The Advantages of Hiring a Professional for Your Employee Survey

The advent of low-cost, easy-to-use measurement tools such as Zoomerang, Survey Monkey and Hosted Survey has opened the door to communicators eager to assess their employee communications efforts.  These tools offer templates, sample questions and instant reporting features, along with the ability to customize the look and feel of the survey to match the company’s branding.

I encourage my clients to take advantage of these types of online survey tools, and work with them to set up post-event surveys, as well as ongoing employee polls to gather information on employee issues and morale concerns.

But when it comes to a more complex survey, such as an annual employee opinion survey, I advise them to bring in the big guns and hire a professional research firm to conduct the assessment.

A professional survey provider brings to the table a number of advantages that communications generalists can’t offer, such as:

• Knowledge of best practices – how to drive responses, how to report results effectively, and how your company stacks up against others of similar size and type
• Understanding of the latest survey technology and knowledge of the best product for your circumstances
• Survey design expertise – not just the look and feel of the survey, but also the development of the questions themselves
• Assessment and analysis – advice on how to interpret the data and how to report it to senior management and back to the employees

Probably the biggest advantage that a professional survey provider offers is that of being an outsider.  They come to the table free of any internal bias that might slant the survey questions or even color the results.  That “outsider” status often results in more candid responses from employees, since they know their comments can’t be traced back to their user ID.  Plus, senior management will likely take less offense at critical verbatim comments when delivered by “the survey guys” instead of the employee communications manager.

Employee surveys are a valuable tool, and in the hands of an expert, can help identify the company’s core strengths, as well as areas of concern.

Susan C. Rink is principal of Rink Strategic Communications, which helps clients take their employee communications to the next level.  Email her at rinkcomms@verizon.net.

Communicators, It’s Time to Board the Twitter Train

One of the most frequently asked questions at PRSA and other professional networking events these days is, “Do you use Twitter?”

Granted, social media is a hot topic.  Companies are using social media to market products, manage their public image, and build customer loyalty via YouTube channels and Facebook pages. 

Local TV newsrooms urge viewers to become fans on Facebook and upload images of breaking news and current events to the station’s Flickr page. 

Celebrities and politicians alike have embraced Twitter as a way to manage their visibility and raise awareness of their activities.

But not everyone is on board.

In fact, when I answer that yes, I do use Twitter on a daily basis, most PR and HR professionals alike are quick to dismiss it as a fad and something that has little relevance to the “business” of communications.

I disagree.

Look, I know all the arguments against using Twitter as an employee communications tool:  

• “It’s a time-waster.”
• “My employees are on the shop floor/at the service counter and don’t sit at a computer all day.”
• “What if someone Tweets a profanity?”
• “Who cares what Ashton Kutcher is doing?”  (OK, that one is mine.)
• “Where is the ROI?”

All of these are valid arguments against adopting Twitter as an employee communications tool.  Sure, I can cite you companies that are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Yammer and a myriad of other social media tools as part of their comprehensive employee communications tool kit.  But you’ve heard those arguments before and you still aren’t convinced.

So let me tell you how I use Twitter:  as a professional development and research tool. 

There are some great resources out there that Tweet the latest workplace statistics and communication research findings.  I follow them and scan their Tweets to see if there is anything I can use to help one of my clients or even prepare me for a pitch to a new client.

There are professional and educational organizations, as well as industry experts, who offer free training, either via informational blogs or webinars and live chats.  I participate in as many as I can and apply that knowledge to the projects I’m supporting.

And there are recruiters and professional organizations that Tweet job openings and tips for effective resume development and interviewing.  I share those leads with friends and clients who are actively (or passively!) looking for work.

Communicators, it’s time to stop dithering and board the Twitter Express, if for no other reason than to prepare you for the day when you are out on the job market again.  After all, when was the last time you saw a PR or communications job posting that didn’t require expertise in social media?

