Tag Archives: oregon state university

Communicating with employees: 5 Ways Leaders can communicate changes

Posted on by
Reply

style = “float: left; margin: 5px; font-size: 80%”>
<div communications

by Oregon State University Archives Employee Communication: 5 ways leaders can communicate change

I have often wondered about the role of the CEO or head of an organization’s employee communications. My opinion is that no matter what the problem is, even if it is only business as usual, a good communicator as a CEO is critical to the impact of organizational culture in a positive direction.

Let’s start by looking at some scenarios. It may be a merger or acquisition, an organizational crisis, the announcement of annual financial results, corporate social responsibility or even trying to create a culture of innovation.

My thesis is that whatever the problem, here are five ways that your CEO can communicate with employees and achieve positive results every time. Most of the methods listed below involve face to face dialogue to ensure the greatest commitment.

1. > Staff Forums – otherwise known as “Town Halls” These are opportunities for the CEO and executive team to visit employees in all locations and the real problems and concerns of staff and communication the whole situation. Tips for employee communication include the distribution of cards to participants so that issues can be discussed after an interruption of the procedure, adapting the presentation in part to the unique situation in the region including the CEO is visiting and track all the issues that can not be answered at the time.

2. > Site Visits – This is an excellent tool for employee communication for CEO to know exactly the forefront exactly what issues and concerns are of a particular region or department. The key is not just spending time with the team management but also sit down with employees and know what they are at work and invite them to propose innovative ways of doing things differently . CEOs’ rarely spend time communicating with employees and is a way to break the perceptions and encourage two-way communication.

3. > Realization of employees – Another way the CEO can communicate change is to support and encourage employees personally for their achievements. These can be directly linked to the issue at hand and taking the time to recognize powerful agent of change, it sends a strong message to employees that the CEO will reward those who support and are involved in the program change.
<br / 4 – One of the best things a CEO can do during periods of change is to contact his management team. I always found that communication strategies with employees should be classified at different levels and with different strategies in terms of roles and expectations of employees. When we think about change, it is the management team to drive, regional directors, managers of the state’s front-line supervision, it is important that the CEO communicates face to face with the team Management must be very clear about his expectations of them during times of change. An employee communication tip here is that face to face on an individual basis, meetings are held with direct reports to the CEO and the next level down is a very powerful tool and has maximum impact.

5. > CEO Blog – Finally, where would we be if we have not mentioned a certain form of technology communication tools leads. A CEO blog is very effective if used to support and report on the transformation process so that the strategy of employee engagement is underway. For example, the CEO has one on one meetings with the management team, he / she then reports in the blog on key messages and expectations. The CEO began visiting each region and reports back on the blog the main findings and achievements of employees and so on. communication tools to inform employees are always a backup and support for effective communication in progress, communication strategies, employee commitment in paragraphs 1-4 above.

The methods suggested above also achieve another goal often neglected in communications with employees. As this is an opportunity for the CEO to know that people at all levels of the organization really think about a particular issue, it will make the CEO to think differently the next time on importance of communications with employees and will ensure that the communication is addressed to change the planning stage of any major organizational change.

Xenitelis Marcia is a recognized authority on the subject on employee communication and business transformation and has lectured around the world. For more information on the types of communication strategies with employees, you can implement to engage employees visit <a target="_blank" rel = "nofollow" onclick = "javascript: pagetracker._trackpageview ('/ outgoing / article_exit_link'); "href ="http://www.employeecommunicationtips.com" Find More Articles Communications

Community Living Has Evolved

Posted on by
Reply

Community Living Has Evolved

While community living was once reserved for the “over 55″ population, this lifestyle has since evolved; branching out into huge master-planned communities and themed neighborhoods. Here are some of the more unique versions we’ve run across.

Pla d’Adet in the Blue Ridge Mountains represents the vision of professional cyclist, George Hincapie. This family oriented community is perfect for those interested in a healthy, fitness-oriented lifestyle. Along with regular amenities, Pla d’Adet has a 38,000 square-foot state-of-the art training facility, a 25-meter indoor pool, a resort-style outdoor pool, studios for aerobics, group cycling, and yoga, spa and dry sauna.

