The Definitive Guide to HR Communication

Acknowledgments xvii About the Authors xix Introduction 1 Part I: Taking a New Approach 9 Chapter 1: Know Your Employees 11 Chapter 2: Treat Your Employees Like Customers 27 Chapter 3: Plan and Manage Communication 39 Chapter 4: Frame Your Message 55 Chapter 5: Write Simply and Clearly 69 Chapter 6: Leverage Visuals 85 Chapter 7: Use the Right Tool for the Job 101 Chapter 8: Make Meetings Meaningful-and Support Managers 119 Chapter 9: Measure Effectiveness 135 Part II: Communicating in Key Situations 151 Chapter 10: Recruiting 153 Chapter 11: Orientation 167 Chapter 12: Policies 181 Chapter 13: Benefits 197 Chapter 14: Compensation 215 Chapter 15: Performance Management 231 Chapter 16: Saving for Retirement 249 Chapter 17: Leaving the Company 263 Endnotes 279 Index 281

Alison Davis has served for 25 years as CEO of Davis & Company (www.davisandco.com), helping companies such as BNY Mellon, Georgia-Pacific, IKEA, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, and Merck reach, engage, and motivate employees. Davis is coauthor of Your Attention, Please and a weekly blog, "Insights," at www.davisandco.com/blog. She frequently writes for leading business, communication, and HR publications, and was an online columnist for The New York Times. A sought-after speaker on communication issues, she is former President of the Council of Communication Management (CCM). Jane Shannon, now an independent consultant (www.janeshannon.com), spent much of her career as Vice President of HR Communication at Citibank. She then worked as a Senior Communication Consultant at Davis & Company and as a principal in the communication practice of William M. Mercer, Inc. Her clients have included Texaco, Barnes & Noble, Bank of America, and United Distillers & Vintners. She authored 73 Ways to Improve Your Employee Communication Program and has spoken at communication conferences hosted by the Council of Communication Management (CCM) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). A few years ago, she returned to her alma mater, University of Missouri-Columbia, to teach in its Journalism School's Visiting Professor Program.