Prepare for 'Roe' decision, Uber memo, lit o'clock
Insider Comms for internal comms
đ Is it just me or has May been a really long year?
Happy Memorial Day weekend to those celebrating in the U.S.! đşđ¸
Be Prepared
Start planning yesterday for how your leadership will react to the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Womenâs Health Organization, which will overrule abortion rights settled by 1973â˛s Roe v. Wade and 1992â˛s Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Abortion is a highly personal, emotional, and divisive issue. I donât think any leader can ignore this one.
The decision is expected to land in mid-to late-June. You basically have two weeks to get ready.
The last major Supreme Court ruling that galvanized the country was back in 2015 when the high court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. Dig into your archive to see how your company/leadership discussed a sweeping legal ruling.
Employees want and expect leaders to be on social media, according to a new report from Brunswick.
The pending Supreme Court decision will not be the last political issue your leadership will be expected to weigh in on during the Biden administration.
I made the case back in October 2020 that a Democrat in the White House is going to make it more difficult for companies to communicate and take action on socio-political issues (because being anti-Trump was so easy). From the inside employees will push their employers to take stances on specific policy, legislation, and Supreme Court cases.
In April last year I argued that Internal Comms is business-critical to ensuring the companyâs internal messages reflect its external positions and ensuring that employees know what any policy changes mean for the business and their paychecks and benefitsâŚand what meaning the value stance brings to their work.
If your leadership wants to take an emotional or personal (pro-choice) approach to address the issue, look to this memo from Match Group CEO Shar Dubey, who took action after Texas passed a highly restrictive abortion law.
Dubeyâs impassioned memo is evidence of the difficulty CEOs face when confronted with any social or political issue that is sensitive or controversial.
Complement and support leadership with value storytelling, which is reporting on real people doing real work that has perceived and actual value and doing it in a way that is inclusive and doesnât ignore whatâs happening outside the companyâs walls.
Editorial series can give focus and consistency to the companyâs values.
Internal Comms
â The Unleash Your Inner Rebel conference takes place June 14 (London, hybrid)
đż The replays from Poppuloâs Engage 2022 are available (Poppulo). Three picks:
The Role of Communications on the Factory Floor (29:35)
From Boomers to Zoomers: Do's & Dont's of communicating in a multi-generational workforce (34:04)
What Are Your Employees Really Thinking? Find Out What the Research Shows (29:18)
đ° Employee newsletter names: best practices, ideas, and examples (Workshop)
đş Webinar replay: Lessons Learned: Best Intranet and Employee Engagement Practices (Ragan)
đŞ An interview with the senior director of Internal Communications & editor in chief at California Closets (The Switchboard)
⪠4 Great Internal Church Communication Tools (Church Leaders)
Insider Comms: Uber Tells Employees to Do More With Less
Uberâs CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently sent a note to employees explaining the state of the economy and what the company needs to do to weather the storm. A few things stick out:
The medium
How Khosrowshahi set the scene
The first point Khosrowshahi makes
Khosrowshahi buries the real news
A reality check for employee stockholders
Closing with BIG words
A tone-deaf sign-off
Read my thoughts on all of the above plus the full text of the memo (Mister Editorial)
BNSF - Director of Internal Corporate Comms (Fort Worth)
Disney - VP, Internal Comms & Operations (Burbank, hybrid)
Intel - Senior Comms Manager (Arizona, remote)
Luno - Internal Comms Manager (London)
Patreon - Internal Comms Associate (SF, NYC)
Splunk - Senior Employee Communications Manager, APAC (Singapore)
Youâd be on my team.
Twitch - Senior Director, Internal Comms (San Francisco)
Time Check
đ°ď¸ What literary time is it for you now? Check the Literature Clock, often.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter | Mister Editorial archive | editorshaun@gmail.com
Disclaimer: Besides running Mister Editorial, I work in employee comms at Splunk. The views in this newsletter are my own.
Thanks for including The Switchboard in your links!