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11. Employee Relations

AL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES. 11. Employee Relations. Lecture by Dr. Mohammed Ibahrine based on Seitel’s The Practice of Public Relations. Structure of the Lecture. 1 Strong Employee Relations = Solid Companies

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11. Employee Relations

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  1. AL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES 11. Employee Relations Lecture by Dr. Mohammed Ibahrine based on Seitel’s The Practice of Public Relations

  2. Structure of the Lecture • 1 Strong Employee Relations = Solid Companies • 2 dealing with the employee Public • 3 Communicating Effectively in a Sea of Doubt • 4 Credibility • 5 Employee Communication Strategies • 6 Employee Communication Tactics

  3. Structure of the Lecture • 6 Employee Communication Tactics • 6.1 Internal Communications Audits • 6.2 Online Communications • 6.3 The Intranet • 6.4 Print Publication • 6.5 Desktop Publishing • 6.6 Employee Annual Reports • 6.7 Bulletin Boards • 6.8 Suggestion Box/Town Hall Meetings • 6.9 Internal Video • 6.10 Face-to-face Supervisory Communications • 7 Dealing with the Grapevine

  4. 1 Employee Relations • According to Fortune magazine, the top 200 most admired corporations in America spent a significantly larger share of their communications budgets – more than 50 percent - on employee relations

  5. 1 Employee Relations • For a variety of reason communicating with employees has become increasingly important for organizations in the new millennium • 1. The wave of downsizings and layoffs that dominated business and industry worldwide after the high-tech-bubble burst in the early years of the 21st century • 2. The widening gulf between the pay of senior officers and common workers is another reason why organizations must be sensitive to employee communications

  6. 1 Employee Relations • 3. There is no such thing as “lifetime employment” • The notion of “job stability” has disappeared • Most employees no longer expect cradle-to-grave employment • The name of the game today is job mobility • Consequently, employee trust was at an all-time low • 4. The merger of geographically dispersed organizations is another reason why for increased focus on internal communication

  7. 1 Employee Relations • Business managers have realized that the assets of their companies exist very much in the heads of their employees • Employee communication, then, has become a key way and transfer that intellectual capital among workers • Internal communication has become a “hot ticket” in public relations

  8. 2 Dealing with Employee Publics • Just as there is no such thing as the “general public”, there is also no single “employee public” • The employee public is made up of numerous subgroups: • Senior managers • First-line supervisors • Staff and line employees • Women • Minority • Union laborers • Per diem employees • Contract workers

  9. 2 Dealing with Employee Publics • A smart organization will try to differentiate messages and communications to reach these segments • Today, the staff is • Younger • Increasingly female • More ambitious • Career oriented • Less complacent • Less loyal to the company

  10. 2 Dealing with Employee Publics • Internal communications, like external messages, must be targeted to reach specific subgroups of the employee public • Organizing effective, believable and persuasive internal communication in the midst of organizational change is a core critical public relations responsibility in the 21st century

  11. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • An organization truly concerned about “getting through” to its employees in an era of downsizing and displacement, must reinforce five specific principles: • 1. Respect • 2. Honest feedback • 3. Recognition • 4. A voice • 5. Encouragement

  12. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 1. Respect: Employees must be respected for their worth as individuals and their value as workers

  13. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 2. Honest feedback: By talking to workers about their strengths and weakness, employees know where they stand

  14. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 3. Recognition: Employees feel successful when management recognizes their contributions • It is the duty of the public relations professional to suggest mechanisms by which deserving employees will be honored

  15. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 4. A voice: employees want their ideas to be heard and to have a voice in decision making

  16. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 5. Encouragement: benefits and money motivate employees up to point, but that “something else” is generally necessary • This something else is encouragement

  17. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • According to Milton Moskowitz, coauthor of The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, six criteria are important: • 1. Willingness to express dissent. Employees want to be able to “feed back” to management their opinions and even dissent • 2. Visibility and proximity of upper management. Enlightened companies try to level rank distinctions, eliminating such status reminders as executives cafeterias • They act against hierarchical separation

  18. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 3. Priority of internal o external communication. Employees want to be able to “feed back” to management their opinions and even dissent • 4. Attention to clarity. Good companies will write benefits booklets with clarity to be readable for a general audience rather than for human resources specialist • 5. Friendly tone. Best companies give “a sense of family” in all that they communicate

  19. 3 Communicating Effectively in a sea of Doubt • 6. Sense of humor. People are principally worried about keeping their jobs

  20. 4 Credibility • The task for management is to convince employees that it communicates with them in a truthful, frank and direct manner • This is the overriding challenge that confronts today’s internal communicators • What internal communications comes down to is credibility

  21. 4 Credibility • The employee public is a savvy one • The management must be truthful • The employees want management • Research indicates that trust in organizations would increase if management • Communicated earlier and more frequently

  22. 5 Employee Communication Strategies • Enhancing credibility, being candid, and winning trust must be the primary employee communications objectives in the new century • Five elements are key in any strategic program • 1. Survey employee’s attitudes regularly. Internal communications audits and attitudes surveys can identify problems before they become crises • 2. Be consistent. Management that promises open and honest communications must practice it • An open door must remain open not just partly open part of the time

  23. 5 Employee Communication Strategies • 3. Personalize communication. Workers want personal attention from those for whom they work, particularly their immediate supervisor. The best internal communications are those are personal and face-to-face • 4. Be candid. Employee today are younger, less well educated, less loyal • 5. Be innovative. New employees in the workforce and increase skepticism in the workplace demand new communications technology solutions (voice, video, data transmission on PCs and so on)

  24. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • Once objectives are set, a variety of techniques can be adopted to reach the staff • The initial tool again is research • Before any communications program can be implemented, communicators must have a good sense of staff attitudes

  25. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.1 Internal Communications Audits • The internal communications audit is the most beneficial form of research on which to lay the groundwork for effective employee communications • This starts with personal, in-depth interviews with both top management and communicators • It is important to find out what communicators “think” management wants

  26. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.1 Internal Communications Audits • The three critical audit questions are: • 1. How do internal communications support the mission of the organization? • 2. Do internal communications have management’s support? • 3. How responsive to employee needs and concerns are internal?

