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Archives for 2009

Explaining Corporate Culture: How Well Are Websites Doing?

Culture

Here’s a smart, useful summary of the components that make up what we call “corporate culture”:

Culture includes a wide range of social qualities such as beliefs, sense of mission, values, norms, traditions, how victories are celebrated, physical layout (e.g., open plan vs. closed offices), how conflicts get resolved (e.g., consensus vs. command-and-control), leadership style (e.g., team-based vs. “Lone Ranger”), communication style (e.g., candor vs. diplomacy; speed vs. deliberation), and interpersonal practices (e.g., formality/informality).

The description is from a blog post by Robert Bruner, Dean of the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and the rest of his commentary is well worth reading.  The main theme is how transactional and relational business cultures differ—and why understanding the difference is important.  “A failure to read correctly a firm’s culture,” Darden asserts, “can have catastrophic consequences for one’s career.”

The reverse is also true.  Failure to present a firm’s culture correctly can have catastrophic consequences when it comes to attracting the best potential employees.

Since the corporate Careers site is a key tool in communicating the company culture, it’s worth a careful review to determine whether the site is doing a good job.  Now here’s the tricky bit:  In order to measure the website’s success on this point, it will be necessary to have a solid definition of what the message actually ought to be.

Looking back at Bruner’s list of factors, it won’t take long to notice that few of them are actually addressed or even implied on most sites.  There may be a statement of corporate philosophy that hints at “beliefs, sense of mission, values, norms”; there may be something about rewards/recognition that suggests “how victories are celebrated.”  There might be some facility photos or even a video tour that depicts “physical layout.”  But I’ve seldom seen anything about “traditions.”

And it’s extremely rare to find any of Darden’s other factors (conflict resolution, leadership style, communication style, and interpersonal practices) explicitly described on a corporate site.  At best, there are implications embedded in the design and conveyed in the tone of the content.

That implicit messaging might or might not accurately reflect the corporate culture.  Does a bright-and-breezy site promise an open, informal atmosphere?  Does a button-down pinstripe site forebode a restrictive environment?  It would be an interesting project to determine whether there really are any correlations in most cases.

As to overt statements—a quick check of five major company sites produced even less than I expected.  Most delivered the culture message via employee testimonials, ranging from anonymous text snippets (“my co-workers are fun and friendly”) to fully produced videos that include scenic footage and background music.  One site had twenty videos, adding up to an hour of people talking directly into the camera about all the jobs they have had and how much they like Company X.

I’ll end by just wondering what it would be like if every company site had to provide a short, clear statement about each category in Dean Bruner’s post.  Or if they had to define their culture in terms of the Denison Model.

That would be . . . cool.


Ultimate Twitter Strategy Guide and Rules for IR – Corporate Tweets and Strategy

Section 1 of the Investor Relations Twitter Strategy Guide

Twitter Strategy Guide for IR Section 2 – Useful, Informative, Legally Defensible Twitter Tweets

For businesses to get value from Twitter, the company must generate a useful and informative feed of Twitter posts that compels users to “Follow” the company’s Twitter account. On the other hand, to avoid any potential problems with tweets made on Twitter, corporations must be careful not to accidentally publish misleading or misunderstood messages. Ensuring that both of these things happen on a regular basis is the crux of a useful IR Twitter strategy.

The person handling the IR Twitter postings should be an experienced professional already versed in the various rules and regulations regarding communications with investors and the general public. All the same rules that apply to phone calls, emails, letters, and in person conversations apply to messages posted to Twitter. In other words, if you can’t say it on a person-to-person phone call with the SEC’s top enforcement watchdog listening in, you can’t tweet it either!

Lastly, do not confuse the conversational nature of Twitter with actual conversation. Every post made to Twitter is in writing! If it couldn’t be typed on official company letterhead with an executive signature at the bottom, then it can’t be posted to Twitter either. This simple distinction can save IR a lot of trouble.

1) – Tweet Daily

Everyone knows Twitter is about fast real-time communication, but it also about constant communication. Twitter feeds with occasional tweets drop quickly from view. Power Twitter users follow dozens or hundreds of other users. Keeping up with all of those tweets requires users to triage the inflow. A once a week message from an account  is just too likely to be skipped, missed, or buried to provide value. Don’t worry about posting tweets on weekends or holidays. No one will be surprised when a corporate Twitter stream goes dark during non-business hours.

a) How To Tweet Daily

Coming up with a new tweet every day may seem daunting at first. However, remember that Twitter’s value lies in being part of the conversation, not in just broadcasting your own communications. Responding to direct questions, responding to general statements made in the “Twitter-sphere”, and even responding to media stories or events can (and should) be part of the Twitter strategy. It can be several days or more in between each originating tweet.

