Internal communications measurement is fast becoming a critical skill for communicators and the profession as a whole. Knowing the basics of research, analysis and reporting are essential to the ability of internal communication to deliver business results that drive corporate performance. Using research the right way will help you continuously improve programs and earn the respect of leadership.
Recognizing that this is not a shallow topic, and measuring internal communications is different than measuring PR, Communitelligence has invited two of North America’s premier experts to walk us through the most critical insights and tactics that all communicators need to know. This webinar won’t make you an instant measurement expert, but it will school you enough to shift your role and amp up your department’s output to the next level.
What You Will Learn:
- The new normal: how leading companies are measuring and reporting their internal comms programs today
- Starting with the basics: how to set measureable objectives
- Moving the needle: a scientific approach to isolating the effect of communication on employee behavior
- How to conduct research and plan your goals and program accordingly
- Aiming for the holy grail: some simple ways to measure communication’s effect on employee engagement
- Asking the wrong questions: the 10 biggest measurement mistakes
- How to analyze basic data to find actionable insights
Presented by:
Angela Sinickas ABC is author of How to Measure Your Communication Programs (now in its third edition), and chapters in several books. Her 140 articles in professional journals can be found on her website. Her pioneering work in measuring the effectiveness of organizational communication has led to consulting assignments and speaking engagements in 29 countries. Her work has been recognized with 17 international-level Gold Quill Awards from IABC, including two for her website, and a Bronze Anvil from PRSA for her measurement newsletter.
Claire Watson, ABC, APR is president of Words with Wings . . . where strategy meets inspiration, and a master communication strategist with a passion for excellent communication. Her work has earned 30 international and over 150 national and provincial awards of excellence. She has managed multi-faceted communication programs for the federal and provincial (Saskatchewan) governments, and for private sector companies. Teacher, speaker, author, mentor and a consummate professional, she has taught Public Relations and Communication Management for the University of Regina. Her broad range of experience includes the full range of integrated employee, marketing and communication activities. Claire has worked with IABC at the chapter, regional and international levels for 17 years. She was the recipient of the 2012 IABC Chairman’s Award for global leadership in communication and service to the Association.
“Participating in this webinar was a wonderful experience that is worth a repeat!”
Can you prove the value of your communication, marketing and PR programs? It’s a simple question, and your bosses rightfully expect concrete answers. How you respond affects the objectives you set, the programs you embark on and ultimately your career success.
Join “Unleashing the Power of PR” author and PRIME Research CEO, Mark Weiner, and SVP of BurrellesLuce, Johna Burke, as they walk you through the current communication measurement landscape in a way that makes new sense. Moderated by award winning journalist, communicator and president of Communitelligence, John Gerstner, Mark and Johna will answer — and sometimes debate — the most important and challenging questions every communication professional needs to know to prove the value of their internal and external communication programs.
This won’t just be a 5,000-foot fly-by of the topic. You’ll gain practical takeaways and actionable advice. Don’t miss this special webinar designed to amp up your skills in measuring PR programs and proving your worth. Did we mention this stuff is critical to your career?
Audio Excerpt
Some of the questions that will be answered:
- What kind of metrics should PR people be measuring?
- Why are clear, concise terminology and metrics so important when executing a public relations research and evaluation system?
- How can research be used to set better objectives
- What are the Barcelona Principles and what do they mean to me?
- How does research and measurement help to guide business decision-making?
- How can research and be used to avoid catastrophe?
- How do you foster a culture for communications research within the team? Among executive leadership?
- How do conduct research and measurement with little or no budget?
- What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? How do you know which to use and when?
- What’s critical to know about measuring social media programs?
Presented by:
Mark Weiner is the CEO of PRIME Research in North America. PRIME Research is one of the world’s largest public relations and corporate communications research and consulting providers with offices in Western Europe, North and South America, Eastern Europe and the Far East. Since 1993, Mark has devoted his career to helping many of the world’s most respected organizations and brands to demonstrate and generate a positive return on their investment in corporate and brand communications. He is the author of “Unleashing the Power of PR: A Contrarian’s Guide to Marketing and Communication” published by John Wiley & Sons. Weiner is a member of the PRSA, IABC and the Institute for Public Relations for whom he served as Trustee and Chairman of the Research and Measurement Commission. He is an editorial advisory board member of PRSA’s Strategist and PR News. A frequent provider of provocative public relations content, Weiner is a recurring conference speaker at international and domestic events, and a prolific author, having published more than one hundred articles.
