How can you ensure your message is relevant to employees' daily work?

I often refer to Leslie Alman's book on Better Internal Communications for this one. The ABCDEF approach helps you have smart conversations with stakeholders - read out those letters preferrably not out loud then A - Ask who is the audience for this, B - what behaviour does the stakeholder want out of the audience? These questions should be answered first before you move to C - the content, D- the delivery of the content, E - how you'll evaluate success and then F- funding you'll receive to execute. I always start with understanding the audience and where possible immersing myself in their daily experiences- always leads to effective comms.

Keep it simple, authentic with no jargon. Make sure it reminds them of the larger goal and the focus of today.. a humane approach with empathy and inspiration.

It is important to do a stakeholder analysis before drafting the IC strategy. Following this, focus groups may be conducted with each of the stakeholder groups to understand their pain points, challenges, what they are missing out on the communication front, preferences of content/ channel/ content format and what would help them to do better at their job. This will help to tailor organisational communication to address their communication requirements in terms of content, frequency, channel and format.

To ensure your message is relevant to employees' daily work, tailor it to their roles and challenges. Provide concrete examples and connect it to how it impacts their tasks or the organisation's goals. Use clear and concise language, and foster two-way communication to address questions or concerns, making the message relatable to their daily experiences. Your messaging needs to be empathetic and relevant so that it touching the audience.

You need to understand the employees at a personal level. Understand their everyday challenges and needs. Show how your message aligns with the company's goals and mission, making it clear that their work directly contributes to these larger objectives. Use relatable language and real-life examples that resonate with their experiences. Make it personal by highlighting the direct benefits to them, whether it's enhancing their skills, improving their work-life balance, or advancing their career. Lastly, keep the lines of communication open, encouraging them to share their thoughts and concerns, creating a conversation that bridges the gap between your message and their daily reality.

Depending on the situation, more communication may not be the answer because it may be unnecessary for your audience. Defining your purpose means understanding what communication your audience wants. Work closely with your internal audience to determine what information they are desire the most. This will help you determine your purpose, the messaging cadence, platforms, etc.

Before you start drafting your message, put yourself in the reader's shoes and consider WIIFM? (Why should I even care about this?) Once you've got your answer, shift your thoughts to desired outcomes. What you want people to think, feel, and /or do differently. Clear? OK! Now you can start crafting the content with your audience's needs and your desired outcomes front of mind and at the heart of your message. Bonus Tip: Always consider how you can connect your story back to your company strategy, goals, vision, culture, or values.

I feel it's really important to know the sentiments of employees. Keep conducting periodic researches and talk to people one on one. Understanding their point of view and their needs is really important. Be truly empathetic to the employees rather than "just do your job."

Most IC pros I have known do this effectively. The challenge often comes when communication is 'requested' by others. Not all things that leaders think should be communicated should be (this is the same for external communication as well). That's why it's our job to coach the WIIFM principle as much as we implement it.

Most people operate in a time constrained environment in both their professional and personal lives. For that reason, communication must be succinct, flow logically and have a clear call to action. Messages should relate to the company’s mission statement and incorporate the reasoning behind the message.

Based on your stakeholder analysis, write the message according to the way your audience prefers to consume information. And base the level of detail on your audience. For example, leadership wants to get to the point ASAP - so tighten up your messaging and get to the point quickly. Whereas the audience most impacted by the message may want more detail. In general, most employees have a short attention span, so grab them early and provide detail accordingly.

Keep it simple, and focus on key points. Use plain language and avoid jargon or technical terms. Ensure your messages are easy to understand, and highlight the most important information or action items. Avoid overwhelming employees with excessive details.

Receiving input from others brings in different viewpoints. They can offer feedback?and insights that you might have missed, such as?fixing acronyms that are spelt incorrectly, clearing up ambiguities, and making recommendations on how to make your message better.

Understand that relevance is an ever-shifting mirage. Continuously adapt and evolve your message to synchronize with the ebb and flow of your employees' work lives. Flexibility is your ally; rigidity your foe.

In my experience: - Every message should be linked to one of the key business priority - Show them how an employee can contribute to the big picture - Share examples of how individuals' contribution can add value

The advice is similar to others in "knowing your audience" and "make it relevant". One trick that I've always found helpful is to consider the Communications team as translators. Internally, you have to speak multiple languages within an organization (executive, accounting, sales, operations, technology, product, engineering, etc, etc...) each has their own terminology and quirks. The IC team often is solving the challenge of translating "finance" into "product" or "executive" into "operations". These groups are working towards the same general objectives and against the same priorities, but how they talk about it will be specific to their functional area. Assuming every employee understands "technology" will lead to confusion.

Of the ways in which I’ve tried to be mindful of crafting messages is using PROSCI Change Management methodology known as ADKAR. This has truly helped me to implement change effectively, by providing a clear information-sharing goal for each stage of my work/project. Awareness Desire Knowledge Ability Reinforcement

GlasgowGPT perspective: 1. Know yer audience: Understand their needs, interests, and challenges. Tailor yer message to address 'em directly. 2. Show the benefits: Answer the question, "What's in it for them?" Connect yer message to their daily work and explain how it impacts 'em positively. 3. Use real-life examples: Share stories and examples that relate to their specific job roles. Make it relatable 4. Seek feedback: Engage in two-way communication. Encourage employees to provide input and suggestions. Keep it relevant, mate, and watch yer internal comms soar sky-high!