Internal Communications
Interview with Wendy Johnson (transcript)
Leader of Corporate Development in Communications and Public Affairs
March 21, 2007
By Simone Hoedel
Wendy: What we’re looking at now is developing a whole new internal communications program that aligns with their strategic priorities and the feedback that we’re getting through an employee communications analysis or audit. And that involved focus groups, as well as a survey, as well as best practices, a literature research. We have the findings from that audit, and I’m now working through the executive and manager presentations, two hour presentations to report the findings and to find solutions that are workable, that serve our staff across the province.
We have a diverse staff, we have staff in power stations and operating crews, and head office and so forth.
Simone: How are communications working now, among staff?
Wendy: What we’re finding is the primary focus will be more effective face-to-face communications. Not necessarily more, in some cases, yes more, but definitely more effective.
Simone: How would you do that?
Wendy: We’re talking about communications in its broadest sense; we’re talking about the ability to give clear direction, the ability to provide feedback, the competencies around listening, and the competencies around ...a culture change in terms of more direct communication.
We definitely have email overload in the corporation, there’s no question about it. Both at the manager level and at the working level, people are finding that email is being used when people would prefer conversation, but because of time pressures and other reasons, (email is used). Email is usurping and undermining our ability to communicate effectively with one another. So we just have to get out and talk to each other. That’s one finding.
There is a willingness to try new technology.
I guess I should back this up one step further, we did in 2006, our HR group led an employee engagement process at SaskPower. Out of those focus groups came a finding that we needed to do a better job of two way communication. At the same time the communications and public affairs dept worked to (defining?) an audit, so the two linked nicely together. So then we said, what exactly is meant by two way communication, and how does that fit in to improving the internal communications environment as a whole? Are we talking about face to face, are we talking about
technology-based two way? Because that finding can mean different things depending on what the need is. So we indeed found out that the critical area was indeed face to face, supported by a willingness to try new communication methods.
Simone: What about online Communications?
Wendy: That’s what people are saying. We still have to do more delving into that, and decide what we’re going to do with Blogs and Wikis and Podcasts.
Simone: What do you think of these new technologies?
Wendy: We are going to cautiously take a first step forward and do a pilot around one of the initiatives. I’m not going to go whole-scale here, because they have to, as you know, be managed so carefully.
Newsletters used to be the new exciting thing 20 or 30 years ago, and everybody wanted a newsletter. Well now everybody wants a Blog, but to what purpose, and who’s going to maintain it, and all of that stuff. And not to lose sight that they’re one tool in the toolbox. What generation of employees do Blogs appeal to? For example, all of our operating crews don’t sit on a computer all day long, they’re out in the field maintaining power lines. So there’s all that segmentation to consider as well in terms of what you’re choosing to reach to whom at what time at what preference they have.
Back to face to face, we’re going to be considering some communication coaching across the levels, and this is certainly working in with programming that HR would lead. So it’s a cross- functional effort, and that’s why I say it’s communication in its broadest sense. Not something the communications department is SOLELY responsible for or can achieve.
Simone: This includes basic communications skills such as listening and delivering feedback?
Wendy: You bet. And supported by a toolkit for managers around messaging, and not tightly scripted messages so it sounds like corporate speak. The key need for communication here in our corporation is information to help me do my job. And so, face to face is preferred. So when I say the delivery method is face to face, the communication need is clearly really boils down to will it help me do my job? Because I don’t have enough clear information and clear direction and clear authority
to do what I need to do.
Simone: We’re redoing the old newsletter, and we’re trying to balance some of the People’s Choice type material with material focusing on management strategy and communications.
Wendy: And that comes back to some of our findings, too, where we took our HighLines publication from too much of a “personal interest” story newsletter: no link to strategic communications, or company directions to a more strategic publication. But we went too much the other way, and when we tried to introduce more of the personal interest, by that I mean, people are really interested in knowing what their colleagues are doing, both on the job and beyond the job. More of community involvement, that type of thing. Well, even when we tried to do that, because there is a perception out there of what it is now, people are not reading it. Well, some people are reading it, but not enough to justify it.
Simone: That’s my fear it will be perceived as a corporate type communications tool.
Wendy: Well, here’s what I’m going to do with my publication, and it might work for you as well. I am going to fulfill what the employees have said is their preference. Getting somebody out there and gathering those personal type stories. The strategic direction type of messaging, and again, I’m not going to take people back to the personal interest type of publication, that speak to people and their colleagues across the corporation in terms of what they’re doing. And I would call it a re-balancing. I would perhaps take the President’s Message out of that publication, and give her
more profile through other mediums, through face to face meetings, that sort of thing.
So not forgetting the strategic angle, but in terms of what I want to do now with the publication is re-focus and re-balance the content there. And then, how do I serve that strategic, that need for people to be linked to the business, and to our direction as a whole. And maybe do something like a big picture publication that would support the President, the VP, the managers out there, talking about strategic direction.
What I’m thinking about doing is not trying to have a publication serve both needs, because it’s not working the way it should for us.
So, for you to take a publication that was really popular, it may serve counter to what you’re trying to do.
I could add something about our EIN, or what we call our Intranet, we’re looking at a whole renewal of our Intranet, based on that idea that: I need information to do my job. Reorganizing the content, search engines, and then refocusing it on people needing that info to do their job. You might want to consider, if you don’t have the resources to do a full analysis, on just what employees are preferring, just get their thoughts.
Do a mini-survey to help point you in some direction. That would be helpful in making these decisions. And what kind of vehicles would work where? What their perception is. You could even ask a simple question, if there was one thing you could change about (internal) communications, what would it be? I don’t know what your resources are to do a survey, but even five or six questions will help point you in the right direction.
