It's time to let employees opt out.

Do you allow employees to opt out of receiving company information? Probably not…and you should.

Most of the time we are pushing out information that we believe is important to employees and we are all doing our best to segment the audiences and send people relevant information in a timely matter.

But in our personal lives, we have endless choices. We are allowed to choose which marketing emails we get. Heck, we can choose the style and size of shoes we prefer to receive marketing emails about. And yet, for some reason at work, the same choices don’t exist.

The reason that we are allowed to opt out or set email preferences is to maintain a connection. I know that when I unsubscribe from a marketing email, most of the time, the company is going to ask me if I would like to receive their emails less often. The reason they do this, we all know, is because they don't want to lose me as a contact. I would love for us to use this mindset at work with employees.

We want our employees to engage with our content, but we’re terrified of giving them power.

“But they NEED to know this information.”

Do they?

“If we gave them a choice, they’d opt out of everything.”

What does that say about our content?

We have control issues and yes, it takes one to know one. But we are disempowering employees by not giving them a choice. If we allow them to make choices about what kind of information they receive and when they receive it, I can almost guarantee that they would engage with the content on a deeper level.

We are not empowering employees. We're trying to shove information down their throats. Yes, this might be because you have a boss (or a boss's boss…or a boss's boss's boss) who is telling you that this is the information they need to receive so I challenge you to push back and explain the data behind allowing people to make choices.

If employees would opt out of most of the information we are sending them, we’ve set the bar too high for communication engagement. (Uncomfortable hot take for another time: it's ok for employees to not give a crap about Q3 results.)

The vast majority of employees want their jobs to NOT be the worst part of their day. That’s it. And that might mean that the information we are sending them is simply not relevant or interesting to them.

Let’s try something new and empower our employees to make their own choices, like we get to do everywhere else.

It's time to choose bagels or bacon.

I would call myself a conference connoisseur but you might refer to me as a conference snob and that's fair. Because I’ve been to so many professional development events, my bar is very high.

Now that I have the pleasure and enjoyment of planning conferences for ICology, I've learned so much about what it means to personalize these kinds of events. The lessons from personalization are easily applicable to so many aspects of internal communications.

The very first camp ICology that I ever planned was in Chicago in 2022. And at the time, it was a two-day event which meant I was providing breakfast on both days. I planned a full hot breakfast for both days because I like to give the people what they want (hello mini breakfast burritos!)

Fast forward to 2023.

Last year, our first camp event of the year was in New York City. One of my attendees, who is a native of New York, said to me, “make sure you order breakfast from this particular bagel place.”

Easy peasy, I can make that happen.

For day one, I order the bagels. On day two, I think to myself, surely people will want a full hot breakfast after just having bagels the day before.

Most of our attendees were from New York City, and on day two they are all asking me where the heck the bagels are. I’m standing beside massive trays of hash browns, bacon, eggs, thinking, “you want bagels?!”

I had no idea that bagels were such a hot commodity in New York City. I did not do my research on my audience.

This happens a lot in internal communication. But it's not hard to personalize when you know what people want, and all that takes is asking simple questions. Whether it’s breakfast options or email delivery times, knowing your audience is always worth going the extra mile.

~ Kristin

It's time to join the "make it pretty committee."

Have you ever been asked to make something pretty at your job? Have you ever rolled your eyes at this request? Maybe you grumbled or groaned or bemoaned to your colleagues about this request.

I've been asked this, although maybe not in those exact words, and I've always been confused about why the response from our industry is one of annoyance.

Our response every single time should be, “heck yeah, I can!”

We should get excited when someone in our workplace approaches us for help. This means, if nothing else, they’re comfortable enough with us to ask for help. And they know how to get ahold of us. This is fantastic! This means that you’re known as someone who can help (and maybe that your company directory works!)

Your colleague might be saying, “make it pretty” but what we should hear is:

• Can you make this poster more engaging?

• Can you make this article more interesting?

• Can you make this document easier to read?

And can we do all of this? Heck yes we can!

Internal comms pros are not graphic designers (though I do love me some Canva) but we can do so much to improve materials. If your frustration is that you're being asked to do something that you perceive to be too tactical or “below” your role as a strategic advisor, I would encourage you to explore what it means to be strategic and what it means to be tactical. Making something more engaging IS strategic.

