Communicate the message
No matter what format you choose to use when communicating with employees, you have to keep in mind two things: Is the style engaging? And is the message easy to understand? If you fail at either one of those, your message probably won’t stick with employees.
With about 7,000 employees scattered throughout North America, Killion’s preferred method to reach his staff is through quarterly all-hands meetings that allow for updates on key initiatives, financial results and how those two tie together.
B&W PGG gathers the local employees in the cafeteria and connects employees located in remote sites in the U.S. and Canada through a webcast. The hour-and-a-half-long meeting is recorded and then transcribed into written form so employees can access the information at a later date.
In order to make sure he’s not just cramming information down employees’ throats, Killion thinks of the process as having a beginning, middle and an end.
“I stand up and before I get into any details say, ‘Here’s what this is all going to be about today and here are probably the key topics,’” Killion says. “Then we have some repetition as we go through on what some of the keywords are. Then we have takeaways at the end.”
You need to be clear from the beginning about the purpose of the meeting or the conversation. Killion says employees generally want to do a good job, and along with that, they want to know what it is you’re asking of them or trying to convey to them so they can continue to do good work. By stating the point of the meeting immediately, your employees quickly understand their reason for being there and are engaged.
Throughout the conversation or presentation, you need to repeat the key phrases or information that you want employees to absorb.
“It’s the old slogan, ‘I’m going to tell you what I’m going to tell you, and then I’m going to tell you what I told you,’” Killion says.
In his all-hands meetings, Killion doesn’t only repeat information, but he uses visuals to demonstrate what he’s saying and to stress certain points. For example, a PowerPoint slide might have a handshake when Killion is talking about teamwork, a dollar sign when he’s talking about financials, an upward slope to depict an uptick in business or a world map to signal global views.
“It’s all to make it more interesting but also to make a visual, something that people can retain rather than just boring word charts,” Killion says. “And it absolutely helps different kinds of learning styles in the audience.”
Again, you can’t chance employees slipping into a daze. Just as important as the visuals is your word choice.
“We make sure what we’re communicating is understandable to all the participants,” Killion says. “Don’t talk too high level; don’t use some of the buzzwords or phrases that are limited to engagement of the people who are there.”
As you’re wrapping up the conversation, you need to narrow down and repeat the key points you want on employees’ minds as they leave. Killion usually stresses four takeaways and displays them with visuals and bullet points. As he reiterates the message, he says, “Here’s what I want you to take away.”
“Drill it down and say, ‘Here’s what we really meant for you to get out of this session,’” he says. “People who might still have eyes glazed over from some of the material can still get the takeaway points.”
After you’ve emphasized what employees should have learned from the meeting, it’s an opportune time to move into staff response or feedback. The key points to the conversation are fresh on employees’ minds and it allows them to ask questions for any clarification. By closely listening to the questions they’re asking, you can also gauge how well you delivered the message.
After giving his presentation, Killion simply opens the floor to questions. Employees located off-site have the ability to e-mail a question that then gets read aloud.
You need to make sure your format allows for every employee to be involved in the conversation. And you need to make sure employees understand you’re expecting a two-way conversation.
“First of all, make them feel comfortable,” says Killion, who tends to use light jokes during the Q-and-A session. “Even though it’s a very, very large audience, it’s making sure they’re asking me a question rather than speaking in front of several hundred people.”
Chances are it might take a few sessions to really get employees to open up and be at ease with asking questions. But this is where your candidness with employees about your communication style comes full circle. By setting expectations and engaging employees in conversation from the beginning, a comfort level for interaction and communication is set.
After four decades with The Babcock & Wilcox Co., Killion has a distinct advantage. About three-fourths of his employees who stand and ask questions he’s known for years.
“That’s a comfort level,” he says.
“We stress through the presentation that our main objective is to communicate with them. It’s not just to get down there and do something that we think is an obligation but really to communicate. I think it’s the tone of the material that we present. What we try to do is bring it across in a style that is easy to understand and, then, when we get to the Q-and-A make them feel comfortable to ask questions. We don’t have a long pause before the first question is asked.”
How to reach: Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc., (330) 753-4511 or www.babcock.com
