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Selling Social Media to Management

Jeannette Paladino — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:43:19 +0000

My daily “Social Media Examiner” was delivered to my email box, as usual, this morning. The lead article is “9 Ways to Sell Social Media to the Boss,” by Ekaterina Walter,
a social media strategist at Intel. These are really valuable tips that are working for one of the corporate leaders in social media, Intel. I urge you to read the article in full but here is a summary of her main points:

Display current conversations
Don’t leave out competitor’s information
Show your industry peers’ successes and failures
Use data
Start small
Do risk analysis and contingency planning
Seek outside help
Create guidelines and enable your employees
Stay on course

How is your company doing?

Do We Need Chief Sales Managers Anymore?

Jeannette Paladino — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:31:36 +0000

[tweetmeme]Not according to author Geoffrey James, in an article for BNET. Commenting on a story in Selling Power magazine, James says “I’ve been around sales and marketing teams for decades and, in my observation, most SVPs and CSOs inside large companies are pretty darn useless. In big firms, the real work of sales management almost always takes place in the trenches, among the regional sales managers and channel sales managers who actually work with reps on a day to day basis, coaching them, measuring them, and helping them to be successful.”

Do we Need CSOs to Bring in the Money?

I’m adding Chief Sales Officers to the growing list of titles with Chief in front of them. I wrote about this in a blog post earlier this week. If you don’t mind, I’m going to reprint that article here because in upgrading my WordPress blog, this post got lost in the shuffle.

Do We Need a Chief People Officer? Title Creep in the New Millenium

It used to be that titles in most companies were pretty standard, and pretty few. For example, there was the C-suite gang: Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Information Officer.

But an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Fighting Downhill Sponsorships” talked about how the need to bump up sponsorships to train future Olympians has led the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association to name a new Chief Revenue officer. Add CRO to the ever-growing list of new titles. Notice how one word changes the job description: Chief Financial Officer keeps the books, but the CRO is actually responsible for bringing in the money.

As usual, I turned to the trusty Google AdWords: Key Word Tool to see who might be searching the term CRO. The result was nada. Give it time; the title and function might actually catch on. Add to that the Chief Risk Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Engagement Officer – the list goes on.

But it seems to me that there is another C-suite officer desperately needed in most companies: the Chief People Officer. As expected, HR management in various iterations came up pretty high in searches. But what does human resources really mean? That’s such a vague term. It’s all about the people in the company. The CPO should be at the table with the other C-suite folks in strategy sessions about to grow the company. S/he should be leading some of those sessions.

Without good people, there goes the company.

How One Company Identified Internal Drivers of Innovation

Jeannette Paladino — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:00:20 +0000

[tweetmeme]The latest edition of Business Week carried a story about how Amdocs, a $3 billion company that provides software and services for most of the world’s leading service providers, including AT&T, Sprint Nextel and Vodafone, developed hundreds of innovative ideas at a sort of company boot camp. This is employee engagement at its best — when a company involves employees in creating the products and services that will move the company forward. Hundreds of employees applied for the 75 spots, with participants selected on the basis of creativity, originality, and diversity, according to the article.

Ideas can come from anywhere

This is the second camp organized by the company’s chief scientist Tal Givoly, so you can imagine that in anticipation of another opportunity to be part of the action, employees were gearing up long before the event to compete for a spot. Ideas can come from anywhere. So savvy companies will look for internal drivers of innovation as well as tapping external experts. “The first day consisted solely of a variety of wacky, mind-expanding activities,” said Paul Sloane, the facilitator and author of the Business Week article. The “wacky” is what’s important. Too often companies will establish criteria before letting the ideas fly. When participants in such creative sessions are told the budget in advance it sucks the air out of room. Even the wackiest idea may have a gold nugget waiting to be plumbed.

To read how Amdocs sorted through the ideas to get to their gold nuggets, go to the Business Week article: “Inside a Corporate Innovation Camp.” Amdocs also started a blog earlier this year to engage customers as well as employees. Smart.

Employee Engagement Tip: Strike the Gong With Good News

Jeannette Paladino — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:00:08 +0000

[tweetmeme]Another good tip from a CEO interviewed in The New York Times “Corner Office.” It falls under the category of not just delivering the bad news – when something is going right in the company, be generous with praise for employees.

