Articles

Most Current:

“Influence, not control, has become the key to success”
Maril MacDonald for PRWeek

Seismic changes, driven by astonishingly rapid technological breakthroughs, have reshaped many of the underlying premises that define societies. While we accept that intractable forces like globalization and digitalization have altered the communications climate, the question is: have we sufficiently evolved as an industry to meet this challenge?

“Customer loyalty and employee engagement: an alignment for value”
Matt Gonring for Journal of Business Strategy

Because corporate reputations and, in turn, bottom-line business results, now depend on a corporation’s ability to build strong relationships with customers and employees, quantifying the power vested in employee engagement and customer loyalty is the new business imperative.

“PR should continue to assert its case”
Maril MacDonald for PRWeek

A segment on the CBS Sunday Morning program several weeks ago – little noticed by anyone outside our profession – rocked the public relations world, causing many of us to question how far we have come in educating key opinion leaders about what public relations is, and what public relations professionals truly stand for.

Archived Headlines:

“Collaboration and Inclusion: Implementing Global Communications Councils”
Maril MacDonald and Patricia Bayerlein for The Strategist

Motivated by the belief that they’re on a moral crusade of sorts, communicators strive to control corporate communications through policies, approval procedures and other mechanisms that dictate and police the behavior of our corporate colleagues – all in the quest for consistent leadership.

“Demystifying Ways Employees Deliver on Brand Promises”
Maril MacDonald for CW Bulletin

While companies can easily measure marketing dollars spent on brand-building initiatives, understanding how the brand drives customers’ purchasing decisions has often proven to be more elusive. How do companies use “brand magic” to form long-lasting relationships with customers?

"Five Steps to Strategy Planning"
Patricia Bayerlein for scm Strategic Communication Management

Underlying any strategic approach to managing communication is a simple plan that makes a direct link between the output of the communication function and the goals and objectives of the organization. In clarifying exactly what we mean when talking about “strategy planning,” Patricia Bayerlein identifies five key steps to the process.

“HR and communication: partnering for business results”
Maril Gagen MacDonald for Strategic HR Review

Today’s leaders are being challenged more than ever – to deliver results quickly, to retain an edge for their organization, to keep an often cynical workforce engaged. For much of the 1980s and early 1990s, corporate leaders turned to their heads of the finance and legal departments for help in deciding how the company would deliver results. Today, however, an increasing number of leaders understand that achieving sustainable business success starts and ends with getting employees rallied behind them and what they‘re trying to achieve.

“Inspiring change and driving results: What can your employee publication do for you?” 
Lisa Perkins for Public Relations Tactics

Beyond simply reporting on company news and events, employee publications can influence change by inspiring new thinking and behaviors that lead to improved performance and business results.

“Measuring behavior change”
Patricia Bayerlein for Strategic HR Review

Most HR and communication professionals share a common belief that the ultimate goal of their efforts is to facilitate a change in behaviors that directly links to improved business results. But they may have different perspectives on how to effectively measure behavior change in the context of management objectives and often employ different approaches.

“Overcoming barriers to global success at International”
Gretchen Rosswurm and Patricia Bayerlein for scm Strategic Communication Management

When International Truck and Engine Corporation (now Navistar International) launched a multinational initiative in 2003, it quickly became apparent that critical business information was not flowing across the global team as it should. The result was slow progress and unnecessary cost. Here, Gretchen Rosswurm and Patricia Bayerlein describe the steps taken to improve information flow, resulting in savings close to US$1 million.

“Telling the corporate story: vision into action”
Morgan Marzec for Journal of Business Strategy

A corporate story is a narrative tool that tells the tale of a company’s strategy in action. It is a clear, structured, compelling articulation of “who we are” and “where we’re headed” that rallies emotional and rational support from stakeholders. More than mere words, however, the corporate story’s strength lies in its ability to align leaders, drive decision making and mobilize the organization.

“The six principles of performance communication”
Patricia Bayerlein and Rose Gailey for Strategic HR Review

Increasingly, organizations are becoming aware that engaged employees are fundamental to achieving business success. Alignment between HR and communication is at the heart of achieving true engagement and high performance.