Think like a marketer

We’ve all received the following employee feedback when trying to get to the bottom of why our internal comms initiatives haven’t had the desired effect:

• “We get too many emails.”
• “I didn’t think that was relevant to me.”
• “I stopped reading as I already have that information.”

How do you address those comments? One way could be to take a leaf from our marketing colleagues’ playbook: specifically the page on targeting and segmentation.

Marketing can get a bad rep for taking targeting to an unwanted and even creepy level, but at ground level it simply means taking an audience focussed approach to your activities. Instead of sending the same email to every contact in your database, you create different segments based on their location, past purchases, demographics, etc then create tailored communications to appeal specifically to them.

Now, you may say, “We already do that in internal comms - we have office mailing lists.” True, but do you tailor your colleague communications any deeper than location? Most companies would admit they do not, and the reason is usually that internal comms teams simply aren’t blessed with the powerful tools and platforms that most marketing teams have as standard. However, there are ways to get around that… 

Tap into your HR system

Here are some examples of other ways you could create targeted internal communications, using data you likely already hold in your HR system:

• Start date: When it comes to regular activities like annual performance reviews, does everybody need to receive the full communication explaining how and why we do it, or could that just go to employees who’ve joined since the last cycle? Meanwhile, more tenured employees could just receive a reminder or short explanation of anything that’s changed since last time.
• Department: Organisational changes can have a different impact on employees, depending on where they sit within a business. Creating groups and mailing lists for different departments can help you answer employees’ questions and concerns more effectively by thinking specifically about those groups.
• Disabilities: And finally, getting to know your employees’ requirements from an accessibility standpoint will allow you to make your communications more inclusive. For example, if you discover that you have a number of colleagues who have visual impairments or would benefit from a sign language interpreter, you can create tailored communications for those groups.

But all of this requires extra effort

True, but once you have completed the initial project of defining those segments and thinking about their needs, the ongoing execution can be done with minimal effort. In marketing, it is said that 80% of a piece of content can be the same, with only the remaining 20% being tailored by segment.

Furthermore, the increased effectiveness of your communications that you should hopefully see will reduce the need for the usual reminders and rethinks that you have to send when the initial comms don’t land well.

Ultimately, if employees are only receiving communications that are relevant to them, it will:

1. reduce the volume, so there’s less chance of things being lost among the noise;
2. make them feel that the company better understands them and has their interests at heart;
3. improve your email open rates and event attendance; and
4. ultimately lead to the internal comms function being seen as a strategic partner instead of just the sender of ‘All Staff’ emails.