COMMUNICATE THIS….. A‐Z STRATEGIES TO DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE

2013 National Postal ForumSan Francisco, California

Christine J. Erna

Welcome

All of us communicate every day. The better we communicate, the more

credibility we'll have with our clients, our boss, and our colleagues.

• The Cost of Poor Communications• The Cost of Poor Communications1• Communication Styles• Communication Styles2• Crafting a Successful Message• Crafting a Successful Message3• Internal Communications• Internal Communications4• Best Practices for Communicating• Best Practices for Communicating5

Today’s Overview 

The Staggering Impact:

•$37 billion: total estimated cost of employee misunderstanding 

– 400 surveyed corporations in the U.S. and U.K. 

– Average cost per company is $62.4 million per year 

•$26,041: cumulative cost per worker per year due to productivity losses from communications barriers.

Conversely:

•Companies that have leaders who are highly effective communicators had 47% higher total returns to shareholders•Best Buy found that higher employee engagement scores led to better store performance. 

– The company found that for every percentage point it boosted employee engagement, individual stores saw a $100,000 increase in operating income annually.

The Cost of Poor Communication

Source: David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group author of You Can’t Not Communicate and the follow‐up, You Can’t Not Communicate

Communication Style

What Your Communication Style Says About You, Why It Matters, and How to Manage Everyone Else’s

There are four basic communication styles.

Expressive Systematic

Sympathetic Direct

Communication Style

Knowing your communication style and managing others’ communication styles can reduce conflicts, increase productivity, and improve teamwork in the workplace. 

Communication Style

Expressive• They can seem overly cheerful, vain, or unpredictable.

Systematic• Systematics can be perceived as unemotional or nonchalant.

Sympathetic

• Sympathetics are seen as soft‐hearted or overly helpful. They can be perceived as procrastinators when distracted.

Direct

• Directs can appear self‐confident, intimidating, and opinionated.

Communication StrategyA sound internal communication strategy should:

• Enable a two‐way flow of information between                employees and management.

• Be integrated with the overall business strategy.• Have a long‐term focus.• Communicate clear values and goals.• Be comprehensive.• Utilize appropriate methods of communication.• Have consistent messages.• Never be condescending in nature.• Involve the management team commitment to reinforcing 

perceptions delivered via the communication strategy —management needs to “walk the talk.”

Non‐Verbal Communications

Crafting a Successful Message

6 Steps to form your message:

Get the Person’s Attention

Define the Problem

Establish the Sense of Urgency

Provide Direction

Establish Credibility

Define the Expected Outcome

Choice of Medium affected by:

Need for record

Direction of the information flow

Number of people to be reached

Confidentiality

Nature of the information – length, complexity, speed of transfer

Cost of the medium

Crafting a Successful Message

Vital when pitching a new idea Simple: make sure you know what the message is

you want to convey, and what is filler. Remove the filler.

Unusual: get attention with information that is unusual, unknown, or unexpected (shock value)

Confirm and convey credible facts Concentrate on only concrete ideas and details (no

abstractions) Evoking emotional connections (when possible) Share a story / example Show the value of a successful outcome

Delivering a Successful Message

Medium:

• Letters• Memo• Report• Notice board• Faxes• Telephone• E‐mail• Face to face• Presentation• Body language• Video/video conferencing• Internet

Delivering a Successful Message

Method:

• Verbal – face to face• Written• Electronic• Visual • Audio• Group meetings• Notice boards• Text

E-Mail Messaging - Best Practices

When You're the Sender

1. Make sure that email is the right communication tool for the job.

2. Get to the point right away.

3. When asking a question, be sure to ask the question.

4. Specify who should respond.

5. Be clear about when you need a response.

6. Provide context to frame your message.

7. Don't forget the rules of grammar and punctuation.

8. One message, one topic.

9. Provide a summary when you forward an "FYI" email.

10. Subject Line

E-Mail Messaging - Best Practices

When You're the Recipient

1. Don't make any assumptions about the sender's emotional state.

2. Don't escalate a conflict by sending an emotionally charged response.

3. Ask for clarification.

4. Use your email software's built-in tools to help organize messages.

5. Remember: You don't have to respond to every message right away.

Internal Communications – Best Practices

What kind of information am I communicating?

