Carry on the conversation: helping employees make sense of what happens at work.

Workplace conversations about business strategy, were featured in "Start the Conversation: Reflections on the value of 'talking' in the workplace," which appeared in the July-August 2004 issue of CW. This is the second article in the series by Sheri Rosen about reaching shared meaning through conversations.

It's all about behavior, if you ask Angela Sinickas. As the president of Sinickas Communications Inc., and a measurement missionary, she preaches the need to first define desired employee behavior, communicate it and then observe whether it happens.

Business strategy defines direction, and certain behaviors get you there. "Focusing on behavior change is definitely not something most communicators have done for very long," Sinickas says. Internal communication professionals have honed strategic messages about the company vision and progress toward company goals in formal media like magazines, videos and intranets. Yet, as Sinickas points out, "face-to-face communication is critical in changing behavior." No surprise, then, that training supervisors and providing them with the tools for passing along strategic messages occupy a chunk of a typical internal communication plan. However, research in workplace culture shows another face-to-face factor affecting behavior: peer-to-peer communication.

Shaping behavior starts the first day on the job, as a new employee begins adjusting to the company. Typically, the employee gets an ID badge and signs benefits documents, and an unblemished picture of the company comes into focus during a formal orientation. Next, the supervisor explains job processes and expectations, with visions of this newcomer becoming a model employee who will earn a perfect performance evaluation. ideal and real blend as coworkers explain reality. Which part of the dress code is truly enforced? What does the boss really mean when he or she asks you to work late? Why do we like working here? Culture is passed on.

The case of conversation

Company culture provides employees with a sense of identity with and commitment to the company. In conversations, employees arrive at a common meaning for what goes on at work. People learn more about the true corporate culture from coworkers than through an official orientation, according to A.L. Wilkins' research on cultural audits. As each new person arrives, coworkers get another chance to talk about how they think and act. Fellow employees tell stories about the boss, things that have happened to coworkers or how the company deals with certain situations.

In a sense, all employees--not just new hires--arrive as newcomers at the same-but-changing company where they have worked for years or decades. Marketplace pressures reshape old companies into new ones through restructuring or redefined missions practically overnight. Employees find themselves labeled brand ambassadors for new products and services sold to different customers in an unfamiliar global competition. So, acculturation happens not only to new hires, but also to all employees.

The challenge for internal communicators

With peer-to-peer conversations being the most significant factor in shaping culture, and therefore behavior, how can these conversations be managed so that workers help move a company forward?

"It should be done in a planned way," says Merri Spaeth, president of Spaeth Communications. Give employees--particularly a network of explainers and motivators--grist for workplace conversations. She advises providing headlines and then proof: facts, third-party quotes and anecdotes that make good stories to be told again and again.

Storytelling, social interaction and gossip are "rich" channels, unlike formal corporate media such as handbooks, memos and newsletters. Conversation helps people truly understand an issue and see its relevance, leading to behavior change. Of course, formal channels still increase awareness and provide useful information.

Peer-to-peer conversations can be classified into three general categories:

1. In personal conversations, people offer thoughts and guidance on personal issues or situations. These discussions may not relate to strategic objectives, but they do build relationships among coworkers, which ultimately affect culture and communication.

2. In task conversations, coworkers discuss the day's assignment or team projects. A supervisor might join this conversation, sometimes with guidance from an internal communicator.

3. In organizational conversations, employees get the inside story on changes and company news. Organizational communication can potentially compete with or complement formal communication.

Propel the message

Partnering with peer opinion leaders, resourceful internal communicators paint a picture of desired behavior and reasons for changing "the way we do things around here." It requires rethinking the basic model of communication in which a sender transmits a message to the ultimate receiver. Communication professionals send corporate messages via an intranet, town hall meetings, bulletin boards or an,," number of media. A different communication model applies when opinion leaders propel information. In this two-step flow of communication, a message moves froth the sender to an opinion leader, who then delivers information to others.

However, this additional layer does not replace the need for formal media and PR. Opinion leaders devour formal communication (see "Unveiling Grapevine Conversations," page 25), making them ideal partners for transforming workplace conversations through the grapevine.