2) – No Junk Tweets

Every tweet needs to be worthwhile to keep the company’s Twitter feed on the must follow list for shareholders, potential shareholders, and analysts. No interview about Twitter usage is complete without the declaration that communications are important, and there are no tweets about what was eaten for dinner. Don’t let your tweets become the corporate equivalent of meal tweets.

3) – No Coupons, No Promos, No “Funny” News Links

Unless the IR group is the only official Twitter account for the entire corporation, chances are someone else is handling the smiley face side of social networking for the company. Investor relations is the most difficult Twitter communication channel there is. Don’t make it any harder by trying to be something else. Besides, the people you actually want following your IR tweet stream are serious about being shareholders, becoming shareholders, or analyzing the company. The followers you don’t want are the jokers, pranksters, agitators, looky-loos, or others who are not serious about investments in the company. Don’t give them a reason to follow you. Unlike other accounts that might be looking to increase exposure and publicity, if a IR tweet goes “viral” it is probably a bad thing.

4) Speak With Links – The 140 characters allowed for tweets posted to Twitter is too short to be useful for IR – Period – End of Story – No ifs ands or buts. It is too short. Never forget that.

The maximum protection from any legal or regulatory issue, plus the best way to avoid any misunderstanding or confusion, is to let links do the talking.

In an earlier article we discussed examples of Twitter trouble for IR. The carefully crafted statement and meticulously crafted wording in an official company statement about a recent dividend cut was not short enough to be tweeted. Trying to tease out a shorter, but equally accurate and legally sufficient tweet of 140 characters is liability suicide. However a tweet that directs Twitter users to the original statement is not only completely defensible, but incredibly easy.

Example IR Tweet:

@CrankyInvestor – Look here for that information about the dividend cut. http://bit.ly/6UKFaR

This tweet is well under 140 characters. It provides a link to a webpage with the original full length statement complete with all disclaimers and notices.

Notice the difference between a response to a Twitter user’s specific tweet and an unrelated random tweet about a new press release. Which brings us to…

5) Don’t Tweet Press Releases – Remember no junk tweets! If people wanted to read the company’s press releases whenever they just happened to come out, they would be reading them on the website, or more likely subscribed to either email delivery, RSS feed, or other notification. Tweeting a link to a press release or other information only when asked about, makes it a relevant and helpful tweet. Doing the same thing at 1:14 P.M. for a press release sent out at 1:13 P.M. makes it tweet-spam.

6) ALWAYS: “Look into,” “Check on,” “Investigate,” “Pass On” – Speed is what makes Twitter so powerful. It can also become intoxicating. Resist the temptation to fire off replies or other tweets at the spur of the moment. Twitter may be real-time, but it is not chat.

The reflex tweets sent right away are the ones that will end up causing trouble down the road. Unless you have already considered a similar reply and have a link at the ready, don’t tweet. If a reply is required, but none is ready, simply tweet that you will look into it and get back to them. For users that offer suggestions or other unsolicited advice or information, simply say that you will pass their comments on, or otherwise make sure the right people see them. Don’t promise anything.

@CrankyInvestor – I’ll check on that and let you know.

7) NEVER SAY: Promise, Guarantee, Never, Always, Obviously… – Certain words carry a literal meaning that you do not want associated with things you say on behalf of investor relations. These words include any form of promise, any form of complete exclusion (never) or complete inclusion (always). Also troublesome are words that imply that there is no question about something, or that something is common knowledge. These are standards the IR group does not want to be held to in a court room or regulatory action. Create a list of banned words and post them on every computer that will be used to send official tweets.

8) Be Careful With Re-Tweet – Recall all the hoops the IR department had to jump through to link out to another website while staying in compliance with all rules and regulations. Re-tweeting is just as dicey. Whenever possible, avoid it altogether.

These tips should get most IR groups up and running with a successful Twitter for business strategy. What comes next is being able to successfully manage Twitter conversations for businesses. For that, additional utilities and a little bit of advanced Twitter know how will be in order.

Website Impressions: Faster than a . . .

Umpqua

Looking for some insights into website design, I found myself time-traveling back to 2005.  That was the year two well-publicized studies appeared: one on first impressions, the other on gender preferences.  Although there have probably been some shifts in the meantime—as more people (and especially more women) have spent more time on more websites—the basic findings of these two studies almost surely continue to offer useful information.

First: The Human Oriented Technology (HOT) lab at Canada’s Carleton University found that people made their judgments about a site in 50 milliseconds—and those judgments did not change much with extended viewing.  (Here’s a BBC summary of the HOT study.)

Obviously that instantaneous impression is created by the graphic design, not by usefulness of content or ease of navigation.  It turns out, however, that the initial pre-cognitive response creates a “halo effect” which carries over into the visitor’s perceptions about everything else on the site.  So a positive first impression creates positive expectations—and since people like to be right, they tend to continue reinforcing their own opinions.

