following the direction we have received from top management. We also try to explain how important communications is—that if they are able to gleen one idea that helps them perform their jobs better it will affect the bottom line (and their bonus) much greater than simply giving them the $12.00 we spend on an individual subscription to our company newsletter. How do we change this mind set that appears to be prevalent throughout our 14 facilities?
– Sick of the Whining in Wisconsin

Dear Sick of the Whining in Wisconsin:
Lucky you, to have top management that understands and supports the value of employee communication! Based on experience, I have several ideas to help you stop employees from whining about the money you’re spending on employee communication.

First, do an article about your communication program that lets employees know the company is making a cost-effective investment of $12 per employee each year to provide them with information to help them work productively and help the company succeed. Describe how you determine what’s included in your program and how you get feedback and input from employees.

I always find it’s extremely helpful to meet with employees regularly to find out if the communication program is accomplishing its goals. Perhaps the whining employees see the program as being too oriented to top management needs and not to their needs—in order to know for sure, you need to talk with employees directly.

Try holding focus group sessions or roundtable meetings at lunchtime in some or all of your 14 locations. Get feedback about what’s working and what’s not in your program—and take advantage of this face-to-face opportunity to educate your audience about how cost-effective your program really is. Report what you learned to your top management and in your employee communications.

When employees see themselves involved in the process of producing employee communication, they’re much less likely to whine about it.

How Do I Launch Program?

My team and I just created this great new communication program, but my boss isn’t keen on letting us get the implementation process started. How can I convince her that this program is worth launching?
– Curious in Chicago

Dear Curious:
Why not pilot the program with a small division within the company? A pilot test is safer than a full-blown launch—it feels temporary and leaves you room for error and future improvement. Plus, with a pilot test, your program will have a higher rate of success; here’s why: you’ll get feedback from your pilot participants and be able to use that feedback to improve the program. My advice is: pilot test everything.

E-mail Overload

Employees are complaining about getting too much e-mail from my department. Our e-mails contain important information, but I’m afraid that people aren’t reading them. How can I be sure that employees get the information they need, even if they only skim the e-mail?
– Seeking Suggestions in Seattle

Dear Seeking:
Try telling a story within a story. What I mean by that is, think about how you can summarize your big story into a little story, or how you can tell a visual story within your written story. For example, if your readers only have time to read the headlines and subheads in your message, be sure they tell a complete and very concise story. Use every chance you have to tell your story in interesting and different ways. This will help ensure your employees get the important information they need.

Feeling Isolated

I work in a location where there are no other communication professionals. I feel isolated from my peers and often struggle because I don’t have a “team” nearby to use a sounding board for ideas. How can I benefit from the experience of my peers when they’re nowhere in sight?
- Isolated in Iowa

Dear Isolated:
Why not start a network of communicators? If there’s even one other person in your company who’s doing communications work, internal or external, you can form a network. A network affords you the opportunity to share knowledge and information about what’s worked well in your location. Set up a contact list with e-mail addresses and phone numbers so everyone can easily share information, ideas, etc. You might even hold monthly conference calls to discuss a topic that is interesting or important to all communicators in your company. Together, your “network” can help solve common problems and share resources simply by knowing whom to contact. You are much more powerful as a member of a group than you can ever be flying solo.

Show Value

In this era of downsizing and cost–cutting, I’m eager to learn how I can demonstrate my value to the company.
– Eager in Eastern Pennsylvania

Dear Eager:
While it can be difficult to point out how you add to the organization’s bottom-line success, you can measure how much “air time” (column inches, number of stories) you devote to topics that help employees achieve organizational goals. You could even hold focus groups to determine which communications are working well and which are not. If you figure out a way to measure the focus and impact of what you do, you’ll be better able to demonstrate the value you add to the company.