Connect with Geno Church at the PRSA Connect 13 Conference, March 26–27, in New York, where he will give a keynote presentation on “People-Powered Brands: Empowering a Tribe of Internal Advocates.”

Why does your brand exist? What is your purpose for being in business? Does every employee know what your company is working toward?

Here’s a hint: Your brand isn’t a product or a line item on a spreadsheet. It’s the stories people tell about it.

Continue reading " People-Powered Brands: Empowering a Tribe of Internal Advocates "

Connect with Scott Spreier on business integration and alignment at the PRSA Connect 13 Conference, March 26–27, in New York City. Scott will be giving a keynote on “Why Should I Listen To You?: How Global Trends Affect Employee Communication and Engagement.”
 

Like it or not, today’s employee communication — in all of its glittering technological glory — is quickly losing its mojo. Finding it again will take more than another cool digital download.

There was a time when most organizations and their leaders were afforded a certain level of respect and trust, whether or not they earned it. Employees listened to — and usually believed and did — what they were told. Not anymore. Today, credibility is finicky and fleeting. While employees may be hesitant to publicly proclaim their skepticism about their organization and its leadership, many are thinking it. And, if it hasn’t already affected their performance, it soon will.

This decline in respect, authority and trust can, in many ways, be traced to several emerging global, organizational, individual and — perhaps ironically — technological megatrends that are fundamentally altering the relationship between leaders and followers.

These megatrends, which surfaced in Hay Group’s recent “Leadership 2030” research report, include accelerating globalization, climate change, individualization, shifting demographics, an emerging digital lifestyle and the convergence of technology. Together, they create a formidable challenge for how we connect and communicate with employees.

Continue reading " Why Should I Listen To You? How Global Trends Are Challenging Traditional Employee Communication "

Join Mary Jane Saras, LCSW for her workshop, “Conflict Resolution Simplified,” on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the PRSA 2011 International Conference, Oct. 15–18 in Orlando, Fla.!

There are some warning signs for team leaders to watch out for when it comes to high stress on a team. When stress hits the hot button, there is a natural tendency for all of us to revert to behavior we learned in our original organization, the family; things we learned for security and survival. These behaviors come to work with us in unique and powerful ways when we are tense and feel overwhelmed. So, if your teammate is behaving like a baby, you’re right. And if you are responding like a thumb-sucking toddler, you are!

In “Conflict Resolution Simplified,” I’ll give you a new perspective on warning signs to watch out for on your team, and why some of these “early warning signs” do come to work with you, even if you didn’t want them to.

Let me share a story.

Continue reading " What Team Leaders Need to know About Stress and Conflict "

I look forward to hosting the free PRSA webinar next week “Fact Based Leadership”  This case study won the prestigious Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award for excellence in public relations research, measurement and evaluation last year.  This award’s primary objective is to identify superb examples of research used to support public relations practice, and to publish these as case studies on the Institute for Public Relations website — in this creative and more unusual entry we found a gem. 

Continue reading " Demonstrating the Link Between Employee Engagement and Productivity "

Remember the bulky, boring employee suggestion boxes that used to gather dust in the corridor corners?

Many of them are gone. But thanks to the introduction of new social media tools, the suggestion box concept has been rejuvenated online – enjoying a busy and productive new life on intranets – making idea sharing exciting, conversational, beneficial and rewarding for employees and organizations alike.

The good news is that employee communicators are leading the charge, leveraging digital technologies to make a difference for their organizations, accelerating employee involvement, cultural change and business improvement in ways that didn’t exist a decade ago.

Here’s a glance at two success stories

Continue reading " Social Media Opens New Frontier For Employee Idea Sharing "