Catalyst Communications, Inc.

Let’s Change to Tone of Discourse

Mary Ann — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:55:26 +0000

I am among those who bemoan the lack of civility in our public and political discourse these days. A commentary in Saturday’s Star Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/151195005.html) started me thinking about our roles as professional communicators in changing the tone. I don’t have any wise advice or insights, but I think we need to begin our own dialogue about how we can cause the in-your-face screamers on cable programs to modify their behaviors. Can we influence the way the pseudo news program hosts engage in interviews?

John Rush’s opinion piece centers on research done by Prof. Diana Mutz, director of the Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. He shared her observation that:

“What we know about facial close-ups is they intensify emotional reactions,” Mutz said, not just of the angry combatants, but of those watching. “Particularly in the context of disagreement, this is problematic. Because when we disagree with someone in the face-to-face world, our natural reaction — regardless of culture and what your normal level of social distance is — we back up. We put greater distance between someone we have disagreement with. And yet many times in the TV world we see the exact opposite.”

Let’s start a new conversation about bringing civility back. Perhaps then our elected bodies can get back to considering what is best for all and not just for who shouts the loudest.

Media Relations Matters

Mary Ann — Tue, 03 May 2011 20:43:36 +0000

What do reporters want from us? This group said emails and keep the short and to the point. To learn what other advice they offered, to my blog on At Ease With the Media.

Media Training for Successful Spokespeople

Mary Ann — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:29:50 +0000

I was on the team that coached 60 Scotia Bank executives in Toronto. Check out At Ease With The Media to learn how your executives can become successful spokespersons.

Engagement

Mary Ann — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:10:41 +0000

“Communication is the guardrail along the highway, not the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.” A communicator’s fortune told by a wise practitioner

As you begin your ISO journey, do you have your guardrail in place? According to the Towers Watson 2009-2010 Global Workforce Study, companies that are effectively engaging their employees during change are three times more likely to be helping their managers handle resistance to change than companies that are not effectively communicating.

Towers Watson also reported employees’ perspectives on five key drivers of employee engagement that can serve as benchmarks for your company. They learned that:

Engagement Drivers	Employees’ Perspectives
1. Leadership	50% of employees feel senior leaders are effective
2. Image	60% of employees say they would recommend their company as a good place to work
3. Career Development	52% feel managers provide opportunities to develop; 43% feel they need to leave to advance
4. Empowerment	62% say managers empower them to take responsibility
5. Customer Focus	47% agree that there are non substantial obstacles to doing their jobs well

ISO strategies for growth need a strong supporting communication component to ensure that all employees and business units are informed, understand their respective roles and can make informed contributions that lead to successful attainment of the business goals. The road map for effective communication is marked by transparency and truth in all directions – vertically and horizontally. With these guideposts in place, trust and respect results.

The study further found that highly effective companies are changing they ways they communicate change. Towers Watson learned that 80% are increasing their electronic communication and 65% are increasing face-to-face communication. This compares to increases by companies with low communication effectiveness of only 67% for electronic and 45% for face-to-face.

What does this mean?

To gain the best from employees, companies must communicate more often and through channels that are trusted and respected by employees.
To communicate effectively communication programs must embrace courage, innovation and discipline.
To communicate well results in building bridges to employees that span the engagement gap.

Is your guardrail in place and are you ready to build bridges?

About Catalyst Communications, Inc.
Minnesota-based Catalyst Communications, Inc., founded in 1987, helps organizations communicate more effectively by taking a strategic approach to develop effective, measurable solutions. Working closely with clients, communication strategies are realistic and practical guides to effective communication. Founder and president Mary Ann McCauley, ABC, is accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators and is a lifetime member. Mary Ann can be reached at: mam@catalystcomm.net, 952-292-8130, www.catalystcomm.net.

Make Technology Work for You: Communication with Employees During Tough Times

Mary Ann — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:28:45 +0000

It is human nature to clam up when times are tough. So it is not surprising that many companies begin to shut down communication when the business begins to struggle. Sadly, often some of the first people to be let go are marketing and communication professionals—the very professionals a business needs most when business slows down and significant changes are occurring.

This is a time to make certain the essential communication tools are being used as effectively as possible. Determining their effectiveness does not require a major investment, but it does require a professional communicator who has the experience and knowledge to identify what works well and what can be shelved. It comes down to a simple question: Is it a nice to have, or a need to have?

This is an opportunity to make technology work for you, if those you want to reach embrace electronically driven communication tools. There are two communication functions that are essential during tough times: Maintaining at least basic levels of internal communication and marketing/member communication. Of the two, employee communication should be a priority. If you take care of your employees, they will be equipped to take care of your members.

