The 4Ps of employee communications
It comes as no surprise that global organisations have key challenges in delivering consistency and on-brand messaging with their employee communications. Documents are created on an ad hoc basis by different HR people that often have no resemblance to one another. It’s a complex, multi-divisional situation and many reading this will know the pain I’m talking about.
But let me introduce you a concept that may just help you. A check-list that every HR communications expert should have at hand.
The 4Ps.
No, I’m not talking about marketing (nor am I losing my mind). However, we do use marketing methodology into what we do for clients day in, day out. But these 4Ps for employee communications are something entirely different. So, before you take a concept and push it forward to the board make sure you consider these four key factors:
Purpose – why we need to do this
Aligning key objectives to company values is one of the most important issues to address when embarking on a new comms project. Is your leadership communications strategy aiming to build a sustainable performance improvement culture? Or is it to influence best practise in reputation management? Whatever KPIs you are pinpointing to each objective, ensure you and your team understand the purpose of the project and how it correlates to company values.
People - taking ownership and communicating roles and responsibilities
Giving a specific task to someone doesn’t begin and end with an email. It’s much, much more than this. Work collaboratively and find out what measures you need to make the project a success. Getting buy-in from key stakeholders can make or break a project so don’t leave anything to guesswork. Organisations with a global workforce will need to empower teams by setting up a tool-kit and a range of policies applicable to the project. But don’t think a simple document will cut it. Use inventive ways to inspire, include and inform. You’ll get a much higher engagement and reach rate. Have a look at our blog for a few inspirational ideas.
Place – localising key messages across global divisions
Many clients we work with have global teams, bringing a multitude of challenges that many do not prepare for. Working with a multi-regional, multi-cultural workforce, means understanding and embracing the unique differences demanded.
What works in terms of messaging for one region won’t necessarily work for all. For example, did you know the term ‘first floor’ is referred to as the floor at ground level in the USA? But here in the UK, it’s the floor above ground level. The lesson? Localising content and key messages will make a significant impact on results.
Performance - measure and iterate
Driving behavioural change and engagement is more than executing a visually pleasing tool-kit. It’s about identifying your campaign’s purpose and measuring it against the KPIs highlighted at the beginning of the project. Better insight into the effectiveness of your strategy will help determine how well informed your workforce are – and what improvements need to be made.
