Improve employee communications retention with video #internalcomms

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Show, don't tell. Could that be they key to truly engaging employees? 

That's how people learn and engage. When I worked at Rolls-Royce, we had a V-22 Osprey land at our facility. Right there in the parking lot. Cool story, right? Exactly. You know what made the event even better? Being able to relive the video over and over. Check out the video at the end. 

So other than just being cool, why is video so damn important? I came across this post on hmx's blog about how people retain information. 

  • People retain 10% of what they read

  • 26% of what they...

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With employee engagement, leaders should walk the walk. . . literally (video)

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Employee engagement often falls (albeit unfairly) on the shoulders of internal communicators. And we all know that know that so much goes into engagement beyond information that comes out of the corporate communication office. 

I came across this video from the Harvard Business Review. It features Doug Conant, former CEO of the Campbell Soup Company. Now I will warn you that it's not the most exciting video on the planet, but I believe this is a good message to share with your company's leadership. Not only does it discuss employee engagement...

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A guest post from @michwalkden: Write as you speak for effective communication #internalcomms

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

We are committed to providing valuable internal communication advice and tips, whether or not they directly to digital signage. This post originally appeared on the Mich-communication blog and has been reposted with permission. 

By Michelle Walkden

Effective communication should come as you write. It doesn’t matter if you are formulating an email or producing a web page, white paper or brochure, you can’t go wrong if you write as you speak.


 

I’m not saying you can drop the F word into a corporate newsletter or burst into street slang to describe your latest service offering, you need to write how...
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Not 19, not 21, but 20 guiding principles for employee communications (guest post by @paulbartonabc) #internalcomms

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Paul Barton, ABCThis post originally appeared on Paul Barton's "Just My Type" blog and we received full permission to re-run the content on this blog. 

Over the years, Paul Barton has become a great friend of mine. We originally "met" via Twitter, but have since reconnected several times at IABC World Conferences.

In this post, he pulled together 20 objectives for employee communicators that I thought were simply brilliant. I'd like to see if anybody can put up an argument against any of them. Check out Paul's 20 guiding principles for employee communications....

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New 3G/4G Digital Signage Guide Released – Free from Digital Signage Today

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Monday, January 23, 2012
I’m delighted to announce that a new guide on 3G / 4G Cellular-based Digital Signage is now available from Digital Signage Today.  As the recognized leader in cellular digital signage, MediaTile has been the proud sponsor of this whitepaper for the past 5 years.

T3G/4G Digital Signage Guide Imagehe new 2012 edition includes an expanded section on 4G services and additional information on the growth of M2M (machine to machine) initiatives from worldwide cellular carriers.  Given all the recent interest in, and growth of 4G networks, I expect that this new edition will be...Read More »

That audience you see every day (guest author @johnbthomas) #internalcomms

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Monday, January 23, 2012

This content originally appeared on JTPR's Spread the Word and has been reposted with permission. 

It happens over and over. We ask new clients about the audiences they need to reach in order to achieve their objectives, and they quickly zero in on potential clients and customers. Then they talk about collaborators and marketplace influencers. Then, as an afterthought, they might mention employees.

Usually, this isn’t because there is some desire NOT to communicate with employees. It’s just that, when these clients focus on making sales and...

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The fiction behind employee communications #internalcomms

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

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.)

Read fiction booksBut 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...

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MediaTile *hearts* #CES

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

If you thought Las Vegas couldn’t jam more blinking lights into its city limits, the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) has news for you – Vegas can and did.

In arguably its biggest show ever, CES allowed consumers and companies alike to see what the future holds in the consumer technology marketplace. From Ultra-flat panel 3D TVs to Justin Beiber, CES delivered the goods.

MediaTile was prominently featured in both the Verizon Wireless and Alcatel Lucent booths in the form of The GameTime Media Table. After winning the 2012 DIGI Award for "Best New...

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Are you a fan of employee engagement surveys? #internalcomms

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Monday, January 16, 2012

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...
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Do corporate communicators make resolutions?

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Happy New YearI'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...
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