1. finance
2. accounting and auditing


Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning
The
word
cloud
above
was
produced
using
the
text
of
this
document.
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 1
Executive
Overview
The
purpose
of
this
document
is
to
outline
the
goals,
objectives,
fundamental
processes
and
approaches,
and
to
provide
a
sufficient
outline
of
planned
events
and
actions
regarding
Boy
Scouts
of
America
internal
communications
required
to
meet
the
business
goals
of
the
organization.
This
plan
must
begin
with
review
of
and
agreement
on
the
fundamental
aspects
of
internal
communication
and
the
communication
planning
process.
With
that
in
place,
the
process
can
be
launched
in
2009
to
develop
an
early
BSA
Internal
Communication
Plan
that
can
then
be
approved,
budgeted,
and
implemented
for
2010.
This
document
provides
an
overview
of
the
fundamental
principles
of
internal
communication,
the
communication
process,
and
the
planning
process.
The
communication
process
is:
Research
• De?ining
and
documenting
management
decisions,
goals,
and
objectives
• De?ining
needs
­­­
both
organizational
needs
and
employee
needs
Planning
• Message
development
(selecting
the
key
themes)
• Integrating
communication
plans
into
corporate
and
group
strategic
plans
Implementation
• Communicating
the
plan
• Full
implementation
of
all
aspects
of
the
plan
Measurement
• How
has
the
planned
communication
in?luenced
beliefs?
• How
has
the
communication
in?luenced
results?
2
An
excellent
example
of
implementing
a
comprehensive
communication
process
is
around
organizational
change.
With
the
New
BSA
launch
in
August
2008,
a
great
deal
of
effort
was
expended
around
communicating
the
change
itself
and
the
reasons
behind
that
change.
The
BSA
is
now
following
up
with
an
employee
survey
to
determine
how
that
change
has
been
implemented
and,
hopefully,
to
determine
employee
beliefs
and
attitudes
around
that
change
and
it’s
impact
on
the
organization
and
on
themselves.
We
are
essentially
going
through
the
three‐stage
change
curve
outlined
below.
The
vertical
axis
is
morale,
competence,
and
emotion.
The
horizontal
axis
is
time
with
the
three
states
within
each
stage
shown:
Stage
1,
shock,
numbness,
denial;
Stage
2,
fear,
anger,
depression;
and
Stage
3,
understanding,
acceptance,
and
moving
on.
Stage
1
Stage
2
Stage
3
Moving
On
Numbness
Shock
Acceptance
Denial
Fear
Understanding
Anger
Depression
With
the
information
collected
from
the
employee
survey,
we
can
better
determine
where
the
majority
of
employees
are
along
the
change
curve
above.
Hopefully,
they
are
moving
into
the
understanding
phase.
If
not,
more
work
is
needed
to
revise
the
messaging
and
the
overall
communication
plan.
Thus,
we’ve
outlined
the
communication
process
‐‐‐
research
(where
are
we
now
and
where
do
we
want
to
go),
planning
(setting
up
the
rollout
via
the
big
offsite
meeting,
NLTC,
etc.),
implementation
(conducting
the
roll
out
meeting,
running
Bob’s
blog,
meetings
with
employees),
followed
by
measurement
(the
employee
survey
to
determine
the
effectiveness
of
communication
and
the
attitudes
of
employees).
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 3
The
action
steps
are:
Research
• Agree
on
or
revise
the
definitions
highlighted
within
this
plan
(bold
italics)
• Agree
on
or
revise
the
processes
that
are
outlined
in
this
plan
• Conduct
the
Research
and
Audit
Phases
• Document
management
decisions
as
the
basis
of
the
communication
plan
• Survey
industry
practices
to
benchmark
BSA
operations
Planning
• Establish
and
adjust
communication
goals
• Develop
action
plans
that
will
determine
funding
and
staffing
requirements
Implementation
• Begin
implementation
in
late
2009
and
early
2010
• Efforts
will
be
adjusted
based
on
funding
and
staffing
available
Measure
• Conduct
employee
surveys
on
a
periodic
basis
(sampling
each
quarter)
• Adjust
plans
in
light
of
results
4
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning
The
purpose
of
this
document
is
to
outline
the
fundamental
processes
and
approaches
to
building
a
BSA
Internal
Communication
Plan.
It
will
also
begin
to
address
the
benefits
of
a
concerted
planning
process,
implementation
according
to
that
plan,
and
consistent
measurements
of
success
or
failure
of
the
communication
efforts.
