Effective communication occurs when the right audience receives the right message at the right time. If your companywide HR team members (and maybe vendors, too) are sending uncoordinated, disparate communications, employees will have a hard time deciding which messages to actually read. So, they may not read any.
With leaders spending up to 10 hours per week preparing key messages for employees, the cost to overhaul your communications process is a worthwhile investment.
Businesses that prioritize clear internal communication typically see increased employee engagement, deeper leadership trust, confident individual decision-making, and improved collaboration.
Despite the pros of a coordinated comms strategy, it’s not uncommon for businesses to lack direction. Employees are often inundated with communications. If your HR team is struggling to deliver effective and engaging messaging, you’re not alone.
Playbook for Less Noise, More Impact
We were recently approached by a client facing an internal comms crisis. Their employees were receiving nearly 40 messages each week from various business areas. We helped them calm the chaos and launch a practical, coordinated communications playbook using a simple three-prong approach. That three-prong approach is now available to you, too. Check out the steps below:
- First, identify your main employee groups. Within each group, think about how they probably prefer to receive messages.
- Second, think about your existing comms channels and which ones are best for reaching each group. Then note any gaps in channels and consider possible fixes.
- Third, look through the last three months of communications and break them down into categories. Maybe your categories are job-related, employee-related, and company-related. Set a frequency limit for each category.
You can download the complete HR Communications Playbook, including the steps above and examples for when and how often you should distribute communications of varying types.
As George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright, critic, and activist, once said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Ensure your HR communications meet your employees where they are, with clear, planned, and purposeful messaging.
Learn more about this blog’s featured story here.
