11 New Year’s Resolutions for HR Communications in 2011 (that you can actually keep)

If you have any contact with employees, you know that most employee communication stinks. It doesn’t have to.

Here are 11 New Year’s Resolutions for 2011 that you can actually keep:

1. I’ll update my communication wardrobe. It’s okay to party like it’s 1999, but I know it’s sad to rely solely on communication devices from a decade ago. While I’m at it, I’ll toss out a pair of too snug, too short pants.
2. I’ll exercise good judgment. I’ll look long and hard at my communication skills. I’ll get better. And. I’ll know when to step back and leave it to the pros.
3. I’ll fight the battle of the bulge in my writing. I know not every word matters, but darn it, I want them in there. I’m gonna trim the fat in my writing. And I’ll stop gorging myself on bon-bons.
4. I’ll embrace the apostrophe. Contractions are my friend. I’ll give up bloated formality — and Twinkies, too.
5. I’ll learn something new about communicating. Although I was the best at PowerPoint in 1987, it might be time to learn about how effective communication works. I’ll read a book about fonts. And visual communication. And user experience.
6. I’ll quit drinking the management Kool-Aid. I’ll stand up for what’s right for employees. I’ll be strong about it.
7. I’ll help others be better communicators. It starts with me. I’ll challenge crappy communications at every turn. I’ll ask why.
8. I’ll get my communications organized. I’ll examine the entirety of how I communicate — not just one thing at at time. And I’ll create a plan to do it right. A real strategy.
9. I’ll stop telling employees to quit smoking. This is the year I realize that telling people they’re too fat and smoke too much isn’t a “wellness program.”
10. I’ll bump up my communications vocabulary. I’ll recognize that there’s a lot I don’t know about communicating. And my communication biases influence how I communicate. My first word: heuristics.
11. I’ll create a communication “bucket list” and do 10 of them. I’ll stop wishing I had done things and actually do them. I’ll make videos. I’ll microblog. I’ll get employees to make UGC. And I’ll help managers be kick-ass communicators.