Present
Situation
As
part
of
the
2008
reorganization
of
the
BSA
National
Office,
an
internal
communication
manager
position
was
established.
This,
in
turn,
created
an
unrealistic
expectation
of
a
single
individual
taking
leadership
on
all
BSA
internal
communications.
Therefore,
many
expected
communications
deliverables
went
unidentified
and
unaddressed.
In
addition,
the
individual
who
moved
into
that
role,
Marianne
Elden,
brought
with
her
a
full
time
job
of
developing
and
implementing
the
communication
program
for
the
Human
Resource
Group.
Since
that
time,
attention
has
been
devoted
to
the
employee
communication
newsletter,
ProSpeak,
and
to
the
internal
communication
tools
of
the
MyBSA
intranet,
National
Office
Staff
Directories,
the
revised
communication
review
process/forms,
the
Demand‐Based
Communication
e‐mail
system,
the
BSA
annual
report,
and
the
report
to
the
nation.
A
substantial
amount
of
time
has
remained
devoted
to
Human
Resources
around
the
introduction
and
implementation
of
the
new
Performance
Development
System.
Soon
the
medical
benefits
changes
will
be
added
to
that
task
list.
To
add
perspective
to
this
situation,
we’ve
commissioned
a
benchmarking
study
of
other
similarly
sized
non‐profit
organizations
and
their
internal
communication
functions.
The
overview
table
shown
below,
supported
by
the
full
document,
shows
that
BSA’s
internal
communication
staffing
of
1
is
down
substantially
from
comparable
organizations.
Organization
Boy
Scouts
of
America
American
Cancer
Society
American
Heart
Assn
Boys
and
Girls
Clubs
Habitat
for
Humanity
YMCA
Total
Employees
Total
Locations
7,000
1,475
3,393
800,000
350
3,400
240
4,300
1,600
10,000
Internal
Communication
Staff
1
6
6
~6
Split
duties
5.5
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 5
The
Scope
of
Internal
Communication
Internal
communication
is
an
essential
strategic
business
process
whose
purpose
is
to
change
employee
behavior
in
measureable
ways
to
support
management
decisions.
It
does
this
by
showing
employees
that
those
decisions
are
in
their
self‐interest.
Done
properly,
internal
communication
can
motivate
employees
to
better
support
and
implement
management
decisions
and
to
actively
participate
in
improving
all
areas
of
the
organization.
Within
the
Boy
Scouts
of
America,
the
internal
communication
audience
is
defined
as
employees
of
the
national
council
at
all
its
facilities
and
all
local
council
employees.
Within
that
audience
are
many
segments:
Scout
executives,
local
council
employees,
hourly
employees,
etc.
Every
communication
plan
needs
to
clearly
denote
the
intended
audience
within
that
broad
scope
of
all
BSA
employees.
The
Internal
Communication
Process
The
four‐step
communication
process
is
shown
below
as:
research,
planning,
implementation,
and
measurement
of
results.
Once
the
particular
outcome
is
measured,
the
process
should
start
again
to
fine
tune
the
plan
and
adjust
the
implementation.
While
this
process
may
be
streamlined
in
certain
situations,
it
is
the
ideal
methodology
for
crafting
the
optimum
messages,
channels,
and
frequency
to
obtain
the
desired
results.
Research
Planning
Implementation
Measurement
While
a
“ready,
fire,
aim”
approach
can
be
taken
in
many
situations,
measurement
(aim)
is
always
required
to
determine
if
the
action
has
had
its
intended
outcomes.
This
in
turn
can
be
used
to
inform
the
research
and
planning
processes
to
optimize
the
next
implementation
iteration.
6
Research
The
purpose
of
research
is
to
inform
the
planning
process.
The
diagram
below
attempts
to
outline
the
major
components
of
research
that
is
focused
on
internal
communication.
It
consists
of
defining/documenting
management
decisions
(the
focus
of
the
communication),
researching
what
employees
currently
believe
and
their
attitudes
toward
those
decisions,
an
audit
of
existing
messages
and
the
media
or
vehicles/channels
used
to
communicate
those
messages,
along
with
a
review
of
current
industry
practices
to
better
inform
our
organization
on
other
approaches
to
similar
communication
challenges.
The
overall
outcome
is
a
full
assessment
of
the
current
results
of
the
internal
communication
program.
