Week 11: Employee Communications
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Employees are an organization’s greatest
resource.
Employee Communications is part of the larger
pubic relations function.
Goal of Employee Communications function:
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Establish and maintain mutually beneficial
relationships between an organization and the
employees on whom its success or failure depends.
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The Employee Communication Function
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Address the value of understanding, teamwork
and commitment by employees in achieving
bottom-line results.
Address the need to build a strong manager
communications network that makes every
supervisor at every level accountable for
communicating effectively with employees.
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The Employee Communication Function
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Helps define and maintain an organization’s
culture and morale.
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Culture is what defines the differences from other
organizations.
Values, beliefs, assumptions, and expectations
that guide both managers and employees in their
effort to achieve the organization's mission.
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Worldview
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Basic value and belief system prevalent in an
organization's dominant coalition.
Asymmetrical worldview
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Organization goal is to get what it wants without
having to change the way it does business.
Symmetrical worldview
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Incorporates negotiation, conflict resolution and
compromise in how it deals with its publics.
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Organizational Culture
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Authoritarian culture reflects asymmetrical worldview.
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Communication is structured and formal
Decision-making is centralized
Individuals are held accountable in a system of specialized division of
labor.
Input from employees is not sought or valued.
Participative culture reflects symmetrical worldview.
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Encourages two-way communication and dialogue
values teamwork
Rewards collective rather than individual effort because the organization
and employees share goals.
Innovation can come from any level of the organization.
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Vision and Mission Statements
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Vision statement
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Aspiration, forward-looking
Target for strategy and goal of an organization.
Spells out priorities and what the organization hopes
to accomplish.
Mission statement
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Practical, current
How what the organization does is different.
Helps employees set priorities so all are committed to
achieving what the organization claims to do.
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Employee publications
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Keep employees informed
Provide employees the information they need to
perform their assignments
Encourage employee commitment to quality
improvement, increased efficiency, improved
service and greater social responsibility
Recognize employee achievements and
successes
Create opportunity for two-way communication.
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Controlled media
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“Employee” publications and media are
management-controlled media.
Primary methods used for communicating
with internal publics.
Composition and concentration of internal
publics makes them relatively easy to reach.
Includes publications, meetings, intranets and
other controlled media.
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Case Study -- Kodak
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Business challenges in the 1990s
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Changing technologies
International competition
Fickle consumer behavior
Questionable investments
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Copier business
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Corporate turnaround plan
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Aggressive campaign to make Kodak more
competitive and performance-driven.
Sell off unprofitable business units
“One-on-one" communication strategy to
increase morale and productivity among
remaining employees
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Research results
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Employee opinion surveys
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Confused and unable to see the big picture
Still, Fisher got broad employee approval
"It's obviously difficult to build a performancebased culture if we fail to share expectations
for performance with those charged with
delivering the results."
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Communication issues
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Employees prefer direct interaction with supervisors.
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Surveys revealed skepticism and lack of confidence in
Kodak managers
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Increases understanding and reinforces leadership responsibility
of supervisors.
Lack of credibility as messengers of company information and
leaders guiding the direction of change.
Two-thirds of staff employees relied on outside sources
for company information.
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Professional employees used supervisors and the company
newspaper.
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Goals of the Snapshot program
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Communication infrastructure to help employees
see the “big picture.”
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Foster management credibility
Mitigate negative surprises
Help employees understand company objectives
and act accordingly.
Clarify corporate and unit goals to make them
more relevant.
Increase supervisor/employee communication.
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Process
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Create a cross-disciplinary team to build the
program.
Use the team to develop the program
materials.
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Employ sources worldwide from all business units.
Quick cycle time
Use “watch for” messages for grassroots pull.
Managers present Snapshots to employees.
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Results
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Increased attendance at voluntary meetings.
More positive results in employee
communication surveys.
More positive results in employee opinion
surveys.
Established a permanent infrastructure for
regular face-to-face communication between
managers and employees.
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For next week:
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Read:
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JC –6.3 (Tylenol case study)
CCB – Chap 9 & 14
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