Employee and Workplace Communications -

Change management is often overlooked as a crucial component of any corporate structure. Most managers and business leaders believe that the time to bring in a change agent is when processes are broken, communications have ground to a halt, and the company is losing business. But effective change management needs time and room to grow, and may need to be initiated before cracks appear on the surface.

It's a new year, and that means a new beginning. We resolve to lose weight, exercise more, drink less and countless other things in our personal lives. But, it's also an opportune time to focus on organizational resolutions.

Change management is a necessary and sometimes messy part of HR’s job within any organization. These days, workplaces and companies have to change quickly or be left behind. Employee communications initiatives and software tools can help, but studies show that the best way to engage your employees and move them through transition is with coaching.

Often, too often, corporate culture turns toxic and entrenches itself so deeply that the organization can no longer serve its purpose effectively. This usually initiates the most painful form of change management. You're the new kid on the block, new C-suite or director or someone else with some ability to make changes to policy and employee communications standards – maybe you were even hired specifically to do that. What do you do about it? Bear with me for a brief history lesson.

Incivility is a virus that can disrupt even the most efficient work spaces. How can change management efforts and corporate culture training defeat incivility before it spreads?

A few weeks ago, the Trump administration proposed combining the Department of Labor and the Department of Education into a new Department of Education and the Workforce. This proposal would require Congressional approval, and given how well the two parties and their multitude of factions get along at the moment, this idea is probably Dead on Arrival. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't do some thinking in terms of Human Resources, particularly recruitment and retention, in the hopes that Washington starts working again.

That is, of course, something of a trick question. Retaining employees is a major part of building a strong operation, but retention of employees is not the primary goal of a business or other organization. Apple Computer may be good at retaining employees, but its top priority is to generate a profit for shareholders, and it does so by producing technology people want to buy. Because it is successful at making a profit with nifty iPhones and such, people like to work there. Yet, I am certain that there is a manager somewhere at Apple who has driven down morale and has lost some good people owing to a management style that does address employee retention.

It’s 2009. You own a company that’s been doing fairly well. It’s not at the top of the field, but it’s comfortably living among the mid-range organizations in its business arena. Then the bottom falls out of its market.

Business is rife with catch phrases, and has been for quite some time. Some are horrid clichés…”run it up the flagpole” or “drink the Kool-Aid.” In fact, in an article for Business Insider, Jacquelyn Smith found 26 catch phrases that are as annoying as the muddied use of the word “literally,” which is presently considered one of the most annoying and misused words in English.

A great many studies, articles, seminars, webinars and presentations exist to tell you, the manager, how to prepare for rapid change. Very few of these look at change from the employees' point of view, and frankly, that is the perspective you have to focus on. The reason is simple: if you can't get the employees to change in the direction you want, the change won't happen.

“Change? Change? Why do we need more change? Aren't things bad enough already?” – attributed to Lord Salisbury speaking to Queen Victoria.

Crisis in business will happen. Is your team ready to respond?

For employee communicators, dealing with an organizational crisis and putting together a crisis communications plan is surely the toughest component of their job. By their very nature, crises are unplanned, unscheduled, and sometimes unprecedented.

Internal video communications come in all shapes and sizes. Some companies use internal communication tactics like livestreaming to communicate better and faster with remote and in-house employees. Here’s how scripted videos can help deliver information and build community in the workplace.

Most change management experts see their job as helping organizations change and improve. Companies that change fast can survive, but companies that embrace transformation thrive. What’s the difference?

Sometimes managing change in a younger workforce comes down to the corporate communication tools you have in place.

Organizations with the best employee video communication in the world still lose valuable workers and mid-level managers due to terrible bosses. Here are four archetypes of bad bosses that send talented employees running for the hills and torpedo the best employee retention efforts.

There’s an old saying in the military that every battle plan, no matter how clever, gets torn up as soon as the fighting starts. The same sometimes goes for the best-laid plans in change management.

An example of how a company completed its corporate culture change management mission effectively and efficiently.

When it comes to business communications and change management, it's axiomatic that you need buy-in from the C-suite executives of your company. Regardless of what you need to achieve, it's simply easier if you have them in your corner.