Conduct a

Take these 11 steps to elevate your internal communication efforts

When it comes to recognition, it’s time to think small. You don’t need a big rewards program to let employees know they matter. Encourage leaders to use major meetings (like town halls) and your social platform to recognize employees for key milestones and notable achievements.

Increase

INTERACTION

FUN

Great things happen when employees are around each other: unexpected laughter, spontaneous brainstorming, creative energy gained just from being with people. While employees can’t be together in the same ways, interaction is still important. When creating town hall agendas or working with a leader who is hosting regular team gatherings, build time during these meetings for personal and casual conversations.

2021 is here—and employee communication is more important than ever

Have

overload

©Davis & Company

Reduce

EMAIL

When creating and sharing information, ask yourself one question: “What do employees need to know right now?” This filter will help you move away from the old way of sharing everything—history, context, background, etc.—and focus only on the most critical points.

Reimagine

RECOGNITION

Help managers fulfill their roles as communicators by providing short, helpful “playbooks” for each topic or initiative managers need to share with their teams. Include key messages, FAQs and a few PowerPoint slides. But don’t just post or email playbooks; set up 30-minute sessions to brief managers and answer their questions.

CONTENT

APPS

Focus on

The second biggest thing to happen last year was the upsurge in factors affecting organizational culture, such as diversity, corporate social responsibility and how people work together. Communication is essential for ensuring that employees understand and contribute to company culture. That’s why you need to join the team leading culture efforts; when you have a seat at the table, you’ll influence the approach.

Get the most

We’ve kicked 2020 to the curb—and now we’re ready to start fresh. But when we think about how best to communicate with employees, we still face a whole host of challenges. Stress, for example. And the complex work environment. And the need for employees to feel connected—to the organization and each other. And . . . did we mention stress?

that matters

For all those reasons, internal communication needs to be better than ever in 2021. But you don’t need to feel stressed-out. Here are specific, simple steps that are achievable yet have a big impact. Have a great year!

out of new

During the early days of the pandemic, many senior leaders adopted a more relaxed communication style—empathy and authenticity replaced formality—which employees appreciated. Keep up the momentum: Meet regularly with leaders to encourage them to share personal stories, show emotion and listen to what’s on employees’ minds.

Even after a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, experts predict that virtual events will continue to predominate. But most organizations have a lot of work to do to make virtual meetings great. Your role? Become an expert in using the latest features (like breakout rooms, polls and chat), so you can facilitate virtual meetings that employees find interesting and productive.

meetings

Rock

For more information about employee communication

VIRTUAL

visit us

Stressed-out employees are unmotivated employees, which has a significant effect on productivity. Help employees relieve stress by including fun in your 2021 communication plan. For example, dedicate space on your social channels for light-hearted activities like GIF sharing, personal photos and fun polls.

You have a good sense of what’s going on with employees but are you sure you’re delivering communication that meets their current needs? A quick but thorough audit—including a review of existing metrics and two to three focus groups—will reveal areas for improvement. Focus on making one change per quarter.

CULTURE

Define

high standards

LEADERS

up for success

Maybe you introduced a mobile platform last year to reach a hybrid workforce. Or you’re considering a new platform to make communication more convenient for employees. Either way, it’s time to elevate your approach to help your app reach its potential. Start by clarifying outcomes for the platform. Then develop a plan to ensure that content is fresh, relevant and helpful.

Hold

MANAGERS

to

Set

AUDIT

focused

Despite reports of its demise, email is still key—but it also continues to need improvement. Start by cutting the number of all-employee emails sent by 30%. How? By only hitting “send” when information is timely and relevant (to everyone) and requires action.

to high standards

We’ve kicked 2020 to the curb—and now we’re ready to start fresh. But when we think about how best to communicate with employees, we still face a whole host of challenges. Stress, for example. And the complex work environment. And the need for employees to feel connected—to the organization and each other. And . . . did we mention stress? For all those reasons, internal communication needs to be better than ever in 2021. But you don’t need to feel stressed-out. Here are specific, simple steps that are achievable yet have a big impact. Have a great year!

out of new

Conduct a focused

2021 is here— and employee communication is more important than ever

OVERLOAD

Reduce email