Maintain the Message

June 7, 2012 at 9:30 am (Communication Problems, Education, Effective Communication, Social Media in the workplace, Social Media/Technology)
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Properly communicating the company message is the responsibility of everyone within an organization, from the receptionist on up to the CEO.  But how do you ensure that the person answering the phones is speaking the party line?

To guarantee a consistent message tape answers to frequently asked – and crucial questions – near the main phone bank.  But don’t post and forget it!  Check it on a monthly basis and update as necessary.  In challenging economies, information often grows stale quicker than you can say audit.

Also, provide updated facts and figures on a regular basis.  Communicate any noteworthy information to the receptionist and his/her backup ASAP – sometimes their need to know is actually more immediate than middle managers who aren’t necessarily speaking with the public and customers on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

Additionally, an intranet is a great tool for spreading the word to everyone while maintaining a consistent message.  For it to work and be effective, however, someone needs to commit to keeping it updated on a regular basis.  Also, the information needs to be pertinent, otherwise employees will soon recognize it as a waste of time and will readily drop it out of their information line up.

Last but not least, don’t forget those all important water cooler conversations.  Monitor the company grapevine and if the message you hear is NOT consistent with the message you want, it may be time to make a more concerted effort to communicate with employees.  Remember, if YOU don’t provide the information, someone else will.

– Robin Fritz, Adjunct Lecturer, Division of Business, Indiana University-Columbus

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Junk Mail: Like It or Hate It

November 21, 2011 at 8:44 pm (Social Media/Technology)
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 Have you ever received junk mail for something and thought, “Why the HECK did I receive this? This is irrelevant for me and my family.” The definition of junk mail according to the Encarta World Dictionary is “unwanted mail: unsolicited mail, especially advertising material (Encarta World Dictionary, 2009).” You receive junk mail because you have given out some personal information to a business or have put some personal information on the internet. Junk mail is liable to get you when you give any personal information out. Remember that word travels fast.

Many companies use junk mail for advertising purposes. If you show any interest in something, such as clothing, that is the time for a business to pull you in and advertise to you other products they feel they can get you to buy. They try to keep you coming back to their business. You may also receive lots of junk mail that you have no interest in or is completely irrelevant to you. Companies try to get anyone and everyone to come to their specific business, due to competition in their market. Many companies also rent out their information lists to other companies. Renting lists is a big business for many companies (Privacy Right Clearinghouse, 1192-2011).

Junk mail comes in many shapes and forms:

• Mail: You may receive junk mail through the US postal services that is delivered to your house or business. This may include flyers, magazines and advertisements.

• Email: Due to technological advances, we also receive junk mail through email.

• Text: Many people that text receive forwards of long sayings. Some claim you need to send to a certain number of people or something will happen to you. This is also considered junk mail to me. It is unwanted and unnecessary.

• Newspaper: The inserts in the newspaper are also a form of junk mail. This is an easy way for companies to get their advertisements out to a large number of people.

• Internet: Internet even has some junk mail through blogs and other forms and comments.

• Landline/phone: Telemarketing phone calls are considered junk mail.

Many families may receive all of these in one day. According to Mike Volpe, “In five days we produce enough junk mail to reach the moon. Junk mail produces ONE BILLION pounds of landfill each year (Volpe, 2008).

I personally get extremely annoyed with junk mail. I have lost complete control of my email due to junk mail. I’ve got a ton of college junk mail. I have been in college for two years now. I have one on my email about tricking my brain to learn a language in ten days. Facebook has blown up my email as well.

Most junk mail serves no purpose but to take up more space in your trash can. Although there is not a lot of junk mail that is useful, I do receive junk mail that does serve a purpose for me. An example of useful junk mail for me is clothing stores that have coupons and some of their products that I may be interested in.

Junk mail can be fun to look through and sit and think, “What are they trying to tell me? Why did they choose me?” Just keep in mind that it was YOU that gave YOUR information out. Remember that word travels fast and businesses love to try to persuade you to buy their products. If junk mail really irritates you, there are many ways to get rid of the junk. You can contact different businesses by phoning or writing a letter to explain to them you do not want to receive junk mail. Next time you receive junk mail ask yourself, “Who all has my personal information?”

Works Cited

Privacy Right Clearinghouse. (1192-2011). Retrieved 11 5, 2011, from Junk Mail: https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs4-junk.htm

Encarta World Dictionary. (2009). Retrieved 11 5, 2011, from Junk Mail: http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+junk+mail&qpvt=what+does+junk+mail+mean&FORM=DTPDIA

Volpe, M. (2008, 4 21). Hubspot. Retrieved 11 5, 2011, from 5 Shocking Statistics- How Junk Mail Marketing Damages the Environment.

By Danielle Trenkamp, Business Major at IUPUC

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