Hard to reach employees

What do we mean when we talk about hard to reach employees? They can be hard to reach geographically, emotionally or technologically. Engage for Success ran a tweet chat recently with the great and good from the world of internal communication asking just this. Below you’ll find some of top tips from the chat. If you fancy seeing the whole chat, you can here https://storify.com/Nate2017/efscomms

1. Mix up your channels. Face to face, digital, cascade. Print can still play a big role
2. Make the channel fits the audience, make sure you’re constantly listening and adapting as necessary. Deliver your message in an engaging way, be creative
3. Mystery shopper ring rounds. Ask if they’ve heard of X, what do they remember, what gaps are there
4. Use real employees telling real stories
5. Don’t just check they’ve heard, check they understand and what they are expected to DO
6. Make them ‘local’ not corporate. Provide the key messages but enable managers to deliver as appropriate to their teams – Think ‘global/local/me’. Discover the true influencers in your organisation, then use them to help reach employees
7. Video briefing or vlogs are useful in getting messages out. Help present Chinese whispers and misinterpretation
8. Start a Managers’ Q&A where they ask questions directly, via yammer, by email. Record it and share it afterwards