A CEO’s guide to employee communications Part II (2 of 3)

A satirical look at employee communications…

When you first started your company, the only name on the org chart was yours.  Communication was easy but it made for really lousy office parties.

But then something magical happened.  Your success spawned a dotted line under your name on the org chart…then another…and another…until you had something we in the biz like to call “employees.”

The more employees you have the more important it is to get out in front of them and communicate to them.  In part one of A CEO’s guide to employee communications, we discussed audience.  Now let’s take a look at your message. 

Message basics
There are many types of communications you can write, but for the most part the basics for any message are all the same.

Here are a few tips:

Do

• Keep it simple – Don’t try to write like someone else.  You don’t have to use $10 words to get your point across.
• Think short – Short sentences and paragraphs are easier to read and understand.
• Make it personal – Write in the first person.  Don’t be afraid to use words like I, you, and we when talking to your employees.
• Clean up your copy – If you don’t have a communication staff person, ask someone you trust to read through your piece and watch for grammar and punctuation typos.

Don’t

• Don’t use acronyms without defining them first – For example, on a first reference say, “Rapid Response Team (RRT).” After that you can use the acronym, RRT.

• Don’t go overboard with humor – A little light humor is okay just make sure it is appropriate for the tone of your message. Avoid sarcasm.

• Don’t fall into corporate speak mode – Words like execute, utilization, and paradigm shift will make your employees’ eyes glaze over.
  • Stinky Bad: By better utilizing existing resources, we will deliver on our executables.
  • Pretty Good: We will work with our venders to find new ways to give our customers what they want.
• Don’t write one message and then stop – Regular communication is important. Decide how often you will write your message (weekly, monthly, quarterly), and then stick to it.

The most important thing to remember when writing your message is to answer these two questions:

• What do your employees want to know?
• What do your employees need to know?

If your message does that, the rest is easy.

Next up in Part III …Choosing your communication vehicle: Blogs, e-mails, and newsletters! Oh my!

Advertisement