iClarify | Simplify | Engage

A ring tone from your BlackBerry wakes you in the morning.  Before you drink coffee or get a shower, you’ve already checked your emails, tweeted your state of mind on Twitter, published your Facebook status, and you can’t wait to check your online chat to see if anyone replied to your late-night question. If this sounds familiar, the devices and social sites in your life have become your life. The idea of social networking was meant to draw you closer to people; instead it is drawing you into your hand-held device.  Staying in touch with friends is not easy in a busy world.  Sometimes you have time only to send a quick message.  Using the technology, you communicate, but how connected are you from a friendship standpoint?  You share many snippets of your life, thoughts and other distractions, but what do you get in return?  What emotional value are you getting when you receive a 140-character tweet from an acquaintance?  Do y...

One of the things I've noticed over the years about working in Communications is the lack of understanding of what it is we do. It goes from zero idea of what 'working in communications' means to 'but what is it really that you do?' I suppose over time I have had to learn what it all means, too. I recall asking the difference between communications and marketing in a communications class at University of Ottawa. I'm not sure I can recall the answer, but I do recall the indignation of my fellow students who could not believe I'd ever consider the two the same function. There is much variety in the profession, and there is even more interpretations. I have heard or overhead people refer to Communications as the following: marketing media relations (some people believe media relations to be writing press releases. some of those people actually work in communications, too.) public relations (some people have difficulty explaining the differences betwee...

There are two main kinds of Internal/Employee Communications: Strategic and Operational Organizations communicate for ongoing business operations but they also need to communicate big changes, important updates and new approaches. Organizations use strategic communications to communicate about: a new agenda--a new focus on digital platforms for communicating internally instead of paper memos a specific problem or issue to address--a need to tighten overtime rules to save money a new approach to the work they do--how they interact with customers  Example: Company Inc. has to communicate with employees about the need to tighten the rules on overtime activities during a tough period.  A strategy for this situation might recommend: emphasizing life-work balance as a priority, during this tough time encourage flexible work schedules, but urging employees not to work longer hours focus on the temporary nature of the adjustment remind employees that overtime...

Communications is a function or expertise in an organization like Finance or Information Technology (IT) that serves internal clients throughout that workplace.  Communications takes care of getting messages to the right people at the right time through the right medium. So, for example, any written materials produced by an organization has likely been done by a communications professional: > written materials such as newsletters, emails, memos, announcements, web pages, social media posts, press releases, briefing notes, issues papers, etc...; > written materials for the purposes of supporting verbal interactions such as speeches, media lines, presentations (usually in PowerPoint) Depending on company size and whether or not the organization is in the private, public or non-profit sectors can have a major influence on the type of communications activities that happen, and the kinds of documents prepared. For example, in the public sector, media lines are...

You've spent all this time working to get your communications right--whether you're the client, the manager, or the communications officer--and suddenly you see an 'older' version when the director sends out his/her message or it shows up on the corporate website. Then you swear out loud and realize that the reason you're seeing one of the changes from several versions ago is because someone made a boo-boo and pulled up the wrong non-final version. This is going to happen. In Communications work, we see a lot of versions of numerous documents via email, especially, causing challenges for version control. For these very situations, I purposefully have the following file naming convention so people know they have the latest version.  I "time-stamp" them. That means when I did my 'save-as', I captured the date and time in the document's file name. I do it ever time. Always. And it has consistently saved my bacon. Also, by doing it th...

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The scenario: A project is delayed. Employees haven't heard any updates in about a month and the manager realizes he's 'got to get something out soon' because his boss has been asking what's going on. Manager:  I need a draft message for the project update. How soon can you get it to me? Communications Officer:  How about tomorrow? Manager:  I kind of need it today some time. Communications Officer:  How about today? Manager:  Okay good.  Communications Officer:  So the reason for the delay is other projects took priority but now it's time to return to this one, right? Manager:  "We can't tell them that."  Communications Officer:  Why not? Manager:  Well because it looks bad. I hear those words from a senior manager or executive and sigh. There are precious few things we truly "CAN'T" tell employees: private information about other employees financially-sensitive information the CEO's kid's cellpho...