Trying to enhance your internal messaging strategies?

A different perspective, perhaps: Stop thinking in terms of communication needs (and in some respects communication objectives). People don’t really have communication needs. They have needs for information, clarity, connection, recognition. When these get lumped together as communication needs, we may see communication as the end; the output. Don’t add that layer of abstraction and instead think in terms of what your audience needs to achieve.

An effective way to understand the needs of your organization is to first start with an organizational survey. Once you have analyzed the results of your survey, identify your goal of top 3 areas of improvement. Host roundtables by level in the organization (never invite subordinates and supervisors to the same roundtable to allow for comfort of sharing information), identify questions designed to specifically peel back the layers of topics you want to learn more about. Identify common feedback themes from these roundtables. Your next step is to develop an action plan based on the feedback.

I think it’s not appropriate to consider channels when tackling your messaging. Think of the last time you attended a presentation and the deck was 53 slides for a 30-minute session. It’s likely the presenter thought ‘Slides!’ and went looking for things that already existed that were remotely relevant. They could probably have delivered the MESSAGE in 10 slides if they had started there.

Communication is an act of service. Go beyond what you want/need to tell your audience. Ask “what do they want/need to know?” Even better, consider what they already know or believe, and whether this is accurate or open to challenge. Then craft messages that affirm, supplement, or constructively challenge these beliefs.

One effective method I have found successful to engage employees is to host leadership roundtable events. Keep the roundtable small (10 participants or less) as this creates a more comfortable environment for those shy about asking questions. Give all participants an opportunity to submit questions anonymously in advance. Provide your leader with those questions in advance so he/ she can prepare. Your leader should be coached to host an organic conversation and solicit questions throughout the roundtable. If your leader can create open and organic conversation employees will be more open to engaging with questions and comments leading to a successful employee engagement experience!

I feel like this article conflates messaging with delivery and distribution. It’s far easier to measure the effectiveness of the latter, but doesn’t necessarily provide insight on the effectiveness of the messaging. Audience sentiment towards the message will be overwhelming linked to the content of the message (which could be uplifting and affirming, or challenging and distressing). The way you structure, package, and distribute the message should ideally amplify the positives and mitigate or soothe the negatives. That is as much an art as it is a science.

Leadership should always be transparent in their communications. I recommend Leadership clearly communicate the business rationale and refrain from including any personal opinions or emotion. Effective communication includes developing a communication time and action plan which includes leadership speaking points for more complicated situations (i.e. organization restructure) so that all leaders are aligned in their messaging. Leadership should always be timely in their communications to ensure the organization hears the information internally first before the media reports on it. Consistency with transparent and timely communications is key to building leadership trust!

Encourage Assistance from Leadership Enlisting the help of leaders is crucial for improving internal comms within an organization. They meet with their teams regularly (if not every day) and have an established relationship with them, so they can convey important updates effectively and efficiently. It’s an additional layer of communication that shouldn’t be overlooked as it can help to clarify any misunderstandings and foster a culture of open communication.