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 7
Define/Document
Management
Decisions
Given
the
definition
of
internal
communication
(change
employee
behavior
in
measureable
ways
to
support
management
decisions),
research
must
include
the
management
decisions
themselves.
The
crux
is
defining
the
key
management
decisions
and
reaching
agreement
on
exactly
what
needs
to
be
communicated.
This
is
then
followed
by
defining
the
desired
employee
behavior
required
to
support
those
decisions.
A
key
area
to
start
for
overall
corporate
planning
would
be
with
the
BSA
Strategic
Plan
and
the
specific
goals
set
in
this
plan.
Research
Employee
Beliefs
and
Attitudes
A
survey
of
employees
and
their
attitudes,
beliefs,
and
knowledge
of
each
goal
and
the
aspects
of
the
plan
can
set
the
baseline
for
planning
communication
that
will
move
the
current
state
to
the
next
level.
We
should
also
be
examining
the
broader
scope
of
overall
concerns
from
employees,
being
careful
to
distinguish
between
council,
group,
and
national
level
employee
concerns.
These
areas
may
not
necessarily
be
related
to
specific
BSA
goals
but
will
none‐the‐less
have
an
impact
on
the
employees’
overall
frame
of
reference
and
subsequently
their
ability
to
support
management
decisions.
It
may
be
useful
to
establish
sounding
boards
that
can
provide
more
immediate
feedback
as
opposed
to
more
formal
surveys.
However,
caution
should
be
exercised
that
the
sounding
boards
that
are
established
are
composed
of
all
levels
of
the
organization
and
that
their
input
is
being
evaluated
within
the
context
of
their
personal
interests
as
opposed
to
the
broader
needs
of
the
overall
organization.
Finally,
it
would
be
well
to
establish
key
performance
indicators
for
employee
perceptions
that
could
be
used
year
over
year
to
better
evaluate
the
return
on
investment
for
the
BSA’s
communication
investment.
These
performance
indicators
could
be
determined
by
an
annual
employee
survey.
Moreover,
survey
results,
sorted
by
council
could
provide
valuable
insight
into
council
differences
that
could
perhaps
be
addressed
by
area
directors
and
Scout
executives.
For
example,
the
appendix
contains
the
questions
from
an
employee
survey
used
by
a
national
office
department
every
year
in
the
1990’s
and
early
21st
century
to
gain
insight
into
employee
perceptions.
A
similar
instrument
could
be
developed
to
assess
the
broader
BSA
employee
perceptions.
Furthermore,
within
that
survey
were
the
following
three
questions
that
comprised
an
Employee
Commitment
Index:
1. Overall,
I
am
satisfied
with
my
job.
2. As
openings
arise,
I
would
recommend
employment
with
the
BSA
to
a
friend.
3. Even
if
I
had
the
opportunity
to
get
a
similar
job/salary
with
another
organization,
I
would
stay
with
the
BSA.
8
Similar
questions
could
be
asked
about
Employee
Engagement.
Those
questions
should
assess
where
employees
are
in
the
four
stages
of
Employee
Engagement
regarding
every
goal,
focus
area,
and
priority
of
the
BSA.
The
four
stages
are:
Stages
of
Employee
Engagement
Awareness
Understanding
Agreement
Commitment
The
benefits
of
actively
committed
and
engaged
employees
are
substantial.
They
include
attracting
and
retaining
high
quality
staff
members
who
are
guides
for
their
subordinates,
not
gods.
This
approach
develops
a
shared
vision,
strategy,
and
change
agenda
at
every
level
of
the
organization.
It
further
accelerates
the
delivery
of
organizational
transformation
and
thereby
enhanced
organizational
performance.
Employees
become
personally
implicated
in
the
ambition
of
the
organization.
Audit
Existing
Messages
and
Media/Channel/Vehicles
In
addition,
at
least
annually,
an
audit
should
be
conducted
of
the
current
messages,
media,
and
frequency
of
communication
to
employees.
This
would
include
an
assessment
of
the
effectiveness
of
messages
and
media,
making
adjustments
where
necessary.
Review
Industry
Practices
Our
full
assessment
of
the
internal
communication
landscape
should
also
include
industry
practices
from
similar
sized
non‐profit
operations
as
well
as
best
practices
across
the
internal
communication
field.
Since
we
are
starting
this
operation
from
scratch,
we
have
a
great
deal
of
information
to
accumulate
to
get
us
up
to
speed
here.
