Executive Messages – Hanyok Communications

Every quarter, employees gather in the cafeteria for town hall meetings. The tables are removed, and seats are placed in neat rows. The podium, microphone, and projector screen are tested and ready.

As employees enter the room and take their seats, the senior vice president who will present the latest company information talks quietly with one of his direct reports. At 9 o’clock he steps up to the podium, says good morning and begins reading the first slide. By the third slide, the employees look bored and ready to leave.

Meetings like this don’t work. Employees prefer hearing company information from leaders who talk with them, not to them and engage them in authentic conversation and actions.

Polls have shown that most employees are not engaged, even during town hall meetings. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Leaders can turn boring town hall meetings into engaging experiences that score big with employees. As communicators, it’s our job to help leaders do it well so that they increase their credibility and build trust, which helps employees connect with the individual and the organization. Continue reading Score Big with Town Hall Meetings

Recently someone who is just beginning their career in employee communications asked me how they could reach manufacturing employees who don’t have computers or even a company email address. This is a challenge many manufacturing companies face because their employees don’t use computers in their jobs. Welders, for example, generally don’t have computers in their work area.

Employees who are not connected to the intranet, where company news is easily distributed, may be non-wired employees, but they are just as valuable as those with computers on their desks and they should be given company news and resources to help them stay engaged.

Employees don’t have to be connected to receive good messages that engage them on multiple levels. Various forms of employee communications were successful long before email and intranets. You just need to know your employees and how they are most likely to consume the messages you have to deliver. Tailor your tactics to your audience of employees, their location and their work schedules.

Continue reading Reach Your Non-wired Employees