Effective Content Drives Communication Goals And Desired Behaviors

Clients consistently tell us they’re not sure they have enough content to share company news or updates on a regular basis with their employees. Certainly, company news and updates are important. But, they make up only a small piece of employee communication content. If you know your communication goals and the behaviors you need to cause, there’s a rich array of content at your fingertips.

In our August 11th post, we talked about planning and the importance of establishing a rhythm and then adding content. How do you do this? In your communication survey, internal key communication themes emerged for improvement; gaps were identified; and new opportunities presented themselves. These key themes, gaps and opportunities reveal your communication goals and the behavioral issues you need to address. Sometimes these are obvious. For example, if your employees consistently say the company’s safety policies aren’t consistently applied at their worksite, then one communication goal is to raise awareness of and educate workers to effectively speak up when safety policies are not followed. However, sometimes employees reveal a symptom, and you must look deeper to make a diagnosis. For example, when employees consistently say they want more face-to-face communication they are communicating they want information from people they trust and a personal connection with them or increased engagement. Therefore, your tactics may include more than town hall meetings to build trust before those gatherings occur.

Build A Content Calendar

Now that you know the priority jobs you need communication to accomplish, such as safety compliance and trust-building, the next step is to build a content calendar for the year. The key to a successful communication program is consistency and repetition of message and a content calendar will ensure you get both.

Build your content calendar in a spreadsheet to easily sort by core issue and frequency to ensure you are getting enough of both.

If you are ready to address your company’s core issues with effective content, and need help identifying them and building a robust content calendar, contact Ward. Our expert internal communication team will guide you through this important process to ensure your employees are getting rich content with the right frequency to drive your company goals and change behaviors for better results.