Johna Burke has 23 years experience working both as a public relations practitioner and a provider of services that are vital to the successful performance of communications professionals. For 11 years, starting in 1989, she was associated with U-Haul International, ultimately becoming head of public and investor relations. Ms. Burke joined BurrellesLuce, in its Phoenix office, in 2000. She served as West Coast regional vice president, a corporate vice president in 2008 and October 2009, was appointed senior vice president-marketing. Ms. Burke is a highly rated speaker who is often invited to talk about best practices in media relations and monitoring, including the measurement of PR effectiveness; her written views have appeared in a variety of PR industry outlets and she is a regular contributor to Fresh Ideas, the incisive blog produced by BurrellesLuce. Ms. Burke is immediate past chair of the Southern Region of the International Association of Business Communicators and current chair of its Nominations Committee.
We are living in an era where social media not only impacts the way human beings interact with one another, but is influencing business decisions and customers’ perceptions of brands. By making employees confident in the fact that they can reach out to customers and by providing them with the necessary resources, you grow your external reach exponentially.
The Social Media Ninjas team at Sprint has done just that with their award winning employee advocacy program. Through the implementation of a training program that gives a fly-by of the corporation’s social media policy along with placing strong employee-facing support resources in a variety of channels, Sprint has created a program that drives employee engagement while protecting and enhancing its brand reputation.
Find out how internal communications is your best fuel for active advocacy and why a too formal social media policy can actually deter employees from joining your force. You’ll see how Sprint empowers its employees with real-time, company-approved, social media updates.
What You Will Learn:
- How to align internal communications and social media goals
- How to create a winning cross-functional team
- How to communicate a policy that works for advocates and Legal
- What motivates employees to participate voluntarily
- What resources you can put in place to optimize success
- Various channel to stay connected with your employee advocates
- The effect that extra reach can have on your organization
Presented by:
Jennifer Sniderman, Group Manager – Employee Communications leads news, editorial and social media for enterprise-wide employee communications at Sprint. She specializes in interactive multimedia engagement programs which have garnered numerous awards. Jennifer is the co-creator of Sprint’s Social Media Ninja program leveraging employee advocacy to bolster the customer experience and improve Sprint’s corporate reputation. She provides counsel to Sprint’s Human Resources team to deliver leader-focused communications programs. Prior to joining Sprint, she was Assistant Vice President, Corporate Communications at Zurich Scudder Investments in Chicago, IL. Outside of work, she serves on the board of Chameleon Arts & Youth Development, a non-profit organization providing arts education for homeless and under-served children.
Sara Folkerts, Internal Social Media Manager is passionate about sharing, communicating, transparency and being open-minded. This has led her to her current job as a community manager and social media evangelist at Sprint. In addition to her role as community manager, Sara co-leads the Ninjas program at Sprint. Sara has presented on internal social media strategies at several conferences and at other companies. Where can you find her? On Twitter, of course! @saramiller.
Nic Lazowski, Communication Specialist is driven to engage employees and deliver information that will result in action. His role is centered around employee involvement and advocacy. As a Communication Specialist for Sprint, Nic is responsible for helping to drive employee education and advocacy through social media with other members of the Social Media Ninjas lead team.
Who Should Attend
- This webinar will cater to individuals who recognize the growing need for immediate and far-reaching contact with customers and potential customers. The information provided will allow you to start making your organization more nimble and approachable while improving reputation among customers.
Webinar attendee: “I appreciated all the information on how to put together a social media program for employees; the tools to use, the benefits of involving employees, how to set up the training program, etc.”
When it comes to humanizing your brand in social media, nobody can do it better than your employees. The 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer found “conversations with employees” remain one of the most credible sources of information about a company – ahead of news coverage, online search, or ads.
Pepsico is one company that has done the social media math. On Facebook alone, average users have 130 friends. Multiply that times Pepsico’s 300,000 employees and you have potentially millions of trusted conversations.
With that vision, Sharon McIntosh, senior director of global internal communications at PepsiCo, set out last year on a methodical process to empower employees to share their pride in the company on their social networks. In the process, the PepsiCo intranet has become a key platform for delivering and tagging the content that gets shared outside.
