Strategic planning
Have you ever taken the time to stand back and clearly identify what you hope to achieve from your employee communication campaign? How does it support corporate values? How flexible and adaptable is it to changes in circumstance?
This strategic planning process can be implemented at the start of the financial year to agree budget allocation, in advance of major changes or simply as a review exercise to ensure your employee communication is effective and targeted. When undertaking the review process, you may find it useful to consider:
Message: What is it you are trying to say? What tone are you using? Are there supporting messages that you need to take into account?
Method: What channels are most appropriate to deliver your message? Consider the broad spectrum of media available and choose those most relevant to your target audience.
Values: What values can be associated with the messages you are sending? Do these messages align with your corporate values? For example, if environmental responsibility is a key part of your company’s ethos then electronic collateral may be more suitable.
Personal Approach: Answer the question, “What does this mean to me?” Carrying out internal research to understand how messages should be personalised will allow you to make communications relevant and engaging to individual members. Focus groups are an excellent way of understanding your audience and tailoring material accordingly.
Contingency: Your plan must be flexible. Consider the context – what will affect the success of your campaign or alter its perception? Is the timing right – what is happening in other parts of the business or the industry that might be relevant? Always take into account other factors and plan accordingly.
Taking a more holistic approach to planning your employee communication will create awareness, provide understanding, ensure engagement and achieve acceptance. SHILLING have worked with many of the UK’s largest companies to manage this strategic planning process; facilitating and recording the initial research, analysing the results and creating a Strategic Communications Plan that fit with a company’s bigger picture.
We have helped develop strategic communication plans for many of our clients covering periods of scheme changes and ongoing communication requirements. For more information on how a communication plan could help your scheme, contact katie@shilling.co.uk.