Cut through the noise with clear leadership communication
Here are four pillars that should guide every leader in 2021 as they seek to create clarity and alignment for their employees.
If you had to guess how many messages you’re served each day via social media, emails, text messages, app alerts, and probably several new mediums that have developed as I’m writing this article, what would you guess? To provide a point of reference, the average American spends seven to 10 hours per day looking at screens. I know I spend more time on my phone than I care to admit. And that’s just one of our modes for receiving messages, not to mention our computers and televisions.
Related: Improving employee communication: 34 billion work emails go right to the trash
It’s no wonder employees are desensitized to this constant barrage of information. It’s become so noisy that they aren’t sure which channel to tune into and which messages actually deserve their attention. If that weren’t enough, we’re now dispersed across countries and siloed in our homes, making effective communication more necessary than ever. As leaders, how can we optimize our communication to cut through the noise and ensure employees are driving critical business outcomes?
Communication: The common denominator
No matter what industry, size, or geography your organization falls under, communication is a part of your day-to-day life. However, there’s a big difference between communicating and communicating well. Don’t just check the box with your internal communications. Clear, effective communication instills confidence and is essential to ensuring employees feel empowered in an uncertain time. Communication is critical to ensure employees embrace change, which we all know is the only constant in our lives.
Your enterprise’s success lies solely in the hands of your people, and orchestrated communication gives them clarity into what’s needed from them to succeed. However, Gallup’s recent report uncovered that only 13% of 31 million employees surveyed said their organization’s leaders practice and cultivate effective workplace communication. That’s a huge gap. Unlocking the power of your people with effective communication will unlock the power of your organization.
Lately, we’ve been talking about what communications principles will drive the future of successful enterprises in an uncertain, constantly changing world. We believe there are four pillars that should guide every leader in 2021 as they seek to create clarity and alignment for their employees.
The 4 pillars of employee communication
An orchestrated approach to employee communication is necessary for the future of enterprise business strategy. Organizations can no longer excel with slow, incremental change driven by centralized, top-down communications. The future requires organizations to move more quickly with enterprise-wide change. An orchestrated approach is one where every leader is accountable for effective communication, requiring strict governance to align the various needs and audiences of the enterprise.
Organizations can then ensure on-brand, consistent, and personalized communications that reduce noise and create clarity, resulting in a more strategic view of the employee communications function. Leaders can then measure and optimize their communications strategies, so the organization can align employees around goals and strategy, ultimately driving business outcomes. In short, organizations need full alignment and collaboration between a number of key functions, particularly executives in employee communications, HR, and IT. To create an orchestrated communications model, leaders must embrace the four pillars of modern employee communications.
1. Create clarity
Employees are seated squarely within an information superhighway, with competing messages at risk of being tuned out. Leaders across the organization must cut through the noise and create clarity for employees about the change that’s happening, how it directly impacts them, and what action is needed. To do this, communications must be relevant, personalized, and clearly branded for each employee if you want these messages to stand out as a trusted source of truth.
2. Engage anywhere
The new world of work emerging from the pandemic will be more fragmented than ever before — more employees will start to return to the office full time, others will remain remote, and some might adopt a hybrid model. Regardless of an employee’s preferences and work style, your message must be able to reach employees anywhere and anytime on any device. Multi-channel communications will keep your organization engaged from afar and foster connection and community. Distance may make the heart grow fonder, but it also can lead to burnout, disinformation, and disconnection.
3. Drive action with data
Communication impacts ROI and should be treated as an important metric. To truly create the clarity employees need to drive business outcomes, leaders and communications professionals must be data-driven in their communication strategies, just like they have in other business functions. Measure the reach and performance of every message with actionable analytics. Your business is dynamic. Goals and initiatives will inevitably shift (remember 2020?). Knowing the impact of your communications will be vital. Understanding and having data on audience segments, campaign and content type, channels, and individual communicators will provide the insight you need to support your data-driven approach.
4. Scale enterprise-wide
Embrace an orchestrated communication approach and enable your leaders to communicate consistently and securely to bring the voice of your organization to every employee. Governance, productivity, security, integration, and support are key to effective enterprise communication. You need your messages to be clear, secure, and reliable to make an impact.
Your organization can’t afford ineffective communication. It’s an immutable need that leaders must prioritize. Employees are bombarded with messages — don’t let yours get lost in the shuffle. Enterprise communications drive ROI and business impact, creating an aligned, informed, and equipped workforce.
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