• Technical• Operational• Confidential

Detailed process documents are needed to convey the specifics

Process Maps clearly show• Flow and Ownership• Potential Gaps and Opportunities 

Projects W

orked On

Sample High Level Process Map

Be sure to show enough details. Who does the presort – IT or Production?

Dashboards interpret and present data at Multiple Levels High Priority MediumPriority Low Priority

Process Production

BU/Department Pro

cess

Map

s

Cen

tral R

epor

ting

(Vis

ibilit

y)

Fun

ding

Dis

aste

r Rec

over

y

Des

ign

Sta

ndar

ds

Dat

a Q

ualit

y

Prin

t/Pro

duct

ion

Pre

sort/

Del

iver

y

Tra

ck &

Tra

ce

Rep

ly&

Ret

urn

General Mail HQ DistributionGeneral Mail Financial ServicesGeneral Mail Human ResourcesGeneral Mail Regional & district officeGeneral Mail Service CentersStatements PayrollStatements Banking OperationsStatements ServicesPromotional Print ServicesPromotional Media

Scorecard TBDCorporation 76

OVERALL RESULTS:BU/Department

General Mail HQ Distribution 10General Mail Financial Services 14General Mail Human Resources 16General Mail Regional & district office 10General Mail Service Centers 4Statements Payroll 5Statements Banking Operations 2Statements Services 13Promotional Print Services 1Promotional Media 1

Improvement Best Practice8 99 287

Area of Concern

0 24 130 17 160 6 250 23 140 3 400 7 352 1 420 12 22

3 403 3 403

Processing Daily Worst Est.Entire DB CASS NCOA Delete EWS CASS DPV PBV

2009 Jan 20 1 2 0.21% 0.00420% 98.3% 97.6%2009 Feb 17 2 2 0.24% 0.00430% 98.3% 97.6%2009 Mar 20 0 2 0.18% 0.00365% 98.3% 97.7%2009 Apr 20 0 0 0.18% 0.00326% 97.9% 97.3%2009 May 20 0 0 0.16% 0.00386% 98.3% 97.7%2009 Jun 20 1 1 0.17% 0.00464% 98.3% 97.7%2009 July 18 1 2 0.22% 0.00402% 98.3% 97.7%2009 Aug 19 2 1 0.16% 0.00023% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9878032009 Sep 20 0 1 0.19% 0.00029% 98.3% 95.5% 0.9865032009 Oct 20 0 2 0.24% 0.00021% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9865862009 Nov 20 0 2 0.20% 0.00023% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9870862009 Dec 20 0 2 0.20% 0.00021% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9870362010 Jan 20 0 2 0.17% 0.00022% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9869712010 Feb 20 0 2 0.18% 0.00020% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9869032010 Mar 20 0 2 0.15% 0.00022% 98.3% 97.8% 0.9871132010 Apr 20 0 1 0.18% 0.00019% 98.4% 97.8% 0.987242010 May 20 0 1 0.16% 0.00019% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9875232010 Jun 20 0 0 0.14% 0.00017% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9873282010 Jul 19 0 2 0.16% 0.00022% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9870722010 Aug 20 0 0 0.21% 0.00027% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9812492010 Sep 20 0 0 0.14% 0.00027% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9872012010 Oct 20 0 2 0.20% 0.00014% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9873622010 Nov 20 0 2 0.17% 0.00016% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9871772010 Dec 20 1 1 0.04% 0.00015% 98.4% 97.8% 0.987054

Data Used CASSNCOALink License / Move Update

CASS & DPV

94.0%

95.0%

96.0%

97.0%

98.0%

99.0%

100.0%

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Ju

n

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec Ja

n

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Ju

n

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 2009 - Dec 2010

%

CASS Coded

DPV Confirmed

Executive Leadership

Mail Council / Postal Strategy Team

Program Owners 

Process Owners 

Operation Owners

Take Away Tips for Effective Communication

Start with a Solid Foundation

Have a Method or a System

Do More Listening Than Talking

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Be Patient with Your Explanations

Explain Your Reasons and Thought Processes

Give Advice When Needed

Avoid Jargon

Avoid Assumptions

Use Examples When Possible

Make Your Communication Count

Put it in Writing

Keep it Professional

Christine J. Erna MDP, AQSEngagement Manager Enterprise Postal ConsultingPitney Bowes Management Services603.974.1169Christine.erna@pb.com

Questions and Answers