What do an architect, engineer, economic strategist, city attorney, nonprofit leader working with homeless teens, and a few marketing and lobbying professionals who have never met have in common? We are among the nine leaders in the Austin and surrounding area selected by the region’s civic-minded elite to the Frank McBee Jr. Fellowship in Civic Entrepreneurship Program for 2010.

The program is a newer component of the larger work of the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO), a nonprofit founded in 1980 by a group of Austin business leaders, including Frank McBee Jr. AARO’s vision is to be the keeper of a dynamic strategic vision for Central Texas, and facilitator of projects important to that strategic vision.

Today, AARO members are a behind-the-scenes group of 90 of Austin and Central Texas’ most influential, non-elected leaders – from business, government, academic, and social equity organizations – committed to giving of their time, talent, and spheres of influence to shape the strategic long-term focus of our burgeoning region. Organized into eight committees, the group works to facilitate the long-term economic and social well-being of Central Texas by researching and addressing strategic, public policy issues in priority areas:  Education, Energy, Health Care, Higher Education, Leadership, Social Equity, Transportation, and Water.

The McBee Fellowship develops young leaders in the region through a year of service in AARO. “In a region with extraordinary growth such as ours, collaborative civic leadership is crucial to ensuring the long-term economic and social well-being of our future,” said Martha Smiley, AARO President and Of Counsel, Winstead Attorneys. “Our rigorous McBee Fellowship in Civic Entrepreneurship Program offers exceptional promising leaders first-hand experience working with many of the most influential business and community leaders as they work strategically to shape our long-term future in complex, critical areas such as energy, water, and public education.”

Frank McBee Jr., who was called the “dean of Austin high tech,” helped found Tracor Inc. in 1955 and encouraged more than 20 former Tracor employees to start their own companies, fueling the development of this now exploding sector of Austin’s economy.

It is an inspiration and a pleasure to be among such promising young leaders working in Frank McBee’s honor. I look forward to a year of learning, mentorship, and inspiration as we work with our mentors and AARO members to ensure the economic and social vitality of our incredibly unique, beautiful and prosperous city and region for the next 50 years and beyond.

In a recent survey by KRC Research of over 500 employed Americans, 71% felt their company’s leadership should be communicating more about current economic problems, and 54% have not heard from company leaders at all about the impact of the current economic situation on their company.

In this scary economic time, employees are eager to hear from company leadership. How is our company being affected? If things keep getting worse, what will have to be done? Is my job secure? How much notice will I get if I’m laid off?

In this environment, we offer six best practices for world-class employee communications (EC) programs. They are straightforward, but not easy to implement.

1.    Communicate with honesty AND reality AND inspiration
Communicating with honesty goes without saying. What’s tough, though, in uncertain times like those we’re in currently, is balancing the need to inform staff about the honest reality of your organization’s current situation, and the bad news of layoffs and pay cuts that must be shared, with hope and inspiration that motivates them to roll up their sleeves and band together even stronger for the great opportunity ahead.

People don’t want sugarcoating…they want the truth, but also they want to hear the plan for surviving and thriving so they can be hopeful and inspired. By clearly articulating the plan, including who is accountable for leading each part of the plan, how the plan will be measured, and what employees’ role is in helping the company achieve the goals of the plan, your chances of having loyal employees who are willing to do whatever it takes to help the company succeed are much greater.

2.    Show you are listening – either way, they’re talking
We can all probably remember times when we, or our friends or family members, have complained about company leaders who “have no idea what’s going on” with rank and file employees or in the field with the customer. This is highly demotivating to employees, who feel disconnected from company leadership or the future vision.

For an EC program to truly be effective, it has to be two-way. There are many ways to do this, and it’s important to find the right set of listening mechanisms that fit with your company leadership and culture. You don’t have to have a corporate or C-level blog in order to listen. Find time for your leadership to simply engage in Q&A’s with employees, or schedule times for them to visit department staff meetings.

