I attended the Arthur W. Page Society West Coast Social Media Summit at eBay a couple weeks ago and left energized; not so much in terms of the details of where we are today, but in terms of the vision of where we are headed in the future. This phenomenon of social media and how it impacts the enterprise on every level is not something companies can opt out of. It is here. It is powerful. It’s a moving target. And we still don’t have our arms around it.

As a communication professional that focuses most of my energy on the realm of employee communication, the content and stream of thought around the authentic social enterprise was exciting.  We are on the cusp of this social revolution, particularly in how it pertains to employees. As Jeremiah Owyang pointed out in his talk, the latest Edelman trust research shows that our trust in authority and institutions is declining while our trust in our fellows, including employees, is rising.

Employees have more power and influence than ever. Whether employees know it, and whether a company wants them to, employees are out there representing their companies with every tweet, post and iPhone video. And, as we have all seen, a company’s reputation can be dramatically impacted, both for the good and the bad, in a moment.

As professionals, we can have a tangible and dramatic impact externally, through how we manage, acculturate and prepare our employees internally. This has always been true, but never as true and powerful as it is today. Companies are becoming more transparent, again, no option here. The game will be helping our organization to be authentic and to look good without their clothes on. Companies that figure this out, and truly embrace an open communication culture, will reach the level of “enlightenment” that Jeremiah mentioned in his talk and in the report he handed out.

The bottom line message I got from the session is there is more need and opportunity with employees than ever before; and more thought, strategy and planning needs to go into how we manage communications in relation to employees. Well worth the time. In addition to this broad takeaway, the session also provided great tidbits on how other companies are managing (particularly eBay) and how we can improve our own use of social media (LinkedIn session).

Follow Barbara on Twitter: @bfagansmith

Part 3: The importance of leader and manager communication

Our most powerful lever in communication is the use of leaders and managers. If you can only do one thing, make sure your organization has a communication structure for leader and manager communication, and provide the support and tools for them to talk with their teams. An employee’s connection and relationship with his/her immediate manager is crucial to employee engagement and satisfaction. For managers to be great at communicating and connecting with their teams, they need to receive the same from their managers—hence, the need for excellent leader communication.

Here are some final points to keep in mind as we navigate the changing roles for communication professionals:

• Keep your eyes on the big picture and consider the communication needs of tomorrow. Don’t just fight today’s fires.
• Social media is critical for the younger generations (and the rest of us). We need to be using these tools!
• Build and tap into your network of communication professionals. Be active on LinkedIn and attend professional communication events. We must share information among ourselves so that we can learn from, connect with and inspire each other.
• The fundamentals of communication have not changed, but the pace of our jobs is faster than ever. Don’t forget that face-to-face communication and employees’ connection with their direct manager is still key.

This content originally appeared in the IABC CW Bulletin, March 2011

Part 2: The fundamentals have not changed, only the tools

Employees still need to feel connected to their managers and teams, and to understand how their work fits into the bigger picture of the organization. As communicators, we need to help employees understand the context of the inevitable change they are experiencing and the marketplace factors driving them. Face-to-face communication remains the most powerful and effective way to connect and inspire people.

As colleagues, we need to share information and best practices—especially about new and emerging tools—so we can learn from, connect with and inspire each other. In turn, we will be able to better connect and inspire our audiences. Participating in IABC chapter meetings and attending other professional events are great ways to do this.

Stepping into our new role as strategic business partners

With the changing communication landscape, it is easy to get caught up in the tactics of scrambling to send a newsletter, revising a PowerPoint presentation, etc. We’ve all done it and we’ll continue to do it. However, it is important to stop, look forward and consider the bigger picture. We must be strategic in our mind-set and our approach.

To do this, we must get in the habit of regularly asking some key questions:

• What are the problems we’re trying to solve?
• What are we trying to accomplish? What is the ultimate vision?
• What does success look like?
• How far are we today from our vision of the future (end-state)?

Once success is clearly defined, we then need to develop a plan that gets us from the present state to the future state. That means focusing on the most important objectives—those that will have the greatest impact.

This content originally appeared in the IABC CW Bulletin, March 2011

Part 1: The future of communication: Social Media

The business landscape is in a state of constant change, and the way we work has been completely transformed. Many of us may remember the days when the Internet and e-mail were novelties that some didn’t think would have much of an impact. Now, the digital revolution has truly turbo-charged everything.

The speed and magnitude of these changes are dizzying, as are the number of communication channels and methods available to us. We have more ways to communicate with audiences who have less time and attention to consume the messages. It’s a dilemma that requires the capabilities and expertise of communicators more than ever. The need to evolve from communication tactician to strategic business partner is not just desirable, it’s imperative.

In addition to managing our day jobs—and keeping the current and evolving methods of communication going—we communication professionals also need to cast our eyes forward to how future generations will be using technology.

