The Inside Voice

Tips to Better Communicate with Senior Management (Part Two)

Last week, The Inside Voice interviewed Roberta Fiore-Kittell, an Executive Coach and Partner at OptimaHR. Roberta provides insight and tips to help HR managers better communicate with senior management. Today’s blog is the second of two parts.

Speak Up! Tips to Better Communicate with Senior Management (Part Two)

Interview with Roberta Fiore-Kittell, Partner, OptimaHR

What are some tips on how to get senior managers to pay attention to what we need to  tell them?

I always go into a senior manager meeting with a one-pager that we discuss and it also serves as a leave-behind. I may have the background information behind it, but everything can be condensed to one page.

It is critical that you spend the same amount of thought on the preparation as the meeting. Very senior managers prepare for conversations, just as they do for presentations. For every hour of a meeting, you need 30 to 60 minutes minimum to prepare so you can be very clear on what you want to communicate, what questions you want to ask, what questions you are going to be asked, what are the most important takeaways that need to happen in a meeting. A sports analogy comes to mind: Your preparation is the amount of “practice” you are willing to do to get ready for the big game (the meeting).  And, just like in sports, you don’t get a do-over if you blow the game (the meeting). The book It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It by Joan Detz is a great book that explains this.

How do you determine the best vehicle to use to communicate with senior management?

Start by asking yourself a few questions. Know your purpose: Is it to inform? To get buy in? Is it just an FYI? For complex issues, the only time you want to put anything in writing is to prepare them in advance so you use your time efficiently. You should think about how you can most succinctly communicate. Is that in an email or another type of communication?

Then work through understanding the background. What’s the outcome I want to have happen as a result of what I’m telling you? And what are the steps I am asking to take? And then what’s next? What are the key takeaways that I want as a result of this meeting?

That’s a lot of information you’ll have to present. So write what you want to say, then put your communications on a diet. The number one complaint senior leaders have is that people who come to them are too much in the weeds giving them too many details. Senior managers don’t want to know that much detail.

What are the biggest considerations that HR managers should keep in mind as they communicate and interact with the senior managers?

The top tips I’d recommend for HR managers:

1.      Be prepared and be clear. Have a framework for your communication, whether it is written, a presentation or a conversation. Most people should have a set way of preparing.

2.      Know your audience. Ask what information they’re looking for and how they want to receive the information in advance. Know the “secret handshake” – how they communicate, what they value and what they don’t value.

3.      Good presentations are good conversations. Don’t be one-sided. Engage your audience. Listen to them. Make it interesting and make it a dialogue to get engaged.

What has worked for you in communicating with senior management? Do you have tips that have proven to be successful for you? Click on the comment box below and add your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Tips to Better Communicate with Senior Management

Understanding your audience is critical in effective HR communications. Having a crystal clear picture of your audience: who they are, how they like to receive information and what information is important to them will help you get the response you need. You spend much of your time crafting a variety of communications that are widely sent to employees. But do you spend time understanding the best way to talk to your executive audience?

This week, we share an interview Roberta Fiore-Kittell, an Executive Coach and Partner at OptimaHR. Roberta provides insight and tips to help HR managers better communicate with senior management. Today’s blog is the first of two parts.

SPEAK UP!

Tips to Better Communicate with Senior Management (Part One)

Interview with Roberta Fiore-Kittell, Executive Coach and Partner at OptimaHR.

How is communicating to the senior management different than communicating to the rest of the company?

Effective communication starts with knowing what’s important to the senior manager and knowing the lens they look through.  A senior manager’s lens is driving and running the business and what’s going to help it be more effective. What this means is that you need to have a much broader focus when communicating with senior management than you would when communicating to employees globally.

Time is at a premium, so focus on the most critical things you need to tell a senior manager. If you only have three minutes, what would you really say? Someone communicating to senior management should focus on the three most important things they want to get across. You should know: Am I informing them of something? Trying to get buy in? Trying to persuade them? Know your purpose in coming to the table.

How do you know what are the most important things to a senior manager?

A senior manager is more likely to pay attention to the things that are more important to him or her. That’s a question to ask the most senior leaders: “What are the most important things I need to tell you?” Ask what they want to know.

If HR could approach communicating with the senior manager more as a consultant would approach this, it would be helpful. Of the senior management team, what is your critical customer base?

Many people overcommunicate, so many senior managers discard the information if it’s too much. Ask the senior managers “over the past year, of everything I’ve communicated, what has been the most valuable?” And is there a means of communication that you liked the best?

Many times, HR managers work with senior management teams rather than individually. What should they do to ensure a successful meeting with a senior management team?

