Workplace journalism? Not so easy, but the steps are simple

Workplace journalism is a conscious effort to make employee communication at least partly about employees and their concerns, not just the business and its issues. But its payback to the business can be huge. Done well, the returns can include:

• employees paying more attention to internal media and leader communications, and trusting them more,
• heightened employee perceptions that the company supports their success and well-being – an engagement factor that the researchers call "Perceived Organizational Support" (POS) – leading to…
• the company gaining credibility and influence in urging employees to be self-reliant problem solvers, and
• a reciprocal increase in employee support for the company’s success.

1. Find a sympathetic and influential HR executive and brief him/her on your objectives and proposed methodology, perhaps as described below. Show how each topic you will take up editorially supports a behavior or attitude the company wants employees to adopt. Don’t be competitive: Support and validate any steps HR is using now to enhance employees’ POS, and agree on whether part of your plan should be HR’s responsibility.



2. If necessary, sell the campaign to higher management in partnership with your HR ally. Stress how workplace journalism promotes POS, a factor in employee engagement.



3. Interview a small sample of employees about their workplace experiences. Ask whatever you like, but questions like these will usually be productive:


• Describe the social climate of your workplace – how you and your coworkers get along with each other, your managers and other teams.
• What do you find especially satisfying, or troubling, about these interactions?



• How hard or easy is it for you, in your job, to uphold our company’s brand promise of _________? (Quote a familiar brand slogan.)



• What do you consider your biggest personal challenges to being as effective as you might be, every workday? (Here you might mention some of the workplace issues cited in bold in the accompanying article, to see if employees agree.)



• Would you be interested in receiving information and advice to help you meet these personal challenges?



• Do you feel that enough help of that kind is available to you now?



• What kind of information on these topics would be useful – e.g.,
  • whether other organizations face the same issue
  • advice from outside experts on what you can do to cope
  • advice from our own company’s leaders and subject-matter experts
  • advice from other employees on what’s worked for them
  • what help our company offers, via training and other resources
  • other?


4. Now pick a frequently mentioned issue and go find the information employees have said they want about it. Write a story that helps them see their own role in solving problems and positions the company as sympathetic and supportive.



5. Repeat step 4 often, focusing on the other issues identified in step 3 and any others that crop up along the way.



6. Don’t hesitate to re-visit previously reported topics as circumstances change.



7. Survey employees occasionally, to make sure they see this series as a service and to stay in touch with their issues.