10 Steps to Position Communications as a Core HR Objective
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The document outlines how to effectively position employee communications as a fundamental HR objective, emphasizing its impact on organizational success and employee engagement. It details a step-by-step approach for HR executives to develop and present a comprehensive employee communications strategy to company leaders, highlighting the importance of clear and effective communication. By implementing these strategies, organizations can mitigate communication failures that lead to financial losses, decreased morale, and poor performance.
10 Steps to Position Communications as a Core HR Objective
- 1. How to Position Employee Communications as a Core HR objective
- 2. Most business leaders understand that HR has several core objectives: But many leaders don’t realize that HR has another critical objective: employee communications • Talent management • Compensation and benefits • Learning and development • Compliance and safety
- 3. And poor communications can be disastrous One survey showed that companies with over 100,000 employees cited an average loss of $62.4 million per year due to inadequate communications to and between employees Source: David Grossman, “The Cost of Poor Communications”
- 4. • Lack of engagement • Inefficiencies and ineffectiveness • Low morale • “Survival of the fittest” mentality • Poor performance • Increased conflict • Lack of understanding of company strategies and concerns • Lack of teamwork and trust • Voluntary resignations of key employees Just as troubling are these outcomes:
- 5. Inappropriate tweets from Elon Musk led to executive departures, fines, loss of market value, and Musk’s own exit as chairman of Tesla’s board Yahoo’s failure in 2016 to disclose a massive security breach they’d known about for two years generated deep ill will Takata hid a fatal airbag defect for over decade, resulting in 17 deaths and 180 injuries. Takata ultimately filed for bankruptcy, was broken into two firms, and had its shares delisted We’ve seen real-life examples of poor communications affecting a company
- 6. HR executives must ensure that a well-thought-out employee communications plan is given the importance it deserves— and is embedded in the overall business plan. Here’s how to get started …
- 7. Building a Proposal for Executive Review
- 8. Step 1: Research and validate the value of employee communications
- 9. Highlight successful companies that have embraced the value of employee communications Share strategies from companies your executives are familiar with to make the value resonate even more. Introduced a brand advocate program called Coca- Cola Ambassador, which trains employees to better communicate with internal and external stakeholders Has an “internal Nielsen group” of 200 employees that helps them gauge the effectiveness of company communications Created a Career Success Center as a direct result of feedback from employee surveys, signaling to the workforce that their concerns are important to management and HR
- 10. Highlight past communications successes (and failures) in your own organization • Be honest about why communications were successful—or why they missed the mark • Explain how past misses would be better-handled in the new process Speak with industry HR counterparts to gather even more ideas and approaches
- 12. Gather surveys and reports from HR and industry leaders • Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) • Harvard Business Review • Forbes • LinkedIn • Others
- 13. As you’re gathering data … • Select articles and data from a few trusted resources • Use the most recent statistics you can find • Choose metrics that are relevant to your company and industry • Focus on a select group of metrics and strategies • This will allow you to interpret the data in a more thoughtful, accurate way
- 14. Step 3: Catalog the elements of an effective employee communications strategy
- 15. Outline what the company KPIs are, how they align to strategic corporate priorities, and how they will be implemented and monitored Be precise about how employee communications can affect these
- 16. Step 4: Define the desired outcome
- 17. ? ? ? Address key questions • Are there certain communications concerns or gaps that need particular attention? • How can HR highlight the value of communications? • How will effective employee communications be interpreted, measured, and communicated back out to the workforce? See how you can do this with Poppulo! • What KPIs will be used? Outline your recommendations, emphasizing that employee communications should be included as a core HR objective ? ?
- 18. Step 5: Include unique considerations for the organization
- 19. • Think about questions executives might ask you, or special circumstances they may need help addressing • Speak with your counterparts in Marketing and Communications to gather their ideas • Review past climate surveys, focus groups, and other employee feedback to build a comprehensive list What special factors should you build into your particular plan?