In this unique webinar, Sharon will share her journey to empower employees to be social media brand ambassadors. It has taken a balanced combination of tools, trust. Every company needs to figure this out – get a head start by attending this important webinar with your team.
What You Will Learn:
- Where you should start; who needs to be onboard
- How do you sell a social ambassador program to management, and employees
- How do you create a voluntary, online training program to educate employees on engaging in conversations that are authentic, responsible and interesting.
- How do you decide on the right content for employees to share – and a seamless process to make sharing easy
- How to make sure your social media policy doesn’t scare employees away
- What about incentives?
Presented by:
Sharon McIntosh is senior director of Global Internal Communications for PepsiCo, overseeing the internal strategy and channels for the company’s nearly 300,000 associates. She previously worked in internal communications, corporate communications, marketing and media relations at a range of companies, including Sears, Waste Management and the Illinois Hospital Association. Connect with Sharon on Twitter: @mcintoshs.
Who Should Attend
- Social media is a team sport. Business professionals from all of these departments have a key role to play and should attend this webinar, preferably as a group: internal communications, HR ,marketing, corporate communications, public relations, customer service, legal and media relations.
“Excellent information … Great job Sharon!!”
Learn how to conduct a communication audit that will provide the hard data you and your management need to make the right decisions.
Scrambling to meet the next deadline for the employee pub. Running e-mail copy through the approval ringer. Tying up all the logistical loose ends for next week’s town hall meeting. There’s plenty to keep you busy when you work in employee communications. But are you sure the tactics you’ve chosen are the best ones for reaching employees? And what about strategy? What do employees really need to know to do their jobs?
Before you spend scarce company resources on employee communications, you’d better know the answers to these and many other questions. And a communication audit can give you those answers.
Why a communications audit? How does it work? How can it help boost the bottom line? Where to focus? What to ask?
This session answers all these questions, plus gives you an inside look at how one company audited its employee communications program, what they learned and how they applied their learnings. Hear from the communicator who led the project and the measurement experts who helped her succeed.
In just 90 minutes, you’ll learn how to conduct a communication audit that will put your program on the right track.
Key learning topics:
- How to make the decision to conduct a communication audit — often the most difficult step in the process — and how to sell management on the idea
- How to know what communication issues to focus on
- How to write powerful questions that reveal the most useful information
- How to analyze data, so you know the most important items to act on
- How to develop and implement a plan of action — the greatest benefit of a communication audit
Plus: Robert, Katrina and Kim answer real-world questions on:
- The pros and cons of Web surveys vs. paper
- The percentage of responses should you expect in a survey and how to ensure a statistically significant number of responses
- Recommendations on alternate communication channels, such as blogs and wikis
- How to learn if your employees really want to end their employee newsletter
- The real costs behind a communication audit
About your seminar leaders:
- Robert Holland, ABC, Holland Communication Solutions, has more than 17 years of experience in organizational communications, including employee communication planning, publication management, consulting, media relations and change communication. He is co-leader of the Communitelligence Internal Communications community and a frequent contributor to several national and international professional journals, including the Journal of Employee Communication Management. His column “Communication at Work” appears on the Business Channel of Richmond.com every two weeks. He is author of Prove Your Worth: The Complete Guide to Measuring the Business Value of Communication, published by Ragan Communications. Robert earned IABC accreditation in 1992. His bachelor’s degree in mass communications is from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
- Katrina Gill is president and founder of Gill Research LLC, a full-service research and consulting firm specializing in communication metrics, audits and employee/organizational research. Katrina has more than 14 years of diverse research experience, from the planning and development of projects through the presentation of results and recommendations for action. Katrina is formally educated in research methodology and has completed post-graduate study on a doctoral track in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri. A frequent speaker, workshop leader and author on strategic research and measurement, Katrina has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses. She is a member of the American Marketing Association and the International Association of Business Communicators.
- Kim Hall is a communications consultant with Wells Fargo & Company, supporting internal communications for a division of 5,500 employees. She partners with managers in business units, human resources, marketing and public relations to develop integrated communication strategies that help the organization meet its goals. With 10 years in communications in the corporate and nonprofit sectors, Kim has worked on fundraising campaigns, grant writing, newsletter production, change communications and communications measurement. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English and is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators.
