by Alistair Dunn-Coleman, product director, Benefex
We live in a world where the most valuable thing you own is your own attention. Websites, apps, notifications, collaboration tools, adverts, blogs and more are all jostling to grab the attention of your employees. It’s not just through their computers either, we’re nagging them through their phones too. So, when you are sending out your important company updates or telling people about the upcoming Christmas party, how do you do this in the most effective manner? How do you ensure your message is getting through?
Centralising your communications with OneHubThe first thing you need to do is get control of the communications that are being sent out. You can then understand the amount and the frequency of the messages you want your employees to read. It’s time to move away from the dreaded ‘All employees’ email group - that gets used and abused by all and sundry. Organising what needs to be sent, and when, into a centralised calendar means you know the quantum of what is going on…
This is where Communications Manager comes inYou need control over what you’re telling your employees, and how you keep them up-to-date. Having a centralised, planned calendar gives you that clarity and control. It also gives you oversight of what has been sent. You can plan your communications for the day, week, month or year, and make it visible to everyone in your team. It lets you check if you are overwhelming people, and gives you the opportunity to amalgamate them where necessary. If there’s a message about pension in the morning, why not reference it in your email in the afternoon? It will help your comms join up, and help connect the messages for your employees. You could also think about which messages you don’t want to dilute. These should be standalone to keep them clear of other noise.
Building your brandOnce you’ve got your central calendar, you can use templates to reinforce your internal brand. Employees will recognise where the emails are coming from, and associate the design with important and meaningful messages from you (provided you aren’t spamming them with messages about whose mouldy pineapple has been left in the fridge that is. Although, we do all want to know who that was).
You don’t have to stick to one approach. You could use separate ‘from’ addresses and templates for messages sent from different departments, giving HR, IT, Security, Product, Sales etc. as subtle sub-brand. You’ll be wanting to co-ordinate these communications into your centralised calendar as well.
Are they being read?You need a system to track the open rates and click-through rates of your emails, so you can see if your messages are being read, and by whom. You’ll then be able to track behaviour and learn from the success of your emails. There are a few hints and tips to make it more engaging, which our communications team here can help you out with.
Find out more about Benefex’s Communications Manager here.
