Internal Communication with Louise Sturgess

McDonalds hopes designer uniforms will improve staff ‘feel good factor’

Yesterday McDonalds unveiled new designer uniforms for its UK staff. Bruce Oldfield, who said he’d enjoyed designing the ‘contemporary look’ for the staff, designed the outfits. Shown on the left in the photo below.

So why has McDonalds done this? Well, a spokesperson from McDonalds said that its staff did a ‘challenging job’ and that the new outfits would help them ‘feel good’ in their role. It’s hoped that the new outfits will also go some way to improving the perception of working at McDonalds and stop the use of the term ‘McJob’.

All of this reminds me of a summer holiday job one of my sisters once had, serving food at a service station. This meant her getting up at some ridiculous time five mornings a week and getting a mini bus to her workplace along with some of her other colleagues. One morning, the conversation turned to the ‘new look’ uniforms that had been provided. Unlike the McDonalds uniforms, Bruce Oldfield had not designed these and the general consensus was that they were pretty awful. I can’t actually repeat word for word what was said on that bus that morning, but the overall feeling was, ‘not only do they treat us badly, now they expect us to look bad too.’

I’m sure that the new uniforms will go some way to making McDonalds employees feel better about their jobs and their workplace. We all know that what you wear does impact how you feel, how others perceive you and how you behave. However, if McDonalds is serious about improving the morale and motivation of its people, I do hope it’s going to look beyond baseball caps and polo shirts.

   

Keeping hold of talent

Over the last few weeks the papers have been full of horror stories of jobs being axed in the city and of a full-scale recession looming ever closer. Last week the London Metro reported that two major investment banks, Merrill Lynch and UBS, had made significant cuts to headcount. Merrill Lynch said it was cutting 4,000 jobs in an attempt to save hundreds of millions of dollars a year. There were reports of 900 jobs going at UBS and up to 40,000 City job losses have been forecast overall due to the financial turmoil. So, it looks as though the next few months are going to be pretty hard going for lots of people, not least for those who find themselves in the position of having to look for another job.

Redundancies always have a negative impact on workplace morale and motivation and it’s extremely important that companies handle these matters in a sensitive and professional manner. It’s also important however to focus on the people who you want to stay. In uncertain times, it’s often the ‘top talent’ who will jump ship first if they do not feel that they, or their career, are going to be looked after. Losing these people at the same time as redundancies are being made can cause severe disruption to a business.

Having a talent management strategy in place is essential for any company and this shouldn’t come into play only in times of crisis. Whilst managers are one of the greatest influencers when it comes to retaining top talent, mentoring, coaching, training people and involving them in the direction and future of the company all have a positive impact too.

It's all in the staff handbook

I’m in the process of developing a proposal for a potential client that focuses on the internal communication of company policies. For the business in question, failure to communicate policies effectively could not only lead to huge financial penalties but also injuries and, in worse case scenarios, loss of lives. It’s a topic that’s very much front of mind for me at the moment, as I’ve recently written an article for Communicator magazine (published by The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators) on this subject.

Whilst every company knows the importance of communicating policy effectively, so many of them fail to get it right. But in today’s environment, doing it well is increasingly becoming a ‘must have’ rather than a ‘nice to have’. Non-compliance can lead to a whole host of woes including damage to the value of the brand, loss of shareholder value and issues in recruiting and retaining talent, to name just a few. So what’s the problem?

Ask people what immediately comes to mind when you say the word ‘policy’ and you already have an insight into what makes this task so difficult. A quick quiz around the RY office produced a variety of answers including ‘dull’, ‘boring’, ‘restrictive’, ‘telling me what I can’t do’ and ‘confusing’ – not very positive associations. Policies are often viewed as ‘yet another thing to do’ and the fact that they are rarely translated into statements that explain how they will make the life of an individual or the whole company better doesn’t help matters either.

So what can you do to ease the pain a little? A good place to start is to provide a clear context for the policy and to link it to company strategy. Be clear about what you want people to do as a result of the policy. Think about whether it’s relevant to everyone. Is a ‘one size fits all’ approach appropriate or do you need to tailor things for different audiences? Use plain language and make things as easy to understand as possible. Communications packed with jargon and ‘legalese’ will instantly turn people off. It’s not always easy, but with some thought, care and attention it is possible to develop an effective policy communication plan.