Any effort to give attention to the grapevine will take some corporate executives by surprise. "They have no opinion of the grapevine. They just don't factor it in," Spaeth says. For others, mentioning the grapevine makes them shudder. Its reputation may be undeserved. One study of the grapevine in a company with 600 employees and 67 managers revealed some surprising truths about workplace conversations:

* The grapevine fires up in response to formal media. If not much is being communicated formally, the grapevine remains relatively quiet. This is consistent with findings that opinion leaders consume formal media and then talk about it with coworkers.

* No one person leads opinion all the time. For communication professionals to influence conversation, they need to include more people as liaisons.

* People prefer to talk with someone at their own level, not someone up the ladder.

* People in staff positions are more likely to talk with people in other departments. Keep this in mind when designating opinion leaders for your inner circle.

Despite being pervasive, the grapevine has escaped being directly managed in most companies. Research by Crampton, Dodge and Jitrendra found that 92 percent of companies had no policy to deal with the grapevine. In fact, most observers dissuade management from even ruing to control the grapevine.

Forming an opinion leader team

To capitalize on interpersonal communication opportunities, Jack Pyle, APR, president of Face-to-Face Matters, recommends starting with respected members of the staff, elected spokespeople or project managers. Ask them, "Besides you, who do people trust?" You'll get a few names. Go to these people, one by one, and repeat the process. You'll get more names. Before long, you'll find the same names repeated. These are the peer opinion leaders.

Another method of identifying opinion leaders is to observe who talks to whom, gather names through questionnaires or even plot connections with sophisticated networking software. Once this team is assembled, let opinion leaders voice their opinions. "Peers must be invited to participate 'because we value your opinion,' not 'because we think you influence your coworkers.' Being a shill for the company isn't a popular role for most employees," Pyle says.

Opinion leaders can be particularly effective in helping frame a message so it makes sense to workers. Shel Holtz, president of Holtz Communication + Technology, relates a case in which opinion leaders were identified and brought together to help plan communication. "We incorporated almost all that input into our plan, which gave them ownership of it. When colleagues ran to them and asked what they should think, they all voiced unwavering support. It was, after all, their plan. It worked like a charm," he says.

The goal is changed behavior, which happens best with influence from peers. Communicators who understand and harness the power of workplace conversation have one more way to affect behavior through communication.

Unveiling grapevine conversations

Four facts about employee opinion leadership

1 Opinion leaders are exposed--or expose themselves--to media more than other people because they like being considered "in the know" by their peers. Employee media have less influence on workers facing information overload, but opinion leaders depend on media for timely facts for influencing others. They convey important points in conversations.

2 Opinion leaders are not supervisors with authority over a distinct organization. The communities of workers they influence are fluid and overlapping, not necessarily defined by function or location. Or so it is in Western cultures that value informal idea exchange. People in Eastern cultures may be more comfortable with clear structures and leaders who lead. In companies with a mix of employees with different cultures, it may be even more critical for people to clarify accepted practices and expected behavior.

3 Opinion leaders tailor their messages. They know coworkers welt enough to share pertinent information, and through conversations, coworkers come to a shared meaning that results in consistent behavior.

4 Opinion leaders are well-connected people who span gaps between one employee community and another. This "social capital" identifies a good opinion leader more than any specific personality trait.--S.R.

One company's conversation starters

A global network of employees-turned-explainers represents a key tactic in the communication strategy at Engelhard Corp., headquartered in Iselin, N.J., USA. Kevin Kelly, who leads internal communication, recruited 100 people from 50 facilities worldwide to disseminate and collect information, facilitate dialogue at their sites, and serve as brand ambassadors.

"They start conversations," Kelly says. "They provide additional context for information from corporate communication. They provide anecdotes from their locations that back up key points."

With help from local managers, Kelly methodically identified natural leaders and good collaborators. "We deliberately did not look for HR people or leadership team people," he says. "The last thing we want is for the network to be perceived as a management effort to control information."

Membership in the global communication network is not a fulltime job, but Kelly promotes it as a developmental opportunity. The team shares e-mail, has an intranet site, and takes part in web seminars and teleconferences to stay aware. Kelly also schedules face time as a group and individually when he visits a company facility. "You can only do so much electronically. It's about trust," he says.

Kelly helps opinion leaders appreciate what counts in communication: "lit's] not a new logo or tag line--it's the actions each of us takes as employees."--S.R.

Sheri Rosen is president of Rosen Communication Group. She can be reached at www.rosencom.com.