How effective CEO presentations can help companies rebound during an economic downturn
When a company’s earnings and stock price are on the rise, it may not be critically important how well a CEO performs behind a lectern, in front of cameras and microphones, or at a hearing table. But as earnings and stock price head south, a CEO’s ability to inspire confidence through speeches and presentations can prove essential to a company’s ability to survive and recover. CEOs who communicate well can, at the very least, buy the time needed to put an effective turnaround strategy in place.
With the economy battered by the credit crisis, high fuel prices, and other maladies, growing numbers of corporate leaders face the challenge of finding ways to inspire key audiences who are both very worried and extremely important—employees, analysts, stockholders, regulators, and the press.
This webinar offers some very specific, hands-on advice how CEOs should communicate during tough times. The advice is based on the experience of key CEO’s who have been there and done that –Former CEOs Lee Iacocca of Chrysler and Champ Mitchell of Network Solutions, Jack Welch of GE, as well as current CEOs John Chambers of Cisco Systems and Brightpoint’s Robert Laikin. All used first-person communications effectively to turn companies around or dramatically boost their performance.
Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy once said, “Communication needs to be a core competency of any business. It starts with the CEO.”
You Will Learn How CEOs Can:
- Make communication a priority.
- Be proactive, not reactive
- Handle problems and mistakes.
- Develop and present a recovery plan.
- Match their presentations to their audience
- and much more
Presented by:
Dr. Jeff Porro, Ph.D. has written “first-person speeches” and provided communication strategies for the CEOs of Sodexo, Eastman Chemicals, the McGraw Hill Companies, Office Depot, the COO of General Mills, as well as for diplomats such as former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and other government leaders, and presidents of some of the nation’s leading trade and professional associations. He helps corporate, government and nonprofit leaders take their visions to a new level, moving key audiences with speeches that engage minds, open eyes, touch hearts and awaken the spirit. In addition to offering his expertise to world and business leaders, he has extended his skills to the world of entertainment. Dr. Porro discovered and researched the true story of a Jim Crow-era African American college debate team, and helped turn it into the 2007 feature film The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington.
As head of Porro Associates, LLC, Dr. Porro draws on his background as a research scholar and a Washington policy analyst to weave persuasive arguments. At the same time, his creative writing has given him the skill and empathy to capture a speaker’s voice and evoke the speaker’s passion. Dr. Porro holds a Ph.D. in political science from U.C.L.A..
Robert Laikin, founder of Brightpoint, has served as a member of Brightpoint’s board of directors since its inception in August 1989. Mr. Laikin has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1994. Mr. Laikin was President of Brightpoint from June 1992 until September 1996 and Vice President and Treasurer of Brightpoint from August 1989 until May 1992. From July 1986 to December 1987, Mr. Laikin was Vice President, and from January 1988 to February 1993, President of Century Cellular Network, Inc., a company engaged in the retail sale of cellular telephones and accessories. His honors and awards include:
- Recipient of the William L. Haeberle Entrepreneurial Legacy Award for 2008
- Inducted into the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame in 2008
- Received a Stevie Award for Best Turnaround Executive in 2007
- Recipient of the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award by the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association (1999)
- Recipient of the Indiana Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1995)
- Received an honorable mention in 1995 Inc. Magazine National Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Kelly R. Lang is Director of Strategic Communications in the Corporate Communications department of Cisco Systems. Ms. Lang joined Cisco in 2001 as Marketing Communications Manager and in 2003 joined the Office of the President as John Chambers’ Executive Communications Manager. Today, Ms. Lang is responsible for the Executive Communications and Operations functions including the Office of the Chairman and CEO (OCC), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the Chief Globalisation Officer (CGO). Prior to joining Cisco, Ms. Lang was Program Manager for a Global Event Marketing Organization, Nth Degree, from 1998-2000. From 1996-1998, Ms Lang was Assistant Director of Administration with RCI Group, Inc. after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, where she was recognized with outstanding student achievements including Maryland’s Talent and Tutor Search Program.
Ms. Lang is passionate about business and how communication helps drive business strategy to become a change agent for the organization. Her focus on process, operational excellence and hiring the right talent to support highly visible executives helps drive a more integrated, cross-functional communication effort that highlights the increasingly complex and important role of the communications professional.
