The Inside Voice

Know Your Audience

One of the key elements to any successful communication is targeting the audience you need to reach. Though this may seem like common sense, many forget to think through this step, miss the audience they intend, and suffer the consequences with a low response or unusable information.

 

Effective communicators define their audience, understand how they communicate and then speak directly to them, rather than try to reach the masses with a single communication. Given today’s diverse workforce, trying to focus your internal communications can sometimes feel daunting. Here are a few tips to help you better reach your target audience.

 

Define your audience.  To get the best possible response, have a clear picture of who you are trying to reach before you start writing. Put as much definition around your audience as possible using the criteria that will help you best reach your goals. Some examples might include: position/title, job description, common tasks/responsibilities, office location, a central rallying point, a common project, etc. The more specifically you define your audience, the more clear and focused you will be when you draft your communications. 

 

Choose the appropriate tools. Now that you know your audience, you should also know the ways that they communicate – and respond – best. Does your audience have access to a computer to check email or an intranet site? Or are they more reliant on hard copy letters, payroll stuffers or more traditional communication means? Are they more responsive to face-to-face communications, and a visit to a staff meeting may be more impactful? Using the most targeted tools for your audience will help boost your audience response.

 

Speak the language. One of the biggest communication errors individuals make is writing to themselves instead of to their audience, leaving the audience with no understanding of the communication that the author understands clearly. Once you’ve determined your audience, communicate in the “language” your audience uses. Minimize the use of HR lingo and legalese, which may be cumbersome to understand. Instead, simplify the wording where possible to ensure the best audience understanding and speediest response.

 

Understanding your audience and using that knowledge throughout your communication can help you create more clear communications, and ultimately boost your response from the people you really want to reach.

Have you had any communications that have missed the mark because the audience wasn’t as clear as it should have been? Have you communicated differently the next time? What was the difference? We’d love to hear your learnings.

Fundamentals for Effective HR Communications

You’re in charge of a new project for your company. Let’s say, for example, you’ve developed a new, innovative training program that your company. This is your chance to shine. You’ve spent months putting together the program, the logistics and it’s perfect. Now it’s time to roll out the announcement to get people to sign up to attend. And, after all of your hard work, you want a great response.

Before you click "send" on that announcement email, check to make sure that you have the key components of an effective communication incorporated. Here’s a quick checklist to run through before you launch.

In the next few posts, I’ll go into more detail on each to give you more insight.

1.      Audience-friendly. Focus your communication to your audience. Who needs to have this information? In our training example, do all employees really need to get an email about this, or would targeting your message toward front-line employees be more appropriate?  Are you using the language that this targeted audience will understand? Talking in HR-speak will dilute your chance of getting a response from your communication – much less having them read past the first paragraph.

2.      Tool choice. Are you communicating using the vehicles that your audience prefers? If your target audience is tech-savvy, what are the chances that they will read a good, old-fashioned paper memo? If your audience works in a role where they don’t have a computer in front of them, will they get an email, and how long will it be before they open it? Understanding how to reach your target audience increases your chances of getting your message across and getting them to take action.

3.      Multiple communications.  When you’re putting together your plan on how to communicate, be sure to use multiples:  communicate multiple times using multiple communications. A simple example of this using the training scenario: you send your audience information about the training program in an email, discuss it at a staff meeting, and include it on a payroll stuffer, the more it will peak their interest the next time they see it.

4.      Clear information. Be sure to provide all of the information your readers need to make a decision or take action. Give them a resource if they need more information or have questions – maybe a website or a person to contact? Is the communication focused with only one or two points to cover? Is it easily understandable by your target audience?  Be clear, and address the questions that may arise.

5.      Call to action.  What do you want the reader to do? Have you given them clear direction? Do they know what they are supposed to do when they finish reading your communication? Does it tell them to sign up for the training - and how to sign up for it? Have you given them an enrollment deadline? Being clear on what you want your target audience to do will improve your results.

How do your communications rate against these basics? Are there other checkpoints that you use before hitting that “send” button?

Finding Your Inside Voice

An HR professional recently confessed her chief frustration to me: “information I just can’t seem to get across, whether I shout or whisper it.”

 

If you sometimes wonder which “voice” to use to reach your employees and get them to act, this blog is for you.

 

The Inside Voice draws on many strands of effective communications practices and focuses them specifically for internal use in your company.  We recognize that you face a variety of challenges, from establishing internal standards to "framing" news to motivating employees to take a next step on some issue of consequence. Which strategy, tactic, voice, is your best bet in each new circumstance?

 

As an HR professional, you have been designated an essential company “inside voice.” New candidates hear your voice first when they interview. You present the company profile, paint a picture of the culture, outline benefits and opportunities. It is your assistance with onboarding, education and training that help shape an employee’s career…and those careers, in turn, that shape tomorrow’s company.

 

The voice of frustration I described at the start of this column comes from having those exciting responsibilities in an increasingly demanding climate. Today’s overwhelming challenges mean your employees are more preoccupied than ever, making them harder to reach.

 

That’s where this blog comes in. Ideas, insight and guidance are yours through The Inside Voice. Which strategy to use—and which voice—to break through the clutter. How to make e-mail work…when to stop e-mail and start blogging…how to draw on resources outside the HR area…which voice (and tone) to choose for executives vs. new-hires vs. peers.

 

Look here for an approach to HR communications that maximizes your effectiveness. We promise more than "best practices" and great tips. You'll find new perspectives, a fresh universe of thinking, tools you haven't considered--and help with choosing among them. And a forum for sharing what's worked for you, what you still need, what you want me to address.

 

Stay tuned to The Inside Voice for workable ways to be heard, company-wide.

Welcome to "The Inside Voice"

The Inside Voice brings fresh thinking, concrete strategies and inspiration to HR professionals who want to more effectively reach employees, get them to take action on the communications ... and overall better engage these employees. Visit, share your successes, vent your frustrations, let us know what you need!