Leaving "death by memo" for a 70/20/10 communication strategy
The look on ones face when the latest office memorandum has landed (crash landed). Susan Scott of fierce inc has stated that "anonymous feedback is faceless, nameless and without any distinguishing parts". Is that what you want your team or employees to think of you?
What would the world look like if anyone that ever released a memo said to themselves that what they are about to issue will be received just like an e-mail or text message? We would live in a world of great transparency if that were the case.
Instead, many corporations choose to shame and blame the masses with spiteful drivel. Why then, do memorandums get issued in the first place? I would suggest this is because they are very easy to make and not much creativity is required to issue one.
If we look at the desired outcome from a 70/20/10 approach (Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger "The Career Architect Development Planner" 1996). We know that 10% of an adults learning takes place in the classroom, the very best we can expect to accomplish in class using lecture, activities, demonstrations etc is 10%. 20% of an adults learning comes from Coaching & Feedback, you can blend this with formal learning or you can design a process where this happens after they leave the classroom. The bulk though, in fact 70% of their learning comes from Operational Experience.
What would the world look like if anyone that ever released a memo said to themselves that what they are about to issue will be received just like an e-mail or text message? We would live in a world of great transparency if that were the case.
Instead, many corporations choose to shame and blame the masses with spiteful drivel. Why then, do memorandums get issued in the first place? I would suggest this is because they are very easy to make and not much creativity is required to issue one.
If we look at the desired outcome from a 70/20/10 approach (Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger "The Career Architect Development Planner" 1996). We know that 10% of an adults learning takes place in the classroom, the very best we can expect to accomplish in class using lecture, activities, demonstrations etc is 10%. 20% of an adults learning comes from Coaching & Feedback, you can blend this with formal learning or you can design a process where this happens after they leave the classroom. The bulk though, in fact 70% of their learning comes from Operational Experience.
I would argue then, that sending out a memo to clarify, coach or correct something would accomplish at the very most, 10%. Given the delivery, I would further suggest that retention from a memo is in fact in the single digits. Don't do it! consider a more creative approach to communicating with your team. Perhaps an infographic job aid? or a leadership touch point where leaders are present for their employee groups to answer questions and seek feedback. If you work with absentee workers just-in-time interactive on-line training is another great way to share information.
More interest and attention will be paid if the delivery of the information is varied, positive, and useful. I witnessed at another organization that management set up a private Facebook group for the employees, most of whom were remote or absentee teams. This proved very successful as this was an avenue for two-way communication, employees posted questions and their leaders and peers could respond and take part in the discussion. I highly recommend doing this at any type of organization, embrace social media instead of being fearful of it. Trust me, it's not going away.
The next time you start drafting a memorandum, consider how you can communicate your information a different way and see if you can break that 10%.
Communicate well,
Jeff
More interest and attention will be paid if the delivery of the information is varied, positive, and useful. I witnessed at another organization that management set up a private Facebook group for the employees, most of whom were remote or absentee teams. This proved very successful as this was an avenue for two-way communication, employees posted questions and their leaders and peers could respond and take part in the discussion. I highly recommend doing this at any type of organization, embrace social media instead of being fearful of it. Trust me, it's not going away.
The next time you start drafting a memorandum, consider how you can communicate your information a different way and see if you can break that 10%.
Communicate well,
Jeff
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