Toward
that
end,
we
have
commissioned
a
study
of
non‐profit
organizations
and
how
they
staff
and
operation
their
internal
communication
function.
This
is
a
separate
report.
In
follow
on
years,
it
may
only
be
necessary
to
remain
active
in
industry
trade
groups
and
to
keep
in
touch
with
other
non‐profits.
It
would
be
well
to
revisit
this
document
each
year
to
determine
if
any
updates
are
needed.
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 9
Assessment
of
Current
Results
The
next
step
is
to
take
all
the
data
from
the
above
steps
and
establish
an
assessment
of
the
current
results.
The
outcome
of
this
review
will
then
either
modify
the
existing
communication
goals
or
establish
new
goals.
Planning
In
the
planning
stage
each
goal
is
addressed
through
a
specific
action
plan.
Finally,
the
overall
plan
(or
in
some
cases,
the
plan
to
meet
a
single
goal)
is
shared
with
top
management
to
gain
their
agreement
and
to
thereby
obtain
the
required
resources
(time,
money,
manpower)
needed
to
implement
the
action
plan.
The
communication
plan
also
needs
to
be
integrated
into
the
organizations
strategic
plan
to
ensure
that
it
has
sufficient
attention
and
funding.
Medium/Channel/Vehicle
Selection
The
chart
below
compares
message
significance
and
urgency
versus
the
communication
medium
(sometimes
referred
to
as
channel
or
vehicle).
This
type
of
chart
should
be
consulted
during
the
planning
process
to
best
determine
the
appropriate
medium
for
each
of
the
messages
within
the
communication
plan.
Moreover,
different
media
may
be
more
appropriate
during
different
times
within
the
communication
plan.
10
Here’s
a
summary
of
the
strengths
of
each
major
communication
medium
that
should
also
be
considered
when
crafting
the
internal
communication
plan.
Medium
Electronic
Print
Face‐to‐face
Strengths
Timely,
brief,
allows
interaction
In
depth
messages,
portable
Obtain
agreement,
commitment,
behavior
change
Implementation
“Nothing
to
it
but
to
do
it.”
This
simple
phrase
was
often
spoken
by
a
buddy
of
mine
in
my
Air
Force
days.
The
key
is
what
is
it
that
we
are
to
do?
Fortunately,
we’ve
conducted
the
necessary
research,
crafted
the
plan
with
considerations
of
goals,
communication
channels,
etc.
Now
we
need
merely
walk
through
those
plans,
measuring
the
results
as
we
go
to
insure
that
we
are
meeting
our
goals.
Measurement
A
sample
employee
survey
is
included
in
the
appendix.
This
survey
was
implemented
across
several
years
within
a
publishing
department.
It
was
used
to
determine
employee
engagement
and
commitment
with
quality
management
efforts
and
to
gain
insight
into
the
effectiveness
of
managers
across
different
publishing
teams.
While
surveys
and
focus
groups
are
often
used
to
determine
the
effectiveness
of
a
communication
plan,
other
measures
are
often
readily
available
and
quite
possibly
more
to
the
point
of
the
communication
effort.
For
example,
if
the
objective
is
to
get
employees
to
sign
up
for
a
health
program,
you
need
merely
measure
the
sign‐ups
to
determine
the
effectiveness
of
the
communication
plan.
Ideally,
pilot
communication
programs
will
be
conducted,
say
in
different
councils,
and
in
this
way
competing
communication
approaches
can
be
tested
and
the
most
effective
communication
program
used
in
the
full
roll
out
of
effort.
Of
vital
importance
is
that
the
overall
communication
plan
also
provide
for
measurement
of
results
that
can
then
be
used
to
adjust
the
communication
plan
for
optimum
effectiveness.
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 1
1
Random
thoughts
‐‐‐
attempts
Here’s
examples
of
possible
measurements.
Council
or
Group
Goals
Track
employee
knowledge
of
goals
Desired
Actions
Track
employee
attitudes
toward
membership
goals
12
Compare
to
actual
performance
to
goals
Compare
to
actual
membership
gain
or
decline
Sample
Employee
Survey
From
department
employee
survey
implemented
every
year
in
the
1990s
and
early
21st
century.
Focus
was
on
customer
service,
continuous
improvement,
working
together,
management
effectiveness,
and
employee
engagement/commitment.