  27. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.2 Online Communications • The age of online communications has ushered in a whole new set of employee communications vehicles: • E-mail • Voice • Tailored organizational intranets • Tailored online newsletters

  28. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.4 The Intranet • The Intranet has overtaken print communication • Intranet creators should keep in mind several important considerations • Consider the culture • Set clear objectives and then let it evolve • Treat it as a journalistic enterprise • Market, market and market • Senior management must commit

  29. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.5 Print Publications • The advent of online internal communication has been hard on print publications • Employee newsletters should appear regularly on time and with consistent format • In the 21st century, such newsletters provide two way communications, expressing not only management wishes but staff concerns as well

  30. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.6 Desktop Publishing • Desktop publishing enables a public relations professional to produce a newsletter at his or her own desk • Introduced in 1985, desktop publishing allows an editor to write , lay out, and typeset a piece of copy • A typical newsletter editor must consider the following steps in approaching the task

  31. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.6 Desktop Publishing • 1. Assigning stories. Articles assignments must focus on organizational strategies and management objectives • Job information • Organizational changes • Mergers, reasons behind decisions • 2. Enforcing deadlines: Employees respect a newsletter that comes out at a specific time • An editor must assign and enforce rigid copy deadlines • Deadline slippage can not be tolerated

  32. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.6 Desktop Publishing • 3. Assigning photos. People like photos • 4. Editing copy. An editor must be just that: a critic of sloppy writing, a student of forceful prose • 5. Formatting copy. An editor, particularly a desktop editor, must also make the final decisions on the format of the newsletter; how long articles should • 6. Ensuring on-time publication. In publishing, timeliness is next to godliness • It is the editor’s responsibility to ensure that no last-minute glitches interfere with on-time publication

  33. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.6 Desktop Publishing • 7. Critiquing. The editor’s job must continue • Review copy, photos, placement, content, philosophy and all the other elements to ensure that the next edition will be even better

  34. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.7 Employee Annual Reports • Most employees do care about how their organization functions and what its management is thinking • The annual report to the staff is a good place to discuss such issues informally, yet candidly

  35. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.7 Employee Annual Reports • The report can be • Factual: explaining the performance of the organization during the year • Informational: reviewing organizational changes and significant milestones during the year • Motivational: in its implicit appeal to team spirit and pride

  36. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.7 Employee Annual Reports • Typical features of the employee annual report include the following: • Chief executive’s letter • Use-of-funds statement • Financial condition • Description of the company • Social responsibility highlights • Staff financial highlights • Organizational policy • Emphasis on people

  37. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.8 Bulletin Boards • Bulletin boards, among the most ancient of employee communications vehicles, have made a comeback in recent years • Classical use of bulletin boards was limited to policy data for such activities as fire drills and emergency procedures • Most employees rarely consulted them

  38. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.8 Bulletin Boards • BB has experienced a renaissance and is now being used to improve productivity, cut waste, and reduce accidents on the jobs • Best of all employees are taking notice • BB has become today's news center • It has been repacked into a more lively visual and graphically arresting medium • BB has become an important source of employee communication

  39. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.9 Suggestion Box/ Town Hall Meetings • Two other traditional staples of employee communication are the suggestion box and the town hall meeting • In the old times, suggestion boxes were mounted on each floor, and employees, often anonymously, deposited their thoughts on how to improve the company and its processes and products

  40. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.9 Suggestion Box/ Town Hall Meetings • Town hall meetings are large gatherings of employees with top management, where no subject is off limits, and management-staff dialogue is the goal • Town hall meetings must encourage unfettered two-way communication • In the 21st century, with employees increasingly suspect of all in charge, only candid, open and honest communications work

  41. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.10 Internal Video • Video has had an up-and-down history as an internal communications medium • Internal video is a medium that must be approached with caution • Unless video is of broadcast quality, few will tolerate it, especially an audience of employees weaned on television • A public relations professionals must raise at least a dozen questions before embarking on an internal video venture

  42. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.10 Internal Video • 1. Why are doing this video? • 2. Whom we are trying to reach with this video? • 3. What is the point of the video? • 4. What do we want viewers to do after seeing the video? • 5. How good is our video script? • 6. How sophisticated is the quality of our broadcast? • 7. How innovative and creative is the broadcast) Does it measure up to regular television? • 8. How competent is our talent? • 9. How much money can we spend?

  43. 6 Employee Communications Tactics • 6.11 Face-to-face Supervisory Communications Video • Employees want information face-to-face from their supervisors • Supervisors are the preferred source of 90 percent of employees, making them the top choice by far • You report to your supervisor, who awards your raise, promotes you and is your primary source of corporate information

  44. 7 Dealing with the Grapevine • In many organizations, it is neither the Internet nor cyberspace that dominates communications but rather the company grapevine • The rumor mill can be devastating • Rumors, once they pick up steam, are difficult to stop, if not possible, and it is usually not worth the time

  45. 7 Dealing with the Grapevine • It should not necessarily be treated as the enemy of effective communications with employees • Management might even consider using it as a positive force • It may be even more valuable because it is believed • Everyone seems to tap into it

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