Who Should Attend
This webinar is primarily aimed at communicators and executives trying to cope with a slowing economy, including external communications, internal communications, and shareholder communications.
We all live in glass houses. Reputation failure is no longer a threat that looms large for companies only in high-risk industries and activities. It has become an all-too-familiar scenario for all companies in all corners of the world. A Weber Shandwick proprietary analysis revealed that over three-quarters (79 percent) of the world’s number-one most admired companies lost their crowns over the past five years in their respective industries.Over three-quarters (79 percent) of the world’s number-one most admired companies lost their crowns over the past five years in their respective industries. The corporate reputation “stumble rate” continues to rise. Recent corporate crises have demonstrated that a company’s reputation can be destroyed in seconds. A mishandled response, inappropriate act, product tampering, or poorly timed financial disclosure all have the power to instantly tarnish a respected reputation. However, the well managed and reputation-conscious company does not need to stand defenseless when faced with a damaged reputation. This web conference will identifiy and describe the actions companies and their leaders can take to safeguard their corporate reputations, and rebuild their reputations and restore their good names after a crisis. Read Q&A with Dr. Gaines-Ross.
What You Will Learn:
- Why reputation is more fragile than ever,and why it matters to a company’s valuation, well-being, and permission to exist
- What triggers reputation loss and why are so many companies struggling with tarnished reputations?
- What can a company do to safeguard its reputation from loss?
- What are the most important steps in recovering reputation
- What role should leaders, communication, marketing and PR professionals play in reputation recovery and sustainability
Why you should purchase:
Media coverage of reputation alone has increased 108 percent over the past five years. Reputation management is now considered a legitimate body of knowledge, with a number of emerging new disciplines, including reputation recovery. Also, the sheer number and severity of corporate falls from grace in the last few years — coupled with the emergence of revolutionary ways of transmitting information, influential micro-constituencies and widespread mistrust of business — have magnified the need for a viable framework for the repair and recovery of damaged company reputations.
Presented by:
Dr. Gaines-Ross is one of the world’s most widely recognized experts on CEO reputation — how CEO reputations are built, enhanced and protected. She spearheaded the first comprehensive research on CEO reputation and its impact on corporate reputation and performance. She developed Weber Shandwick’s first global corporate reputation study — “Safeguarding Reputation™,” which identifies strategies for sustaining and recovering corporate reputation. Dr. Gaines-Ross is the author of CEO Capital: A Guide to Building CEO Reputation and Company Success (John Wiley & Sons, 2003) and Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation (www.corporatereputation12steps.com, John Wiley & Sons, 2008).
Before joining Weber Shandwick, Dr. Gaines-Ross was Chief Knowledge & Research Officer Worldwide at Burson-Marsteller and Marketing & Communications Director at Fortune. At Fortune, she initiated several groundbreaking research programs including “Leveraging Corporate Equity” and “Brands at the Crossroads.” She is also widely recognized for her strategic insights into and analysis of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies Survey. Dr. Gaines-Ross was a 1995 winner of Time Inc.’s President’s Award. She is also the co-author of FORTUNE Cookies: Management Wit and Wisdom, which was published by Vintage Books.
Dr. Gaines-Ross’ work has been featured in the Financial Times, The Times (London), The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Wired, Advertising Age, PRWeek, Forbes, The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Chief Executive, Business 2.0, Across the Board and in many other publications around the world. She has also appeared on CNN and CNBC.
Dr. Gaines-Ross is a frequent public speaker on CEO and corporate reputation management. She has lectured at The Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, USC, Wharton School of Business, New York University and Columbia University. Dr. Gaines-Ross was also a speaker at the 2003 World Economic Forum Governor’s Meeting. She is a member of Ethical Corporation’s Advisory Board, serves on the Executive Advisory Panel of Corporate Reputation Review and was inducted into the Academy of Women Achievers of the YWCA of the City of New York. Dr. Gaines-Ross has been named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics for 2007” by Ethisphere Magazine.
Dr. Gaines-Ross created http://www.reputationRx.com, the Web site devoted exclusively to reputation news and information, and her blog can be found at http://www.reputationXchange.com.
Who should purchase:
- Corporate communications, marketing and public relations professionals Executives at all levels and areas of the company who need to understand the new “stumble-rate” of corporate reputations, and be prepared with a realistic roadmap to reputation recovery that can stabilize and regenerate a company’s most competitive asset.
