Tag Archives: Communication

Develop Your Own State of the (HR) Union Address

Every year, the President of the United States makes an address to the nation. The purpose of the annual “State of the Union” address is to give an account of the year’s events and discuss the priorities of the coming months. If communicated properly, this is an opportunity to reach a larger audience, share major goals, and get buy-in from the constituency.

state-union-addressSo why don’t we give it a shot?

I think every HR pro needs to have their own State of the Union address within their own company, department, or team (depending on your level of responsibility). This is strategic HR communication at its best, and it could become a valuable tool for your leaders to peer into the inner workings of the HR team while allowing you to share your key results areas as well.

The need is there

If this doesn’t prove that there’s an opportunity here, then I don’t know what will:

Although large U.S. companies spend about 36 percent of their revenue on HR, most annual reports fail to mention HR operations and how they contribute to the bottom line. Results of a two-year analysis of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. companies by Mercer Human Resource Consulting show that only 20 percent of these companies discuss HR in their reports to shareholders. About one-quarter provide only limited references to the workforce, and some don’t mention their employees at all. (source)

How big is your “union?”

As I stated above, depending on where you are in your organization’s hierarchy, you might only be addressing your HR teammates. Or maybe you have the ability to snag an audience with your key senior leadership team, and you’re willing to put together a short presentation for that group.

Whatever the case, the size and target audience will be different for everyone, but the tips below will still help you in defining what to discuss.

What to say

If you’ve been reading here for long, you probably have a few ideas on what you could discuss with your leadership team. (And if you haven’t, feel free to subscribe for free updates.) Here are a few ideas to consider.

  • Take the opportunity to discuss a few key areas that will impact the organization in the coming year (benefits and PPACA, for example).
  • Discuss the threats, opportunities, weaknesses, and strengths of the current HR team.
  • Share your priorities for the year ahead with regard to employee relations, training, or talent management.
  • If you are not a manager or lead, ask if you can help your manager develop one for your own team.
  • Use the platform to generate early buy-in for your ideas. (Here’s a stealth communication tip)
  • Demonstrate alignment of the HR function with the overarching corporate annual goals.

What are you waiting for?

This is your chance to get in front of a key audience (whether it’s the rest of your team or another influential group) and share your message.

What are you waiting for?

Better Communication at Work-Fluff ‘n Stuff Matters

If you’ve been thinking about having better communication at work, but you’re not sure how, here’s a quick tip from a former manager that has stuck with me.

better-communication-at-workEvery year when we held our annual kickoff meeting to prepare for the hurdles ahead, she walked us through a quick presentation of her expectations for the team. It touched on responsibilities and ideas for better communication at work, among other things. And every time, without exception, she would mention “fluff ‘n stuff.”

One example of better communication at work

A manager emails you asking for an idea of how the recruiting is going for an open position in his department. You have two ways to respond. Both ways get the same pertinent information across, but one way involves slightly more effort on your part.

  1. Hey, Tom! It is going well. We are scheduling two candidates to interview later this week. You’ll see the calendar invites shortly. Thanks!
  2. Hey, Tom! Thanks for reaching out. It’s going really well. We actually have two candidates that we’re scheduling to interview later this week. I will be sending the calendar invites to you shortly. Hope you guys are doing well up there. Let me know if there is anything else I can do in the meantime. Thanks!

Clearly option two is what I’m referring to in terms of adding the “fluff ‘n stuff.” Even though it took an extra 15 seconds to write the additional words, the feeling of the response is more friendly and personable.

It’s not a revolutionary, world-changing avenue for better communication at work. But it’s the little things like this that make you and your department the resource that all staff come to when they need help. I’m not saying that the first response would be wrong, and there are times when the time crunch forces a shortened response. But over time if I’m sending a significant number of those, I will take the time to send a longer, more detailed response once in a while.

That’s one solid tip for better communication at work. Do you have one? Do you use “fluff ‘n stuff” when you respond to your staff? Why or why not?

What Are Your “Undiscussables?”

Recently I was reading an article and it mentioned “undiscussables” as dictated by workplace culture. It is a fun word and an interesting concept that I’d like to explore it briefly here. undiscussables corporate cultureYour corporate culture has norms, expectations, and core values that people are expected to follow. But it also has things in it that nobody talks about, because it’s uncomfortable. They’ve been around so long that people have allowed themselves to forget or ignore the issues.

