There are dramatic changes afoot among employee populations. The biggest of these are pandemic-related, including hybrid workforces and employees required to adjust to new at-work realities, including continued social distancing and other measures designed to blunt the spread of viruses. In addition, employees are leaving their jobs in record numbers, part of the “great resignation,”... Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #73: Communicating in a Changing Workforce appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows

Circle of Fellows #73: Communicating in a Changing Workforce

During the recent IABC World Conference, Brad Whitworth and Mark Schumann led a highly rated interactive session that examined how we use time to positively impact worlds we hope to change, lives we want to touch, and differences we need to make. Brad and Mark reprised much of that session — joined by Alice Brink and Jane Mitchell — as the five of us discussed what we are doing with our time. Here’s how Brad and Mark describe the conversation: “We fill our days fighting the realities of time. Maybe it’s time to stop the clock, take time to reflect, and recommit to what we contribute to make ours a better world.”Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #72: Time Will Tell appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #72: Time Will Tell

Crisis communication begins long before an organization experiences a crisis. Planning to communicate in a crisis involves considerable preparation, running the gamut from ensuring contact lists are up to date to establishing an organizational culture that is prepared to swing into action when things go south. Organizations that prepare are able to identify most issues before they become crises. But every organization will experience a crisis when decisions must be made quickly and communicated deftly and frequently across multiple channels. Missteps can exacerbate the situation but a strategic approach to a crisis can help the organization recover quickly with its reputation untarnished (or, at least, ready to be rehabilitated quickly). Four crisis-tested IABC Fellows gathered on Thursday, July 15 for a conversation about crisis communication and leadership. The conversation, moderated by IABC Fellow Shel Holtz, covered the preparation and execution of crisis communication, including a look at the leadership role communicators can play.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #71: Crisis Communication and Leadership appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #71: Crisis Communication and Leadership

What does it take to ensure success, both personally and professionally, as an organizational communicator? On June 17, five IABC Fellows gathered for a live-streamed discussion that explored some surprising elements of success.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #70: Achieving Personal and Professional Success appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #70: Achieving Personal and Professional Success

Internal communicators have been partnering with Human Resources for years. In larger companies, HR even has communicators of its own to handle messaging about people-related matters. Changes in the workplace have led to substantial changes in HR’s role, many of which are potential flashpoints, which now add external communicators to the mix. Consider the recent news about Basecamp, in which a decision by the company’s leaders to ban political discussion from internal forums led one-third of the company’s employees to quit. In this episode of Circle of Fellows, four IABC Fellows discussed the relationship between communications and HR in an environment in which purpose and values drive employment decisions, employees expect companies to take a stand on issues that matter to them, and employee activism is on the rise.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #69: Partnering with HR appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #69: Partnering with HR

Return on Investment (ROI) is a term that is tossed around loosely in some circles. Strictly speaking, ROI is expressed as a percentage determined by dividing the return (or benefit) of a monetary investment by the cost of the investment. That’s not what most communicators measure, yet the industry frequently refers to the ROI of communication. Is that a number that applies to communication? Can communication contribute to an organization’s overall ROI? What are valid alternatives to ROI that company leaders will appreciate when communicators share them? Four IABC Fellows gathered at noon ET on Thursday, April 15, 2021, to discuss these and other questions.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #68: Communications and ROI appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #63: Communications and ROI

Corporate Social Responsibility has never been hotter. With younger workers insisting on working for purposeful organizations, a surge of interest in investment funds that focus on sustainable companies, and organizations embracing comprehensive ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) initiatives, communicators have their hands full. From reporting ESG results (annual ESG reports jam-packed with data are becoming commonplace) to pitching companies’ CSR commitments, challenges abound. Simply checking off CSR boxes (donation made: check) no longer cuts it. Four IABC Fellows gathered on March 19, 2021, to discuss the state of CSR and the role communicators play in helping companies get it right and engage stakeholders appropriately.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #67: Corporate Social Responsibility appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #67: Corporate Social Responsibility

What does it take to be successful as an independent communication consultant? How do you transition from your current corporate role, with all the support and resources that come with it, to working on your own? How do you drum up business, manage multiple clients, and handle all the administrivia (like contracts, invoicing, accounting, and travel booking) that go along with going solo? How do you handle demanding clients?Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #66: What Does It Take to Be a Successful Independent Consultant? appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #66: What Does It Take to Be a Successful Independent Consultant?

