Corporate Communication

I rarely read fiction books. And when I say "rarely," I mean never. (Unless of course I'm reading to my kids at night.)

As it turns out, people are better off for reading fiction. I've always held the belief that there are so many great non-fiction (real life) stories out there that I shouldn't waste my time reading "made up stories." (Those are my words.)

But a new study in Scientific American discusses how fiction can hone social skills. But they aren't talking about Twitter, Facebook and so forth. It's about relating and interacting with...

I'm not.

I've admitted that here on this blog. But in a lot of large corporations, employee engagement surveys can be a necessary evil for employee communication professionals. You can only fight them for so long. 

So if your company is bound and determined to conduct an engagement survey, here are some tips from CustomInsight to improve the response rate. 

1. Ensure anonymity. 
2. Secure an endorsement from senior management. 
3. Keep the survey brief. 
4. Explain the benefits to all employees. 
5. Explain the next steps. 
6. Follow through on your promises. 
7. Offer...

I'll be the first to admit that I do not make New Year's resolutions. But people making promises and commitments to themselves is a good thing. Melcrum published a piece about 8 New Year's resolutions for internal communication pros. 

Some are weak, but some also have a lot of value. I added my two cents in italics. Here we go...

1. Think of outcome, not output

   Focus on business outcomes, not simply on producing communication collateral. Use communication as a means to an end, not an end in itself. There’s a big difference between saying “who’s got...

We put a lot of work into our blog (and I hope those that read it find our posts helpful). I thought I'd go back and find the top eight most-read blog posts from the past year. Why eight? Because it was a crazy year. 

I hope you enjoy. 

1. If you're in employee communications, watch this video now
    
2. The top holiday gift ideas for internal communicators
    
3. What impact did Twitter have on the IABC World Conference? 
    
4. Digital signage and the Powerpoint problem
    
5. Repetition is key to successful internal communication
    
6. Another incredible milestone for the...

• JetBlue is now the largest airline in New York City. 
• Focus on service starts inside with a fanatacism toward culture: Safety, Caring, Integrity, Fun and Passion. 
• To combat declining JD Power scores, they created a "Culture is Service" to drive improved business results. 
• JetBlue asked front-facing...

• Images are so important because we all speak differently. 
• Take a complex situation, add lots of people with different perspectives where no one can agree and progress is slow. 
• Our eyes are the tool that helps us make sense of the world. Of all the...

• The legacy of John Deere is something employees hold dear. The company is committed to "those linked to the land." 
• Manufacturing sites in 16 countries and conduct business in 35 countries. Employee communications is translated into as many...

• Under the ServiceMaster umbrella are brands like TruGreen, Terminix, and merry maids. 
• They have 24,000 full-time employees & another 5,000 seasonal, with no work PCs, no email and no office phone. 
• Producitivity drives revenue, which is why it's a tough conversation...