The HOT study does not provide details about just what attracted/repulsed test subjects.  When viewers spent a longer time looking at the sites, they were asked to rate on broad categories such as “interesting/boring” and “good design/bad design.”  So the major takeaway from this study is . . . whatever you do, it had better work really fast.

Second: A study at the University of Glamorgan found significant differences in site design preferences between women and men.  (Here’s a BBC summary of the Glamorgan study and here’s the more detailed Glamorgan account.)  Generally, men preferred straight lines and formal language, while women liked rounded shapes, more color, and informal language.  That in itself may not seem too surprising, but the study also found something we might not have anticipated.  When asked to evaluate the websites of more than thirty websites from higher education institutions, the male test subjects preferred sites designed by men, and the women preferred sites designed by women.

Problem?  Most of the websites (92%) were designed along the “masculine appeal” lines by male web designers.

It’s important to note that the websites evaluated in the study were academic institutions—which typically have the need to attract people of both genders.  And in that, they are very like the corporate Careers site.

Once I started thinking about this, I realized that a substantial majority of the Careers sites I visit are arranged on a straight-line grid, with a limited palette and a fairly formal approach to language.  Put another way:  they are designed to appeal to men.  And that may be why I (not a man) find so few that really appeal to me.

For example . . . this probably accounts for why I especially like the Umpqua Bank site.  It is very slightly feminine.  Not, I think, in a way that would offend men, but there is a bit of curviness (subtly placed in the background pattern) and the design is more colorful and less formal than the majority of sites.

Obviously, what’s wanted is balance.  So consider whether the landing page for your company’s Careers site offers visual elements that appeal to women as well as men—in one-twentieth of a second.

The High Danish Bar | CSR Around The World

Fosbury

I’ve been working away in the background on a series of blogs focussed upon how CSR reporting is addressed across the world.  Unexpectedly, this is the first in that series.

Out of the blue a colleague emailed me a copy of an article written by Niels Jørgen Langkilde, Director of the Copenhagen Climate Network Secretariat and a former Danish MP.

The article highlights new advertising guidelines due to come into force in Denmark next year which are so stringent they make it all but impossible for a compay to claim it or its services or products are “sustainable”, “green” or “environment-friendly”. [Read more…] about The High Danish Bar | CSR Around The World

10 Trends for 2010 that Affect Branding, Marketing and Business

10-Trends-ThumbnailJWTIntelligence (a division of JWT) has released its fifth annual trends report where the company turns its research and predictions into trends for the upcoming year.  The 2010 Trends report provides a view of what’s to come in the economy, the culture, the aging population, and the environment.  Following are highlights from the report.

1. Searching for stability

The economy continues to struggle and people will look for messages that offer comfort, peace-of-mind and stability in 2010 just as they have been in 2009.

2. Reading the fine print

Is it because people are less naive or more cynical these days that we spend more time reading the fine print on offers and ensuring we’re not deceived?  Either way, people will continue to search out all the information and details they can before making decisions, including purchase decisions.

3. Maximum disclosure

Unfortunately, we live in a time when it’s hard to earn trust.  People will continue to actively seek out information, companies and brands they can trust in 2010, so messages that are honest and provide full disclosure will resonate strongly.

4. The devil wears packaging

The shift from excessive packaging and environmentally unfriendly packaging will continue as consumers seek out companies and brands that demonstrate they care about the environment by producing goods with eco-friendly packaging.

5. It’s BIC, and it’s bigger than ever

Brazil, India and China have emerged as economic powerhouses in 2009.  They’ll continue to grow in economic and political strength in 2010, meaning opportunities abound for companies and brands!

6. Trickle-up innovation

The shift from designing products for developed markets and then trying to assimilate them into emerging markets to developing products for emerging markets and then introducing them to developed markets will continue in 2010.

7. Retooling for an aging world

We’re not getting any younger.  In 2010, we’ll see an abundance of products and services introduced for the aging global consumer market.

8. Life in real time

Forget CNN.  2010 will be all about Twitter and real-time information sharing across the social Web.  If you weren’t on board in 2009, you will be in 2010.

9. Location-based everything

Advanced mobile and mapping technologies will change the world conversation from “where I am” to “what am I doing” and “what’s on my mind”.  Place is becoming irrelevant already, and 2010 will solidify that trend.

10. Visual fluency

Goodbye words, and hello images.  The world moves quickly and more and more messages will move from text to imagery in 2010 to speed up content delivery for faster consumption.

What do you think of the trends identified by JWTIntelligence for 2010?  Are you prepared to make sure your brand is positioned to take advantage of them?