T5 fails to get it right on the inside first

After it’s grand opening this week, Heathrow Terminal 5 has suffered a round of very bad press about numerous failures, including 34 flights being cancelled on Thursday and 36 flights being cancelled today (with more expected over the weekend).

A number of reasons have been given for this rather sorry state of affairs, ranging from staff car-parking problems to staff security screening to baggage delays. However, a baggage handler who was interviewed by the BBC news said that whilst BA claimed that ‘staff familiarisation’ was to blame, it was the inadequate training prior to the opening of T5 that was really at fault. The interviewee said that, “During the inadequate training days prior to the opening, any staff questions were bounced back with ‘I don’t know’ and ‘It will be clear on the day’”. The baggage handler also commented that, “Staff signage is non-existent and, quite frankly, how are we expected to help customers if we are not helped first?”

My mind boggles when I think of the logistics and planning required getting something like T5 up and running and I’m sure everyone would expect some teething problems - although perhaps not on this scale. However, if I were one of the T5 staff, I would certainly be feeling extremely frustrated, demoralised and de-motivated at this moment in time, as it seems many (if not all) of the problems are beyond their control. I wonder how the management team will deal with this fallout?
Is there a moral to this story? There are probably many but one of them must certainly be get it right on the inside before opening yourself up to the outside. Or to put it another way, make sure you can deliver what you promise.

Recruiting online

What are the most useful and used techniques when it comes to finding a new job? That may well depend on the industry or sector you work in. When it comes to the world of corporate communication and brand agencies, an individual’s network is often one of the most powerful tools they have.

One of the first places, if not the first place, that graduates will go to search out job opportunities and check out a company’s credentials, is the corporate website. A Swedish market research and communications company called Potentialpark Communications has recently conducted a survey across 7,605 students to find out which companies rated most highly when it came to providing clear recruitment information. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was many of the professional service firms who ranked most highly. The top 5 were Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Accenture, Ernst & Young and PwC, all of whom recruit significant numbers of graduates each year.

So why is it so important to get this right? With the global talent crisis becoming a key topic of conversation for many companies, this shouldn’t need spelling out. A career website should be much more than just another way for people to find and apply for a job. It should be a reflection of your brand and your company culture. It should give people an insight into who you are, what you do and how you are different from the competition. It should spell out in a clear and compelling way what people will get from working as part of your team and what you expect from them in return. This could be one of the first interactions that potential talent has with your company and your brand – what do you want them to take out of it?

Talking 'bout my generation?

The March / April edition of Communication World magazine has published a very interesting article on the challenges companies are facing when it comes to retaining knowledge, with the ‘baby boomer’ generation on the verge of retirement. This will, says the article, leave a huge void at the top of many organisations. However, this isn’t all bad news for Generation Xers as it means that many senior positions will open up for them.  There are also significantly less Generation Xers than baby boomers, so people of this generation will be in demand. Generation Xers were born between 1965 and 1981, so if that’s you, you’ve got something to look forward to…!

Knowledge management, or ‘KM’ as it has been known, has been recognised as a discipline in its own right since about 1995. But, whatever you choose to call it, there is no doubt that the retention and transfer of knowledge remains problematic for many companies. After graduating in 1992, a friend of mine went to work for a global consultancy firm. She found it most amusing that any time she had a question about an aspect of the company or a client, her manager sent her to the ‘Knowledge Wall.’ The ‘Knowledge Wall’ just turned out to be a cupboard that contained a large number of lever arch files….

Luckily, these days there are a whole host of more creative ways for companies to manage and transfer knowledge and the CW article suggests a number of interesting ways to do this. One of these includes putting together teams of mixed generations to work on projects so that knowledge can be transferred from older to younger generations. This also provides an opportunity for younger generations to challenge established ways of doing things. Another key point is to remember that the best or most useful knowledge doesn’t always reside at the top of an organisation – an assumption that many companies make. Capturing knowledge doesn’t have to just take the form of lever arch files either. Advances in technologies mean that companies have a plethora of ways and tools with which they can document and share information across functional and country borders, from intranets to wikis.

With all of this organisational movement, it looks as if knowledge managers are about to enjoy a renaissance.

