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Team Norms Create Culture of Excellence

Posted in Best Practices, Internal Communications

Yesterday, I attended a leadership training session focused on team leadership. One stand-out concept was that of norms. In every team, norms form and in some smaller companies these norms can form a company’s culture.

I see evidence of this at Morningstar Communications. Our team has many norms and in my mind they are what make us excellent. At Morningstar Communications we:

• Put our clients first and do our best work for them every day.
• Nurture a safe environment, where every idea and thought is welcomed and considered.
• Raise our hands when we need help and on the flip side, step up to help our teammates.
• Accept nothing less than excellence.

Our norm of “nothing less than excellence” is set by our President and CEO, Eric Morgenstern, and is shared with every employee during their first week at a one-on-one with Eric known as “Expectations of Excellence.” As a team we have jointly instituted other norms, including “nurturing a safe environment” and “stepping up to help our teammates.” All of these norms are now tightly infused in our corporate culture.

What norms do you see in your workplace? What norms would you like to see? Do you have a way to influence the norms in your workplace? I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts.

Tagged Morningstar Communications, team norms, Tricia Jaworski | Leave a comment Posted on March 1, 2012 by Tricia Jaworski

Surprise! Surprise!

Posted in Best Practices, Internal Communications

Every Monday afternoon we have a staff meeting. It seems to be the only time that everyone is in the same place at the same time. We focus on our business. We have an agenda.

This week’s meeting contained a giant surprise. About ten minutes into the meeting, one of our ex-employees walked into the room. The looks on people’s faces were priceless. It was so great to see our old director of first impressions. She moved to Texas when her husband was transferred. We miss her everyday and her desk is still referred to as Suchitra’s desk.

It was great to catch up with her and she enjoyed hearing the latest happenings at Morningstar. We lunched with several other previous employees and it was great seeing everyone.

Re-connecting and keeping relationships going takes effort and time. The ROI is priceless. Our connections begin in many different ways. We have interns that become clients, clients that become employees and employees that come back after they have left. It is a very small world when it comes to connections. People you met ten years ago at a networking event serve on a Board that you present to. You just never know.

I cherish each and every relationship I have made in my 12+ years here. They are my friends, family, dog sitters, confidants, partners in crime and best friends. I don’t always keep close contact with everyone, but they are never far from my heart.

The best way for you to stay connected with us is through our Facebook page.

Tagged Andy Woodward, Corporate Culture, Morningstar Communications, Relationship Management | Leave a comment Posted on June 23, 2011 by Andy Woodward

Do you want details…or just the punchline?

Posted in Best Practices, Internal Communications, Uncategorized

At Morningstar Communications, we tell our clients about the importance of recipient-oriented communication. It is not about what you want to say, it’s what your audience needs to hear. One facet of recipient oriented communication is determining whether the recipient is  “process-oriented” or “punchline-oriented.”

Process-Oriented- “Give me the juicy details!” Process-oriented people are interested in the pieces involved in a decision making process. They don’t mind a little more chit chat if it helps them gain clarity. They are the type of person that like the Wall Street Journal version of a story.

Punchline-Oriented- “What’s your point?” Punchline-oriented people want to skip the details and get to the ending first. They want the USA Today version of a story.

Let’s say that you’re an employee who just made a decision—determining which local event the company should sponsor, for example.  Now you must report your decision to upper management. There are three parts to telling the story about that decision.

A. History.
B. Approach
C. Solution.

Process-Oriented people would like to hear your decision in the order “A, B, C.”
A. History: “In the past, our company has sponsored local golf tournaments, 5K’s, etc.”
B. Approach: “I analyzed different sponsorship options based on price, attendance and audience…”
C. Solution: “I decided sponsoring the local art fair was the best choice for our company.”

Punchline-oriented people would like the story to go in the order, “C, B, A”— and oftentimes, they are just interested in C.
C. Solution: “I decided sponsoring the local art fair was the best choice for our company.”

This may be the end of that conversation! You only need to go further into details–B and A–if asked to elaborate. Don’t turn into Chatty Cathy if the recipient is not interested in the details. Start with simplicity.

Here’s the punchline folks: determine whether your audience is process-oriented or punchline-oriented BEFORE you craft your message. Your audience will be much happier.

Tagged Holly Eckold, Morningstar Communications, recipient-oriented communications | 1 Comment Posted on May 26, 2011 by Holly Eckold

Beyond Employee Engagement

Posted in Best Practices, Internal Communications

I’ve been doing quite a bit of research lately on employee engagement and employee enrichment, which takes engagement to the next level. Along with my coworkers, I have been helping Hallmark Business Connections build a webinar that is being presented on Thursday.

