Creating an impactful communication strategy can be hard. Communication can have a big effect on all aspects of your organization, both good and bad. When looking through research on the impact of communication, we found that when done poorly, communication can end up costing a business up to $5200 per employee per year.
On the other hand, communication can also have a positive impact. When done correctly, good communication can:
- Optimize Productivity – Employees who feel included in more detailed communication are nearly five times more likely to report increased productivity – McKinsey & Company report
- Improve Engagement – 85% of employees said they’re most motivated when management offers regular updates on company news – Trade Press Services
- Increase Employee Retention – By adopting effective communication, your business can increase employee retention 4.5 times more than companies with poor communication – LinkedIn
With Human Resources at the center of every great organization, good communication needs to start here.
Check out Bentek’s 5 Tips for an Impactful Communication Strategy:
1. Internal Communication Newsletter
An Internal Newsletter is a tool that many companies have adopted to keep their employees engaged and informed. Organizational changes, company goals/initiatives, departmental highlights, upcoming events, and industry news are great topics to feature in your newsletter. Newsletters can be produced in both digital and print, posted on your intranet, sent via email, or posted in your breakrooms.
Need help getting started? Click here to check out a great resource for tips on making your Internal Newsletter informative and engaging.
2. Opportunities for 2-Way Conversations
Formal presentations can be the death of even the best projects or programs as it often leaves the audience with the perception that they are in a listen-only mode. Consider holding small sessions to share a new idea and create an open dialogue around the project goals. Smaller settings help encourage people to participate in conversations and lend their perspective, where they may not have felt comfortable otherwise. Searching for opportunities to have open dialogue is key to engagement and the adoption of new ideas.
3. Create Access to New HR Information
Sending out announcements and documentation via email can be helpful when new updates from HR are rolled out, but often get buried in inboxes. How can you avoid the laborious search process for an email chain with the right attachments? Easy! Create a shared space for HR documents – online!
Systems like SharePoint, Google Workspace, and Confluence are fantastic resources for document sharing. These tools allow you to post new content or update existing documents in a single location, taking the guesswork out of what the most up-to-date information is.
4. Allow for Anonymous Feedback
How does your organization collect feedback? Many companies conduct performance reviews and/or one-on-one meetings to offer employee feedback, but it’s important that communication goes both ways! Managers and leaders need critiques of their own in order to continue improving as individuals and the organization. And the best source for this type of feedback is your employees!
However, there is an important consideration to take into account. Giving honest feedback can be scary and intimidating for some. We highly recommend developing a regular cadence for administering anonymous surveys to make it easier. This encourages people to provide their genuine opinions without fear of repercussions.
Surveys are fantastic because they allow you to quantify sentiments easily (when set up correctly), as well as allow for open expression. For a great resource on creating employee surveys, click here.
5. Communication Diversity
One thing HR knows well is that we are all different. This is also true when considering how we learn and consume information. Some of us enjoy sitting down and listening to presentations, and others prefer to read, or watch videos.
To maximize the impact of your communications, you should develop a strategy that incorporates a diverse set of content for your employees to engage with and distribute in multiple channels.
For more articles like this one, click here to check out the Bentek Blog.