One sidenote on this point is that it is imperative that the leader(s) are trained and prepared to have these discussions. They will get tough questions – as they should. They need to be comfortable, and ready to answer the questions authentically, without giving a company line or evading the question. This not only can end up further degrading a culture of trust, but  can severely impact the credibility of the leader among employees. On the other hand, an honest, direct conversation with a leader can have a huge positive impact on a group of employees that builds trust and loyalty for the future.

3.    Leaders must believe and be believable
If leaders do not believe in the power and importance of consistent communication, then employees will quickly pick up on this and will not believe what the leader(s) has to say. The time will be wasted for everyone.

When leaders truly believe in the power of communication in motivating employees and ultimately driving the bottom-line, their passion and commitment can really be felt by employees. And in return for their investment of time and thoughtful dialog, they will have loyal, motivated employees who become a competitive advantage to the company in the marketplace.

4.    Explain the what and the why
When I managed EC at National Instruments, I had the pleasure of working with a group of company leaders who were outstanding and committed communicators. One of them was the VP of HR, who would always say, “We need to give employees ‘the what and the why,” and he was absolutely right.

Employees don’t have to agree with all decisions company leaders make. But if they have the opportunity to hear what the decision is and why it’s being made, they are given the chance to hear the reasoning behind decisions. They may still disagree, but they will have the facts, which is much better than not informing them, and employees instead working off of rumor.

5.    There’s no silver bullet – it just takes commitment
John Baldoni, author of Great Communications Secrets of Great Leaders, said in his book, “The reason people find communications so difficult is that it takes so much commitment…the reason so many leaders fail at communications…[is because it] requires discipline, thought, perseverance, and the willingness to do it again and again every day.”

If EC managers and company leaders think having a quarterly webcast or an intranet with regular news postings is sufficient to communicate with employees, they are sadly mistaken. Communication isn’t something you check a box on with a few programs.

With a successful EC program and team, you never ultimately check the box.You may have  effectively communicated for that one day or to that one group. Tomorrow, you have to communicate again, and repeat what you said yesterday with new examples, and answer new questions. EC managers need to build a framework for varied communication through diverse channels, from 1 to 10’s to 1 to 100’s to 1 to 1,000’s, through in-person and on-line, and in native languages for employees globally.

6.    The companies that do it right get results
When companies are truly committed to world-class EC, they see results. In a workshop we give at TREW Marketing, called People, Communication, and the Bottom-line, we share a few examples of companies who have world-class EC programs whose results far outpace their competitors.

For example, Fortune magazine publishes their 100 Best Places to Work list annually. In 2005, Fortune published a comparison of the stock prices of the more than 50 public companies on the list vs. the stock performance of the S&P 500 index. In all timeframes, from 1 year to 10, the Fortune 100 companies outperformed the index, providing a greater return to shareholders.

When company leaders integrate honest, timely, and inclusive communication into their everyday work, the results come for all stakeholders – to employees through satisfying careers, to shareholders through solid returns, and to customers through outstanding service or new products that make their job easier, better, or more productive.

Contact TREW Marketing to find out more about our EC services, which include:
1.    Comprehensive EC program strategy development and implementation
2.    Consulting on message development, program planning to balance frequency with personalization
3.    Management on-camera communications training
4.    Workshops – People, Leadership Communication, and the Bottom-line
5.    Additional services – e-marketing and web development, relevant press strategy and outreach

In a recent Welch Way column in BusinessWeek titled “Trust in a Time of Turmoil“, Jack and Susie Welch suggest that trust can be built, even in a time of crisis, by “taking strong action, provided that action is taken quickly, openly, and straightforwardly.” They go on to emphasize the importance of speed, transparency, and simplicity in responding to a crisis, and that by building trust with your stakeholders over many months and years, your chances of being successful (we would even go a step further and say your chances of strengthening your trust in the marketplace) in the midst of a crisis, is much greater.

This article really struck a chord with us at TREW Marketing since our company was founded on the core values of trust and authenticity. In our crisis communications workshop, we introduce customers to building up their “trust account” through strategic, consistent, and transparent communications programs, so when (not if) a crisis hits, they can begin their response from a position of strength and in some cases, even turn it into an opportunity.