The philosophy of the webinar is that as people improve in all aspects of their lives, they can better contribute to the success of the organization where they work. This philosophy challenges employers to evolve from a traditional model to one of whole-person enrichment.

This forward-thinking concept stems from a white paper written by the think tank from The Forum: Business Results Through People. Employee Enrichment is a strategic approach addressing both work and non-work factors in order to enhance employees’ lives based on the expectation that the better a person’s well-being, the better a person performs.

The first time I read the white paper, I made multiple notes of “wow” in the margins. It was exciting to read about how a company benefits when people are at the center of the business equation. It is simple, really. Not sure why we didn’t think of it before. I mean if people are happy, fulfilled, challenged and appreciated, they are bound to be better in everything they do – at work and at home. Not to mention how an enriched workforce positively impacts the bottom line. Pretty cool stuff.

Throughout this process, I have learned so much and have become quite ardent about building an enriched, not to mention engaged, workforce. As the economy rebounds, I think we’ll be hearing a lot more about this initiative. You can say you read all about it on the Morningstar Communications Luminary blog.

 

Tagged employee engagement, Employee Enrichment, Hallmark Business Connections, Morningstar Communications, Rachel Spear | Leave a comment Posted on May 17, 2011 by Rachel Spear

Texting as a Marketing Tool

Posted in Internal Communications

According to Forrester Research, 82 percent of U.S. consumers now own a cell phone. And, according to Marketing News, 2011 could be the year mobile marketing goes mainstream in the U.S. While mobile marketing encompasses may different tactics, today I’ll focus on text messaging.

On the consumer side, many companies are already using text to interact with customers. Sunkist and Toys “R” Us both use text campaigns to engage customers and inform them of deals. An article in Marketing News reports that according to Forrester, “57 percent of all U.S. consumers and 85 percent of consumers age 18-30 send or receive text messages and 53 percent receive text alerts.”

Text messaging is also used for internal communications. It’s a quick way to get small bits of information out to employees who are not connected to a computer. Companies with manufacturing lines or a mobile workforce often benefit.

When using text messaging as a marketing or internal communications tool, it’s important to follow a few best practices:

1. Whether marketing to consumers or texting information to employees ASK FIRST. Always gain permission to send text messages.
2. Don’t overwhelm recipients with too many texts. Be aware of how many messages you send and text only when you have worthy information. Many suggest only using text in a crisis situation for internal communication.
3. Keep your texts short and sweet. Remember texting works well for short bits of information not full paragraphs or brochures!
4. For internal communications, don’t ask employees to bear the expenses of receiving text messages on their personal phones.

For more information, see the resources below.

Resources

http://vtlo.blogspot.com/2010/10/sms-communication-in-business.html

http://www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-resources-item?cmsid=52371

http://internalcommunicationtrends.wordpress.com/future/

Tagged internal communication, Internal Communications, Marketing, mobile marketing, Morningstar Communications, text messaging, Tricia Jaworski | Leave a comment Posted on February 3, 2011 by Tricia Jaworski

Auld Lang Syne

Posted in Best Practices, Integrated Marketing (IMC), Internal Communications, Media Relations

The flipping of the calendar from 2010 to 2011 fills me with hope and promise. It’s nice to have that fresh start that comes with the beginning of a new year. While I like to focus on what’s to come, the end of the year gives us reason to look back. I’m taking this opportunity to share some of my favorite 2010 blog posts from here at Morningstar Communications. It’s pretty cool that I get to work with some really intelligent and thoughtful bloggers.

Early last year, Eric Morgenstern wrote about how Social media is here to stay. In a year when so much has happened in the social media space, it’s really interesting to see what the social media sentiment was in early 2010.

My colleague, Tricia Jaworski, dedicated some of her blog space to talking about the backbone of PR – media relations. She takes it to 11 by talking about national media relations and how luck and strategy plays in to each opportunity.

This post about filler words by Tyler Dustin has stuck with me since I read it. I was guilty of adding a “just” when it wasn’t necessary. Not so much anymore.

Morningstar Communications always has outstanding interns, who know their stuff. This post from Holly Eckold nailed how to tell your story to capture and connect audiences.

Employee communication has always been near and dear, so Matt Tidwell’s post talking about employee engagement and communications really drove the message home.