For example, look at the younger generation. How often do they use e-mail? Not very. Why? It’s too slow. They have to sift through too much information, including spam. They prefer mobile and real-time communications—texting and Facebook. So what does that mean for the workplace? We need to answer that question today, not tomorrow.

Social media provides a great way to achieve instant connection. It’s about social networking—being able to engage and collaborate through a digital medium. Though there is a lot of talk about using social media and networking in the workplace, the reality is that most of us are simply not there yet.

As communication professionals, we need to be at the vanguard of this movement, bringing the vision and the reality of the future of communication together. We must understand what the next generation wants and needs in terms of communication, and then we need to bring it into the workplace.

This content originally appeared in the IABC CW Bulletin, March 2011

As pioneers of the virtual work environment, ROI has been a leader in what it takes to build a collaborative culture of consultants. In a similar way, Salesforce.com has been pioneering the tools to make collaboration happen.

I had the opportunity to hear Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, at a recent conference in San Francisco and was inspired by his comments on the “future of work”. During the course of an all-too-short 20 minutes at Giga OM’s first Net:work event, he shared an unexpected point-of-view. The agenda was packed with discussions about collaboration products, cloud computing and IT solutions. As one of the hottest software products and services around, what was surprising was that his vision – and in this venue – was not about technology. It was about people.

Today, it’s getting far too easy for leaders to hide behind technology and ignore the importance of engaging their employees on a personal, human level.  More than ever we need agile leaders who can build a culture of trust in virtual environments, are curious about their employees at all levels of the organization, and are open to learning from them. Benioff shared an example of how Salesforce engaged their employees in the annual strategic planning session for the company by using a host of collaboration tools and face-to-face interaction. The ideas were plentiful from across the organization and the result was a robust plan. And, it sounded like they had a lot of fun doing it.

Businesses today need leaders who are willing to experiment with flatter organizational structures and push forward new ways of working. We need leaders who can connect and inspire their employees. When done right, that inspiration can result in higher retention, better work product and bottom line benefits. By nature, Benioff is a risk taker and an innovator, he’s transparent – what you see is what you get – and he’s a leader, whether you like his style or not. We need more leaders like Marc Benioff.

(Note: ROI Communication uses Salesforce.com products)

In addition to being an incredible World Series to watch and be part of here in the Bay Area, the 2010 San Francisco Giants provided some invaluable lessons in teamwork and communication.  Manager Bruce Bochy did what we need all effective CEO’s and business leaders to do – he brought out the best in his people.  How he did it should be the subject of management training for decades to come.

Like a strategic chess player, Bochy is credited with making all the right moves to lead the Giants to their first World Series victory in more than 50 years.  His deep knowledge of each player’s skills and talent was obvious but it was his unique 1:1 approach that got each individual to rise to the challenges he needed them to meet. Take his request to Aubrey Huff back in early September to practice his bunting on the off chance that he may need him for that role in the playoffs. Here’s a guy who had no sacrifice bunts in ten years in the Major Leagues.  Sure enough he did just that two months later – he laid down an extraordinary bunt which helped the Giants win game 5 of the Series.

And although it was a risky move, he did the same thing when he went to his ace, Tim Lincecum, in the playoffs and asked  if he could ‘get him a few outs’ if he needed him as a relief pitcher.  When Tim came into Game 6 of the NLCS against Philadelphia, it was obvious what was on the line and the adrenalin rush was palpable.  What was even more important than the results was the chain of communication and trust between coach and player.

In an era where professional teams and athletes have let us down as role models repeatedly, the Bochy-led Giants have more than made up for where others have failed.  A lot will be written about the ‘knuckleheads and misfits’ in the storybook ending of the Giants 2010 season, but the lessons of leadership, communication and teamwork should not be overlooked.

As professionals we sometimes forget the simplest truth about communication. At its most basic level, it is really about human connections. I’m reminded of this fact as I anticipate our annual family vacation on the Maine coast this and every August. A college roommate used to say that this was the best part of any vacation—the simple anticipation of the joy ahead. When we were getting ready to go home for Christmas or the summer ahead in the hasty, stressful days of preparation and exams, he would always say, “Rog, enjoy it now. This is the best part because once the vacation starts, it’s almost over.”

At first I thought that his insight was pessimistic. Through the years, however, I learned that there was a wisdom in his view that the anticipation is the real source of pleasure. But that’s usually not true of our family gathering of 17 of us, including our adult children, their spouses and 7 grandchildren in a network of cottages where after all these years we are regarded as more than ‘summah people.’

What has always been so great about this time is that we can totally disconnect from modern technology because our cottages are completely outside of the range of high-speed—or even low-speed—connections. In the beginning our cottage didn’t even have what we now call a land line. The only potential intruder is the FedEx driver, whose services we usually manage to ignore.

