A Refreshing Approach to Strategic Communication Planning by Robin Russell McCasland Dallas TX

Strategic Communication
Planning
Refreshing Approach; Multiple
Applications

IABC Houston Workshop
July 22, 2010

What We’ll Cover Today
y
• The strategic process itself, with less “ick”
factor
– Why it matters; what it’s worth
• Ways to use the process for
– General planning
– Talent management
– Employee/audience engagement
– Branding
• Examples of social (media) and cultural
communication to support your strategies
– Easy, effective ways to incorporate social media
y, y p

2
© 2010 Brain Biscuits Strategic Communication. All rights reserved.

Why Plan Strategically?
• Helps an organization determine what they
need and h
d d how t get th
to t there
• Identifies how the organization will
define success
• Provides a road map with specific
directions/steps on how attain
p
that success
• Keeps everyone headed in the
same di ti
direction
There is no perfect formula for developing a plan;
do what makes sense for your gro p or your client
hat o r group o r client.
3

How Planning May Be Used
g y
• Aligning and supporting an organization’s
goals/priorities
– Ensuring channels are used most effectively to keep
employees informed and engaged; influencing behavior

• S
Supporting the priorities of a group within the
i h i ii f i hi h
organization
– Example: A communication strategy for HR to improve
employee engagement, to build an employer brand, to
increase participation in a particular benefit program
– Launching a new process, benefit, product, etc.

• A stand-alone strategy for the communication
department
– Ensuring consistent communication processes
– Maximizing your resources and channels
4
– Providing resources and counsel to All rights reserved. need support
© 2010 Brain Biscuits Strategic Communication. groups that

Strategic vs. Tactical
Messaging
• Tactical messaging
– Provides information
– Doesn’t necessarily drive action or behavior
change
• Basic reminders announcements information
reminders, announcements,
• May be a one-time event

• Strategic messaging
– Targeted to various audiences
– Causes people to take action, affects change,
modifies b li f
difi beliefs
• Monitored and adjusted regularly
• Never “done;” updated and redefined over time

5

Traditional Strategic Planning
g g
• Agree upon why you’re planning (begin with the end in
mind)
• Strategic analysis
– Stakeholders
– Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
• Strategy planning
– Goals and objectives
– Mission, vision and values statements (sometimes these come
before the strategic analysis)
g y )
• Action planning
– Budget, tactics, responsibilities, timing, measurement and
evaluation
6

Refreshed Approach
pp
• Easier to follow
– N i k t diti
No icky traditional planning l
l l i language
– We all have attention deficit, anyway
(Look! There’s a squirrel!)
There s
• Gets you to the same result
• Can be used in a variety of ways
– Feed multiple initiatives with strategic
communication that builds on complementary
messages
• Potential for the same (or better) results

7

What You’re Up Against

(Good luck)

Employees Focus On…
p y
• Their jobs (we hope)
• Their next pay raise
e e t a se
• Why their benefits stink
• Why their boss sucks
• Why their coworkers are freaks
• Getting a pedicure
• The idiot who rear-ended the new car
• Bevo the Bulldog s preference to pee on the sofa or
Bulldog’s
bedspread
• Their favorite pro or college game
• Having to buy groceries after work
• Going to the parent-teacher conference
• Enrolling child in military academy after parent-teacher
conference

9

Employees Think
About…
Ab t
• Their jobs (we hope)
• Their next pay raise
e e t a se
• Why their benefits stink
• Why their boss sucks
• Why their coworkers are freaks
• Getting a pedicure
• The idiot who rear-ended the new car
• Bevo the Bulldog s preference to pee on the sofa or
Bulldog’s
bedspread
• Their favorite pro or college game
• Having to buy groceries after work
• Going to the parent-teacher conference
• Enrolling child in military academy after parent-teacher
conference

10

It s
It’s Not About You
• When it comes to strategizing communication
– It is not about you
i t b t
– It is about your audience(s)
– One message rarely fits everyone

• When communication is planned strategically and
carried out appropriately…
pp p y
– It reflects nicely on many stakeholders

It is very difficult to overcome a bad first
impression.

