My background in internal communications has largely been in the manufacturing environment. When I would attend various corporate communication shows, i would be envious of several communicators. They would complain about why their employees wouldn't read emails.
I wish my coworkers even had email.
But this envy only lasted a few seconds. I enjoyed the challenge of not being able to rely on the easy communication methods. It's hard work reaching employees who don't live in Cubicle World (it's a real place - I've seen it). You can't shoot off an email and then cross your fingers they read it. There's no email address to send to.
This same situation applies at a lot of companies but one that completely escaped me until recently were retail employees. Duh. Here you have a workforce that's often far, far away from the corporate headquarters but their job is to stock shelves / racks and help with needy customers. They are constantly on the go.
Another challenge is that very few employees make a true career out of retail and others are strictly seasonal employees. They have no legitimate commitment or buy-in to the company. How does a communicator go about bridging the gap?
And this gap applies at high-end retail stores all the way to your local grocer. No matter how large or small, I firmly believe digital signage is a solution. With the proper network, a corporate HQ could broadcast out the key messages and even use the signage for training. At the same time, local managers could access the screen to inform on store performance numbers or do some employee recognition.
I only worked in retail once, in high school at a local grocery store. Frankly, I don't remember any communicating going on at all. But I'd like to hear from any of you who have worked in retail and can speak on the sort of corporate communication that occurs.
We'll then know if there's any communication clean up needed on aisle 5.
______________________
Photo credit, Untitled blue
I wish my coworkers even had email.
But this envy only lasted a few seconds. I enjoyed the challenge of not being able to rely on the easy communication methods. It's hard work reaching employees who don't live in Cubicle World (it's a real place - I've seen it). You can't shoot off an email and then cross your fingers they read it. There's no email address to send to.
This same situation applies at a lot of companies but one that completely escaped me until recently were retail employees. Duh. Here you have a workforce that's often far, far away from the corporate headquarters but their job is to stock shelves / racks and help with needy customers. They are constantly on the go.Another challenge is that very few employees make a true career out of retail and others are strictly seasonal employees. They have no legitimate commitment or buy-in to the company. How does a communicator go about bridging the gap?
And this gap applies at high-end retail stores all the way to your local grocer. No matter how large or small, I firmly believe digital signage is a solution. With the proper network, a corporate HQ could broadcast out the key messages and even use the signage for training. At the same time, local managers could access the screen to inform on store performance numbers or do some employee recognition.
I only worked in retail once, in high school at a local grocery store. Frankly, I don't remember any communicating going on at all. But I'd like to hear from any of you who have worked in retail and can speak on the sort of corporate communication that occurs.
We'll then know if there's any communication clean up needed on aisle 5.
______________________
Photo credit, Untitled blue
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