Once your company grows beyond the number of employees you can casually keep track of in your own brain – and maybe before that – it’s wise to consider your own workforce as an audience needing and deserving special attention.
Obviously, you need to communicate basic company-wide information such as changes to the vacation policy or health care plan, and maybe a poster on the cork board in the lunchroom or locker room is adequate for that. But if your goal of communicating with employees is to foster a more stable, loyal and long-term workforce, one that respects your corporate values and reflects them in their work, you’re going to have to stretch a little.
For example, how do you celebrate big news like a merger or winning a significant new contract or client?
Depending on how large, widespread – and creative – your organization is, the answer could be anything from a standard email notice or cheese and crackers in the conference room to companywide newsletters — one company we know put out a special edition designed to look like a copy of USA Today. Graphic posters, banners, press releases, and items like themed caps and T-shirts mailed to employees’ home addresses can dramatically influence how workers see, approach and value their jobs.
The same techniques may be usefully employed in communicating corporate values – such as those you portray in your advertising. If your ads are all about speed, reliability or customer service, use creative communications to encourage employees to match those values in the performance of their jobs.
One thing you can do to help insure that is to make it a point to share with your employees the communications you plan for the outside world. If you’re publishing a new corporate brochure, make sure your employees get a copy. Why not? They deserve to know what you’re saying about them. The same is true of your advertising or PR. It’s easy to email a press announcement to employees at the same time it’s dropped to the media or to share links to your new online ads.
Communicate with your employees. Treat them like the team members they are, and they’ll reward you with a stronger brand.