11

Why Should Anyone Change?
y y g
• Employees are focused on themselves
– Unless you give them good reason to take action
– Explain what happens if action doesn’t take place
– Provide a competitive scenario

• When communicating a change within an
organization, people are thinking
– What matters to ME?
– Have you considered ME?
– My boss/HR/company leaders don’t care about
ME!

12

A Refreshed Planning
Approach
pp

Keys To Your Plan
• Why do you need a plan?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• How large is the scope?
• What’s the hard-dollar cost tied to what you’re trying
What s hard dollar you re
to achieve (or the problem you’re solving)?
• How will this strategy benefit the stakeholders?
gy
• How does this strategy align with the larger
organizational strategy (if appropriate)?
• Do you have leadership support, or can you get it?

14

The Heart Of The Matter
• What is your budget?
• What will employees and other audience care about
most?
• Which subgroups, if any, need different messaging, and
what are those messages?
h h ?
• What topics will need plain-English translation?
• Which parts of the strategy or messaging need to be
provided in languages other than English?
• Which existing communication channels will provide y
g you
with the greatest impact?
• Which new ones should you consider?

15

Potential Dealbreakers
• What other distractions might prevent employees (or
other audiences) from paying attention to the
messages?
• Wh t other b i
What th barriers might prevent success?
i ht t ?
• Do you have adequate time to initiate and complete the
strategy?
• Do you have sufficient resources, or can you get them?
• Who may dislike the messages you are delivering?
– Can you craft the messages to help overcome their objections?

16

Success…Or
Success Or Consequences?
• Wh t will define success for each stakeholder?
What ill d fi f h t k h ld ?
• What measures will you use to ensure your strategy
is working?
• What are the potential consequences if your
messages aren’t effective?
• What are the potential consequences if you don’t
don t
have a communication strategy at all?

17

Analyze,
Analyze Then Act
• Highlight the “ah-ha” insights
• A
Agree upon k messages th t address th standout
key that dd the t d t
comments/messages
• Choose three to five on which to focus within one
time period
• Formulate prioritized actions
– Choose the message methods (including the addition of
social media, if appropriate)
– Assign responsibilities
– Assign deadlines
• Develop and maintain a timeline

18

Measure, Evaluate,
•
Communicate
Establish measurement metrics
– If what you are doing i t l strategic, th ’ a good way t
h t d i is truly t t i there’s d to
measure it
– Connect directly to a bottom-line business cost or other
bottom line
business-relevant statistic

• Share your progress and accomplishments regularly
y p g p g y
– Measure your progress routinely
– Demonstrate how communication is helping shape success
– Show how you’ve changed your direction, if needed, given
the interim feedback you’re getting

19

Timing And Feedback Are
Crucial
C i l
• A significant initiative should be supported with a
longer communication timeline
– At least six months in advance for a major initiative
• G buy-in f
Get b i from top leaders
l d
• Senior managers
• Rank-and-file human resources
• The “cynics” group (we’ll talk about this in a moment)
• Then, employees
– L
Less complex projects; f
l j t four t six-month ti li
to i th timeline
– Simple projects; two to three-month timeline

20

Convene The Cynics
y
• Whiners can be very helpful
• Get their input before you launch communication
• Ignore the “blah, blah, blah”
• Listen for the “gems” that could improve your work
• Thank them for the feedback
– Tell them how you used their feedback
– You might gain some converts, but if you don’t…
• Q it worrying about th
Quit i b t them
– Focus instead on the people who matter most

21

Communicating
Culturally,
Socially and
Strategically

“I’m in the checkout line at Randall’s. Someone comments
on the T-shirt I’m wearing from the company blood drive.
So I respond…”

Making Your Strategy
“Engaging”
Engaging
• In a challenging economy (at any time, really)
employee engagement is necessary for
successful g
talent management
– No longer confined to certain industries

• Consistent messages and actions are key
– Because change and ambiguity are the norm for
many

23

Social Media Impacts
Engagement
g g
…therefore, your communication
strategy
• S i l media d
Social di does not change the need f employee
h h d for l
engagement

• It DOES impact the way you approach your strategies
– Instant and viral; anyone can do it

• Without appropriate social media policies it can be tough
policies,
to combat negative online communication

