When organizations assess their communications strategy, they often overlook one of the most important elements – employee communications. A company’s workforce can serve in an essential role both as an audience and a communicator. TVG has worked with many corporate clients to assess and improve their internal or employee communications strategies. By implementing a clear internal communications plan, a company can engage with its employees and build dedicated advocates and ambassadors for the company.

New information technology applications are being developed and fielded all the time to make it increasingly easier for companies to engage employees in a variety of more effective conversations and feedback. TVG currently uses new, premier applications that allow companies to integrate technology in facilitating and analyzing interactive employee communications.

One of these TVG applications involves a three-phase process called “JAM”. The goal of JAM is to get employees engaged in discussion on a variety of company topics. The first phase of JAM involves developing baseline research through employees focus groups. The second involves setting up and facilitating a secure site for an on-line employee discussion/interaction forum. The third JAM phase involves analyzing and reporting on the baseline research and the feedback from the employee forum. The entire three-phase process can be repeated and reiterated to continually refine or expand the employee interaction.

By using a blog and/or discussion board as the JAM employee forum, companies can now apply “new media” to not only reach its consumer audience but also improve business operations through enhanced communications with employees. With JAM, TVG supports these new media with traditional focus groups and analysis to help employee communications yield meaningful and actionable information that are focused on the organization’s unique needs.

To support the analysis phase in JAM, or support any analysis of employee communications, TVG also offers a second new application called “PULSE”, TVG’s communications/feedback software. PULSE can track, sort and understand a large quantity of raw content the JAM process will generate. Public forums, blogs, e-mails, letters, Web sites and even media clips can all be processed by the TVG supported PULSE software and can be organized into a comprehensive report.

The combination of TVG’s JAM program and PULSE analysis allows any company to conduct an effective internal communications program that reinforces the company’s vision, connects employees to the business, fosters process improvement, facilitates change and drives bottom line results by positively impacting employee behavior.

Contact us at tvg@vandivergroup.com or send comments to blog@vandivergroup.com.