Customer Focus
Question
1. Our mission statement directs the way we do our work.
2. We are continually searching for ways to improve our customers' products.
3. We share product improvement ideas with our customers.
4. We try to find ways of saving our customers' time and money.
5. We expect employees to make extraordinary efforts on behalf of our customers.
6. We reward employees for extraordinary efforts made on behalf of our customers.
7. Complete customer satisfaction is our first priority.
8. We encourage customers to offer feedback.
9. We implement changes based on customer feedback.
10. We are able to adjust quickly when our customers' needs change.
11. Our customers are aware of all the services we can provide.
12. We provide our customers with enough information so they can make informed
decisions.
13. Overall, my team effectively meets our customers' needs.
14. In the past year, customer focus in my team has:
Management
Question
1. My manager clearly communicates the organization's goals and objectives.
2. My manager holds people accountable for producing high quality work.
3. My manager leads by example.
4. My manager conducts meaningful and productive meetings.
5. My manager confronts conflict directly rather than avoiding or ignoring it.
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 1
3
6. If an employee has a conflict or disagreement with my manager, they are able to
work it out together.
7. My manager considers new ideas or innovations to increase organizational
effectiveness.
8. My manager appropriately delegates authority to other employees.
9. I have the authority I need to do my job effectively.
10. My manager supports high achievers by providing appropriate rewards and
recognition.
11. My manager provides underachievers with appropriate coaching and guidance.
12. My manager involves others in the planning process.
13. My manager effectively balances the needs of employees with getting the tasks
done.
14. My manager encourages employees to express their opinions.
15. My manager supports coordination and cooperation among work groups.
16. My manager works well with other managers.
17. Overall, my manager is an effective manager.
18. In the past year, management in my team has:
Working Together
Question
1. Team members communicate well with each other.
2. Team members cooperate to get the job done.
3. We are flexible in our approaches to our work.
4. We consistently accomplish our goals and objectives.
5. Rules, regulations, and red tape seldom get in the way of doing the job effectively.
6. We are open and honest in our relations with each other.
7. My job effectively utilizes my skills and abilities.
8. There is good cooperation among work teams.
9. Team members work together to establish work processes and standards.
10. Within our team, feedback is provided in a constructive manner.
11. We respect each other's skills and abilities.
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12. We understand the roles of others within the division.
13. Others within the division understand my role within the division.
14. We adapt readily when our roles and working relationships change.
15. Overall, my team works together effectively.
16. In the past year, team work in my team has:
Continuous Improvement
Question
1. Problems are identified based on facts and logical analysis.
2. We use effective problem solving techniques to find solutions to problems.
3. When we identify a problem, we become involved in finding the solution to it rather
than leaving it up to others.
4. Our technical capabilities are continuously improving.
5. Rules, regulations, and red tape seldom get in the way of quality improvements.
6. Goals and objectives are based on customer feedback and not on our own wishes.
7. We prioritize our improvement objectives to emphasize those objectives most
important to our customers.
8. We consistently evaluate our progress toward our goals.
9. We are able to modify our goals when necessary.
10. We have adequate training and educational opportunities to continuously improve
our skills and abilities.
11. We receive appropriate rewards and recognition for performance improvements.
12. The working conditions here support high performance.
13. We continuously strive to improve our work conditions.
14. Overall, my team is effective at continuously improving our work products and
processes.
15. In the past year, continuous improvement in my team has:
Boy
Scouts
of
America
Internal
Communication
Planning 1
5
Employee Engagement/Commitment
Question
1. I get a real sense of accomplishment from my job.
2. I am a valued part of the Custom Communication Division.
3. The amount of stress I experience on my job is manageable.
4. Within this division, all employees are treated honestly and with respect.
5. My job makes a meaningful contribution to the achievement of the Boy Scouts of
America's objectives.
6. Within the Custom Communication Division, conflicts are resolved in a constructive
manner.
7. Within the Custom Communication Division, people are recognized for a job well
done.
8. There is good communication between my work group and other work groups within
the division.
9. The CC Division does a good job providing opportunities for employees to develop
and grow with the company.
10. My current position makes good use of my skills and abilities.
11. Overall, the Custom Communication Division is a better place to work than most
other divisions of the BSA.
12. Overall, I am satisfied with my job.
13. As openings arise, I would recommend employment at the Custom Communication
Division to a friend.
14. Even if I had the opportunity to get a similar job with another organization I would
stay with the CC Division.
16