Communication methods can sometimes have a limited shelf life, and after a while people no longer notice them. I am looking for suggestions of different ways in which to get information to the workforce and likewise get responses back. No suggestion will be considered daft, the more the merrier!
Paul Chetwynd
6 Responses
Effective Communications
At our company we use several methods of communications that all compliment each other.
1. Annual presentation by MD to all employees.
2. Bi-monthly professional newletter. Independent journalist interviews employees for stories and articles, it is not a company prpoganda document.
3. Monthly ‘Core Brief’ – senior management prepare a communication focusing on ‘people’, ‘progress’, ‘points for action’ and ‘policy,.
Communication is cascaded down through organisation by each manager to their teams. Questions are encouraged and passed back up to a level that can answer them.
4. Daily start & end of work shift briefings.
5. Annual Employee Development Interviews (forward looking appraisal), to all employees including production workers, allows managers to share business plans and align personal objectives to business needs.
Derek Smith
Company Intranet
An Intranet (a company-wide internet) can be an ideal way to centralise company, departmental and even individual information.
The range of info on offer can range from team meeting minutes through to company strategy. Ours also contains details on Sports and Social events.
The keys to its success are that a) it must be maintained regularly and b) the home-page must be put together properly. Many sites I’ve seen favour style over content – they look interesting but don’t contain anything relevant to staf.If these two factors are ignored then the intranet can quickly evolve into an electronic white elephant.
In addition to managers’ meetings and a monthly operations meeti
Our MD holds a suggestion forum every 6 weeks and even provides breakfast at them ! Anyone can turn up and give their view on current issues or suggest new ideas for the business or to improve staff conditions.
All comments are minuted and he gives an update on what action is being taken at the next operations meeting. Sometimes you may get 20 attendees, sometimes only 5 but from every one we’ve had so far, we’ve implemented at least 2 or 3 ideas.
Humorous illustrations get the message across
Everybody loves Garfield, Peanuts, The Far Side etc…
Humorous cartoons get the message across provided the message is short, fun and without a hard sell. Keep it simple. They can be used every where – posters, publications, intranet, changed daily or weekly, incorporate in house jokes, gossip, caricatures of personalities or the MD.
Of course some people may hate them, turn their nose up and complain but they will, like every one else, have read them.
So now where do you go to get these illustrations? – Cartoon Box 020 8946 7745
It’s all about US telling THEM. None of it is focused on them t
All companies use numerous methods of communication and they nearly all share two characteristics – one-way and downward.
Organisations spend enormous amounts of money on communicating, using increasingly sophisticated techniques – posters, newsletters, videos, web sites and projectors. But it’s all about US telling THEM. None of it is focused on them telling us.
If you want to open up communication in your organisation there must be a genuine desire by top management to listen. They must not see it as another means to tell, to get their message across.
We use Metaplan to open up communication. Metaplan enables people to share info, brainstorm and solve problems. In addition to the techniques, I have developed numerous structures depending on the issues involved, the size of the population and the objective.
If you want to explore this approach let me know. I can then tell you what we have achieved and put you in touch with others who use Metaplan and where you can get more details.
Mike Westwood
mike@ambit.globalnet.co.uk
http://www.ambit.uk.com
Communication
We have developed a psychometric system which uses colours (easy to remember!). This has been used to colour-code activities (particularly in Training and Development), but also to support communication activities within the “Learning Organisation”. Go to http://www.insightsworld.com to see details. You can email me at drobinson@insightsworld.com for direct information and also how to obtain your complimentary Discovery Report.