Make sure you do your homework beforehand. If your purpose is to meet with them collectively, you want to have the “meeting before you have the meeting.” Get as much information and opinions together before you walk into the room.  The information you gather will help you understand your audience and tailor your message appropriately.

Next week, The Inside Voice will publish Part Two of Roberta Fiore-Kittell’s interview with tips on communicating to senior managers.

Company Success News Can Help Fuel Employee Engagement

We're experiencing more cautious optimism about the economy these days. Positive indicators continue to surface, the market is on the upswing and the number of first-time unemployment claims dropped to the lowest level since January. I'll bet your company is experiencing some positive indicators as well. Have you shared the good news with your employees?

To better engage your employees, make sure they know of the company successes. Employees always appreciate getting the "inside scoop," and it makes them feel more a part of the company team. 

Gathering The News

Where do you start? First, identify the type of news you have to share. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Sales. Does your company have a new noteworthy or significant client, or maybe one you've been pitching for a long time? Have your sales numbers started to climb? Are you making progress toward closing a new client, such as being included in the finals of your company's ideal client? 
• New lines of business. Are you introducing a new line of business or changing an existing one that is noteworthy?
• Significant cost savings. Are you implementing a new process or program that will reduce costs and help the company's bottom line? 
• PR and awards. Has your company been in the news? Have you received an industry or civic award?

There will also be other success areas that are specific to your business that are important to your employees. Include those on your success news list as well.

Communicating The News

Once you have determined the type of news you want to share with employees, what is the right vehicle to use to tell the story? Some guidelines:

• Intranet. This should be the go-to place for all of your company's internal communications and news. If your senior management has a regular column on the intranet, include the news in that column or article. If it's a really big deal, do an additional article to trumpet the news.
• Internal blog. For companies with a blog, this is a great place to tell the news, and then listen to employee feedback. This is a great way to get employees to join the conversation and feel more a part of the company. It also allows you to monitor the level of employee excitement.
• Twitter or Yammer. If your company is already using social media for internal communications, Twitter or Yammer is a great way to blast a big news announcement. Be sure to include a link to your blog or intranet article as well so they can get the whole story.
• Staff meetings. For departments that have regular staff meetings, pointing out successes from other departments can be very effective. It allows one department to discuss what steps they need to implement to support this change. Are more staffing or realigned resources required? Getting more departments engaged in the success can help the positive progress continue.
• Email. Email is a great way to communicate, but it is often overused. To effectively use email for success announcements, don't do an email for each success, unless it's a really big success. Instead, consider doing a weekly or monthly email with several updates in it. This will help employees realize the value of each email, increasing your open rate.

As you continue to tout the success the company is having to your employees, you are engaging them in being a part of the success. And don't be surprised employees begin to provide you with new suggestions to include in your success news. 

What success news do you communicate to engage your employees in a recovering economy? Have you already implemented a renewed approach to engaging your employees now that the economy is returning? Click on the comment box below and add your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Finding Your Inside Voice

An HR professional recently confessed her chief frustration to me: “information I just can’t seem to get across, whether I shout or whisper it.”

 

If you sometimes wonder which “voice” to use to reach your employees and get them to act, this blog is for you.

 

The Inside Voice draws on many strands of effective communications practices and focuses them specifically for internal use in your company.  We recognize that you face a variety of challenges, from establishing internal standards to "framing" news to motivating employees to take a next step on some issue of consequence. Which strategy, tactic, voice, is your best bet in each new circumstance?

 

As an HR professional, you have been designated an essential company “inside voice.” New candidates hear your voice first when they interview. You present the company profile, paint a picture of the culture, outline benefits and opportunities. It is your assistance with onboarding, education and training that help shape an employee’s career…and those careers, in turn, that shape tomorrow’s company.

 

The voice of frustration I described at the start of this column comes from having those exciting responsibilities in an increasingly demanding climate. Today’s overwhelming challenges mean your employees are more preoccupied than ever, making them harder to reach.

 

That’s where this blog comes in. Ideas, insight and guidance are yours through The Inside Voice. Which strategy to use—and which voice—to break through the clutter. How to make e-mail work…when to stop e-mail and start blogging…how to draw on resources outside the HR area…which voice (and tone) to choose for executives vs. new-hires vs. peers.

 

Look here for an approach to HR communications that maximizes your effectiveness. We promise more than "best practices" and great tips. You'll find new perspectives, a fresh universe of thinking, tools you haven't considered--and help with choosing among them. And a forum for sharing what's worked for you, what you still need, what you want me to address.

 

Stay tuned to The Inside Voice for workable ways to be heard, company-wide.