Communication Training builds a Competitive Advantage
Full Article Published in Wichita Eagle, March 11, 2010.
Engaging your employees during a recession and making them part of the solution can be a measurable, competitive advantage. Benefits consulting firm Watson Wyatt (now Towers Watson) makes the case in its study, “Capitalizing on Effective Communication: How Courage, Innovation and Discipline Drive Business Results in Challenging Times” .
Key Findings
- Effective employee communication is a leading indicator of financial performance and a driver of employee engagement. Companies that are highly effective communicators had 47% higher total returns to shareholders over the last five years compared with firms that had the least effective communicators.
- Despite all of the organizational and beneficial changes employers have been making in response to challenging economic conditions, only 14% of the survey participants are explaining the terms of the new Employee Value Proposition (EVP)* to their employees.
- The best invest in helping leaders and managers communicate with employees. While only 3 out of 10 organizations are training managers to deal openly with resistance to change, highly effective communicators are more than three times as likely to do this as the least effective communicators.
- Despite the increased use of social media, companies are still struggling to measure the return on their investment in these tools. Highly effective communicators are more likely than the least effective communicators to report their social media tools are cost-effective (37% vs. 14%).
- Measurement is critical. Companies that are less effective communicators are three times as likely as highly effective communicators to report having no formal measurements of communication effectiveness.
Next Element can help you take action on these findings.
- Using the Process Communication Model®, we guide leaders in learning, mastering and applying effective communication strategies to leverage diversity, motivate employees, and resolve conflict.
- We teach a variety of change-management and conflict-resolution frameworks so that leaders can anticipate, navigate, and facilitate change with the least amount of resistance.
- We offer specific formulas and rubrics to measure communication effectiveness so you can track the impact of your investment.
- With the Delta Trajectory, we help you build a culture of effective communication.
A few related links:
Keeping your best talent when things turn around
Next Element Philosophy
Since forming Next Element we have struggled with how to describe what we do. Our elevator speech continues to evolve, as does our website and marketing materials. All along we have shared a vision for what we wanted to do, and how we wanted to do it. That vision has inspired us, sustained us, and invigorated us along this journey. Likewise, it has brought inspiration and energy to our clients. Yet, we still struggle to describe it to others.
I recently came across a section from the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, in Fast Company magazine. The introduction read:
“That’s the first step to fixing everything from addiction to corporate malaise to malnutrition. A problem may look hopelessly complex. But there’s a game plan that can yield movement on even the toughest issues. And it starts with locating a bright spot – a ray of hope.”
Through a series of inspiring case studies the authors illustrate several core principles from the book. These principles resonated deeply with me and paralleled the Next Element philosophy. I was inspired to attempt the following description of our philosophy. Although this is no 30 second elevator speech, I hope it helps you get a sense for what to expect if you work with us.
Focus on what’s working
No matter what the problem, no matter how bad things are, somewhere, something is working. Somebody has found a way to cope. Against all odds, there are small pockets of success. This is where we begin. We believe that change comes from doing more of what’s working, not focusing on what’s broken. Energy flows where attention goes. So we focus energy and attention on what’s working. This does not mean we can’t quickly get to the root of a problem – it just means that we won’t dwell on it.
Empower Solutions From Within
You are experts in what you do. You know your company culture, marketplace dynamics, and history better than we ever could. Rather than being an outside expert, we strive to offer perspectives and tools that help you make the most of your innate expertise.
Honor and Leverage Diversity
Differences between people are not something to be tolerated, or even celebrated. They are something to be leveraged – used actively and productively for the good of the whole.
Develop Sustainable Solutions
Unless it lasts long after we are gone, we don’t believe we’ve truly added value to your enterprise. Our intention is to help you learn, apply, and use new skills every day. Every workshop and tool we offer can be brought in-house through our “train the trainer” programs. Our goal is to move into a less visible advisor role as you take increased ownership for new learning.
Focus on Relationships
Lasting change happens within relationships. As we work with you to increase your capacity for transparent, creative, and courageous approaches to tough problems, we want you to experience all those same things with us – in each phone call, each conversation, each training session. Unless we practice what we preach in everyday relationships, we don’t deserve your business.
These are the principles we intend to live out in relationships with our clients. If any of this resonates with you, we hope you will give us a call. If you are a current client and have experienced these principles, we appreciate your recommendation to others and invite you to post a comment.
Will you keep your best talent when things turn around?
There’s a lot of buzz out there now about what will happen when the economy turns around, job growth accelerates, and people have more choices about where to work. One of the most pressing issues is what will happen with your top talent. Here’s a link to a point-counterpoint discussion from Deloitte about the issue of voluntary turnover, what we can do to prevent it, and if it’s even a cause for concern.
Here’s another link to a recent online poll showing results from a survey about the most likely reasons that people will leave when the economy turns around.
The most common reason chosen overall across all sizes of companies and sectors: not feeling valued. Among HR professionals, however, 100% of the respondents believed that the top reason was “being poached by the competition.” This represents a concerning dichotomy of perspectives and locus of control. There is very little a company can do to combat their top talent being poached by the competition. This belief pretty much keeps you in a victim role, feeling justified that making changes and investing in your people won’t make a difference.
I am sure this poll does not represent all HR professionals – certainly not our clients! However, it does indicate an alarming attitude within a company, a tragic victim role that we believe does not bode well for innovative growth within companies.
Companies can make efforts and investments in valuing their employees to prevent unwanted turnover. We’ve been writing for the past year and a half about the importance of taking care of your people, even during tough economic times. We’ve outlined ways to motivate and value them with minimal monetary incentives. And, we’ve continued to offer targeted leadership training to help leaders engage, motivate, and inspire their employees. The companies we have worked with during this time have weathered very difficult times and kept their focus on their employees, leaders, and vision for the future.
Here’s our advice.
- Don’t be a victim.
- Invest in your people.
- Take proactive steps to inspire your best people to be with you as you grow into the future.