Communication is a vital component of a healthy organization, yet too often employees are left in the dark due to antiquated, ineffective communication systems.
A lack of communication leads to knowledge gaps, costly oversights and mistakes, and frustration at both the employee and management level when things go wrong.
A well-rounded, highly efficient communication system can put a stop to these woes. If you see the need to upgrade your company’s system, don’t jump the gun. It’s imperative to step toward a communication reboot in small, well-planned steps.
Let’s explore 10 features you want in your new communication system.
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1. Stay flexible
As the needs of your organization change, your communication system must be capable of changing in lockstep. Flexibility is a top priority.
Your system should be flexible when it comes to benefits, payroll, and compliance, as you never know exactly what information you will need to communicate.
If your communication system is a set of templates that only allows you to change numbers, your system isn’t flexible enough to accommodate future changes.
At the same time, prioritize a vendor who can implement changes in a timely manner. If your system takes a month for a small update, it’s not flexible enough.
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2. Make it effective
The best communication system doesn’t overlook creation, design, and distribution.
Ensure that information is complete, easy to understand, and presented in a way that leaves employees feeling empowered in their new knowledge, not overwhelmed.
Video is the most effective communication tool. If you have a thirty-minute training session on a new machine, process, or compliance issue, consider introducing it with a short video instead of a document.
The video should thank your employees for attending, explain how to ask questions on the material, and delve into both the information and why it’s important.
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3. Accessible anywhere
Effective communication includes informing your employees that they can access the training material when and how it’s most convenient for them.
Make sure your content is accessible via mobile and that employees can (if they choose) receive important messages via text or live chat.
You can also communicate via social media, depending on your business. Focus on delivering communication in a way that is convenient and customized so that employees’ experiences with your material is as smooth and pleasant as possible.
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4. Customize any format
Your system should be customizable even if it’s not entirely electronic. If you have to use paper, ensure your logo is visible and in color. Don’t communicate important messages in a way that feels cheap or hurried.
For example, if you’re communicating a multi-million dollar investment in employee benefits, don’t settle for a lackluster black-and-white booklet. Instead, work with your vendor to create beautiful printed materials that direct employees to watch professionally made videos explaining the changes. Employees will better understand important changes if you communicate them well.
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5. 2-way communication
Whether electronic or on paper, every cultural communication must include contact points and direct employees where to go for more information.
With an automated process, you can afford to have more than a “push” relationship.
Design a thoughtful approach to how employees will contact you with questions and invite them to do so, whether your company is five people or 2,000.
If you put time and effort into providing employees with an open communication channel to HR that mirrors how you communicate, you’ve established a highly efficient, two-way street to help the company make lasting changes.
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6. Broad, scalable & entertaining
A broad, scalable system enables rapid and accessible communication. For example, if an employee needs to look at the details of her benefits plan months after on-boarding, she should be able to access that information electronically. That keeps the repetitive stuff off the desk of your HR staff.
Employees will appreciate an entertaining system and retain information better when using it. Compared to a two-page memo with forty bullet points, a well-designed system that communicates effectively will feel like a breath of fresh air.
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7. On-boarding made easy
On-boarding is about more than simply getting paperwork done. During the on-boarding process, you want a system that can welcome employees to your company with videos explaining what you do and why.
Be sure to include messages from your company’s key players. Introduce the HR team, and let the new hires know HR is their advocate inside the organization.
In addition, discuss the benefits of working for your organization and address company structure so they feel more comfortable as they walk the halls the first day. Doesn’t that sound like a better on-boarding experience?
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8. Useful annual reviews
Cultural communication also comes into play during the annual review process.
Use clear communication to convey the company’s performance and strategy. It often takes years for employees to get a strong sense of place within an organization, but with a strong system, you can accelerate that integration.
If there will be changes in benefits, tie that into cultural communication as well. Resist the urge to hide behind jargon and instead take a more human and humble approach to conveying information. Even if it’s bad news, employees won’t feel blindsided when that news is delivered compassionately and clearly.
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9. Easy ad-hoc events
Ad-hoc changes are another great opportunity to communicate company culture and engage with employees. If an employee adds a spouse to insurance, gets married, needs maternity leave, or adds a child, those are openings for your company to let them know you value their family and their contribution as part of the culture.
In addition, you can make those changes less stressful by finding a system that allows for clear, easy-to-find action steps around ad hoc events.
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10. Purposeful off-boarding
During off-boarding, the best practice is to focus on the why of your company in designing your processes, regardless of why an employee is leaving.
Think about the tone and the information you’ve given them up until that point and try to maintain that level of integrity, openness, and humanity during off-boarding.
If, long ago, you spent time welcoming your ex-employee to the organization, don’t revert to black-and-white memos in a dark room with a lawyer in the corner.
Find a system that allows you to remain true to your organization at this critical point.
Rhamy Alejeal and his wife, Elizabeth, are the owners of Poplar Financial, a provider of integrated, automated HR processes. Rhamy and his team work with hundreds of companies across the United States, helping them learn how to stop pushing paper and start prioritizing people. In addition, Rhamy serves on the Federal Reserve’s Industry Council on Healthcare, providing insights into employer costs and how they affect businesses in today’s marketplace. He holds a bachelor’s degree in financial economics and an MBA with a focus on economics.
This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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