Potentially, executive communications is the most powerful PR tool your organization has. In reality, lots of effort is wasted and you’re hard-pressed to figure out what the bottom-line results your C-suite communications’ activities are yielding. Fret about this no more. We’ve assembled the world’s three leading experts on how to create a disciplined executive communication program. Moderated by Vital Speeches of the Day editor David Murray, this all-star panel includes the founder, the manager, and the chief evangelist of the original strategic executive comms program.
You Will Learn:
- How to match executives with messages and messages with audiences: matrices and message-mapping.
- How to evaluate speaking and interview opportunities so you take only the ones truly worthy of your executives’ time.
- How to get executives on board and keep them on board by showing them real results.
- How to use social media to magnify the power of your program.
- How to introduce strategic executive communications to organizations that have been running the function ad hoc.
Who Should Attend
- C-level and senior executives from Fortune 1000, mid- and small-sized companies
- Speechwriters and Executive Communication Managers
- Directors of corporate communications, PR, marketing, community relations, public affairs, finance and HR
- Executive directors, leaders and managers of non-profits, NGOs, churches, educational institutions and philanthropic foundations
- Leaders of federal, state, county and municipal government departments and agencies
- Members of the national media including bloggers
Presented by:
Steve Soltis directs the Leadership Communications function at The Coca-Cola Company. In this role he is responsible for executive communication and positioning for the company’s chairman and CEO and is also the architect of the company’s senior executive speakers bureau. Soltis joined Coca-Cola in September of 2006, after spending 10 years directing executive communications for UPS, and two years as a speechwriter for MCI. Prior to his corporate communications career, Soltis worked in a variety of editorial positions for The Global Network, Harte Hanks, Ackerley Communications and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. In 2006, Soltis was a recipient of the PRSA Silver Anvil Award for B2B Marketing for the work he led in developing UPS’s global customer conference, Longitudes. A graduate of the University of North Texas and Mary Washington College, Soltis also serves on the Advisory Board of the College of Science and Technology at Georgia Southern University. He is the author of two travel guide books and lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife, Stacy, and two children, Annie and Christopher.
Bruce Danielson is a thought leadership consultant who designs and implements strategic communications programs to help companies achieve their next level of growth. He recently completed an 11-year career as Executive Communications Manager at UPS, where he was responsible for message platform development, forum placement, speech writing and message repackaging to support the company’s senior executive communications strategy. Prior to joining UPS, he served as a speechwriter and event manager at MCI. Danielson began his corporate communications career at Harland, serving as Director of Corporate Communications. Away from the world of thought leadership, Bruce plays old-time fiddle and is an avid whitewater canoeist and hiker. He lives in Atlanta with his musical wife.
David Murray writes and speaks about communication—business, political and personal. He’s editor of Vital Speeches of the Day, a monthly collection of the best speeches in the world. He writes about sports, people, politics and travel for magazines, newspapers and websites. publications and websites. And he discusses the communication life at his popular personal blog, Writing Boots.
If you think performance counts now, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Jim Shaffer, who pioneered the results-driven approach to managing communication, will explain what others have done to become indispensable to their leaders, because they are over and over again putting money in their leaders pockets. Literally! Jim’s lively and provocative CD will reveal what companies are doing to surgically shift their priorities and focus on those parts of the organization that can drive performance results most. Using real case studies, Jim will show how companies can generate two- and three-thousand-percent returns on their internal communication investments. He’ll explore the Three Stages of Organizational Communication Maturity and explain how a department can attain increasingly higher levels of operating and financial performance.
Learn How:
- FedEx, Owens Corning and others have created significant performance improvements with returns on their investments exceeding 1,400 percent
- Honeywell cut its billing cycle by 10 days and eliminated 1.4 million process steps while improving quality
- Sara Lee reduced waste by 18 percent in five weeks at one its bakeries
Learn Why:
- Dave Brown’s CEO said: “We are absolutely convinced that there’s a competitive advantage to be gained by engaging our people through better managed communication. We’ve seen it pay off already in measurable improvements in costs and productivity.”
- Owens Corning’s senior vice president of manufacturing said, “We’ll take as many 700-percent returns as we can get.”