The challenge becomes validating your employees’ preferred tools and creating a communication plan that has the appropriate mix of online, face-to-face, and hard copy instruments to optimize the opportunities to share information with those you most need to reach. While technology enables us to reach just about anyone, any place, and at any time, beware of the siren song of technology before you launch into building Facebook pages or opening Twitter accounts. Why? Effective communication entails much more than the delivery system.

Taking Care of Your Employees’ Communication Needs

Assess your existing internal communication tools to identify the methods that have
the greatest ability to influence how employees understand and respond to information about your organization’s goals and their roles in meeting those goals. Always keep in mind that online communication tools are not a substitute for face-to-face communications. One constant about where employees prefer to get key information is leadership—preferably in real time and in person. The appropriate leader to deliver the news—good or bad—depends on the content. The CEO or president is the preferred source about the organization’s goals and status; whereas, the business unit leader needs to deliver information about changes specific to that unit.

Using intranets, e-mails, and other electronically driven tools are very effective in supporting and enhancing face-to-face communication. For example, when the news is not positive, deliver it face-to-face. Because it may not be possible for the designated leader to be all places in person, technology can deliver an interactive environment in which employees can see, hear, and respond to the person delivering the hard facts. However, do not let a delayed video program be the substitute for face-to-face when you have employees working first, second, and third shifts in a single location. Your leaders can afford to lose a little sleep occasionally.

Supplement this initial more personal communication delivery system with online interactive tools that employees can access to stay current about an evolving situation, ask questions through a low risk, confidential means and post responses or, in some cases, send a personal response. Blogs, phone hot- lines, and special anonymous e-mail systems are just three tools that can supplement face-to-face and real time video communication.

Content is key to effective Communication

After the delivery methods are determined and before they are deployed, focus on the tone of the messages, especially when managing tough news in tough times. Negative news will be accepted with less backlash if the spokesperson refrains from trying to make it sound better than it is in reality. Candor and honesty delivered with compassion and empathy will help keep the emotional levels more stable.

It is sad to have to bring this point into the discussion, but the reality is too many leaders lie to their employees and customers. They generally get away with it for a time, however, as several recent corporate debacles demonstrated, they get caught eventually resulting in extremely costly and public displays of the issues. Public relations consultants and lawyers have gotten rich working to fix problems that could have been avoided if only the lies had never been told. In this situation, technology can be the conduit that spreads the stories, rumors, and accusations. The term “viral” when referring to using technology to carry messages lives up to its label.

This does not mean that proprietary information should be revealed or that information that could have a material impact on a pending business arrangement should be shared with all audiences. It simply means that one does not lie about the information that is being shared and that one does not deny facts known to be true.

For example, if an acquisition is likely to cause a loss of jobs, it is unethical to tell employees that jobs will not be eliminated. Be honest and say that the acquisition will result in some reorganization and it is undetermined how existing positions will be affected. Then, commit to providing that information when a new structure has been determined. Also, be clear about how you developed the process to identify the new structure, how and when it will be implemented, and what plans are in place for those whose positions will no longer exist.

Effective Communication Begins With A Plan

Implementing the right communication tools begins with a plan that is tied to the organization’s goals. Choosing the appropriate delivery systems comes easily when the communication plan has measurable objectives based on a foundation of research. When you have clearly identified the behaviors you desire as a result of sharing information, the methods of delivery become obvious.

About Mary Ann McCauley
Mary Ann McCauley, ABC, is president of Catalyst Communications, Inc., a consulting practice that helps organizations communicate more effectively by analyzing and defining communication needs through strategic planning to develop effective, measurable solutions using an array of communication disciplines. She is accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators. Mary Ann can be reached at 952-292-8130 or mam@catalystcomm.net. Visit Catalyst at http://www.catalystcomm.net.
Copyright: May 2010

Turnaround Communications Communicating When It’s Hard to Find a Bright Side

Mary Ann — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:09:27 +0000

It’s human nature to clam up when times are tough. So it’s not surprising that many companies begin to shut down communication when the business begins to struggle. Sadly, often some of the first people to be let go are marketing and communicating professionals – the very people a business needs most when business slows down.

This is a time to make certain the essential communication tools are being used as effectively as possible. To determine their effectiveness doesn’t require a major investment, but it does require a professional communicator who has the experience and knowledge base to identify what works well and what can be shelved. It comes down to a simple question – Is it nice to have, or need to have?

There are two communication functions, which are essential during the tough times – maintaining at least basic levels of internal communication and marketing/customer communication.