- 20. Step 6: Review the presentation with your supervisor or executive sponsor
- 21. • Assemble your statistics and discussion points and review them with your supervisor and any key stakeholders • Incorporate any feedback and revise your presentation as needed
- 22. Step 7: Schedule and host an executive presentation
- 23. • Present your findings, recommendations, and framework • Share your long-range vision for how the communications roadmap will benefit employees by building engagement and trust • Address any concerns around incorrect information/lack of trust in data • Discuss the need for clear and consistent communications • Determine frequency End with an assurance that any and all IC needs will be expertly handled
- 24. Step 8: Work with a dedicated employee communications team
- 25. If you have a team in place, reinforce the value of the ongoing communications strategy ꟷ and its new role as a core HR objective. If you are building a team, look for employees who are • Effective communicators • Understand the need for empathy, ethics, and clear communications
- 26. Consider partnering with Marketing, PR, or other Communications teams in your organization. If you do: • Ensure communications employees understand how adding an IC component to the overall strategy impacts the business • Make sure everyone is crystal-clear on the purpose and importance of the effort, and how it will be achieved • Create specific goals and assignments to ensure coverage and understanding • Meet regularly to answer questions and clarify approach
- 27. Additionally: • Agree on one tool for all teams, that allows the right governance, use and measurement of your employee communications Poppulo is the perfect Enterprise Communications Solution! Click here to find out more.
- 28. Step 9: Set an action plan and commence roll-out
- 29. As you get started: • Reinforce the message that because employee communications is so critical, it has been added as a defined HR objective • Solicit feedback throughout the roll-out and moving forward • Make any necessary changes to improve the process Once your approach has been approved and your team established, you’re ready to go!
- 30. Step 10: Gather regular feedback from a diverse sample of the workforce
- 31. • Include feedback not only from executives, but from clients in all levels, locations, and disciplines Poppulo’s survey functionality allows you to easily gather this feedback! Click here to find out more. • Ask for specifics about what is and isn’t working, and what they’d like to see instead • Feed this information back into your plan This generates excitement and reinforces to employees that their opinions matter!
- 32. The results
- 33. • Executives will begin to use and stick with your new framework, lessening miscommunication (and the risk of litigation) • This will protect the integrity of the company and assure shareholders, clients, and advertisers of the mature business judgment of the management team, HR, and the entire workforce • Goals tied to company priorities will be met by engaged and inspired teams … which will in turn drive business success This renewed importance will supercharge HR’s visibility With dedication and a strong, deliberate approach, HR will evolve the effectiveness of employee communications—and cement its place as one of the organization’s most valuable efforts How’s that for adding value from an HR perspective!
- 34. About the author Julie Cookson is President of Cookson Management Consulting. She is an ACC-certified coach, credentialed through the International Coach Federation. Ms. Cookson specializes in Career and Life Coaching, and she combines her coaching expertise with over 24 years of executive HR experience in the entertainment/media industry. She obtained her Professional Human Resources (PHR) through the HR Certification Institute. For more information visit her website.
- 35. Poppulo is the global leader in employee communications software. We work with many of the world’s most successful corporations. Contact us today Poppulo Mobile Reach all your employees anytime, anyplace, anywhere. With Poppulo Mobile connect all employees to company news, wherever they work. Poppulo Email Transform your employee communications with attractive, engaging emails that are highly personalized, interactive, and can be targeted to specific audiences. Poppulo Insights With quick and easy measurement across all your internal digital channels, you can understand and improve the impact of your employee communications and prove value to senior management. Poppulo Platform Poppulo is the complete one-stop solution for engaging employee communications. To solve the challenges of the rapidly changing workplace, we’ve created a multi- channel solution on one powerful platform. Interactive and targeted email, instant mobile app connection, video, social and intranet. Plus, of course, the smartest performance insights in the business.
- 36. Want to learn more? Download the Guide How to position employee communications as a core HR objective