Discussion Topics:
- Why the communication function in every business must measurably increase the value it adds—or die
- What other companies are doing about it and how they’ve moved from an output to an outcome-generating organization
- What you can do next to take your department to the next level on the maturity curve
- What questions to ask to identify what matters most to your business
- How to set up an outcome-based project that generates huge financial returns
- How to measure your impact and your return
- How to shift your work from low value-adding to high value-adding
- How to get junk off your plate, because it doesn’t contribute to the bottom line
Who Should Purchase:
- Corporate communications
- Non-profit communications
- Media relations
- Public affairs
- Public relations
Instructor:
Jim Shaffer is one of the world’s leading thought leaders, consultants and authors, helping businesses engage their people to achieve ultra-high levels of organizational performance. His book, The Leadership Solution (McGraw-Hill), has been hailed by leading CEOs as “invaluable for someone wanting to lead an organization into the future” and a “practical common-sense look at how leaders use communication to solve business problems.”
Jim’s focus is on improving people performance: helping business leaders execute better by creating engaged people, who think and act like business owners. He blends his unique background in general management, product line management, organizational change and communication management and helps clients get at the root cause of people performance problems. His track record includes significant, quantifiable improvements in quality, service, costs, productivity and speed through a more engaged workforce.
Jim leads the Jim Shaffer Group, a consultancy devoted to creating compelling places to work—where people are actively engaged in building and sustaining winning organizations. Previously, he was a principal, senior consultant and leader of a Towers Perrin center of excellence. He was one of the architects and leading practitioners of the firm’s global change management consulting practice. Prior to that, he served as press secretary to Kansas Governor Robert B. Docking, headed public relations and advertising in two Chicago-based businesses, and served as a marketing product line manager.
Jim is a recipient of the International Association of Business Communicators’ prestigious Fellow award, and he was named “Communicator of the Year” by IABC’s Washington, D.C. chapter. Jim is a regular contributor to many business publications and a frequent speaker at leadership groups and professional associations. He has taught in the graduate schools at George Washington University and The University of St. Thomas. His clients have included IBM, The Mayo Clinic, Verizon, Toyota, FedEx and many more.
How and why FedEx Employee Communications moved from focusing on creating more news to creating better business outcomes.
This webinar features Terry Simpson, head of employee communications for FedEx Express. After conducting a global communication assessment, Terry and her colleagues decided that the communication function needed to focus more on creating business outcomes rather than distributing more news. Working with FedEx Express leadership she identified and conducted a project in Los Angeles to improve US export volume through better managed communication. The result: 15% increase in volume and 23% increase in revenues with an overall 1,400 ROI.
What You Will Learn:
- How to work with senior leadership and a lot of data to identify opportunities to improve performance through better managed communication
- How to search for opportunities within the white spaces—the areas between functions and disciplines
- How to bring disparate groups together to improve performance through enhanced communication
- How to recognize root causes of performance problems
- The powerful role rewards play in communicating what’s important
- How to take a success and create an even bigger one with five more locations.
Questions that are answered:
- What’s the difference in managing communication to create output—a distribution business—and managing it to create outcomes—a solutions business?
- Is there a role for traditional communication practitioners in this process?
- What additional skills and knowledge do I need to move to this new level?
- How do I get started?
- How do I pick the right project that practically assures success?
- What’s in it for me if I make the shift? More money? More career opportunities? More fame?
- What’s the best way as a communication manager to move from output to focusing on solutions?
- What did FedEx stop doing when it embarked on this project? This goes to the question of staffing – were additions made to the department?
- Did you use any formal media channels to bolster your face-to-face solutions processes?
- Where do you go to get training to lead your department in this direction? What disciplines should you study?
- What pushback do you hear from communicators when you present this message? What’s the best way as a communication manager to move from output to focusing on solutions?
Who Should Purchase:
- Communications professionals who want to enhance their partnership and value to the business.
Instructor:
Jim Shaffer is one of the world’s leading thought leaders, consultants and authors, helping businesses engage their people to achieve ultra-high levels of organizational performance. His book, The Leadership Solution (McGraw-Hill), has been hailed by leading CEOs as “invaluable for someone wanting to lead an organization into the future” and a “practical common-sense look at how leaders use communication to solve business problems.”
Jim’s focus is on improving people performance: helping business leaders execute better by creating engaged people, who think and act like business owners. He blends his unique background in general management, product line management, organizational change and communication management and helps clients get at the root cause of people performance problems. His track record includes significant, quantifiable improvements in quality, service, costs, productivity and speed through a more engaged workforce.