Omar Hamoui, founder and CEO of AdMob, a mobile advertising network, understands the value of making himself available to the people in his company. Every six weeks or so he moves his desk to another part of the company that he has not heard much from recently.

Strike the Gong for Good News

In the company’s open office arrangement, he is plainly visible at his desk, and members of the staff feel comfortable stopping by and talking to him. He learns a lot that way.

In building their company, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard famously created a management style called “management by walking around.” Hamoui takes it a step further, “management by sitting around.”

He got feedback, for example, that “I needed to be more positive and praise people more when things are going well,” he said in the Times profile. So he bought a giant gong and “it ended up becoming a pretty important part of the culture for anything good that was happening.”

When there is good news, a note goes out to the entire office and every one gathers in a room and “Bong!!!!” It could be news about a new product or big sale. “It became a really, really important part of our culture…a nice symbol of the things that were going well,” he said.

How simple. Doesn’t cost a thing. No bonuses, no extra time off. Just the act of simple praise is such a motivator. And the gong reinforces that management cares. Good lesson for other CEOs.

Do Job Hoppers Make the Best Employees?

Jeannette Paladino — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:00:41 +0000

Is she checking the want ads again?

[tweetmeme]I was rather shocked the other day to receive my daily BNET newsletter carrying an article by Penelope Trunk entitled “Why Job Hoppers Make the Best Employees.” As of this writing the article had generated 127 comments ranging from huzzas to hisses. I didn’t comment but belong to the latter category. Here are her five points, which she describes in more detail in her article

Job hoppers have more intellectually rewarding careers
Job hoppers have more stable careers
Job hoppers are higher performers
Job hoppers are more loyal
Job hoppers are more emotionally mature

To summarize her thesis, because they change jobs so frequently, job hoppers are challenged to a new learning curve at each company where they work and it makes her certain that job hoppers “know more.” People who work for lots of companies have a larger network than people who stay in one place for long periods of time, which is why she’s convinced that “job-hopping creates stability.” Are you getting the message, or are your eyebrows beginning to arch?

According to Ms. Trunk, “job hoppers are always looking to do really well at work, if for no other reason than it helps them get their next job.” In other words it looks good on their resume. This seems like a new high (low?) in cynical thinking. Also, she states, “job hoppers want to bond with their co-workers so they can all help each other get jobs later on.” This is after her point number 4, that job hoppers are more loyal. Huh?

And, finally, job hoppers are more emotionally mature, because they know when to quit – even if it’s after only two weeks in a job they hate. OK, a little bit of truth to that, the part about quitting as soon as you know you’re a square peg in a round hole.

Not Everyone Likes Job Hopping

But I’ve re-read the article a couple of more times and no where do I see anything that says many people don’t like job hopping. They don’t job hop over any burning desire to leave their companies for new and exciting adventures. They leave because they were fired or laid off. I wonder if she spoke to any people on the unemployment lines in her town to see how happy they were to be moving on to their next company – if they ever find a job.

Job-hopping can be emotionally wrenching. Even if you leave your former employer voluntarily, you can’t be sure the next job will be stimulating, energizing and filled with learning opportunities. It could just be another dud. Then what; start the search all over again? Think this is easy?

And who are the people hiring these go-getters who can’t wait to jump to their next jobs? Why, they are the grey beards, the “lifers” who have risen to positions of authority where they get to say who gets hired and who gets fired. And, as she points out, a lot of them are old guard and are suspicious of someone who’s had five jobs in five years.

Many companies engage their employees

The idea that you can become stale at a company after two years isn’t a universal truth. Many companies purposely rotate their employees through different departments to enhance their learning and to keep them engaged and energized about the company. They are the company’s future. My brother was a 34-year “lifer” at the company he retired from and he loved every minute he was there. He rose through the ranks from junior accountant to CFO. What’s so bad about that? Why is it laughable to have a retirement party for someone and give him a gold watch?

I’m a person who has made a lot of moves, not all entirely because I wanted to. I’m in an industry – marketing and communications – that is known for volatility. I learned how to move on, but the idea that I was planning my escape the minute I sat down at my new desk never occurred to me. For me, at least, it wasn’t possible to give everything I had to my company if my eye was always on the want ads.

