March-ing forward!

With the financial year coming to a close and you working overtime to meet your yearly targets – and, if possible, exceed them – chasing numbers, framing statements, arranging more meetings… it's pandemonium! While you are keeping an alert eye on your coffers, International Women’s Day is around the bend too! Are you ready for the communication challenge these events bring? Read on, and you'll know.

Gender benders

Women today have a significant and growing presence in the workplace. So while celebrating International Women’s Day in the organisation, make a resolution to modifying your vocabulary, and apply gender-sensitivity to your communication. Doing so will not just pass you off as someone who keeps abreast of times, but also endear you to your female associates. Here are a few frequently-used words to keep in mind.

In the office or other work-related areas, it is best to use:

• ‘Personhours’ instead of ‘manhours’;
• ‘Businessperson’ instead of ‘businessman’;
• ‘Office cleaner’ or ‘housekeeper’ instead of ‘maid’;
• ‘Chairperson’ instead of ‘chairman’;
• ‘Salesperson’ or ‘sales representative’ instead of ‘salesman’/ ‘salesgirl’.

In your everyday life, use words like:

• ‘Synthetic’ or ‘artificial’ instead of ‘man-made’;
• ‘Ancestor’ instead of ‘forefather’;
• ‘Homemaker’ instead of ‘housewife’;
• ‘Layperson’ instead of ‘layman’;
• ‘Human-power’ instead of ‘manpower’.

Mind your business

Here are some popular financial terms that you probably use regularly. However, do you know how they originated? Given here are the origins of these words:

• Vesting (Earning pension over time): the verb ‘vest’ is derived from the Latin word ‘vestire’, meaning ‘to clothe, especially someone holding a rank’. So soon, the word derived the connotation of ‘to place or secure something in the legal possession of a person’.
• Budget (A sum of money allocated for a particular purpose): French merchants, in the Middle Ages, carried money in a ‘bougette’ (little bag). This word has its origins in the Latin word ‘bulga’ (a leather bag). The word got its current meaning during its import into English.
• Finance (Management of money): The word originates from the old French and Latin word ‘fine’ (end). The French word also had the connotation of ‘payment’. However, when the English adapted it in the 18th century, they began using the word only for money management.
• Money (Currency; medium of exchange): The Roman goddess Juno was responsible for warning the Romans of impending danger. So, she was called Juno Moneta – the name meaning ‘warn’ in Latin. As a tribute to her, the Romans built a temple on Capitoline Hill, which later became the place where coinage was kept. The name Moneta eventually evolved into the word money.

Newsletter – answering practical questions

It's like the four blind men trying to understand the elephant; they had their own ideas about it. You too would have your own perceptions about the newsletter. However, without knowing (more) about it, you'll hardly be able to appreciate its versatility.

So, here's an effort to help you better understand the versatile communication tool that the newsletter is.

Why do I need a newsletter?

Ever felt like reaching out to employees? Or wished to make your clients take notice of you? Or wanted to educate people about a particular issue? Ever wanted a brand ambassador who'd reflect your company's image accurately, at a fraction of the cost the celebrity would demand?

If yes, then you need a newsletter. This periodical journal can help you do all this and more. And what's more, it can do it subtly or obviously, depending on what you want. It offers you the luxury of complete customisation. You can choose what to say, whom to say it to and how. Effectively.

Well, why not use a brochure or ad or other forms of communication to meet these ends?

A brochure or an ad is seen as true marketing material, and therefore, meets with a certain resistance in the readers' minds. How often have you read the brochures you've received at shows or seen the ad leaflets that are mailed to you?

A newsletter is different as it is not perceived as a typical marketing communication effort. It can sell your brand or product without making it obvious, sometimes clothing it in the garb of information or leisure reading. Therefore your audience – be they employees, clients or other stakeholders – is likely to receive it with an open mind.

Why should I go to a specialist for creating one when I have an in-house team who can do it?

Your in-house team could very well put together a few articles and a layout and circulate it to your audience, but it may not reflect the quality and professionalism of an agency that is skilled in doing it. A specialist can help you add character to the issues, define the newsletter's identity, and create it in sync with your brand identity and communication objective.

What returns will it give me?

The returns could be many and varied, depending on your communication objectives. Here are some examples.

• Internal – help employees strengthen their bonds with the company, motivate and encourage better performance, increase awareness about issues, manage talent and indirectly, even reduce attrition.

• External – improve brand visibility, strengthen your brand image, build goodwill with clients, and also assist in marketing initiatives.