If you're worried about the scope of your role then this is a great opportunity to set some expectations. Need some words for that? Here you go:

“I would love to make this poster more appealing and easier to understand. However, I don’t have the skills to use our design software so we’ll need to bring in one of our graphic design colleagues for the logo and print setup.”

You’re welcome ;)

Repeat after me: “I can absolutely be the person to lead this project and achieve the outcomes you’re asking for.”

We have discounted tactical activities like this to our detriment. The request to make something “pretty” sounds trivial, no question. But internal communication as a practice should be at the crossroads of strategy and execution…and that includes making things pretty.

I hope you make everything prettier today and always.

~ Kristin

It's time to end the garbage leadership epidemic.

In the past two weeks I have had six, yes six, conversations about terrible bosses and my heart is so broken. There is manager trash out there and we know it. But it got me thinking,

Are we in an epidemic of garbage leadership?

There have always been bad leaders but it feels like it’s getting worse. Is there some sort of post-COVID, dumpster fire of leadership happening?

I have no data to support this but what I'm learning is that we have all experienced garbage leadership. We have all had bad bosses. We've all probably had at least one truly terrible boss that we don't want to remember…and maybe some of us are in therapy as a result. But this isn’t a rant about terrible leadership.

Everyone has had a bad boss and there are lots of reasons for this: unjustified promotions, people manipulating their way up the proverbial career ladder, etc.

Everyone has had a bad boss. And no one has ever been one.

I’m confident no one is reading this thinking, “I was manipulative. I let my ego get in the way. I was unqualified to lead people.”

Have you heard about the study where they polled people and asked them about their driving skills? Nearly everyone in the study claims that their driving skills are better than everyone else's, which is statistically impossible and also very funny.

Is this what's happening with leadership? It seems likely that if we ARE a terrible boss, we may never know it. Even with feedback from employees or co-workers, our minds are very good at discounting criticism.

So I have a challenge for all of us.

Let's assume we are all bad leaders. Let's assume if you are in a role where people report to you, that you're just not a very good manager. Let’s work to correct it and work to learn more.

Books and videos are great, but I’m talking about more intentional activities where you can obtain objective feedback and learn new skills:

• Sign up for a management course or program.

• Join a mentorship program (ICology plug!)

• Hire a coach.

• Start going to therapy.

Look, I'm not saying that we’re all manipulative jerks. What I am saying is we all need formal training on how to be better managers and better leaders. Let's take this assumption and instead of beating ourselves up, let’s learn and grow and be the most healthy, supportive, emotionally intelligent leaders that we can be.

Cheers to the bad bosses. May we never be them again.

~ Kristin

It's time to put community over competition.

I just got off a Zoom call with someone in our industry who has a wonderfully-thriving community of internal communicators. We talked about who we're targeting, what kinds of ideas we've got for next year, what we're charging, and more.

At this point you might be thinking, "that's weird, Kristin. Isn't that group considered competition for ICology?"

What competition?

ICology does not have competition because no one is doing what ICology is doing in the way that I am doing it. AND - no one is doing what she's doing in her community in the way that she's doing it.

Our industry doesn't need to be competitive with itself. We do a disservice every time we are focused on what our perceived competition is doing that is taking business away from us. It is a mindset of lack and it is helping no one.

Community over competition.

We live this phrase every day. No one is doing what we're doing, and we're not doing what other people are doing. There is room for an infinite number of communities, associations, events, and people doing really cool things in our industry.

There is room for all of us.

I was at an event last week in Phoenix that was put on by Firstup. The conference was called Attune, and I was there as a partner and a sponsor. At one point during the event, they held a breakfast for all of the partners who work with Firstup. Many people in that room were objectively competitors, and yet we were all able to have a healthy discussion about what our goals are, where the industry is headed, and what the technology looks like for our customers and in my case, our members.

Let’s stop judging and start helping. Find your people and lift them up.

Community over competition, always.

~ Kristin

Applications are Open for the 2024 Mentorship Program!

The ICology Mentorship Program is refreshed and ready to launch in a bold new way.

Application Details

You do not have to be an ICology member to apply to the program but will need to join our community before the program starts in January 2024. Membership is $149.99/year or $19.99/month.

The application process is less about acceptance into the program and more about matching you with the right mentor. It’s crucial that we get to know you and your goals before we pair you with a mentor.