Terry Simpson has worked in the Communications field for over 30 years in every area including broadcast, video, print, web sites, event management, strategy and content development. Terry is leading the change at FedEx Express and using communication solutions to solve business problems.
So often communicators surrender to time and budget challenges jumping into tactics or solutions without ever conducting a complete communications assessment. But without a baseline, it is nearly impossible to measure the success of ones efforts. It is also more challenging to demonstrate ones strategic abilities. Thus, communicators cannot afford to not conduct a complete communications assessment.
What You Will Learn:
- Why it is crucial for communicators to take time out to conduct a communications assessment and understand business needs.
- What formal and informal communications assessment tools/tactics will support your time and budget.
- How much time and budget is required to support formal and informal communications assessment tools/tactics.
- How to effectively communicate your assessment findings.
- How to leverage your findings to create a solid communication strategy and plan.
- What lessons can be learned from real world communications assessments conducted for NEC, Adidas-Solomon, UOP, ServiceMaster and other leading organizations.
Who Should Attend
This session is perfect for any level of experience, from those who are just starting in the field or those who have never conducted an assessment, to seasoned communication veterans.The seminar is designed for communication professionals who want to take their programs to the next level or arm themselves to move from tactician to strategic planner. Size of organization does not matter. It is especially suitable for individuals in:
- Internal and Corporate Communications
- Public relations
- Media Relations
- Public Affairs
- Marketing
- Small and mid-sized business leaders
- Corporate executives who are new to communication and measurement
Presented by:
Julie Baron is Principal of COMMUNICATION WORKS. She has over 18 years of communications experience. Julie is a resourceful communications strategist with demonstrated ability to work internally within the organization, as well as externally within the community. Her functional expertise includes executive/employee communications, speech writing, cultural awareness and marketing communications.With a proven track record of positively impacting financial and operating results through communication, Julie’s client list includes Abbott, adidas-Salomon, HUB International, National Association of Realtors, Revell, and Pepsi Americas. Prior to opening the doors of COMMUNICATION WORKS, Julie held senior level communications positions for NEC Technologies, Inc. and Motorola, Inc. She also has agency experience.Julie has published several communication and training articles and has lectured on communications topics including CEO communication, culture development, global communication and internal marketing. She’s been recognized for her leadership abilities, team focus, creative strategy, execution and effective working relationships.An active member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Julie has held many volunteer leadership positions including president of the IABC/Chicago chapter, the association’s second largest chapter worldwide. Julie graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with a master’s degree in communications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from SUNY Buffalo.
Sean Williams is the owner of Communication AMMO, Inc. He helps leaders improve their communication skills, build strategic communication plans, strengthen internal communication capabilities and effectively measure the results. His clients include the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and KeyBank. Follow him on Twitter at @CommAMMO.
Most recently, Williams was vice president of Corporate Communications for a financial institution, leading the internal communication, and internal and external public relations measurement and evaluation functions during the height of the financial crisis.
Previously, he was manager of Editorial Services for The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, responsible for internal communication and video production, photography and event production management. While at Goodyear, Williams lead the team rebuilding the corporate intranet, using editorial content from around the world. He also served as the primary internal communication consultant to the company’s senior leadership and produced videos and still photography for a variety of external and internal constituencies.
Susan D’Alexander, ABC, is Senior Communications Consultant at Motorola Global Communications. Susan has a 25-year career with Motorola with more than 18 years experience in communication management, including corporate, HR, marketing and corporate social responsibility communications. Susan is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) earning an accredited business communicator (ABC) certification in 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Illinois University and a MBA from Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois.
Alex Vass has been a communicator, telling stories and creating messages, all of his working life. He is presently a communications advisor with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police responsible for internal and external communications for the Codiac Regional RCMP detachment based in Moncton, New Brunswick. He along with his fellow RCMP communications colleagues in New Brunswick recognized the need for a
communications audit to demonstrate to senior management the value communications has within the organization and how communications must become part of the organization’s core business. The RCMP in New Brunswick is now on a path towards doing just that. Prior to joining the RCMP in 2005, Alex spent over 25 years as a journalist in Atlantic Canada, 16 years of which was as a reporter with the CTV television
network.