These are notes and a worksheet from the FEVS breakout for the presentation "Developing a Communications Plan for the Year Ahead".

1. FEVS – Nathan
Issues and Challenges
 Participation
 Trust
 Open to suggestions
 Confidential
 Leadership buy-in
 See negatives as opportunities
 Compare to others
Ultimate goal: Improved employee engagement
How?
 Friendly competition
 Follow up on question results – why is this low?
 Separate survey
Stakeholders
 Social/volunteer
 Play to strengths
 Directors of lines of business
 Individual employees
Resistance:
 Past results
 Lack of action
 What happened last year
 Difficult leadership  not a problem
Objective: increase employee engagement
Target pulse follow ups
Stakeholders:
 Restraints: leadership
o Need for change, what happened last year, lack of action
 How to communicate?
o Leadership buy in, focus groups, change position description
 Time constraints, priorities
Communication objectives

2.  Internal POC
 Early communication
 Be strong with answers
 Train the workforce
 Educate leadership
 Management by walking reminders
o Make sure it’s done
Objective: Increase employee engagement through target pulse surveys, leadership buy in, internal POC
Strategic Approach:
 Committees – in person – summary
 Not just emails but get in the room
 Focus groups without leadership
 Meetings – in person
Confidential: combination of engagement, leadership, formal and informal
Tactical plan:
 What’s the message? On intranet
 Channels?
o Senders?
 Short video communicating the message
o Administrator
 Newsletter, handouts
 Graphics – branding – dates!
 Marketing
 Supervisor encouragement
 Recurring meetings
 Lunch brownbag
FEVS – Amanda
Historical Issues
 Anonymous?
 Political appointees
 How was data used? What will/did change?
 Passive communication
 Survey fatigue
 Is it about level of participation or level of engagement?
 Lack of trust in management (will our voice be heard?)

3. Objectives
 Raise satisfaction
 Raise productivity
 Employer-of-choice
 Raise employee engagement, create a culture of engagement
Outputs
 More participation in survey
Objective: Increase employee engagement
Stakeholders:
 Top execs  managers, supervisors, SES  front line employees
 HQ and Field: Employee engagement needs are different for different field offices
 Former and prospective employees
 Engagement council
 Unions
Channels – email
Behaviors:
 Knowledge: what will happen with results?
 Analysis of data
 Transparency
FEVS – Brandon
Challenges:
 Ineffective
 Disconnect with business goals
 Perception: reality vs myth
o Won’t affect change
o Really anonymous?
o Are data valid?
o Leadership is “choosing” or selecting outcomes from data
o Spinning data to agency’s advantage
o Who takes the survey? Mostly dissatisfied? Nonresponse/response bias
What is goal of results?
 Results will make a difference
 Outcomes

4. o Get people engaged
o Address concerns/make improvements
o Productive workforce
Stakeholders analysis
1. Employees
2. Middle management (career and political)
3. Senior leadership (career and political)
Challenges:
 Turnover/political changes so conveying results is a moving target
 Misuse of data/scores
 Need buy-in
Outputs/tools: metrics, e.g. fewer sick days
Middle management = Bermuda triangle of internal communications
What challenges affect outcomes? Definitions of success?
 Attitudes, cynicism
 Soft skills are harder to measure – need data to drive behavior change
 Defining the business proposition – what’s in it for me?
 What motivates the outcome you want?
 Connecting mission to output and the individual
 Authenticity from leadership in delivering and living the message
 Moving from formal – only comms to engagement and leadership comms
 Lack of leadership follow-through on an annual basis – lack of credibility
 Internal comms strategy to include specific, targeted outreach
What strategies push the success needle?
 Make internal comms part of strategic plan
 Formal, consistent comms that are implemented regardless of political vs career
 Connect with people – beliefs and passions
 Leading from the top
Tactics – what messages?
 It’s important, it’s valuable – for near future
 “we heard you – we’re listening”
 We hear you – we’re going to act
Behavioral change – suggestions, open hours
Channels:
 Who are key influencers?

5.  Union