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Features

Author: Lee Smith
 
Sceptical, contemptuous and mocking – the dictionary definition of cynicism and three words that describe the type of audience internal communicator’s nightmares are made of. But cynics have always been part of the fabric of British working life and, deny them as we may, they still exist in significant numbers inside most large organisations.
 
According to a study undertaken last year by the CIPD and pollsters Gallup, more UK workers are actively disengaged than engaged (20% and 17% respectively). Added to that, we’re facing a crisis of trust – Watson Wyatt report that just 39% of employees trust their senior leaders and only 45% are confident in the job they are doing. The situation is similar in the US where, according to Towers Perrin, just over half (51%) of employees believe their company generally tells the truth. There’s no doubt cynicism, disengagement and distrust are real problems and are dragging down the performance of many organisations. 
 
I’ve come across many experienced communicators who believe you should simply ignore this disenfranchised group. The logic is simple – why waste precious time trying to convert the devil? Surely it’s better to focus your time and energy on the positive, encouraging them to spread the gospel? I would agree if we were talking about a few percent of the workforce, but the disengaged typically represent 10 to 20 per cent of the workforce – a group so large that ignoring them would mean failing in our duties. If you don’t believe the numbers take a look at your own employee survey data – behind the big, impressive numbers we often promote you’re likely to find the tell-tale signs of a small but significant group of disengaged, disaffected people.
 
Of course, there are many shades of grey here and it’s important to differentiate between the cynic and the sceptic so you can adjust your communications accordingly. The latter is generally easier to reach through traditional face-to-face channels like town hall meetings and conferences – they are willing to listen to what you have to say and to ask questions. The true cynic, on the other hand, will typically be closed off to your views and refuse point-blank to participate. Here you become much more reliant on frank one-to-one conversations with line managers. Unfortunately, the most cynical, disengaged employees often fail to show up in survey data – because they rarely bother to complete one.
 
Wherever they sit on this continuum, you know the type we’re talking about – poking fun at your latest campaign, picking holes in the organisation’s strategy, seeing the negative in every announcement and covertly criticising the CEO’s every move. We’ve all dealt with them. The problem is that this bunch of people has a disproportionate impact on morale and the overall mood of the organisation. At their worst they infect all around them with negativity.
 
The dangerous ones are the closet cynics who don’t contribute and who won’t challenge. I have been involved in numerous town hall meetings where these saboteurs have quietly sat there, not asked a single question, and then scuttled off to the smoking room to bad-mouth every aspect of the content. Bizarrely, you often find that these people have absolutely no intention of ever leaving the organisation – they enjoy moaning about it far too much!    
 
Worse still are the cynics who hold management positions. Given the critical importance of line managers in creating and maintaining a positive communication climate, the last thing you need is cynicism amongst that group. But it’s not uncommon. I know of one IT organisation where the senior managers (whose average tenure is a staggering 15 years) are amongst the most disengaged in the business – a real risk in any organisation where people are promoted based on their functional expertise rather than their leadership potential.
 
So what practical steps can we communicators take to reengage this high impact group? Here are five broad themes to focus on:
 
1) Become a trust builder
  • Building trust should be part of the job description of every communicator – good communication simply cannot exist where trust is absent. 
  • Involve, involve, involve – trust is based on dialogue and true dialogue means shared decision making. 
  • Respond to the challenges of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) regulations. Develop processes and employee forums that are in keeping with the spirit, as well as the letter, of this legislation.
 
2) Challenge (and support) your leadership
  • Become your organisation’s chief cynic – I remember being told that by an ex-boss when I took on my first head of comms role and it remains good advice. Think like the cynic and review your organisation’s actions and decisions from their perspective. Play these views back to senior leaders.
  • Ensure management follow-though on their plans and promises – one way to do this is to take ownership of the annual employee survey and ensure the changes made as a result of it are communicated at least as well as the headline results. 
  • Build connections between your senior leaders and those on the frontline – create opportunities for them to meet and talk regularly.
  • Remember that as internal communicators we have two clients – our leadership and our audience. We must strike an appropriate balance between them and, in doing so, avoid being perceived as a management mouthpiece. Our role is to act as translator between these two groups. 
 
3) Crack your content
  • It’s obvious, but make sure your communications are honest and resist the temptation to put a positive spin on bad news.
  • Be provocative and don’t be afraid to address negativity head-on. Rather than dodge issues, tackle them by including a prominent and hard-hitting question on the intranet or in your magazine.   
  • Avoid the use of management-speak, jargon and unnecessary acronyms – it’s fuel for the cynics.  
  • Watch out for ‘initiative-itis’ – creative campaigns are great, but don’t over do it. And be careful not to patronise your audience with anything too gimmicky or dumbed-down.
 
4) Extend your reach
  • Develop a strong network of communication champions with good connections at all levels and across all areas of the organisation. Train them in the basics of good internal communication and use this group to stay close to the grapevine and to influence local conversations. 
 
5) Line managers
  • Invest serious time and effort in your line managers – equip them with the right skills and the right information to have meaningful conversations with their direct reports. This area is absolutely fundamental to building trust and engagement in any organisation. Poor line management is often the root cause of much cynicism.
 
Unfortunately, there really is no magic bullet when it comes to tackling cynicism in the workplace. The key is to focus on building trust in your organisation, to use the tried-and-tested principles of good communication, to have the balls to challenge leadership when you see a mismatch between their words and actions, and to really know your audience. Admittedly, there’s only so much we can do – the very best internal communication cannot compensate for corporate u-turns, greedy board members or insensitive CEOs. One thing is certain though, it’s something we will all have to focus on as new communication technologies like instant messaging, blogs and podcasting extend the reach of hardcore cynics from the water cooler to the web.
 
CASE STUDY
 
Making a mask to change the face of a cynic
 
How do you get a room full of chartered accountants to connect with each other in a truly powerful and profound way? You get them to make a mask.
 
Mask making was one of a number of techniques used by Ernst & Young in a recent leadership development and communication programme, which used self-awareness and personal disclosure to help strengthen the cohesion of its regional partnership group.
 
“The approach was a radical departure from previous events which followed a more traditional format of ‘chalk and talk’ combined with some role play,” says Dave Morris, head of internal communications for Ernst & Young’s South Region.
 
“It challenged partners to look at themselves and each other differently, moving them away from the traditional planning by numbers, into business planning by personal needs and ambitions.”
It was a high-risk strategy which couldn’t have fallen flat without real buy-in from the group.
 
“The freshness of the approach brought a curiosity and willingness to innovate, and the pre-event build-up raised excitement as it promised something different – including a guarantee of no Powerpoint,” adds Dave.
 
“The candidness of the contributions from the group as a result was hugely powerful. People were really able to understand the true needs of their colleagues, which made the subsequent business planning so much more productive as it became more open and honest.”
 
“There was a real bond between the group at the end as they had all been through a common, shared experience”
 
Copyright (c) Lee Smith, Gatehouse Consulting Limited.  First published on Simply-Communicate.com, Summer 2006.