The 97 one to two-acre home sites range in price from 0,000 to over .5 million depending on elevation, location and mountain views. The community is connected with a system of wilderness trails, pathways, cycling loops and owner access roads.

The number of equestrian communities in the U.S. has doubled over the last few years. Now you can live in a country setting, while your horse lives a stone’s throw away, in the lap of luxury. Facilities often include a complete equestrian center featuring barns, paddocks and pastures and activities such as hunter/jumper shows and other horsey type events. Many of these neighborhoods are located on or near trail systems that offer miles of scenic trail-riding.

Also growing in popularity are gay- and lesbian-oriented developments. Currently there are four communities in operation and about 18 more slated for future development across the country.

Retirement communities have come a long way since grandma and grandpa’s trailer park. Today these neighborhoods are geared toward every budget, lifestyle and health need, and contain every amenity imaginable.

Designed for the senior with an active lifestyle, these communities are strategically located close to lakes, golf courses or acreage to take advantage of the many associated recreational activities. They generally have active social programs, a fitness center and community center, and are located to many local amenities.

Continuing Care Communities allow their residents to remain in the same location as they age. Accommodations change as their needs change and may range from individually maintained homes to 24-hr nursing care facilities. The available activities and amenities vary to meet the needs of the different lifestyles of the residents.

Manufactured Home Communities are low maintenance communities that range from affordable, budget-friendly sites to elegant golf club or waterfront homes. Some are seasonal resorts located near lakes with extensive boating and fishing, while others are year-round communities.

RV Communities cater to seniors on the move and may include homes with RV parking or temporary sites for parking the vehicles. They’re usually located in a scenic setting and include community areas with extensive social programs, and recreational amenities such as a pool, walking/biking trails, and tennis courts.

Upscale Communities range from beachfront locations to award-winning golf courses to breathtaking mountain views, and just about everything in between. You can get a patio home, decked out to the nines, or a huge custom home perfect for visits from the grandchildren. No matter which you choose you will know that you’ve stepped into a luxury community.

With a population of over 75,000, the Villages in Florida is more like a “golf city” than a golf community. They have special transportation trails especially built for golf carts. Amenities include – are you ready – over 40 recreation centers, over 24 executive golf courses, 8 championship golf courses with country clubs, a golf academy, polo field, 3 fitness centers, woodworking shop, community gardens, archery range, 2 libraries and several schools (for the employees of The Villages). The community also has two homeowners associations, a daily newspaper, a radio station and a cable channel. Whew!

Visit PreviewNaples.com for all the tools and information you need to navigate the Naples real estate and greater Southwest Florida real estate market. You’ll find local realty info, including details about Royal Harbor real estate.

More Communications Articles

Multiple Face of an Internal Communication Professional

Posted on by
Reply

Multiple Face of an Internal Communication Professional

Internal Communications professionals closely work with leaders, managers and in-house communicators, at the place and globally, to help shape their organization’s culture, mobilise employees behind change and bring values to life by delivering high quality internal communications that create real, tangible results.

Internal Communications professionals have to play multiple roles to ensure real and tangible results as he has to be work with wide variety of sectors, including professional and financial services, FMCG, travel & leisure, utilities, government departments and regulators etc. One of the key things that jumped out namely the multifaceted and diverse nature of the roles of these professional and the fact that, as communication professionals, we are expected to be so many things to many people.

Here are few of the points discussing the above facts…

· Communicator as matchmaker – building relationships across the organization, connecting individuals and teams, sparking conversations

· Communicator as politician – building consensus amongst diverse board members, circumventing the org chart, oiling the wheels

· Communicator as educator – building employee understanding and appreciation of business issues and challenges, organisational performance, etc

· Communicator as listener – developing feedback channels, building champion networks, conducting research, tuning into the grapevine

· Communicator as facilitator - getting the most out of a dysfunctional group, making forums work

· Communicator as fixer – responding to employee questions and suggestions, making life easier for the CEO by making things happen, taking action, doing stuff

· Communicator as bridge-builder – linking leadership to employees, making the top team accessible, breaking down barriers between teams and functions

· Communicator as coach – being a trusted advisor, helping leaders and managers communicate more effectively (and appropriately), telling it like it is

· Communicator as fire fighter – dealing with assorted crises, tackling issues, cleaning up the mess when everything goes wrong

· Communicator as conscience – encouraging people to tell the truth, championing transparency, fighting spin, living values, being ethical

· Communicator as artist – coming up with innovative, creative concepts and campaigns, delivering ‘beautiful’ communications

· Communicator as business person /all rounder- understanding how the organization works, being able to understand the financial statement and turn it into plain English

· Communicator as know-it-all – being able to answer any employee question on any topic, knowing how to deal with those obscure calls that the people on reception don’t know how to handle.