Worthwhile work report

This is a PDF of the Worthwhile Work report mentionned in my last post Download worthwhile_work_report.pdf

A reason to get out of bed...

I’ve just read an interesting article on FT.com about a report called Worthwhile Work. The report, by communications consultancy CHA, surveyed over 1,500 employees in the UK across a range of organisations. According to the FT, the report has uncovered ‘deep dissatisfaction with the sort of work that is currently on offer.’ The survey has found that around 40% of younger workers (people who are under 35) who work in the private sector are considering transferring to the public or charity sectors. Overall, one in three workers in the private sector is thinking about making this move. The FT also says that more than 60% of 18-25 year olds are looking for ‘more worthwhile work.’

I have a couple of friends who work in the recruitment business and I know that they would definitely agree with these findings. Candidates who are looking to move within the private sector are increasingly specifying that they want to work for ‘an ethical or responsible company’ and naming those that they definitely won’t consider.

Whilst they can’t fix everything, internal communicators certainly have a role to play in helping people to understand what it is the company does, what it’s aiming for and why they should bother getting out of bed in the morning – in other words, what their contribution is. As the article rightly points out though, helping people to understand what they should be contributing and how this makes a difference is predominantly down to line managers.

People generally like to know and feel that they’re making a positive difference, which means that companies without a more ‘altruistic’ mission just have to work harder at communicating why people should bother coming to work.

When is green too green?

So, how many of you were given a day off work on February 29th? Well, if you were an employee of the National Trust then you would have had a day’s holiday. However, there were conditions attached to this. These conditions were that every employee had to do something to make their homes more environmentally friendly. This could range from insulating the loft to installing a water meter to changing light bulbs to more energy efficient ones - the choice was left up to them. People were also required to fill in a form saying what they had done and take photos of their activities.

This article caused a lot of debate in our office between our corporate responsibility team and myself, predominantly around the question to what extent should companies be trying to influence or dictate what people do in their own homes or in their life outside of work? These days the line between work and home life has become increasingly blurred but where should companies be drawing it? Or does it depend on what they are trying to achieve? What’s acceptable and what’s not? Are there any rules? From another perspective, the mission of the National Trust is essentially to preserve things as they are for future generations (summed up nicely in their ‘For ever, for everyone’ appeal) and one of their key objectives is to improve conservation and environmental performance. Given this, is it therefore acceptable for them to expect their employees to be actively involved in helping to achieve this mission and preserve the environment, both in and outside of work? Or should this still be a matter of choice?

Making suggestions

I came across this article in the FT a couple of days ago about employee suggestion schemes. These were all the rage in the 80's but then seemed to die a death during the 90's. However, they are well and truly alive and kicking again as this article clearly demonstrates.

Suggestion schemes, if managed well, can have a variety of benefits for companies. They can give people a channel through which they can voice their ideas and help to involve them in the business. Both of these things have a positive impact on levels of engagement. Suggestion schemes can also help to develop and encourage a culture of idea generation, problem solving and improvement, something that most businesses are keen to encourage. Some companies don't just limit these schemes to their employees, but include customers as well. Dell has a great site called IDEASTORM that aims to gather ideas from its people as well as its customers and potential customers. The Dell site enables people to promote ideas or demote them, as well as discuss them with other Dell users and employees.

For some companies, the rate at which they can innovate or introduce new ideas is key to them maintaining a competitive position in the marketplace. However, as the FT article points out, not every good idea needs to involve developing a new product or doing something completely different. Many of the best ideas come from suggesting slight changes or updates to the existing way of doing things. The UK Identity and Passport Office (referenced in the article) implemented a suggestion in 2006 that involved changing one number on a form for another, a change that may help save thousands of pounds. Suggestion schemes can also play a role in employee reward and recognition. Some companies may choose to provide their people with monetary rewards for their ideas, but this is not always necessary. Sometimes it's just saying 'thank you' that can make a real difference.

So, if all this is sounding like a great idea, what do you need to guard against when setting up a suggestion scheme? Schemes can fail if there is no real commitment to them and not enough ways to collect ideas. When ideas are collected then they need to be analysed and dealt with appropriately and feedback given to people on how useful or not they have been. Make sure you have these basics in place and you'll reap the rewards.