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Communicating to boost morale and performance in a downturn

Only 40% of full-time UK employees feel their company has a clear plan to withstand the recession, according to a new study by Threshold Communications, specialists in communication and behaviour change.

These figures are particularly important to business leaders as the research also shows that a link with productivity and morale. Of those who feel strongly that their company has a clear plan to withstand the recession 82% have considerably more enthusiasm in their day-to-day jobs and 86% feel committed to their organizations long-term success.

The research also stresses the importance of good manager/employee communications, stating that: “People don’t leave companies – they leave managers”. Key in this relationship is the managers ability to listen and respond to staff.

Other key findings:

The extent to which employees beleive their company has a plan to withstand recession, correlates directly with their motivation and long- term commitment.
Most employees are not confident that their organization has a plan to withstand recession.
Employees are considerably more likely to trust their direct line managers than senior leaders.
Only 32% of employees feel that the way in which their line manager communicates with them supports their motivation.
Where line managers talk through company plans and aims employees are significantly more likely to feel motivated and committed.
Where line managers genuinely listen and seek input and ideas, employees are significantly more likely to feel motivated and committed.

For more information about the survey and its findings, see the full report >

Melitta

By GenevaCom| May 20th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Online communications during a crisis

In October 2008, when the Financial Crisis was in full tilt, Lundquist Srl, a corporate communications consultancy based in Milan, surveyed 51 of the worlds most important banks to discover what information, if any, they were putting on their respective websites.

The research highlighted a growing gap between the demand and supply of corporate information. While users are increasingly turning to online resources for answers, on the whole banks are ignoring this important medium as a means of sharing key information.

Learning from the survey, Lundquist suggest that to effectively communicate online the following principles should be kept in mind:

Honesty – demonstrate awareness of the situation as the first step to regaining confidence
Clarity of language – make the information easily understandable, include things such as an investor Q&A or a well written management statement
Completeness – provide background by explaining the context
Link to other resources – such as reliable third party information
Authoritativeness – the presence and opinions of company management should be felt
Easy to find – make the information users want to find highly evident
Coherence – online message must be integrated with traditional media channels
Interactivity – make use of technologies such as: video, Q&A and dedicated contacts

A summary of the survey’s findings was presented earlier this year to the annual meeting of the world federation of stock exchanges Zurich. For more information, download a copy of this presentation >

Melitta

By GenevaCom| May 8th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Global survey on communications evaluation

If you are a communications professional, please take a few minutes and participate in a global benchmarking survey designed to measure best practices in public relations measurement and management.

This survey builds on research undertaken five years ago. The results of the current survey will be presented at the First European Summit on Measurement, June 10-12 in Berlin, Germany.

Complete the survey here>>

By GenevaCom| May 6th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Social media and business

An interesting post by Sharlyn Lauby about implementing social media policies in business:

Companies are realizing that people are talking about them whether they like it or not. As a result, they’re deciding whether they should consider having a social media presence, and hence, a policy. A social media policy outlines for employees the corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the online world.

Social media is quickly moving from an emerging form of communication to the mainstream. So, just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with Facebook() and all other new media venues. Let’s talk about the Five Ws to adopting a social media policy.

1. WHY have such a policy?
2. WHAT can social media do for my organization?
3. WHO should the policy cover?
4. WHERE should you let employees know about this policy?
5. WHEN is the right time to implement a policy?

By GenevaCom| May 3rd, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Out of sight, out of business!

As communicators, we know that in tough times it is more important than ever to maintain, if not increase, communications with staff and stakeholders to give them confidence in the future of your business and keep them loyal and positive.

A recent study by The Nielsen Company has given further credence to this approach, as it shows that consumers who have been exposed to ‘more’ advertising and marketing messages have more positive perceptions about the long-term health of their financial institutions; with those stakeholders who have seen ‘less’ messaging having lower levels of confidence in their institutions.

“This research shows that ‘out of sight’ can mean ‘out of business’,” said Richard Khaleel, EVP of Nielsen IAG’s Financial practice. “The current economic climate makes it more important than ever for financial institutions to bolster confidence among their clients and this study clearly demonstrates the link between advertising and confidence levels. With constant scrutiny on the industry it’s clear that taking control of the message in advertising and press can make all the difference for a brand.”