By any standard, 2020 was a challenging year for everyone around the globe. Communicators were among those who had to cope with the personal impact of the year’s events while simultaneously coordinating communication to their organizations’ or clients’ diverse audiences — both regular, ongoing communication and crisis-related communication. On Thursday, January 21, a truly global panel of four IABC Fellows convened to review the year in communication. (Panelists are from Australia, The Philippines, and Canada.)Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #65: A Look Back at Communication in 2020 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #65: A Look Back at Communication in 2020

The corporate environment comprises the various aspects of work that affect employees' productivity, including when, where, and how they work. According to Indeed.com, "A work environment is the setting, social features, and physical conditions in which you perform your job. These elements can impact feelings of wellbeing, workplace relationships, collaboration, efficiency, and employee health." Elements of a corporate culture include the physical environment, the company culture, and working conditions. Business analysts have made attempts to categorize different types of corporate environments, like "artistic" (promoting innovation and experimentation, as well as personal expression), "enterprising" (emphasizing guidance of employees toward goals), and "conventional" (built on specificity, predictability, and organization).Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #64: Communications and the Corporate Environment appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #64: Communications and the Corporate Environment

For a while, the wave of new technologies offered communicators obvious opportunities to incorporate these new tools into their communication strategies. The introduction of Twitter and Instagram, the rise of mobile use, chatbots, and other technologies that were grounded in communication were introduced at a dizzying pace. Many of today’s new crop of technologies have less obvious communication applicability. That doesn’t mean communicators should ignore them. From Artificial Intelligence to Blockchain, from live streaming to machine co-creativity, there are technologies gaining steam that can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of both internal and external communication.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #63: The Hottest New Communication Technologies appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #63: The Hottest New Communication Technologies

Four IABC Fellows discuss how to effectively communicate workplace safety.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #62: Communicating Workplace Safety appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #62: Communicating Workplace Safety

In his book, “The Great Game of Business,” Jack Stack introduced the business world to open-book management. The Great Game of Business website points out, “Open-book management at its most effective far outperforms a definition as simple as “sharing financial information with employees”. Open-book isn’t just about opening your financials to your company, it’s about responsibility, ownership, results, and growth, all of these things can come together to drive the needle forward in your organization. With proper training and knowledge, all levels of your business start to act and engage just like the owner, or leadership.” Clearly, communication is a vital dimension of open-book management. Episode 61 of "Circle of Fellows" featured four IABC Fellows looking at the communicator’s role, including introducing the concept to leadership. Panelists included moderator/Fellow Brad Whitworth and IABC Fellows Jim Shaffer, Tosh Hattori, and Amanda Hamilton-Attwell. Of special note, Jim has worked closely with Jack Stack, founder of open-book management and CEO of SRC Holdings. He escorts clients to SRC Holdings so they can see first-hand how to implement open-book management.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #61: Communicating Open-Book Management appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #61: Communicating Open-Book Management

Episode 43 of Circle of Fellows — back in March 2019 — addressed the communicator’s role in supporting their companies’ diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts. The topic has undergone a dramatic transformation since then and, notably, since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Suddenly, companies that had merely checked the D&I box are revisiting their commitments and introducing more meaningful policies and practices, in addition to taking direct action. IABC revisited the topic in the August episode of Circle of Fellows. Five IABC Fellows — Priya Bates, Neil Griffiths, Todd Hattori, Rajeev Kumar, and Brenda Siler — joined moderator Shel Holtz for an updated conversation about the communicator’s role in evaluating and promoting D&I; including best practices in language and visual representation.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #60: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #60: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

What does it take to launch a communications consulting practice? What should communicators who have never been entrepreneurs know about going solo? Should they bring aboard partners? Staff? Most importantly, how do they become trusted advisers, delivering value, and helping clients drive business results? Four Fellows from the International Association of Business Communicators gathered on July 16 for a live streaming conversation about entrepreneurship and how to be a successful consultant.Continue Reading → The post Circle of Fellows #59: How to Be a Successful Consultant appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Circle of Fellows #59: How to Be a Successful Consultant

A monthly conversation among Fellows of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)

hubhopper

Circle of Fellows

hubhopper