Despite all the tools available, reaching and engaging employees is more challenging than ever, Alyssa Zeff and Breana Van Rye told a packed room full of communicators at Interact Live in New York City.

“When employees respond to surveys, they usually report they are satisfied with communication. But when we ask employees what they really want from communication, they tell us it should be simpler, convenient and more relevant,” said Alyssa, vice president at Davis & Company.

Although communicators seek to meet employees’ needs, obstacles get in their way. For example, Breana, senior director at Davis & Company, asked conference participants what barriers prevent them from transforming employee communications. Information overload, lack of resources and too much senior leader involvement were a few mentioned.

How, then, can organizations overcome the obstacles and create communications that meets employee needs? Alyssa and Breana offered a few ideas:

• Make data-driven decisions
• Create breakthrough content
• Be a facilitator, not just a distributor, of communication

Hosted by Interact, a global provider of enterprise intranet software, Interact Live featured industry experts from the field of internal communication and provided attendees with the skills and knowledge required to transform employee communication in today’s digital age.