Elevate Your Business with Powerful Communication Strategies

Co-authored by Tracy Cote and Kari Girarde

Think your strategy is flawless? Think again. The real test of success lies in execution, and your employees are key. Whether your organization has a robust middle management or leans more towards direct communication between executives and employees, the question remains: are you equipping your people with the tools they need to drive a high-performing culture, or are you setting them—and your business—up to fail? Turn your people into your greatest asset through employee empowerment, which involves providing them with the necessary resources, training, and support to do their jobs and drive results effectively.

The Role of Communication in Driving Performance

Employees are critical in executing team performance. However, they may not have the necessary information to perform at capacity. To build a high-performance culture, employees must understand how their work fits into the company's overall strategy, have clear, measurable objectives that align from the top down, have access to resources and platforms for transparent and regular communication, and embrace data-driven methods such as performance dashboards, KPI tracking, and regular check-ins to monitor progress and drive accountability.

Even the best-laid strategies can falter at the point of execution, often due to a lack of alignment between employees and the top-level strategy. When employees fully understand the corporate direction and how they contribute, they can translate it into actionable goals. Once you've set your strategy and vision and created your Annual Operating Plan (see this article for guidance on how to get started ), cascading the information along with your expectations is crucial for success.

Building a high-performing culture can prove challenging for several reasons. Misalignment can occur even at the executive level, making it difficult to cascade goals effectively. Without clear objectives, employees may focus on tasks that don't drive business outcomes. Additionally, both employees and leaders need proper training, resources, and feedback mechanisms to guarantee they are focused on what matters. Addressing these issues ensures your strategy is executed successfully and your teams are aligned with the company's goals.

Setting and Cascading Goals

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are a common goal-setting framework that helps organizations define and track objectives and outcomes. Regardless of your chosen methodology, the key is to get your employees on board and ensure you have adequate tracking using technology to drive insights and accountability.

Cascading OKRs to the individual employee level can be challenging if employees do not see how their work ties into the company's high-level metrics for success. For example, if a customer service rep does not understand how their individual OKR of reducing churn through excellent service ties back into the company's objective of increasing customer loyalty and lifetime value, they may see their OKR as just another performance metric rather than directly contributing to the company's key strategic priorities for the year, leading to a lack of motivation, disengagement, and potential misalignment between the employee's work and the company's goals.

Clear communication and transparency about how departmental and individual goals align with high-level company OKRs are not just important; they are vital. This real-world example underscores the power of helping employees see how their responsibilities contribute to the organization's goals. It's up to CEOs to set the vision, managers to articulate the connection, and HR leaders to weave it into daily operations through effective cascading communications and performance management processes that complement your culture. Together, you can ensure everyone is working towards the same vision, creating unity and alignment.

How to Cascade OKRs Properly

This is change management 101. Jeffrey M Hiatt's ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) is a powerful tool for cascading information to support strategy and company vision. This model provides a clear approach to managing change, ensuring that all employees, including managers, are aware of the change, desire to support it, have the knowledge and ability to implement it, and are reinforced for their efforts.

• Awareness: Create a campaign to communicate the vision. Clearly explain the company's strategy and why the change is necessary. Provide context on market conditions and internal metrics driving the change. Discuss how the change affects the organization and individual roles.
• Desire: Connect your people to the strategy. Engage all levels of the organization early to foster buy-in. Listen to and address their concerns openly. Highlight the benefits and "what's in it for me."
• Knowledge: Arm your people with information. Provide comprehensive training on new strategies and processes. Distribute guides and FAQs for reference. Define clear goals, behaviors, and performance metrics.
• Ability: Where the rubber meets the road. Conduct hands-on workshops to practice new skills. Provide ongoing coaching and support. Ensure everyone has the necessary resources to implement changes.
• Reinforcement: Trust but verify. Use data and AI tools to uncover insights on change implementation. Acknowledge and reward successful managers, employees, and teams. Establish a feedback loop for continuous improvement.

By taking the time to follow the basic steps outlined in the ADKAR model , you will more effectively bring people along on the journey: employees and managers will be more prepared, aligned, and inspired to drive the company's strategy and vision forward. This will increase productivity by creating a culturally aligned and unified effort toward achieving your organizational goals.?

Enable your People Through Data

So now that you’ve set your goals, cascaded them, and brought your people through change, it’s time to get them the data they need to monitor their performance. In a recent FastCompany article, author T. ALEXANDER PUUTIO suggested,?

"Once leadership has established the vision and goals, employees should be empowered with all the necessary resources, support, and autonomy employees need to propel themselves forward and to learn from feedback that arises directly from their work, not the assessment of it."

Investment in tools may be required to help you pull and integrate your data in different systems to create real-time insights into how people are doing against their metrics. This is where the magic happens, as manager and employee check-ins become more frequent, data-driven, and productive as their performance becomes more aligned with the company's vision. Data is not just essential; it's a game-changer for driving accountability. Use data to regularly track and review performance metrics, ensuring alignment with business objectives.?

Building a high-performing culture goes beyond just setting strategic goals. Employees are key, and effective communication is critical in ensuring they understand and align their tasks with the company's vision. Setting and cascading goals, supported by the ADKAR model, helps bring everyone on board. Leaders must also provide systems, resources, and support to maintain accountability. This involves giving managers and employees timely information through AI-driven knowledge bases, integrated reminders, and performance management tools and processes, which should be designed with input from managers and employees. Using data to drive accountability and focusing on employee empowerment ensures that your strategy translates into measurable business outcomes. By prioritizing these elements, you can build a cohesive, high-performing team that drives successful outcomes for your company.