Cisco Cisco WebEx Event Center WBS30 White Paper
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White Paper
As the concepts of workplace and collaboration have changed, so have the
requirements for effective and engaging communications. One important example
of this change is the company “town hall” meeting, where executives relay important
information about company strategy. The town halls of today need to incorporate
collaboration in the cloud, social media, and other simultaneous ways of delivering
information while fostering conversations with employees wherever they are. In a
world where fast time to market and rapid innovation are disciplines every company
needs to master, engaging employees on their terms to garner buy-in and improve
understanding is nothing short of an organizational imperative.
requirements for effective and engaging communications. One important example
of this change is the company “town hall” meeting, where executives relay important
information about company strategy. The town halls of today need to incorporate
collaboration in the cloud, social media, and other simultaneous ways of delivering
information while fostering conversations with employees wherever they are. In a
world where fast time to market and rapid innovation are disciplines every company
needs to master, engaging employees on their terms to garner buy-in and improve
understanding is nothing short of an organizational imperative.
Read on for insight into how industry leaders are starting to use a new town hall model
of communications to achieve the agility and innovation they need to set their enter-
prises apart from the competition.
of communications to achieve the agility and innovation they need to set their enter-
prises apart from the competition.
Fixing the Employee Engagement Problem
Did you know that globally, 4 out of 10 workers are not engaged? That is, they don’t feel
motivated or emotionally connected to their jobs.
motivated or emotionally connected to their jobs.
1
In the United States, the news is far
worse: 70 percent of the U.S. workforce are unhappy and not engaged in their jobs.
2
A report on employee engagement by global consulting firm BlessingWhite
indicates that one of the top drivers of engagement is “clarity on the organization’s
priorities.”
indicates that one of the top drivers of engagement is “clarity on the organization’s
priorities.”
3
Could it be that our outdated methods of corporate communication are partly
responsible for decreased employee engagement?
Consider the old town hall method of aligning the organization around what is
important. With this technique, the focus is on conveying the “what” of the strategy.
We now know that this one-way mode of communication misses the opportunity
to engage employees with why a new strategy is important. When there’s no
understanding of why something is important, it takes longer for workers to support
a new initiative. It lengthens the time required to execute the new strategy, and it
reduces the chances that it will succeed.
important. With this technique, the focus is on conveying the “what” of the strategy.
We now know that this one-way mode of communication misses the opportunity
to engage employees with why a new strategy is important. When there’s no
understanding of why something is important, it takes longer for workers to support
a new initiative. It lengthens the time required to execute the new strategy, and it
reduces the chances that it will succeed.
That’s where the new town hall model comes in: it allows today’s leaders to foster
understanding, mobilize their teams, and get to opportunities faster. What does the
new town hall entail? It’s a combination of a New England–style public meeting, a
cloud-based collaboration, and a social media conversation. Its purpose is to make
more effective communications possible across all the portable “workplaces” and
technologies that employees have come to rely on.
understanding, mobilize their teams, and get to opportunities faster. What does the
new town hall entail? It’s a combination of a New England–style public meeting, a
cloud-based collaboration, and a social media conversation. Its purpose is to make
more effective communications possible across all the portable “workplaces” and
technologies that employees have come to rely on.
1.
How the Best Places to Work Are Nailing Employee Engagement, Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith,
Forbes.com, August 14, 2013.
2.
State of the American Workplace, Gallup, 2013.
3.
Employee Engagement Research Report Update, BlessingWhite, January 2013.