Author: Nailia Tasseel

Ever heard of work-life balance? The New York Times refers to our addiction to Blackberry’s – or ‘Crackberry’s’:

‘One user admitted it was harder to quit than smoking, while another spoke of ‘phantom vibrations’ …. like twinges from a missing limb, even when he wasn’t carrying it.

As with passive smoking, attention is now being given to the innocent non-users, spouses, friends, loved ones whose evenings and weekends have been ruined by the buzz, the ring or the blinking light …….. and, as for business colleagues, they now find it nearly impossible to carry on a conversation or a meeting, without having to endure the distracted downward glances and covert typing that signals “My interest lies elsewhere”.

Both the usefulness and the persistence of the devices are now undeniable. Only the need to check them in the most churlish manner is now under debate.’

Maybe we should join Crackberrys Anonymous.

And by the way, those words aren’t mine, guv. But I am compelled to celebrate some new research that dubs PowerPoint presentations a disaster, doing more to switch off the brain and bore people rigid than to inform, inspire and motivate them.

There’s no doubt that PowerPoint is an incredibly useful tool, used in the right proportions and in the right way. But as a spokesperson from Microsoft says, ‘there is no substitute for being a good communicator’. Indeed, successful employee engagement depends on it.

And this is my point. Speaking at a seminar this week the question was asked if storytelling (and face-to-face communication generally) is becoming redundant with the advent of more electronic, time-saving communication – e-mail, blogs, intranet etc. Ironically, this electronic media is in fact a fertile ground for storytelling, but we still find that people are frustrated by the extent of ‘techie’ communication; the vast majority of internal communicators recognise the need to deliver more in person, and improve the quality of their leaders’ face-to-face communication skills in particular. In fact, we could argue that it’s actually because of electronic media that there is a demand for storytelling and improving communication skills.

Why? Nothing beats human contact. As emotionally-driven human beings, we are wired to respond to it. Think about how information is passed on by a person – the way facial traits, the pace of speech, humour, interaction, warmth and body language can boost its delivery and give it a particular spin. Take Gordon Brown, who has apparently undergone speech training in order to change the delivery of his speeches to make him more popular (I couldn’t possibly comment). And how many of us have received an e-mail, the brusque and blunt tone of which has created a negative interpretation of the message (and sender) which was probably completely unintended?

Time-saving and efficient as it is, electronic communication should balance and act as a supplement to face-to-face communication. It’s hard to engender trust, emotional bonding and respect via e-mail. And yet productivity and the flourishing of communities and social networks within which we live and work depend on this kind of human interaction. I recommend that you read The Machine Stops by E.M Forster – a hugely memorable, somewhat scary short novel written in 1909 – a chilling tale of the control of technology over our lives. Here’s an excerpt – it’s enough to make you switch off your computer for good!

“Then she generated the light, and the sight of her room, flooded with radiance and studded with electric buttons, revived her. There were buttons and switches everywhere – buttons to call for food for music, for clothing. There was the hot-bath button, by pressure of which a basin of (imitation) marble rose out of the floor, filled to the brim with a warm deodorized liquid. There was the cold-bath button. There was the button that produced literature. and there were of course the buttons by which she communicated with her friends. The room, though it contained nothing, was in touch with all that she cared for in the world.”

Honestly, the stories these banks are coming up with. Are they doing it just to get some PR? First RBS insists that its employees bank with them, or else…. and then HSBC opens a branch in Canford Cliffs, (Dorset) which will only serve people with large wads of cash or substantial mortgages. If I was an HSBC employee in Canford Cliffs I’d be wondering in eager anticipation whether or not HSBC will follow RBS’s example and insist that I bank with my employer. Hmmm, now would that involve a hefty payrise? Maybe someone could suggest it as a new recruitment strategy….

OK. We all know it. Creating true employee engagement in large organisations is no mean feat. True engagement (which doesn’t just come from a nice looking newsletter as we all know) depends on the combination and balance of many factors – leadership skills, communication, reward, development, culture and environment, line of sight, sustainability and so on….the list is a long one. Yet if an organisation gets it right – or as near to right as it can, profitability increases. I’ll say that slightly louder. PROFITABILITY INCREASES. By up to 20 per cent according to the Corporate Leadership Council. Which, unless we’re just here for the ride, is the whole point of an organisation’s existence (at least, in the private sector).