Mentee applicants are required to:

• Have at least 5 and no more than 10 years of career experience (does not have to be solely internal comms)

• Submit application and participate in a video conversation with program director

• Demonstrate a passion for improving the employee experience through first class internal communication

• Possess a commitment to career growth and development

• Be willing to accept feedback with an open mind and a willingness to learn

• Complete the program as outlined

Timeline

• September 8, 2023: applications open for the 2024 cohort

• October 31, 2023: last day to apply

• November 30, 2023: mentorship pairs are confirmed

• January 2024: virtual program kickoff

• September 2024: Graduation Ceremony & Mentorship Summit (in-person, date/location TBD)

More Info

Join us on LinkedIn on Thursday, September 21 at 3pm ET for a live Q&A session. Hear from past mentors/mentees and learn how this program can propel your career.

If you want to set up a time to chat more about the program being a good fit for you, reach out to Kristin Hancock: kristin@joinicology.com

Ready to get started? Apply today!

It's time to purge your LinkedIn connections.

I recently went through a “LinkedIn purge.” You've seen the movie The Purge, right? It's one of the few scary movies I've seen, and I think the lesson should be applied to LinkedIn, and here's why.

Sometimes I'll be going through my LinkedIn feed and it's messy. It's people that I don't know talking about things I don't care about. Then I get frustrated and wonder, “why am I seeing this?” Well, guess what? Like all social media platforms, the algorithm is delivering content based on who I’m connected to, what I comment on, topics that I follow, etc.

If your LinkedIn feed is messy, that's on you.

To combat this mess, I developed a litmus test for LinkedIn. Yes,this is a soapbox, a hot take, and a hill I’m willing to die on.

For every LinkedIn connection I accept, I ask myself,

“Would I be comfortable introducing them to someone else I know?”

A few weeks ago I was planning an event in a different city and I wanted to talk to a communicator in that city about hosting a tour of their company's office. In going through my LinkedIn connections, I noticed that I am connected to someone who has a connection at that exact company. So I reach out and ask for an introduction…and my connection got back to me and said, "sorry, I actually don't know them."

Beyond being 0% helpful, the interaction left me wondering why these two people were connected on LinkedIn? What is the purpose of LinkedIn if not to make meaningful connections with other people in your industry?

Being connected to people you don’t know doesn’t add value to your LinkedIn experience and it certainly doesn’t add value to your community. It doesn't matter how many connections you have if none of them are meaningful. 

But what about if you’re in sales or recruiting and you have a deep, passionate need for thousands of LinkedIn connections? 

Let me introduce you to Creator Mode.

Turning this feature on allows you to encourage people to follow you without sending a connection request. 

Your followers will see what you’re posting but they won’t be listed as a connection. (And yes, people can still send you connection requests, it just takes an extra step or two.)  

This is a great option if you speak at a lot of industry events, meet a lot of people in your travels, or run a business. I’m happy to accept connection requests that have a personal message with a clear intention (i.e. “I enjoyed your session at the conference and would love to connect so we might be able to work together in the future.”)

If you’d like for a lot of people to have access to what you're sharing, creator mode is your friend. 

I would love to hear what other people think about this so feel free to comment below. In the meantime: purge your list, my friends. Let this be the great LinkedIn purge of 2023!

Quality over quantity and community over competition.

~ Kristin

August 2022: Find your flame.

We're in the nest, right? Because I have a confession. Up until very recently, I struggled to define ICology and its direction. Where were we going with this podcast-turned-community and what the heck was the point?

On September 21 & 22 you're about to find out.

Camp ICology is our first in-person event and we are knocking it out of the freaking park if I do say so myself. The creativity and energy that is going into this event is setting my professional soul aflame and I know that every single one of our 25 campers is going to feel the passion behind the planning.

All this to say, if you can squeeze some extra dollars out of your PD budget for 2022, this is the time to do it. Registration cost is all-inclusive meaning you won't have to worry about spending a dime once you get there. And I promise you'll leave with a head full of ideas and a heart full of pride.

I've found a new flame in planning Camp ICology. Join me at the event and do the same.

~Kristin

ICology Gives Back

It's no secret that Chuck and I are dog lovers. This year we chose Indianapolis Animal Care Services for a donation made in honor of each of our members. Every time I volunteer there I am reminded of how powerful a second chance can be. We're so grateful for all our members who took a chance on ICology and this seemed like a fitting way to pay it forward.

~ Kristin