It hasn’t always been such a challenge to communicate well in a corporate setting. Before the days of automatic deposit, there were physical paychecks that employees took home, and you could put the most important messages inside. People weren’t as distracted, either, but with a cell phone constantly in hand, it’s hard to get the attention of your team on a break.
We live in the “communication age,” and we’re simply not doing it well.
Our company is centered around communicating well – we literally created Retriever to help our clients across numerous industries communicate more effectively, and along the way we’ve picked up some great insights about communication. These are just a few:
Listen
Have you ever been having a conversation with someone, and realized all of a sudden it wasn’t a conversation at all – it was a lecture? In that moment your mind probably started to wander and you immediately disengaged. Imagine if that happened over years – you’d stop paying attention altogether, right?
That’s what a lot of companies are doing with their employees. They’re doing all the talking and none of the listening.
It can be a real challenge to listen to your employees, especially if your team is large. But, finding opportunities for them to have a voice in the conversation is critical for engagement.
Offer ways to provide feedback, ask open ended questions, and give your employees places to speak into your business at all levels. Not only will they buy into what you’re doing on a deeper level, they’ll be more engaged with all of your messaging.
Repeat Yourself
One of the biggest communication pitfalls we see is the expectation that you can say something once and get your message across. Research tells us it takes seeing a message an average of SEVEN times before a person is ready to take action.
Marketers know this and put it into action every day – that’s why those boots you were browsing online are following you around the internet. Because seeing once is just simply not enough to make something stick.
Find opportunities to diversify your communication strategy – of course, we think digital signage is a perfect tool for this because it automatically repeats your message for you. In addition, you can post your message to social media, send a mass text, set table tents up on your lunch tables, and send reminder emails.
Make Your Message Stand Out
Vying for attention in a cluttered digital landscape requires some creativity if you want to be memorable. Think about your favorite Super Bowl commercials – why do you remember that message? Probably because it was funny, unexpected, or emotional – right? It stood out from the rest.
Be creative with images, videos, colors, and copy when you want your message to stand out from the rest if you want it to stick. Something eye-catching and unexpected is the best way to grab the eyes of your team and help them remember something important.
We actually have tons of tips for communicating more effectively with your employees, and we want to share all of those with you as a free gift to you and your business – simply because effective communication matters that much to us!
Download our Communications Guide