Lee Smith is associate director with Gatehouse Group, an internal communication agency, provides consultancy services for internal communications, internal comms research, audit, jobs, and employee engagement.

Why It Is Good To Join Student Communities

Posted on by
Reply

Why It Is Good To Join Student Communities

For a student, there are times when there is a lot of confusion, doubts and queries regarding many topics including career, options in life, what to do next, which course to pursue and so on and so forth. Every student wants a support system or a network to fall back on for information, guidance and advice. The advent of Internet has made this very easy these days. Students can easily form student communities online and make friends and network with people pursuing the same type of course or with similar aspirations. This helps a lot in getting relevant information and getting doubts dispelled with the help of experienced members in the group. Sometimes, it is just important to be apart of community to feel supported.

Since internet enjoys a ubiquitous presence, one can join student communities across the globe without the location and time barriers. There are discussion forums on these communities that allow members to come and discuss topics of relevance to the group. It always helps to remain active on such discussions. If you have knowledge on a certain topic, do share it with others and if you want to seek advice, you can always start a discussion and invite others to join in. Student communities and forums also float information about courses, deadlines, alerts and events. This way, they are a very useful resource to keep yourself updated.

There are many websites that allow student communities. Education sites and networking sites host various student communities. On most networking sites, one can find student groups where students connect and interact with each other, discuss problems, share information and exchange material. These communities offer easy access to the material shared by the members and encourage interactions among the group members. Here, students can talk about courses, colleges, seek guidance from alumni, give opinions, get career advice and share experiences, documents, pictures etc.

Mostly, MBA and engineering student communities are the most popular ones. Not to say that other communities are not but MBA is one course that can be pursued by a student of any stream so these communities are generally very large and attract students from various streams. Here, students discuss about best MBA courses, about particular colleges, exam preparation, tips on interviews, group discussions etc. Since MBA courses are so sought after, students on these communities gain a lot by interacting with each other and sharing experiences.

Especially, in examination time, it is easy to exchange notes through these communities and get last-minute questions and doubts cleared from the fellow community members. Since students tend to get very anxious during exams, they share their experiences on communities and seek comfort in the advice of seniors. They also exchange questions, solutions, tips to cope up with the stress of examinations and time management tips on these communities. This way, the communities become a good and useful resource for students.

Sometimes, it is open membership to each community and anybody with an interest in that community can join it while at times, the membership is subject to the approval of the moderator. It is just to prevent spamming and unnecessary crowding of the community by bots or members who may have nothing significant to offer to the community. There are a few rules and a certain code of conduct to follow on these communities. No obscene comments are allowed and no unnecessary discussions are encouraged. It is ensured that the flavour of the community remains sane and the content of discussions remains what it is meant to be.

For Internet-savvy students, joining a community is not a difficult task. They frequent such sites and become members on the relevant communities. In some communities, active members grow to become reliable resources with their valuable participation on forums. They share and discuss their experiences and pass on relevant information to other students. If you are an aspiring student to a particular course or college, chances are that you will find many other students in your league online. These students come together to talk to each other and form a community. Joining a community can be very beneficial and students who are part of a community get to open up their horizons. Once you are on a community, you will not just get information but also get a chance to make new friends who are like-minded and can offer the required help as and when required.

Geetika jain writes on behalf of Shiksha.com. Shiksha.com is an education portal that connects education seeker with education provider. Shiksha.com has wide information over study abroad colleges, student’s community and courses. Its education forums enable its users to seek opinion of students, alumni and faculty of colleges and schools through College Groups and School Groups.

More Communications Articles