How to Create Messages Your Employees Won’t Ignore

Have you ever seen the TV show Mad Men? If you watch carefully and understand the advertising business, you know that the clever slogans behind some of the legendary ad campaigns are based on research and not many glasses of Scotch.

If you have been following along, I have been blogging about the importance of developing an employee communication strategy and have broken down all of the elements that should be included. Today, we get to the fun, but oh so very hard part – key messages! Key messages are developed after you have done your research, set your goals, and understand who your audience is.

Including messages as part of your communication strategy helps keep all of your communication material consistent and focused. I don’t know how many times I have pulled out a communication strategy when I am writing content to ensure that the messages are on track.

When it comes to creating messages that grab the attention of your audience, there are some very important differences between communicating to employees and marketing communication messages. I also believe that there are some very important lessons we can learn from the marketing world if you are going to win the hearts and minds of your employees.

10 Things To Do So Your Messages to Employees Stand Out

1. Have a purpose – Messages must have a purpose and be linked to your goals – otherwise you are wasting everyone’s valuable time.
2. Be authentic – being genuine and real helps build trust
3. Be timely – your employees should be informed first – don’t wait for the rumour mill to start or for them to read about it in the newspaper
4. Keep it simple – strip your messages down to the core
5. Limit the number – keep your key messages to three or less
6. Tailor to fit – your messages should always be relevant to your audience
7. Make it real – concrete is far more effective than abstract
8. Have fun and be creative – grab their attention
9. Put them on repeat – frequency will ensure you have been heard
10. Be human – appealing to emotions is a powerful way to connect to your audience

Following these rules will mean the difference between people ignoring your emails and having employees who understand and remember what you have communicated.

“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack.”

Winston Churchill