More about this AC Nielsen study >

Melitta

By GenevaCom| April 29th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Origins and purpose of Internal Communications

With tomorrow’s GCN lunch being on the topic of Internal Communications, I thought it would be interesting to take a quick look at the origins and purpose of this discipline.

In a series of blog posts, a journalist explores what could be the first ever book published on the subject of Internal Communications called ‘Sharing Information with Employees’ – way back in 1942! Read posts >

But if this does not satisfy your curiosity about the roots of IC; then perhaps UK agency, 44 Communications, can offer more insight in their document: ‘A Quick History of Internal Communications and its value’.

With regards to the current purpose of IC, experts and practitioners seem split, as demonstrated by a recent discussion on Melcrum’s LinkedIn Group. Russell Pearson, who started the debate, has summarised the various views on his blog.

Liam Fitzpatrick, tomorrow’s GCN speaker who also contributed to the Melcrum discussion, offered the view that while there may not be a definitive purpose for IC, there are five main reasons why companies embark on and invest in internal communications; to:

make people stay with the company and feel great about staying
direct people towards working harder on the right things
get people to say the right things about your organisation
get employees behind change, to support and see through change
to remain legal and compliant.

I agree that there is no one definitive purpose – that’s why we IC professionals take so much care to align our comms strategies to the purpose and goals of the overall organisation and develop the right messages and channels for each organisation. There are no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions. For me, it’s this ongoing challenge that makes IC one of the most exciting and rewarding areas of communications to be involved in.

Melitta

By GenevaCom| April 23rd, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Awards for Top Swiss Corporate Websites – correction

Contrary to my original post on 9 April, this year saw the second annual H&H Webranking Awards Ceremony, recognizing the top performing corporate websites in the 2008 H&H Webranking Switzerland survey. Sorry for any inconvenience caused by the error.

This year’s winners include:

Georg Fischer – First place overall, and one of the most improved websites in the Swiss ranking this year.
UBS – Second place overall (last year’s winners)
Swisscom – Third place overall
Nestlé – Best Social Media Initiative, for its innovative and use of Web 2.0 applications on its corporate site
Roche – Best Performer, CSR
Swatch Group – Best Improver among all Swiss websites in the survey

More than just an awards ceremony, this year’s event also included speeches from leaders in online communications including David Villa from Xing and Roberto Ferrari, Websites manager at Eni, this year’s winner of the European Webranking. There was also a presentation of new research being conducted into online CSR communications by Lundquist srl, Hallvarsson and Halvarsson’s representative in Switzerland, Italy and Austria.

Further information about t the 2008 H&H Swiss ranking >

Video summary of the event >

Melitta

By GenevaCom| April 17th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Help writing social media guidelines

Social Media is a fast evolving area of communications and most organisations are starting to develop and issue guidelines for staff regarding use of Corporate blogs and networks, as well as restrictions on the use of social media outside of the office to prevent any company secrets being leaked or colleagues being maligned.

If you are planning to develop such policies, then help is at hand as the CIPR has released Social Media Guidelines to help advice the communications community on how social media should be handled.

Read the CIPR Social Media Guidelines >

Melitta

By GenevaCom| April 14th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

Awards for Top Swiss Corporate Websites

(Please see the correction to this post, published on 17 April)

The first Swiss H&H Webranking Awards Ceremony was held in Zürich earlier this month, to recognise the top performing websites in the 2007 Swiss H&H Webranking survey.

The H&H Webranking research, published in collaboration with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), represents Europe’s most comprehensive survey of corporate online communication. A total of 630 companies throughout Europe are considered, including the 62 largest listed companies in Switzerland.

The Winners:

3rd – Credit Suisse for its high quality content and interactive features
2nd – Swisscom came in second place with an overall score of 77 points
1st – UBS for the fourth time (9th overall out of all European companies surveyed)
Best Corporate Governance Section – ABB
Best Improver – Roche

Melitta

By GenevaCom| April 9th, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

8 Rules: How to manage PR in the Economical Crisis

Ahead April’s Crisis Communication conference in London, organisers have issued a tip sheet outlining the eight rules for managing PR in an economical crisis to help professionals position their messages appropriately in today’s environment and avoid making fundamental errors.

Download the Tip Sheet and find out more about the conference >

Melitta

By GenevaCom| April 1st, 2009|Other resources|0 Comments

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