Fishburn Hedges

18.05.2010

The British Airways/Unite story took another twist today with employment lawyers suggesting that the union did not do enough to inform its members of the ballot result. The suggestion is that better use of electronic communication with members could have helped avert the injunction – even simply sending an email to members with information.

It’s an interesting point. In employee engagement, one of the first principles is to harness existing channels that employees know and trust. In this way, you give yourself a better chance of connecting with your audience and inspiring them to engage with your messages. But the ruling here is suggesting the union failed to understand the communication needs of its dispersed workforce: it relied too much on what it knew rather than what its workforce might make use of. A classic case of supply-driven communication.

Many other organisations with dispersed workforces have faced similar challenges, but have identified mechanisms through which they could both meet employer needs and employee/member preferences. So posters and noticeboards are complemented (or even replaced) in some organisations by email, SMS, audio, video channels, etc. Communication programmes give those employees or members every opportunity to access and engage with the messages the organisation is seeking to convey. 

Other organisations should take note. It’s not often that choosing the wrong (or an incomplete) channel set has such direct and profound implications as it has for Unite. But if you want to connect with your people, and inspire them to support you, you’ve got to think about it from the audience’s point of view…

Posted by Paul Sweetman