Internal & External Communications
April 3, 2012
What Did You Say?
Jeff StangleChristine J. Erna
The Cost of Poor Communications
Who Is Our Customer?
Crafting a Successful Message
Best Practices for Communicating
Spoken WordPower PointElectronic/E-mail
I l C i i
AGENDA
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The Cost of Poor Communication
The Staggering Impact:
• $37 billion: total estimated cost of employee misunderstanding
– 400 surveyed corporations in the U.S. and U.K.
– Average cost per company is $62.4 million per year
• $26,041: cumulative cost per worker per year due to productivity losses from communications barriers.
Conversely:
• Companies that have leaders who are highly effective communicators had 47% higher total returns to shareholders
• Best Buy found that higher employee engagement scores led to better store performance.
– The company found that for every percentage point it boosted employee engagement, individual stores saw a $100,000 increase in operating income annually.
Source: David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group
author of You Can’t Not Communicate and the follow-up, You Can’t Not Communicate
WHO IS YOUR CUSTOMER?
Someone who pays for goods or services
Internal person who sponsors my project
Anyone who needs my product, service, or expertise
National Postal Forum 2012
Tips for Effective Communication
Start with a Solid Foundation
Have a Method or a System
Do More Listening Than Talking
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
Be Patient with Your Explanations
Explain Your Reasons and Thought Processes
Give Advice When Needed
Avoid Jargon
Avoid Assumptions
Use Examples When Possible
Make Your Communication Count
Put it in Writing
Keep it Professional
National Postal Forum 2012
Crafting a Successful Message6 Steps to form your message:
Get the Person’s Attention
Define the Problem
Establish the Sense of Urgency
Provide Direction
Establish Credibility
Define the Expected Outcome
Choice of Medium affected by:
Need for record
Direction of the information flow
Number of people to be reached
Confidentiality
Nature of the information – length, complexity, speed of transfer
Cost of the medium
National Postal Forum 2012
The Elevator Pitch
A short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or organization and its value proposition.
It should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes.
Situation – The CEO of your company gets on the elevator, and you have 30 seconds of uninterrupted time to explain a new idea What do you say? How do you get the message across in 30 seconds?
The Spoken Word - Best Practices
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The Perfect Elevator Pitch
“Pop Quiz Hot Shot! There’s a bomb on a bus” – Attention grabber
“Once the Bus goes 50MPH, the bomb is armed, if it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do?” – Define the Problem / Sense of Urgency
“Place $3.7MM in unmarked dollars in a trash can” – Provide Direction
Used to be on the bomb squad - Credibility
The Spoken Word - Best Practices
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Non-Verbal Communications
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Communicating in Power Point - Best Practices Preparing your presentation
– Communicating your message effectively
Preparing good quality slides– Pitfalls– Hints and tips to maximize usefulness
Presenting your talk
Avoid jargon or acronyms
National Postal Forum 2012
Communicating in Power Point - Best Practices Write your conclusion / summary slide first
Keep to about 5 key points
Develop an overall theme/story
Stick to time limit: approx. 1 slide per available minute
Get to the point (e.g. show data within 5 minutes)
National Postal Forum 2012
How to construct a Power Point – Best Practices
Return Mail is costing
our company money
- $3 per piece in Operating cost- $100 in receivables on unpaid invoices- Lost opportunities on marketing campaigns
We can reduce return mail by doing the following…
The impact this will have on the organization is…
- Reduce operating cost- Reduce postage- Get invoices paid
- Get critical informationon each mail piece- Improve workflow- Employ “proven”technology
National Postal Forum 2012
How to construct a Power Point – Your Turn
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E-Mail Messaging - Best Practices
When You're the Sender
1. Make sure that email is the right communication tool for the job.
2. Get to the point right away.
3. When asking a question, be sure to ask the question.
4. Specify who should respond.
5. Be clear about when you need a response.
6. Provide context to frame your message.
7. Don't forget the rules of grammar and punctuation.
8. One message, one topic.
9. Provide a summary when you forward an "FYI" email.
10. Subject Line
National Postal Forum 2012
E-Mail Messaging - Best Practices
When You're the Recipient
1. Don't make any assumptions about the sender's emotional state.
2. Don't escalate a conflict by sending an emotionally charged response.
3. Ask for clarification.
4. Use your email software's built-in tools to help organize messages.
5. Remember: You don't have to respond to every message right away.
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Internal Communications - Best Practices
What kind of information am I communicating Technical Operational Confidential
Detailed process documents are needed to convey the specifics
Process Maps clearly show flow and ownership potential gaps and opportunities
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Sample High Level Process Map
Be sure to show enough details. Who does the presort – IT or Production?
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Communicating Operational Information -Performance Numbers and stats convey the facts – not the interpretation.