24

What Engages Employees?
• They want to be valued
– Let them know what they are doing well
– Differentiate their pay, benefits and perks
– Reassure them if and when you can

• They want to inspire
(
(and be inspired)
p )
– Help employees see that it is
how the company impacts the
world that makes a difference

25

What Matters To Employees?
• Inform them of problems before they read or hear
about them in the media
– Even if you don’t have all the answers, tell them when to
expect more information

• Give them opportunities to ask questions and tell you
what they think
– If you don’t, they will make things up
– Do something meaningful with the input employees provide,
and then let them know how you used the feedback

26

Social Media Impacts
Engagement
E t
• Companies use social media routinely as part of
ongoing communication strategies
i i ti t t i

• Social media can impact workplace culture significantly
if…
– Leadership is on board
– You choose the tools wisely

• Be in it and be consistent for the long haul
– O
Once you jump in, b consistent
j i be i t t
– Manage your outlets; don’t abandon them

27

Perception Is Reality
• Internal and external communication are merging
g g
– How do you want employees to feel about working at your
company?
– H
How d you want th
do t them representing th “
ti the “promise” of your
i ” f
organization’s brand externally?
• They represent you virtually and in reality

– How do you want your CEO and other leaders to be
perceived internally and externally?
• Their presence (or lack of one) in social media can
communicate as effectively as anything else y do
y y g you

28

Cultural and Social
Considerations For Your
Communication Strategy

Additional Planning Questions
• How do you wish to be perceived externally?
• How do you wish to be perceived internally?
• What’s the current external brand?
– Does it align with the perception you want?
• What’s the current internal brand?
– Does it align with how you want employees to behave and how
they represent your organization?
• What distinguishes you from your competitors?
– Do those attributes make your company more desirable to a job
candidate? Why?

30

How Do You Know For Sure?
• How often do you get candid employee feedback?
• How often do you get candid feedback from vendors
and customers?
– Do you use a third party to help ensure the information
received is unbiased?

• How does your leadership define and perceive the
organizational culture?
g
– Which questions should you ask?

31

Questions To Ask Each Group
• How should we operate?
• What do we value?
• What traditions do we uphold?
• How are we expected to treat others?
• What do we expect of employees?
• What should employees expect of us?
• What behaviors should we demonstrate
with our customers, partners and vendors?
• Do any of these groups perceive issues with the
company culture, or with talent management?

32

How would the answers
to these questions be
digested by the public if
they were published in a
social media outlet?

33

The Container Store: What We Stand
For

34

Showin’ Employees Some
Love

36

USAA: Commentary Travels
Quickly
• Canceled an policy due to a bad experience
– Tweeted my experience; posted to Facebook
• Friends who have USAA coverage responded

• A few days later, the claim was paid
– Supervisor said a mistake had been made
• I reinstated my policy; added more coverage

• Tweeted my experience; posted to Facebook

• Looked at TweetDeck a month later and…are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor

38

Creative Cultural
Communication

40

Tools To Measure Social
Site
Media it does
What
Howsociable.com Measures mentions, related info from
many of the most common social media
f th t i l di
outlets

Geekchart.com Input information and get a calculation
(in a pie chart) of where your presence
is strongest

Addictomatic.com Shows where your brand/identity
appears in various social media outlets
pp
and where you may be lacking a
presence

Radian6 A comprehensive tool for tracking and
measuring social media, engagement,
listening; and

Alterian SM2 For PR/marketing professionals: Tracks
positive/negative brand segment,
iti / ti b d t
conversations about your company, and
competitors

45
45

47
47

49
49

Summary
y
• There is no “perfect” strategic planning formula; develop a
system that works for you
• Strategic is ongoing, changes over time, may never be
completed
p
• Strategic can influence, change behaviors
• Strategic can be measured; direct bottom-line impact
g ; p
• Social media impacts your communication, your culture,
employee engagement
• Don’t be afraid of social media; don’t ignore it; use it wisely

51

Robin McCasland
Robin@brainbiscuits.biz
Robin@brainbiscuits biz
214-277-9778

Twitter:
@robinrox
@brainbiscuits

…everything else is just gray
matter.SM

A Refreshing Approach to Strategic Communication Planning by Robin Russell McCasland Dallas TX

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