1. Maintain basic, regular employee communication

More now that ever, employees need frequent, candid information. They need to know what they can do to help the company through the downturn. When staff is let go, management needs to remember that the remaining staff needs time to grieve for the loss of co-workers and they need a forum to talk candidly about what the changes mean to their roles and responsibilities.

Management needs to be candid with staff about the financial situation and avoid declaring that things are going to be okay, when perhaps you are not certain. Rather, talk and listen to staff. Given an opportunity employees have excellent suggestions for changing how they handle their functions that can be more productive or more cost effective. Give them an opportunity to share in the solutions.

When management has reviewed the alternatives, present those to the staff in order to help them reach the same decisions as management. They will be much more accepting of radical change if they have the benefit of management’s insights.
Understanding how management reached a decision enables staff to accept and embrace tough decisions because they seem less arbitrary.

If the company has used multiple employee communication vehicles, encourage your professional communicator to assess their value and recommend changes. If the decision is to suspend publication, be certain employees aren’t surprised by the decision. Publish a final edition and discuss how you will be communicating in the future. Perhaps it is more frequent employee meetings, better use of all-employee emails or intranet sites. When a topic is hot, such as a pending layoff,
think about setting up a toll-free call line where basic questions can be asked and answered with confidentiality.

To be prepared have a practical communication plan in place. Create and implement a plan that makes optimum use of your reduced resources. If you must let your professional communicators go, talk to them about the potential for a contractual arrangement that saves the company money, but compensates the professional at a reasonable market value.

The essential element is to continue to communicate frequently and with candor. This will reduce productivity lost to the rumor mill. It will help maintain morale at a productive level. Finally, it can reduce the risk of losing critical talent when you need them the most.

2. Continue communicating with customers and prospects

Now is not the time to cut marketing budgets to the extent they become ineffective in carrying your messages to your customers and prospects. Customers and prospects do not want to be associated with “losers.” They will dump you at first
hint that the company is struggling, or they will shy away from engaging you and your products or services if they even suspect that you won’t be around to support them.

Continue to communicate with these essential audiences. Revise the marketing communication plan that implements only the most effective tools. The level of detail they have about your business situation will depend upon several factors, including whether or not you:

Are publicly held, which would mean your business status is public anyway;
Have long-term, close relationships with key customers; or
Are doing an effective job of managing the external rumor mill.

This is a time when you may need someone on staff or an outside resource to monitor and analyze web sites that are being by our critics. Strategies to find and respond to these sites are a critical part of any organizations’ crisis communication plan. You need to be in touch with the rumors so that you can develop and implement methods to counteract their impact.

It will be important to be honest with your employees, customers and prospects and above all to not surprise them. If you have bad news that will be public, don’t make these key stakeholders read it in the morning paper, or worse, hear it from your competitors.

Tell your story simply, honestly and early. This is critical for your key customers and vendors with whom you have long, solid relationships. They will stand by you as long you don’t lie to them or keep them in the dark. Your employees are your first-line ambassadors and they need the appropriate context in which to support the corporate message.

Your ability to manage the messages being delivered is much stronger if you initiate discussion rather than respond to rumors and questions.

Check out our custom workshops & presentations

Mary Ann — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:25:26 +0000

Mary Ann McCauley, ABC, shares her expertise through custom workshops and professional development presentations. Current topics:

“Practical Planning: Develop Your Team’s Planning Skills in Real Time”

“Be Strategic — Staying out of Tactic Alley”

“Avoid Being a Passenger on Your Information Highway”

“Give Your Career a Tune Up: Preparing for a Contracting Marketplace”

Work with a business expert with a specialty in communications

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:16:16 +0000

Staying ahead of the competition is an ongoing challenge. Meet that challenge with a results oriented communication program. Mary Ann McCauley, ABC*, president of Catalyst Communications, Inc., takes a strategic approach to communications disciplines including media relations, planning, collateral development and issues or crisis management.

*Accredited Business Communicator accredited
By the International Association of Business Communicators

Staying ahead of the competition is an ongoing challenge

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:08:02 +0000

Catalyst Communications, Inc., is about plain talk, practical solutions and strategic approaches. Creativity is great – as along as it is founded in strategies that are aligned with your organization’s goals and vision. Today’s businesses are hungry for a back to the basics foundation on which to build effective, efficient communication tools to reach and retain their customers. But wait – that does not mean that Catalyst Communications doesn’t ignite your communications tools when they need it. Just look at how Mary Ann McCauley, ABC*, Catalyst president, puts flair into her consultancy.