Here is my advice to people starting out: delete the words “job hopper” from your vocabulary. It’s toxic to most employers. Sure, have a plan for your career, but be prepared for course corrections. Have you noticed how everything seems to change by the minute? Remember My Space? Or Gateway computers? Or Netscape? They were the rage for about five minutes and faded. Be happy if you’re in a company that recognizes and rewards you and is willing to invest in your future there. You’ll have plenty of opportunity for learning and bonding and advancement right where you are.

Staying someplace for 20 years means you’ll be calling the shots one day.

Job Recovery Rewards Companies That Engaged Employees

Jeannette Paladino — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:55:16 +0000

[tweetmeme]I hate to say I told you so – but the job market is definitely on the uptick and employers who didn’t engage and invest in their employees are worrying about it. No, not about having too many resumes to wade through. Au contraire, an article in this past Sunday’s New York Times, confirmed my prediction eight months ago in “Advice for Employers on Labor Day: Keep up the Employee Communications” that companies investing in their employees and communicating with them regularly will be best positioned to grow once the recession abates.

According to the Times story, the economic recovery coupled with the continuing retirements of Baby Boomers, will result in a worker shortage. The article quoted Tammy Erickson,a consultant whose recent work has focused on the changing workforce, as saying some companies “have no idea what’s going to hit them.”

For Hire: Where are the Employees?”

As I warned in my blog, “By keeping tight control over hiring, the pool of skilled workers at every level – from the shop floor to the executive suite will diminish as employees fall behind technically or leave their fields…. smart companies will understand how important internal communications is…. companies need to be investing in their employees to keep them sharp and motivated…. ratcheting up their efforts in communicating with employees – through intranets, newsletters, webinars and personal get-togethers.”

Employee engagement isn’t just for the good times – keeping employees motivated and happy in order to retain them as competitors try to poach them away. No, smart companies understand that employee engagement is 24/7 through the good times and bad. Now with the economy improving and job boards beginning to buzz once again, it won’t only be those out of work seeking new opportunities. It will be the employees working for companies who took the you-should-be-happy-to-have-a-job attitude.

As Barbara Safani,a career consultant quoted in the article said, “Employers want to be cognizant of how they’re engaging their current employees.” They need to reward their workers, monetarily or otherwise, she said, or risk seeing them walk out the door.

The CEO as Chief Communication Champion

Jeannette Paladino — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:00:15 +0000

[tweetmeme]The buck stops with the CEO when it comes to employee engagement. This is especially true when it comes to trust and believability. For internal communications to be meaningful, it is important for the CEO and his executive team to lead by example: “Don’t just do as I say, do as I behave.” Most employees are craving leadership – they want champions they can trust to lead them in new directions.

The CEO must also be the CCC – Chief Communication Champion of the company. As I’ve written before, she needs to ensure that other executives are truly leading the development of a Culture of Communication – meaning that all corporate communications are reliable, truthful, timely and contain the full story. The CEO should establish a system of rewards and incentives to instill new behaviors. A healthy two-way communication will lead to better performance. For employees to be truly engaged with the company and each other, they need to know that:

CEO Leadership is Key to Employee Engagement

• The CEO is the visible leader of corporate communication

• Executive behavior in support of positive communication is rewarded

• Employees are rewarded fairly

• The company values employees and actively engages them as brand advocates for the company in customer interactions and on social media networks

During bad times – such as layoffs, a hostile takeover, a product recall – those CEOs who are truly CCCs will have earned the trust and commitment of employees to work through any crisis.

Why Small Talk Around the Water Cooler is so Critical to Learning

Jeannette Paladino — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:00:06 +0000

[tweetmeme]Most of the people I know are working virtually from home at least part of the time. The more senior you are the more likely you have the authority to decide when and where you work.

I once joked at a seminar that you could roll a bowling ball down the halls of a Big Four firm that shall remain nameless and it wouldn’t hit anyone. That’s how empty the offices and cubicles are. Working virtually has its benefits no doubt: no long commute on the train, flexible hours, problem solving in your pajamas. It’s gotten so prevalent that companies don’t even have offices for a lot of their staff and do “hoteling.” You call ahead and reserve an office when you absolutely must be there.

So what could be so bad about this?

Free at last from suits and ties! The demise of face time!

So, what’s wrong with this picture?

Small talk around the water cooler

As you were expecting, there is a downside. Those with lots of experience under their belts probably don’t miss the small talk around the water cooler. But for young people starting out, who are still expected to show up every day, this lack of communication with their bosses and other staff can cripple learning. There is book learning and water cooler learning.