And of course, it never hurts to give another nod to the boss. Eric’s three-part series on macro-trends is worthy of another look. The first post is on transparency, the second is on privacy and the third is on connectivity.

There were so many other great posts in 2010 so look through our archives if you get a chance. You’ll quickly see what I already knew – I get to work with smart people who will keep on blogging in 2011. Happy New Year!

Tagged 2010, blog review, communications, Creativity, Eric Morgenstern, Internal Communications, Leadership, Marketing, marketing, Morningstar Communications, public relations, Rachel Spear, Tricia Jaworski, Tyler Dustin, Web | Leave a comment Posted on December 28, 2010 by Rachel Spear

Drawing the corollary between employee engagement and effective communications

Posted in Best Practices, Internal Communications

I was honored to speak to a group of Kansas City business leaders as part of The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s “Business Brainfood” Series a few weeks ago. The topic was “Small investment & big return: Boosting employee engagement through effective internal communications.”

I shared some rather sobering research on the decline in employee engagement over the past two to three years. The stats on how willing employees are to go the extra mile and put forth discretionary effort paint a poor picture. The impact on overall performance in an environment where folks want to only do the bare minimum ultimately means lost revenue due to poor productivity. Fortunately, I absolutely believe effective internal communications can help improve morale and foster more motivated employees. Best practice companies are using both online and offline tools to communicate company direction as well as stimulate peer-to-peer conversation (which, by the way, is where some of the most exciting new internal communications strategies are directed).

Several other trends were discussed in the presentation, and attendees had a chance to weigh-in from their own perspectives about some of the challenges and opportunities in internal communications/internal marketing. The transient nature of today’s workforce and the stark differences in how employees view their relationship with their company today vs. prior generations made for a great discussion. As the recession graphs start to trend back upwards, our clients and organizations should (hopefully) begin to turn their attentions back toward motivating the workforce.

Tagged Business Brainfood, employee engagement, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Internal Communications, Matt Tidwell, Morningstar Communications, productivity, Professional Development | 1 Comment Posted on October 25, 2010 by Matt Tidwell

Excellent Advice for Surviving the Economic Downturn

Posted in Best Practices, Executive Insights, Internal Communications

I did a google search on surviving the downturn that returned 269,000 results. Many of the results were specific for a particular region or industry, but the best results I found were in an article by Richard Tyler in my.Telegraph.co.uk. Tyler included some of the tips that were posted to Chad Moutray’s question on Linkedin. (Chad Moutray is the Chief Economist & Director of Economic Research at U.S. Small Business Adminstration, Office of Advocacy.)

Here are some of the best tips:

• There is a lot of opportunity when all of your competitors are running scared.
• Prepare now for the upturn; it will happen eventually.
• Communicate with your customers and employees – people fear the worst in a vacuum of communication.
• Give your employees a safe venue for venting their concerns and fears.
• Stay focused on providing exceptional customer service.
• Figure out a way to take advantage of the unprecedented amount of money the government is flowing into our economy.

Perhaps the best advice is to keep a positive attitude and remember “This too shall pass.”

Tagged Internal Communications, ROI, Shanny Morgenstern | Leave a comment Posted on October 24, 2008 by Shanny Morgenstern

Some Gen Y Communication Methods Enhance Productivity

Posted in Internal Communications, Social Media

I came across this article from Computer World when I was reading Millennial Leaders Blog by Bea Fields.

While the article presents a balanced viewpoint on why employers should evaluate adding IT functions (instant messaging, social networking) to their infrastructure, the comments at the end were almost prehistoric. The authors advance the generalization that Gen Y is only here to make “demands” for “bleeding edge” technologies and not to contribute to a company’s productivity.

Instant messaging isn’t exactly bleeding edge any more. But the point they are missing is critical. Perhaps if more employers incorporated preferred Gen Y methods of communication, productivity would increase because more connections, discussion and innovation would occur. This is the case in our office where iChat facilitates conversations about work, no matter our physical location.

The caveat for Gen Y to take to heart is recognize not everyone likes to be communicated with in the same way. There are many communication methods available to us; we must decide which is best for each situation we encounter. Don’t forget about face-to-face meetings or phone conversations if they will be more effective.

Tagged Internal Communications | Leave a comment Posted on September 22, 2008 by clara

Four generations in the workplace at one time

Posted in Internal Communications Tagged Internal Communications | Leave a comment Posted on September 11, 2008 by clara ← Older posts