26 September 2008
Funny stories win over workers
How humor, color and transparency provoke positive employee reactions.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that an office at Michelin Americas Small Tires wouldn't be the most illuminating of settings for a "fly-on-the-wall" docusoap, but communicators at the company actually proved otherwise.
Jennifer Graf Smith (pictured, below, Figure 1), change management and communication manager at Michelin Americas Small Tires explained to delegates at Melcrum's Strategic Communication Management Summit earlier this week how she helped create a compelling and funny internal video with some of her colleagues.
Candid real-life video
The video spoofed The Office TV comedy series, and documented the activities inside "The Pod", featuring real Michelin employees speaking candidly about their working environment.
Figure 1. Graf Smith explains how storytelling has improved working relationships
The video was so well-received that it became a real talking point at Michelin North America's Leadership meeting with senior staff. In addition, the video was aired during some team meetings and highlighted on the company intranet. The "actors" became overnight company celebrities.
Although spoofing the docusoap idea isn't exactly new, using humor like this was a big step for a traditionally conservative company like Michelin, Graf Smith said. "It's not revolutionary but it's an effective way of catching people's attention in our particular organization."
Coaxing people from their comfort zones
As the storytelling technique was so effective at breaking down some of the relationship barriers and encouraging more open communication practices at Michelin, the technique has been rolled out further.
At a leadership offsite meeting, senior managers were led through the principles of storytelling so that they can practically apply the method within their teams.
It's not revolutionary but it's an effective way of catching people's attention in our particular organization.
"These are linear engineers who are focused more on the rationale of communication, so they don't generally garner a lot of engagement. But having subtly introduced this technique, we've seen individuals go outside of their comfort zones and share things about themselves with their teams," says Graf Smith.
Spreading a wave of positivity
Graf Smith's presentation reflected two of the major themes that emerged during the 3-day conference, the first of which – Storytelling – seems to have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years.
Using humor in communication also seems to have struck a nerve among communicators and their employees alike, with many delegates and speakers telling stories about how this approach has provoked a wave of positive reactions from employees and made a difference at their organizations.
Graf Smith's storytelling takeaways include that as a communicator, you should:
- Help people make rational and emotional connections.
- Determine the type of story.
- Use characters, images and humor – be creative!
- Ensure people practice, then coach and reassure.
VisionJam's journey to success
VisionJam was the brainchild of Kerry Randel Lewis (pictured, right), director of internal communication at pharmaceutical organization Eli Lilly and Company, who spoke about engaging employees for the future ahead.
Deploying IBM's "Jam" technology, Lilly was able to run a 3-day, facilitated, online brainstorming session, featuring structured discussions with moderators and defined topics.
The session was hosted on IBM's servers, but employees were directed there from a homepage on Lilly's intranet. Employees collectively posted 31,000 comments and ideas. To achieve this, the communications team at IBM were allocated a project budget of $250K. From a VisionJam registration objective of 18-20% of employees, Lilly actually managed to get 72% of employees registered.
Persuasive video marketing and open discussion
How did they manage it? Using a multi-pronged internal marketing and communication campaign, mixing standard persuasive tactics with the buzzword of the conference – humor.
"We used a lighthearted campaign including the 'Why We Must Change' video, which was made in the style of the 'Shift Happens' video. It was very provocative and powerful and really got the message across to employees that we have to change now in order to be able to compete in the future," said Randel Lewis.
An iPod Touch was offered to employees who referred the most people to the VisionJam registration page (the "Jam" technology enabled this number to be assessed by calculating click thrus). Employees also received an e-card invite with a welcome video of VisionJam's chairman attached, and a website for the Jam was created.
We used a lighthearted campaign including the 'Why We Must Change' video, made in the style of 'Shift Happens'.
Personal invites from the top
Another part of the promotional campaign included asking leaders to hand out their business cards at the same time as personally inviting an employee to register for VisionJam.
The personal touch was very powerful, says Randel Lewis, and even led to an unexpected game at Lilly.
"The funniest thing was that senior leaders began signing their cards – it became a big game among employees to collect all 15!" said Randel Lewis.
Delivering feedback, taking action
A countdown to VisionJam clock also appeared on the intranet and the VisionJam chairman recorded voicemails to advertise the event. Lilly also has a thrice-weekly e-newsletter called "LLY News", which was used during VisionJam itself to deliver news from the event in real time to employees who might not be taking part.
Critical to the success of VisionJam was explaining to employees how the company is actioning the feedback it received during the session. The post VisionJam plan included telling employees what changes to expect and when, and what the corporate perspective was on the "big ticket" items for the company.
Lilly also gathered together its top 200 employees at its Global Leadership conference and dedicated the entire 2 days to discussing the results of VisionJam, which included:
- 74% of employees felt VisionJam generated implementable ideas.
- 80% would participate again.
- 77% think Lilly should hold another VisionJam.
Communicating green issues
One of the main concerns that employees brought up during the Jam was that they were now feeling shame about working in an industry that's currently suffering from widespread public criticism.
Employees asked for ideas from the company for how they could deal with the pressure and answer the tough questions that were sometimes thrown at them about Lilly's policies and practices.
Randel Lewis reported that in response Lilly has now rolled out an education program to address this issue in the company, including a website containing commonly requested information on the topic.
Have your say
Have you experienced positive results by using storytelling in your communications? Has it helped to encourage more open dialogue between managers and their teams? And if, like Lilly, you're part of the pharmaceutical industry, what methods do you use to help prepare your employees for dealing with difficult questions about your company from the public?
Recommended resources:
Send employees snail mail to make an impact
How to get the most out of storytelling
PODCAST: Understanding storytelling in a business communication context
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