Susan C. Rink is principal of Rink Strategic Communications, which helps clients take their employee communications to the next level.  Email her at rinkcomms@verizon.net or follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RinkComms

How to Use Social Media for Employee Communications

Employee communications strategist Susan Rink explains how to use six social media innovations for employee communications in this informative video.

Her company, Rink Strategic Communications (www.RinkComms.com), specializes in taking employee communications to the next level for their clients.

Susan touches on
1. Blogs
2. Yammer
3. Microsoft SharePoint
4. Online chats
5. Online comments
6. Wikis

Meet Susan Rink, employee communications expert

Susan Rink is a member of PRSA-NCC.

Join Conversations in Public Relations as we meet Susan Rink of Rink Strategic Communications.

This 2-1/2 minute video introduces you to this employee communications expert.

Look for Susan in upcoming commentary videos. To learn more, please visit http://prconversations.wordpress.com/…

Communicating with Employees in an Emergency

Susan Rink, of Rink Strategic Communications, provides three important employee communications tips to help your business or organization prepare, should a crisis or emergency arise.

For more information about employee communications strategies, please visit http://www.rinkcomms.com

Five Tips for Leadership Communications

Susan Rink, of Rink Strategic Communications, explains why strategic employee communications is more important than ever in this challenging economic environment. Learn five ways internal communicators can use to build trust in their company’s or organization’s leadership.

To learn more, please visit http://www.RinkComms.com or email RinkComms@Verizon.net

Manager Communications Strategies

Susan Rink of Rink Strategic Communications provides insight and strategies for manager communications in this video, including strategies for communicating adverse news to employees, such as layoffs.  For more information and employee communications tips, please visit http://www.RinkComms.com.

Broadcast Email Communications Tips

Are your employees bombarded with too much email? Susan Rink provides employee communicators with advice for how to handle broadcast email for their companies or organizations.

For more information and employee communications tips, please visit http://www.RinkComms.com

Communicators, Get Ready for Healthcare Reform

All signs indicate that Congress will pass healthcare reform legislation before the end of this year.

While there have been vast differences of opinion about the reform legislation, I think we can all agree that — once the bill is signed into law – employers will need to inform their employees about the changes that will impact them and their benefits.

The good news is that most organizations are either in the process of, or have just completed, annual benefits enrollment.  So there should be some processes already in place for communicating benefits changes.

The bad news — we don’t know exactly what the law will mandate, and exactly how the law will change our company’s benefit offerings.  Unfortunately, our employees will expect to hear that information as soon as the media reports passage of the bill.  And they will get frustrated by our inability to provide specific details.

In this scenario, the best course of action is to start communicating now, start setting the expectation that the HR team is tracking the healthcare reform debate and working proactively with current benefits providers to ensure that information is communicated as soon as details are available.

I’d recommend equipping managers and executives with a holding statement, similar to the ones used in the early phases of a crisis, which reinforces both the organization’s preparations and the plans for ongoing information updates.

You should also be working now on FAQs.  It shouldn’t be hard to determine which questions should be addressed if you’ve been following the healthcare debate:

• How will I (and my family) be impacted?
• Will I need to switch my coverage?
• How much more with this cost me?
• What are my options for getting insurance?

You might also want to prepare a presentation deck that can be used either by a department manager, or by the HR leader during an all-hands meeting or webinar.  You won’t have enough details to release it until after the bill becomes law, but at least you’ll have a head start.

Don’t delay.  Pull your communications team together and start working now on your plans for communicating what has the potential to be the biggest change facing your employees in the past few decades.

Susan C. Rink is principal of Rink Strategic Communications, which helps clients take their employee communications to the next level.  Email her at rinkcomms@verizon.net.

Strategic Messaging and Employee Communications

In this 5-minute video, Susan Rink, principal of Rink Strategic Communications, shares tips for communicating strategy, culture and brand information to employees through the use of strategic messaging.

Susan provides specific tips for how to make sure employees have the information they need to do their jobs, as well as recommendations for aligning the corporate brand with corporate communications.

For more information, please visit http://www.RinkComms.com or email RinkComms@Verizon.net