Well, now that you have an idea of what the newsletter is and what it can do, you can always call the newsletter specialists to know more about it. You can reach us at getus@cbeyond.in

Get your point across

Effective communication is about clarity and simplicity. The simpler and clearer your message is, the better are its chances of being understood. However, there's more to good communication than just this. Here are a few tips to help you get your point across, easily and effectively:

1.Identify your target audience and make a mental picture of them in terms of age, likes and dislikes, attitudes, etc. Communicating to them should be your primary goal. Everything else is secondary.

2.Next, choose a single prominent medium of communication, that will get their attention. It could be a blog, or a power point presentation, or even a printed article, depending on their demographics and psychographics.

3.Clearly identify the message or thought to be communicated. It is best to stick to one central message that is reiterated, with perhaps two sub-themes or sub-messages. That will prevent confusion of ideas.

4.Frame your message in an interactive way. That will gather the audience's interest and get them to pay attention to your thoughts

5.Keep it simple and straightforward. Use a clear style and precise words to convey what you want to say. Bombastic language may sound impressive, but if your audience has not understood what you tried to say, the purpose of your communication has been lost.

6.Make your messages personal and relevant. Customise them to suit your target group. If you need to give an example of a dance form to an Indian audience, try Bharatanatyam or Kathak, rather than Ballet or Salsa.

7.Ensure that your message is sensitive to the cultural, regional and religious sentiments of the audience. A well-intentioned statement can backfire if it hurts your audience's ideas and may land you in an embarrassing situation.

8.Avoid clichés. If it’s something your audience has seen elsewhere, they may not be impressed with what you are offering.

9.Encourage your target audience to contribute. This will go a step further to bring in a sense of belonging, especially during a presentation.

10.Humor helps, but do not use it unless it comes easily to you. A bad joke can create an unfavorable impression. It's best to intersperse your communication with interesting facts and anecdotes to break monotony.

Retaining talent the newsletter way

Some of the best-known Indian companies face serious attrition problems. What about you?

Attrition today is a HR manager's nightmare. The Indian BPO industry is currently experiencing an attrition of 25-30 per cent. The IT industry majors average between 10-20 per cent. So, many companies are now concentrating their efforts on stemming this tide.

Though attrition is a result of many factors, having certain fundamentals in place can work towards your advantage and help you retain employees. And communication is one of them. At CBEYOND we understand this and help you not just communicate, but communicate right through the newsletter.

Communication – an essential

Today, employees spend a greater part of their waking hours at work. So, to retain them and improve their productivity, your company has to be a social organisation they are in sync with. It needs to be a social network that will compel them to think twice before bidding goodbye.

Therefore, it is essential for your employees to establish a good rapport with their colleagues. They need to not just know your company's mission and goals, but also understand how it affects them and what is expected of them. However, merely conveying these thoughts don't help. Regular motivation and encouragement is essential. Moreover, your professionals need a medium through which they can share ideas and thoughts with each other, and stay updated about events and happenings.

Newsletters – the panacea

Our newsletters help you achieve all this and more through their contents. They help you send the right message to the right audience and at the right time. Use it to congratulate your top-performing teams, or to invite participation for an upcoming event. Feature an article which explains your organisational values, or simply get employees to share their ideas and experience.

Whatever be the nature of the communication, the newsletter can help you say it right and reach out to the audience. Add to this, its ability to reflect your company's branding and thoughts, and you have a communication tool tailored to meet your needs.

So, take the first and most important step to retain your talented personnel today. Communicate and communicate right with the newsletter.

CBD Case study:

Information, inspiration and integration for a software leader

A global IT solutions provider with over 5,000 employees wanted its professionals to be better integrated and feel part of the company. The challenge: diverse employee base, branches spread across geographies and employees isolated at client-sites.

CBD created an e-newsletter which functioned as a link between the company's members. It helped the employees better understand the different branches of the organisation, and also threw light on career avenues and advancement opportunities. Thus, it helped the employees better understand and identify their growth paths. Electronic transmission overcame geographical barriers, while periodic issues reduced the feeling of isolation for on-site employees.

Ph(r)ased out!

While you are at it, ensure that your messages or mails do not have the following incorrect phrases and other errors that have equally disastrous effects. So, if you’ve been using these phrases, it’s time to stop!

• Revert back. It’s just revert. The word itself means to ‘go back’.
• Redo again. Redo means ‘do again’. So, the word again, after redo, is unnecessary.
• ATM machine. ATM reads as ‘Automated Teller Machine’; you don’t need an extra ‘machine’ after the abbreviation.
• Return back. Return means ‘to come back’.
• Your’s Truly. You do not require an apostrophe in the word yours; nor should the word truly appear in uppercase. The correct usage is ‘Yours truly.’
• Abbreviations. Unless you are sure that your recipient is really familiar with the abbreviations, steer clear of them. You do not want your prospective client wondering what LOL or PFA is! (LOL is laugh out loud; PFA is Please Find Attached.)