So why then do so many organisations procrastinate when it comes to making that leap of faith? Why do so many of them still see employee engagement initiatives as a cost rather than an investment? Why do they invest so little in internal communications and often HR, compared to external marketing, when with half decent measurement the results speak for themselves? Time and time again research demonstrates the financial benefits of increasing levels of engagement. We’ve seen dramatic results from our own work. To be fair, one could argue that many engagement initiatives don’t work – or there are so many of them the eyes start to glaze over. But it’s time the big white chiefs started to wake up and smell the coffee. There’s no time to waste. Invest in your people, do it right, and the £££’s will look after themselves.

The 7th UK National Storytelling Week is set to run from Saturday 27 January – Saturday 3 February.  Building on the success of the 2006 week which saw 900 events nationwide, this year will see a diverse array of events in Museums, Libraries, Schools and Theatres amongst other places….why don’t we make 2007 they year the work place gets involved!  For a list of events taking place around the country, or for further information and guide to running your event please visit The National Storytelling Week website.

The CIPD has declared that management speak is a key factor in reducing the support and trust that staff have in their managers. We couldn’t agree more – and some of the latest phrases emerging from business, according to Office Angels, are laughable. Apparently cool new buzzwords include ‘thought grenade’ (explosive good ideas), ‘Let’s sunset that’ (let’s not ever mention that bad idea again) and ‘touchpoints’ (meetings).

How does trust relate to management speak? Quite simply because jargon creates barriers, preventing people from communicating effectively. We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again – start talking like normal human beings and you’ll find that people not only understand you, but will relate far better to you and what you’re trying to communicate. Everyone will be better off – and so will the organisation.

When it comes to successful cascading of information, all paths lead to leaders – how they role-model the actions and behaviours they expect from their teams, how they communicate down the line and how much interest they take in what’s going on at the coal-face. And that old chestnut ‘how to improve middle management communications’ keeps coming back time and time again.

It won’t come as a surprise to learn that people trust their line managers more than anyone else in the organisation – so, as we have said many times before, that layer of management is very powerful. But like dialogue, trust works both ways. Managers need to trust their teams too.

Think about it like a parent/child. If a parent constantly tells the child what to do, keeps the constraints tight and doesn’t allow the child to show he/she can be trusted to do the right thing, to explore the options and prove him/herself, the resulting attitude or behaviour will range from mere compliance to resentment and even rebellion.

In organisations, middle management behaviours so often reflect this ‘telling’ ethos – ‘this is what we need to do, now go away and do it’. Of course, training can be excellent for learning and development, but in some cases can itself also veer towards ‘telling’. Successful development and coaching of middle managers however is all about encouraging them to invite their teams to participate, explore, collaborate with ideas for better ways of working, share responsibility. It’s about involving them in the strategic planning (within a framework), inviting them to take the initiative, listening to their opinions, asking them for their input. This requires a different type of conversation – and it’s not a ‘telling’ kind of conversation, it’s an ‘inviting’ or ‘asking’ kind. Indeed, coaching and development needs to focus on showing managers HOW to go about having this kind of conversation. The ensuing sense of ownership and pride will be palpable, especially if it can be shared across the organisation. This approach will make a big difference to engagement.

Much of our work focuses on getting leaders to understand and explore how they will role-model the actions and behaviours that are required to change those of their teams.

But change in behaviour needs to apply to other practices and disciplines within an organisation – it doesn’t only start with leadership behaviours. If an organisation wants its people to change the way they think and do things, it needs to lead by example in other areas. It needs, for example, to start by adopting a different approach to how it talks and interacts with its people from the start. Is it reasonable to expect them to change if all they see and exerience are the same old communications methods and practices as before?

Storytelling is all about having a ‘different kind of discussion’. By its very nature, it sends a clear signal of ‘doing things differently’. It has a tremendous power to engage, inform, inspire and learn – to change people’s behaviours. Don’t tell the Strategy, tell a Story. Continue to learn from each other, grow and reinforce those messages through sharing ideas and stories of success and achievement that connect to that strategy and vision. And please, do it creatively – not just by barraging your people with the same old e-mails, PowerPoint presentations and briefings as before!

How many of you get frustrated at having to go through national (or international) call centres to get through to the local branch of your bank? That is, if they allow you to speak to the branch in the first place!

I read an amusing story the other day about an elderly lady trying to phone the local branch of her bank. She was put through to a call centre in Asia, where the salesman tried his very best to persuade her to buy one of a whole suite of products, which she politely declined. Eventually he gave up, and asked her how he could help. “I was just wondering,” she said, “if I’d left my gloves on your counter.”