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Dashboards Interpret and present the data a Multiple Levels
Executive Leadership
Mail Council / Postal Strategy Team
Program Owners
Process Owners
Operation Owners
High Priority MediumPriority Low Priority
Process Production
BU/Department Pro
cess
Map
s
Cen
tral
Rep
ortin
g (V
isib
ility)
Fun
ding
Dis
aste
r Rec
over
y
Des
ign
Sta
ndar
ds
Dat
a Q
uality
Prin
t/Pro
duct
ion
Pre
sort
/Del
iver
y
Tra
ck &
Tra
ce
Rep
ly&
Ret
urn
General Mail HQ DistributionGeneral Mail Financial ServicesGeneral Mail Human ResourcesGeneral Mail Regional & district officeGeneral Mail Service CentersStatements PayrollStatements Banking OperationsStatements ServicesPromotional Print ServicesPromotional Media
Scorecard TBDCorporation 76
OVERALL RESULTS:BU/Department
General Mail HQ Distribution 10General Mail Financial Services 14General Mail Human Resources 16General Mail Regional & district office 10General Mail Service Centers 4Statements Payroll 5Statements Banking Operations 2Statements Services 13Promotional Print Services 1Promotional Media 1
Improvement Best Practice8 99 287
Area of Concern
0 24 130 17 160 6 250 23 140 3 400 7 352 1 420 12 22
3 403 3 403
Processing Daily Worst Est.Entire DB CASS NCOA Delete EWS CASS DPV PBV
2009 Jan 20 1 2 0.21% 0.00420% 98.3% 97.6%2009 Feb 17 2 2 0.24% 0.00430% 98.3% 97.6%2009 Mar 20 0 2 0.18% 0.00365% 98.3% 97.7%2009 Apr 20 0 0 0.18% 0.00326% 97.9% 97.3%2009 May 20 0 0 0.16% 0.00386% 98.3% 97.7%2009 Jun 20 1 1 0.17% 0.00464% 98.3% 97.7%2009 July 18 1 2 0.22% 0.00402% 98.3% 97.7%2009 Aug 19 2 1 0.16% 0.00023% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9878032009 Sep 20 0 1 0.19% 0.00029% 98.3% 95.5% 0.9865032009 Oct 20 0 2 0.24% 0.00021% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9865862009 Nov 20 0 2 0.20% 0.00023% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9870862009 Dec 20 0 2 0.20% 0.00021% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9870362010 Jan 20 0 2 0.17% 0.00022% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9869712010 Feb 20 0 2 0.18% 0.00020% 98.3% 97.7% 0.9869032010 Mar 20 0 2 0.15% 0.00022% 98.3% 97.8% 0.9871132010 Apr 20 0 1 0.18% 0.00019% 98.4% 97.8% 0.987242010 May 20 0 1 0.16% 0.00019% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9875232010 Jun 20 0 0 0.14% 0.00017% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9873282010 Jul 19 0 2 0.16% 0.00022% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9870722010 Aug 20 0 0 0.21% 0.00027% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9812492010 Sep 20 0 0 0.14% 0.00027% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9872012010 Oct 20 0 2 0.20% 0.00014% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9873622010 Nov 20 0 2 0.17% 0.00016% 98.4% 97.8% 0.9871772010 Dec 20 1 1 0.04% 0.00015% 98.4% 97.8% 0.987054
Data Used CASSNCOALink License / Move Update
CASS & DPV
94.0%
95.0%
96.0%
97.0%
98.0%
99.0%
100.0%
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May Jun
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan 2009 - Dec 2010
%
CASS Coded
DPV Confirmed
National Postal Forum 2012
Crafting a Successful Message
Vital when pitching a new idea Simple: make sure you know what the message is you
want to convey, and what is filler. Remove the filler. Unusual: get attention with information that is unusual,
unknown, or unexpected (shock value) Confirm and convey credible facts Concentrate on only concrete ideas and details (no
abstractions) Evoking emotional connections (when possible) Share a story / example Show the value of a successful outcome
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Questions?Thoughts?Comments?
National Postal Forum 2012
Jeff Stangle is the Director of Solutions Development for Pitney Bowes Management Services. In his role, Jeff manages the Pitney Bowes Center for Applied Knowledge. The Center for Applied Knowledge is a network that combines knowledge of postal rates, legislation, and technology with Six Sigma process improvement strategies in order to help mailers analyze and improve their end-to-end mailing processes. Jeff is a Six Sigma Black Belt. He has designed and implemented mailing process improvements in the following areas: Data Entry, Address Quality & Return Mail, Database Management, Mail Piece Design, Presort Optimization, Intelligent Mail Barcode Analysis, Regulatory Compliance, Invoice Cash Flow Optimization, and Mail Piece Tracking Analytics. Jeff holds two patents for his work on Address Quality Processes.Jeff has been involved in many postal initiatives and workgroups. He has lead workgroups for the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee and actively participates with customers to influence changing postal regulations and technology. He is a recognized speaker at PCC, MSMA, NPF, and MAILCOM, delivering presentations that go beyond sharing industry knowledge. Jeff’s presentations focus on how to apply knowledge in order to generate results.
Jeff StangleDirector of Solutions, Enterprise Postal Consulting
CMDSM, MQC, Six Sigma Black BeltPitney Bowes Management Services
(704)461-8072 - Office(860)459-6332 - Cell
Bow to others in respect, but do not lose sight of the horizon.www.pb.com | www.pbmanagementservices.com
Every connection is a new opportunity™
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National Postal Forum 2012
An executive with years’ of experience in direct mail with proven abilities in leadership, consulting, selling, education, and training in direct mail marketing, mail-piece design, letter-shop and fulfillment operations, and postal operations. Track record with USPS (18 years) includes key leadership roles, executive management and technical positions. A sought-after postal requirement consultant, and an accomplished, well-known public speaker and presenter at industry events, Christine presents educational seminars to clients, prospects and partners on a wide range of topics within the direct mail arena. She has been a guest speaker and presented educational seminars within the Direct Marketing industry at various events, conferences and tradeshows including Boston Print Buyers, New England Direct Marketing Association, PINE Printing Industries of New England, MAILCOM, DMIA National Conference and the National Postal Forum.
Christine J. Erna MDP, AQSEngagement Manager Enterprise Postal ConsultingPitney Bowes Management Services603.974.1169978.201.0791203.617.6847 E:[email protected] | www.pbmanagementservices.com
Every connection is a new opportunity™
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THANK YOU.