Category Archives: Internal Communications

Digital communications – some secret ingredients

2 Replies

I was chatting to some fellow internal communicators recently about our digital work at Coca-Cola Enterprises, and it wasn’t until afterwards that I realised what a frantic – and fantastic – few years it’s been.

In that time we’ve launched an internal social network now used by 70 per cent of our employees, re-launched our intranet (front end once, back end twice), introduced a mobile version of it and revamped our digital signage system. We’ve won a few awards along the way, learned from other organisations who’ve been interested in what we’ve done and shared our story at conferences and seminars across Europe.

The journey never ends – we have more ambitious plans for the year ahead – but it feels like the right time to reflect on how we’ve achieved what’s happened so far. And believe it or not, it’s not down to bundles of budget. So here are some of our secret ingredients…

Have a clear purpose and goals
Almost everything we’ve done is with the main aim of improving employee productivity – which supports business goals about efficiency and effectiveness. We’ve set out to make things easier, faster and better for people to read, find or do. Everything we’ve delivered gets marked against that mantra. Better communications is a healthy by-product, but it wasn’t what we’d chiefly set out to achieve. As with all good strategies and plans, know what it is you need to achieve – and stick to it.

Governance is golden
Building on the earlier point, you can have the best-looking intranet in the world but it’s not much use if it’s not doing what your organisation wants. So who’s holding the experts and enthusiasts to account? Each quarter, commercial and operational leaders meet with the communications, IT and HR teams who manage our digital tools and channels. They act as challenger and champion, ensuring there’s a common understanding around the table of what’s needed and what’s being delivered, and then sharing that story back in the business. Without them, we wouldn’t have made so much progress – not least because this governance group has C-suite sponsors. Three of our CEO’s team, including our CIO, attend almost every meeting and the top man himself joins at least once a year. If you have leaders who you know will recognise the value that digital can add to your organisation, get them together to support and drive your agenda.

Listen to your employees
It’s a no-brainer, right? You’re clear on your goals, you know what your organisation needs, you have the support of its leaders – but what about the people on the receiving end? Ask, listen, respond, repeat. Survey, quick poll, show of hands, focus group – it all counts. Clock up the road, rail and air miles to go and hear what they have to say, and feed it into your decision-making. What’s slowing their job down? What’s stopping them from spending more time with customers, or going home on time? How can digital communications make that better? It’s worth the effort, because I guarantee you’ll be enlightened every time, you’ll be even clearer on your purpose – and you’ll be appreciated for taking the time to listen.

Have your eyes on the horizon
Technology moves fast – so do you know enough about what’s ahead to anticipate how it may help or hinder your organisation? One of things I like most about digital communications is the pace of change. But that means you need to be on your toes. So absorb as much as you can from your colleagues, peers and other organisations. Get out there, physically or virtually, and understand new ideas, ways of working and how things are done elsewhere. There have never been so many ways to learn from others, so take advantage. It will add value to your organisation by the bucket-load.

So that’s our story – what’s yours? Anything missing? Really interested to hear how you’ve made digital communications work in your organisation, or the challenges you face.

Make it a thriller, not vanilla

Leave a reply

Last week I had the pleasure of listening to Richard Reed, one of the co-founders of Innocent Drinks, speak about his approach to business.

Innocent has been one of my favourite brands for some time. I think the tone of its communications is spot on, whether that’s its website, advertising, Twitter feed or product packaging. Next time you’re in your local supermarket, I dare you not to pick up an Innocent smoothie and smile at how basic details like ingredients and consumer contact information are described on the label. Down to earth and not too fussy, and it’s probably no coincidence that Richard Reed comes across the same way when he speaks.

But you don’t become a multi-millionaire entrepreneur on appearances alone. Richard’s talk last week was built around 10 ways to succeed in business, and there’s far more to his and the Innocent story than saying or writing things in a nice way. I’m not going to recount all 10 here, but there was one that struck me in particular – not least because it chimed with something else that inspired me a few days earlier.

“Chase beauty,” he said. In other words, don’t underestimate the power of making things beautiful in business. Take pride in the things you make and do. A very similar sentiment to one expressed by Tim Colman in his excellent guest blog post earlier this month, which I only caught up with last week: “Be brave – be better than alright.”

I don’t think many people set out to produce work that’s just OK – but if we’re honest, we’ve probably all had to settle for that more often than we’d like. Sometimes there’s no question that you need to be pragmatic in the circumstances you face. Deadline pressure, competing priorities, having to achieve consensus – all different ways that what we wanted to look, read or go to plan so brilliantly can end up being watered down.

I doubt Innocent would be the success story it is – the brand may not even have existed – if Richard Reed and his fellow founders had allowed the beauty of what they wanted to achieve to be eroded at the outset. For me, it’s a timely reminder not just to set the bar high when it comes to quality and creativity, but to keep the faith when the questions and challenges start coming or the clock is ticking.

So thanks to the wise words of Richard and Tim, I for one will be on my guard the next time that threatening streak of vanilla appears on the horizon.

A lesson in compassionate communications

2 Replies

Chances to look and learn about the work we do sometimes come from unexpected places and in unwelcome circumstances.

Earlier this week, my kids returned to devastating news at their school – a popular and long-serving teacher had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly during the Christmas holidays.

Nothing we do as communicators has to be handled with more care than the death of an employee. Those of you who’ve had the responsibility for communicating such dreadful news will know how heavily it weighs. And the school’s headteacher – whose list of people within its community to inform included staff, parents and children as young as four years old – hasn’t put a foot wrong.

Classes were told one by one during the course of the day, with special attention paid to those taught by the teacher who had passed away. Parents who had signed up to the school’s SMS alert system received a text message saying there was an important letter coming home with their children. At the final bell, the headteacher and staff were in the playground as their pupils emerged, many upset, to answer questions and help comfort people.

The headteacher’s letter to parents was word-perfect – the right balance of facts and compassion, including information about how the children will be supported professionally and psychologically at school and advice for parents on how to handle the circumstances at home. Subsequent letters have explained staffing arrangements, how the school is supporting the teacher’s family and how it will involve pupils in its plans to remember him. Getting technical for a moment, they have used the right communication channels in the right way at the right time.

I have a great deal of respect for good teachers at the best of times, but none more so than this week. Speaking as a parent and a professional, the way they are managing an extremely difficult situation is a lesson to behold.