This item on Ragan.com chronicles how Northern Trust has structured CEO blogging on the company’s intranet. Interesting take on a structured and programmed CEO blog that appears to meet employees’ desire for the access to the executive that employees desire.
“We did an internal communications audit and through that employees stated they wanted to hear more from senior executives,” said Diane Treuthart, VP and director of internal and corporate communications for Northern Trust. “They also wanted to hear more about the bigger picture, the strategy and how their jobs related to key issues.”
Key attributes of the Northern Trust CEO blog:
- Integral - “The blog is just one part of an internal communications strategy for [Waddell] that was developed as a result of the audit,” Treuthart said. “But the blog itself is a very important part because it’s a two-way communications vehicle that really provides [Waddell] with an opportunity to hook up with employees around the world.”
- Integrated - Developed in conjunction with the overall internal communication strategy stressing “cascading, consistent messages” from top down, the blog is a focal point internally. It takes center stage on the company intranet, and employees are reminded via e-mail when a new blog has been posted.
- Interactive - Employees actually reciprocate Waddell’s communication. “People do post comments, and Rick does personally respond to them,” Treuthart said. “And some of the questions can be rather pointed.” But there is a catch for employees who wish to comment on Waddell’s blog—their comments are moderated. “We review people’s comments before posting,” Treuthart said. “But they’re almost always appropriate since people’s name and titles are listed on the comments.” Still, despite being moderated, employees continue to read and comment upon Waddell’s blog. In fact, Treuthart said two recent posts about vacation time were particularly well-received by employees around the world.
The following box is from that article:
| Three tips for getting your executive to blog |
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1. Show him or her the benefit by example. Nothing inspires someone—particularly someone in the corner office—like a little competition. As a speechwriter you know that executives pride themselves on being the best at almost everything. So why not show them a great example of a successful blog? Sun Microsystems president and CEO Jonathan Schwartz has a particularly good public blog, and your executive could model their efforts on his. 2. Offer to help your executive but don’t do the actual blogging. “We help with some of the technical side of it, like posting the blog,” Treuthart said. “But Rick does all of the actual blogging himself.” 3. Ask your employees what they think. A mandate from the voting public is what politicians use to pass bills in Washington. Apply that thinking to getting your executive to blog. “When we asked employees what they wanted more of, they said open and honest communications with executives,” Treuthart said. “The blog made the most sense for Rick to accomplish those goals. |
