Whether you’re rolling out a new benefit, communicating tough news, or merely announcing a small change, take time to think through a few details. It may take five minutes, or it may take a few days and input from others.
What’s your objective…what are you expecting to happen? Which employee populations will this affect? How and when will you send your communications? Check out our Communications Planning Cheat Sheet for help working through the important questions.
Jump to our blog for a real-world example of how good news can backfire if you don’t think through the audiences you’re talking to.
Download Our Communications Planning Cheat Sheet
Proper Planning Ensures the Right Message Goes Out
Before you send an employee communication (of any type), take time to consider a few details. We all know that communicating change takes a “let’s plan this out carefully” approach. But, we say even the smallest announcement that seems innocuous should get some think-it-through time.
When you’re communicating to employees, always know a few things before anything goes out:
- Your objective — meaningful, measurable goals
- Your audience — and it may be more than one
- Influencers — which employee groups can help you
- Key messages — no more than three
- Channels — and it’s much more than just email
- Timing — you may need a phased approach
Related content:
- When it comes to creating HR communications, we have a lot to say outside of planning — we even wrote an ebook on how to write purposeful communications.
- The aforementioned ebook highlights the five common mistakes in communications, with fixes for each one. You can start with fix #1.
- Consider cascading your messages from top leadership down, especially for changes that affect all employees. We even have a template you can download.
- We helped this client with a three-year comms plan to move all their employees to a single HDHP. It worked — 75% moved in the first year.
