Engaging Employees through Strategic Communication: Skills, Strategies, and Tactics

Engaging Employees through Strategic Communication provides a detailed overview of employee communication and its evolution as a tool to drive employee engagement and successful change management. Approaching the subject with the philosophy that internal audiences are essential to the success of any strategic communication plan and business strategy—particularly as they relate to driving change—Mark Dollins and Jon Stemmle give readers a working knowledge of employee communication strategies, skills, and tactics in ways that prepare students for careers in this rapidly expanding field. Providing the tools necessary to evaluate the impact of successful employee communication campaigns, they put theory and cutting-edge research into action with practical examples and case studies sourced from award-winning entries judged as best-in-class by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), PRWeek, and PRNews. The book is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students in internal, corporate, or employee communication courses and will be a useful reference for practitioners who want to understand how to carry out effective employee communication engagement and change-management campaigns. Please visit www.engage-employees.com to learn more about the book and its applications.

Table of Contents:
1. Defining employee communication and its history 2. What makes employee communications strategic? 3. Competencies for employee communication 4. Employee communications measurement 5. Influences on employee communication 6. Ethics and compliance 7. Internal segmentation 8. Channel auditing, assessment and launches 9. Executive communication 10. Change management: The emerging internal communication expertise 11. Storytelling: Engaging hearts with heads 12. The evolution of employee communication to employee engagement 13. Beyond change: Other employee communication roles 14. Current & Future Forces Shaping Employee Communication

About the Author :
Mark Dollins is president of North Star Communications Consulting, a consultancy with core capabilities in employee/change communications strategy. Jonathan Stemmle is the chair and associate professional practice professor of strategic communication at the School of Journalism and a core faculty member of the Master of Public Health Program at the University Missouri, USA.

Review :
"I have waited for just this book on internal communication for a long time. Both Stemmle and Dollins are highly experienced professional communicators who also embrace research and theory development in strategic communication. Readers will immediately recognize the command of these authors over the employee communication function informed by their positive and upright emphasis on strategic goal setting and execution. And when the authors get down to brass tacks in their case studies as well as their elucidation of tools and tactics, readers will reimagine how to DO employee communication. All this comes together in a most readable book! I encourage every practitioner and teacher of employee communication to get and to use this book in their work."—Glen T. Cameron, Emeritus Gregory Chair of Journalism Research, Missouri School of Journalism, USA "Finally, a book that directly links business success to effective employee engagement. Through personal experience and case studies, Mark Dollins and Jon Stemmle connect the dots between employee communications and business results. Important reading for future leaders in business and communications."—Ron Culp, Professional Director, Public Relations & Advertising Program, DePaul University, USA "During more than two decades as a chief human resources officer for three iconic companies, employee communications has played a prominent role, and continues to be one of my top priorities today at GE. From ensuring the effectiveness of change leadership efforts — to strengthening the employee experience — employee communications is one of the most critical levers for companies and leaders alike. In this book, [Dollins and Stemmle] go well beyond the fundamentals of communications, and illustrate the need for stronger and more strategic employee communications, particularly as organizations navigate a world in which the only constant seems to be rapid change."—Kevin Cox, Chief Human Resources Officer, General Electric Company "In Engaging Employees Through Strategic Communication, Dollins and Stemmle provide grounded insights into the often-overlooked but inescapably essential skill of communicating to engage and influence teams. Their approach offers the rare combination of imparting learning through a compelling good read. Equally valuable for aspiring students and experienced professionals."—Tod J. MacKenzie, Retired Chief Communications Officer, PepsiCo, Dine Brands, Aramark "It’s about time that we have such a terrific textbook on employee engagement – and who better to do it than Mark Dollins and Jon Stemmle! The authors masterfully provide us with context, tips and case studies based on research and validated by decades of experience – theirs and that of other experts."—Maril MacDonald, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gagen MacDonald "Good communication skills are imperative for good leadership, and good, clear communication is more important than ever. Yet the topic of communications is often ignored in business school curricula. Mark Dollins and Jon Stemmle understand this and have now addressed this gap. As they state in the first chapter of this groundbreaking new textbook, communications is a critical enabler of business performance. An award-winning communications executive, Dollins has led some of the largest and most important employee and leadership communications initiatives in the world. This, combined with Stemmle's experience as a professor of strategic communication, results in a valuable and important new resource that combines academic rigor with real-world experience and practical advice for every business leader or student who aspires to one day be a leader."—Jen McClure, CEO, JEM & Distinguished Principal Fellow, Marketing & Communications Center, The Conference Board