Remember, it’s not only what you do, but what you allow, that frames your corporate culture (for better or worse).

Examples Continue reading →

Crafting a Welcome Letter to New Employees

new employee welcome letter companyI ran across this new employee welcome letter example from some old files and had to share. The creator (Antoine) was the best manager out of dozens at a previous employer, and it was little things like this that made his people love him. I had no idea he was providing these documents to his staff for quite a while, but I ran across a copy one day and was astonished at the level of care that he put into being the best leader he could be for his team. (By the way, if you are looking for great ideas to develop or enhance your current onboarding and new hire orientation process, be sure to check out the free new hire orientation eBook!)

A great example of a new employee welcome letter

Dear Keshia,

Welcome aboard our team! I am pleased to have you working with us. You were selected for employment due to the attributes that you displayed that match the qualities I look for in a great employee. Continue reading →

HR-Stop With the Problems Already

“I don’t like going to HR meetings. They are always about problems, not solutions.”

I heard that comment at the SHRM conference earlier this summer, and it’s stuck with me ever since. There is nothing quite like having to sit in front of your CEO and tell them about some problem that is coming at you like a freight train. There are two parts to doing this the right way that will help diminish the perception above.

#1-Offer solutions, too

It may sound simple, but when you come to the meeting with a problem, bring two or more solutions with you as well. Don’t feel helpless or powerless. You are the person with the most in-depth information about the issue so far, and it’s your responsibility to take that information and turn it into a potential resolution.

My boss (the CEO) has a saying that I always repeat whenever I’m faced with a tough decision:

Tell me how we can, not why we can’t.

#2-Be proactive

So you’re sitting there thinking, “Huh, he must be talking to someone else. I don’t have any big problems that I have to share with our leadership at this point.”

No, I’m talking to you, too! You just have a different action. It’s time to be proactive. Start looking for ways you can cut costs, streamline your functions, save time for managers, etc. Look for some solutions to age-old problems, not just new ones. Not sure where to start? Ask some of your managers what their biggest pain points are with regard to the HR or recruiting processes. Ask your senior leaders what their biggest concerns are at a corporate level. Then take that information and use it.

Want to know the fastest, easiest way to prove the value of the HR department? Solve a problem that plagues the management team. Yes, it seems simple, but it is often overlooked because HR tends to exist in its own little “bubble” and never takes the time to actually find out what the business needs are from the HR function.

Then take the time to communicate what you’ve found in the way of solutions to current problems.

Pretty soon your managers will be saying, “I am looking forward to the next HR meeting to see what they have come up with this time.” Then ask for a raise. You deserve it. :-)

Change Management-Communication Stealth Tip

stealth kitty

Stealth Kitty

One of my favorite classes as a senior in college was Change Management. Communication was always billed as a key tool for managing widespread organizational changes, but it was always mentioned in concurrence with the actual activities. Basically-be a reporter and share everything that’s happening.

I have since learned that while that is a good plan, there’s an even better way to make things happen. It makes sense, but many people don’t think of it until it’s too late:

If you have a problem to solve, build demand for the solution before sharing it.

This allows you to develop your influence and make an impact far beyond simply communicating the effects of the change after the fact (and that’s not to mention the fun experience of communicating with difficult team members). It requires foresight and planning to pull it off, but the common problems associated with the change management process can be mitigated or eliminated if handled properly.

My own experience

I used a version of this last year when we implemented our first Applicant Tracking System. Up until that point we were using an email address and a folder system on a shared network drive to collect and store all resumes. It worked, but it was cumbersome and time-consuming to manage.

I spent some time talking with our hiring managers about their needs and dislikes with the current tracking system, and then offered to test out a low-cost tool that would allow us to bypass many of the issues we’d been experiencing. The pain points for the hiring managers were still fresh in their minds, and it was an easy sell to get them to let me set it up for us to test. After our first job opening and interview process using the new tool, everyone was sold on it being superior to the previous system.

I followed the steps, and it worked well. Find the problem, build a desire for a solution, and provide the solution that people want. Again-it’s better than waiting until after the fact and hoping for the best solution to emerge!

Anyone ever had the opportunity to use this “stealth” communication technique? What were your results?Â