Just back from Vancouver and the IABC conference. My speech (“I heard it Through the Grapevine”) was based on research that I recently completed comparing the grapevine with formal communications channels.

Here are a few highlights from that presentation:

The Grapevine is the informal, but powerful communication medium in every organization. The grapevine is pervasive and, according to my research, highly persuasive.

We can’t stop the grapevine. And we can’t outrun it. Word spreads like wildfire from person to person. And now blogs have become the “grapevine on steroids.”

While formal communications are important and effective, the grapevine should not be ignored. Understood and optimized, the grapevine can be a powerful vehicle to align the company around important messages.

The grapevine accelerates
• When there is a lack of formal communication.
• Anytime there is an ambiguous or uncertain situation
• When there are no sanctioned channels for venting
• When change is impending, and
• When there are heavy-handed efforts to shut it down.

There is a perception gap between senior and lower management. Lower managers are more likely to recognize the existence, the conditions under which the rumor mill accelerates, and the benefits of tapping into the grapevine.

Managers can influence the grapevine by
• Understanding the conditions that increase grapevine activity
• Respecting employees desire to know
• Increasing participation and influence
• Sharing the bad news as well as the good,
• Monitoring the grapevine, and
• Acting promptly to correct mis-information.

The grapevine may in fact be beneficial for an organization
• There is some information that people can only get from the grapevine. “If you want to see what insurance coverage is offered, check the brochure or intranet. But if you want to know what it really takes to be successful around here, ask the grapevine.”
• People can spot problems early and prepare/compare reactions.
• Individuals can seize opportunities.
• One can build a reputation by positioning yourself as a “hub” in the grapevine network.
• Bond with co-workers. “Gossip greases the social wheel.”
• Weed out cheaters and liars. The grapevine exposes “free riders” – those individuals who don’t contribute, but benefit from the group’s efforts.
• Let off steam.
• Gain power and control. People who are connected to the grapevine know more about what’s going on their companies that people who don’t gossip.

One study found that people receive 70% of their information from informal networks vs. only 30% from formal communications. Yet, most employee communications programs focus almost exclusively on the formal communications, ignoring the informal networks. Look at the grapevine not as a problem, but as an additional communication channel to be monitored and harnessed.

The law of the few: If you want effective, sustainable communication in any organization, you must reach a small number of people who are responsible for most communication.

How do you find the small number of employees who are really influencers?
• Volunteers: Pitney Bowes (PB Voice)
• Nomination: Disney’s Communication Ambassadors
• Identification: Social Network Analysis

Social network analysis starts with a survey of people in a network, asking whom they rely on for information – whom they find the most credible and trustworthy. This information is then used to identify the key influencers.

To influence the influencers,
• Find out what they think, feel and are currently saying about the organization.
• Train them to maximize their communication skills
• Inform them upfront about the back story (what got us to this place)
• Solicit their opinions, ask their advice and utilize their feedback.
• Influencing the conversation: “You must encapsulate the spirit of your organization, package it in strategic statements and then emphasize those statements repeatedly – so the message becomes part of the conversation.” Paul Danos, Dean, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.