New professionals are losing out on “learning at the knee” of the people who went before them. The ability to pop into someone’s office when you’re stuck on something, a shoulder for a virtual cry when everything goes wrong one day, the buzz on the company grapevine that’s passed around to colleagues over paper cups of water – darn it, just the companionship that engenders trust and love. I know that’s a strong word.

But I can say I really loved some of my co-workers when I was still clocking in at an office. We worked side by side during over-nighters to get out a presentation, and then shared the sheer joy of winning the business and going out to hoist a few in celebration. Bumping shoulders and clinking glasses is a tribal rite that goes back centuries. It’s a rite that encourages communication and collaboration among the team.

Then there are the intangibles I can’t even articulate that come with being around the people who are pushing the ball up the hill with you to reach the company’s goals. You know, it’s just plain lonely for young people today. There is just some knowledge that you can’t get from Google. The notion of the apprentice is still valid, except now the master is out of the office most of the time.

This doesn’t make for a good learning experience. Is Skype the answer? I don’t think so. You can’t clasp the shoulder of your apprentice with an “atta boy” on Skype. I’m glad I’m not just starting out.

Employee Engagement Tip: Strike the Gong With Good News

Sitting With the Crew Is the Best Kind of Employee Engagement

Jeannette Paladino — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:00:39 +0000

[tweetmeme]In an interview not long ago by The New York Times, in its “Corner Office” feature, the former CEO of Continental Airlines reminisced about what it was like to be at the bottom of the ladder when he was a mechanic in the Navy.

When Gordon M. Bethune felt he was treated with respect, he always wanted to do more than expected and faster than if he wasn’t respected. So when he got to Continental in the 1990s to turn around the fortunes of the airline he knew that as CEO “being good at your job is predicated pretty much on how the people working for you feel.”

So he hired good people, of course, but he also did two other things: he communicated every week with employees and he’d spend time in the crew room when he was taking a flight. He provides further proof that the CEO is the key to fostering a culture of employee engagement in a company.

Engage and respect employees

Bethune did a weekly voice mail for 10 years communicating to employees what was going on. “And we never lied,” he said in the Q&A. When he was traveling he’d get to the airport early and met a lot of employees that way, showing an interest in them and recognizing their contributions to the company.

He relates a wonderful story of going to the break room one Christmas when the food was being passed out. He went to sit at a table with three guys, and one of them said to the other: “I told you he’d be here. Give me my $10.” He had bet the guy $10 that Bethune wouldn’t show up.

Since Bethune’s time, the CEO has even more communications channels to reach employees. Voice mail is still great – but now enlightened CEOs can use Twitter, Facebook and their own blogs to engage with employees – and to have employees respond right back.

The guys at the bottom of the ladder will still work harder and faster when they know what’s going on in the company ALL the time and they feel valued and respected. Just like Bethune when he was starting out at the bottom of the ladder.

Employee Social Media Communities Not Top Priority for Companies

Jeannette Paladino — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:05:51 +0000

Organizations are not tapping social media’s full potential, according to a Deloitte study I just came across. It was released at the end of 2009 so I don’t expect that much has changed since then.

Entitled “2009 Tribalization of Business Study,” the survey measured the responses of over 400 companies, including Fortune 100 organizations, that have created and maintain online communities today. The communities ranged from fewer than 100 members to more than one million members.

Marketing continues to be the primary driver of online communities, according to the study, with the following business objectives. See if you can guess what’s missing.

Increase word-of-mouth (38 percent)
Increase customer loyalty (34 percent)
Increase brand awareness (30 percent)
Improve idea generation (29 percent)
Improve the quality of customer support (23 percent)
Employees can be your best brand ambassadors

EMPLOYEES. That’s what missing in this study, conducted in conjunction with Beeline Labs and the Society for New Communications Research. The study reports that while companies are using communities to engage with customers, partners and employees, only 20% of respondents have set up formal “ambassador” programs, and these give outsiders preferential treatment in return for being more active in the community.” Any rewards for employees being active social media ambassadors? I discussed this last month in my blog “Make More Money Through Employee Engagement”.

Companies are missing a big bet if they don’t engage their own employees as brand advocates for the company. They are the ones “touching” customers every day and should be rewarded accordingly. Give employees a chance to become more active in social networks, and they will boost the metrics most important to their companies – the ones that ring the cash register.