The absence of such things when the kids were small forced us to talk and to listen to one another’s ideas, visions, aspirations and fears. Over a game of Old Maid or Monopoly, we had plenty of time to ‘commune,’ which my dictionary defines so well as ‘to communicate intimately.’ Those times cemented relationships that are so deep in every one of our hearts that we find it unthinkable to not return each year, regardless of how we are now scattered or how busy our lives might otherwise be.

Today Old Maid has given way to long adult dinners at one or other of the network of cottages we occupy. But the games continue for the second generation of kids for whom the trip to Maine is as treasured as it used to be for their parents, who counted the intervening days until we packed up the car in terms of the number of ‘sleeps’ remaining until we began the long drive.

In the cottage my wife and I occupy there is a tradition we have faithfully honored for 40 summers. The original owners, now long deceased, and their surviving son have always kept a logbook handy for their various guests to record their experiences in the cottage that sits prominently on a rocky ledge 20 or 30 feet above the waves that alternately retreat, collide, foam and throw an occasional spray high against the rocks. The stack of old logbooks is a testament to the magic of the place and a communication of the comings and goings of family members from childhood to college to jobs to marriages and births. Only happy thoughts are recorded in the log book. There is no formal prohibition, but the communications are touching, thoughtful and often wistful for such a simple existence.

My long ago roommate was right. This is the best time because it’s full of anticipation without the realization that the actual days will fly faster than we ever want. But oh the communication!

I came upon an interesting post the other day on the CRM Learning blog titled The Myth of Generational Workforce in the Workplace. The blog post reviewed new research on the multigenerational workforce by Jennifer J. Deal, a research scientist with the Center for Creative Leadership.

Deal argues that the stereotypes associated with the different generations are just that. After surveying more than 3,000 corporate leaders for her book Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young & Old Can Find Common Ground, she found that all generations of working age value the same things – family, respect, leaders who are trustworthy, opportunity to learn, and feedback.

While this may not surprise any member of the four generations in the workforce today, what may surprise at least some is what Deal found out about how the different generations react to change. Her research indicated that resistance or acceptance of change had less to do with age and more to do with what personal impact the change would have on the individual.

The CRM Learning blog quotes Deal, “The so-called generation gap is, in large part, the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, fueled by common insecurities and desire for clout.”

Sounds like a fairly easy fix then, right? Just improve communication, create a more open environment where employees can express their concerns, and find ways to ensure that promotions occur with a consideration as to their affect beyond the individual being promoted. But wait…aren’t those steps management experts have been espousing for at least the last two decades?

Evidently, the old adage “the more the world changes, the more it stays the same” continues to be valid today; regardless of what generation you belong to.

Like many of you, I’ve been following the tragic oil rig disaster and subsequent spill into the Gulf. While companies may eventually realize the importance of external communications, adequate communications with employees is often lost when a crisis occurs.

I’ve worked for a few companies who’ve had their share of crises that were either self-inflicted or out of their control.  Consequently, I’ve seen some best practices that BP – who seems to suffering from both –may want to leverage for communications with its employees:

1. Care. This may seem obvious, but the history of business is rife with examples of companies that didn’t see the need to communicate with employees. The reasons cited are more often “it doesn’t affect them directly” and “fueling the water cooler talk just causes lower productivity.” However, the reality at BP is that productivity is already suffering. Their employees are consuming news far more than the average person because it’s about their company.  They are also hearing it in their social communities, networks and from others within the company. Multiply this by 96,000 (latest BP employment count) and you have the makings for quite a productivity problem.
2. Listen. During crises, employees want information and they want to be heard. Don’t guess on what they are thinking, engage them directly. Toyota, despite its missteps, has a plan in place for internal communications, and by their accounts they are seeing the positive results of doing so. Even if “I don’t know” is the best response you can give them to their questions; employees will appreciate that you took the time to hear them and respond.
3. Acknowledge. It’s ok to be empathetic, even if the company doesn’t think it’s at fault. Just acknowledge what the employees are feeling (hint: you learn this from listening). BP finally seems to be doing this to some degree with the clean-up workers.
4. Be Timely. The goal is to be the information source your employees trust. If there is news, make sure employees hear the company’s version of the story first. This makes you appear transparent and open. It can be challenging to do, but when it’s built into the plan, it can be done successfully.

A great example is this earnings video from Cisco Systems CEO, John Chambers. This was completed in November 2008, right in the middle of the economic free fall. In the video, Chambers provided a steady voice and outlined a plan in the face of tremendous uncertainty. What’s interesting to note is that this video was made available to partners, shareholders and the press as well.

Even though BP is now being proactive and acknowledging mistakes, their initial approach of minimizing the event, not taking accountability and limiting information really fueled the fire with the press. Time will tell if these missteps result in any long-term damage with employees. However, a strong internal communications plan will keep employees informed, keep them engaged and most importantly keep them on the company’s side. And in a time like this, BP needs all the allies it can get.