There are 5 elements to engaging content.
Write to engage and you’ll increase the chances that busy schedules and short attention spans won’t get in the way of employees reading the content you create.
No matter the content — email, intranet page, newsletter, employee handbook, user guide and more – employees respond when you write to engage.
Relevant
Employee communication is about more than conveying information. It’s about making a connection with employees. To do that, you have to clearly help them see what the information or expected outcome means to them. Be sure to segment your audience before writing so you can really zero in on the relevance.
It’s also valuable to understand how the topic at hand fits into the employees’ perspective on the big picture.
Distinct
Leave the cookie-cutter in the kitchen. Make every bit of employee content stand out — even a little — to increase its appeal. There are several small things you can do that will have big impact:
- Write from an uncommon perspective (e.g. the lead caretaker writes about how the installation of new light bulbs will reduce the company’s hydro costs by 15%)
- Include real quotes from real staff
- Incorporate representative images to create a visual distinction and appeal
Human
Employees respond well to an emotionally honest writing. Resist the pull toward becoming formal and corporate-y when creating B2E content. Think “business casual” and “real” when choosing your language, structure and flow.
For example, if there’s been yet another delay in the launch of a new product, there’s nothing wrong (in fact, there’s everything right) with a Chief Operations Officer saying something like: “Delays like these aren’t the norm for us at Our Great Company. However, we are facing an unusual circumstances with one of our key suppliers. It’s a frustrating situation for everyone involved and is definitely causing stress levels within the Product Launch Team to rise. Still, they remain dedicated to getting this to market as quickly and accurately as possible. At the same time, I am committed to making sure everyone on the team has the resources they need to solve the problem and maintain a healthy work schedule.”
Tip A little bit of humour also makes content feel more “human”. This is particularly useful in “passive” content such as employee handbooks and user guides.
Approachable
Approachable content feels welcoming and non-hierarchical. The single-most valuable thing you can do to make your content more approachable is use everyday language. Keep lingo to a minimum and eliminate buzzwords and corporate phrases.
Also be sure to include a clear way for employees to ask questions and offer comments. It can be an email address, direct phone line or electronic form. Most employees won’t want or need to make use of the contact point but making it available still improves the approachability of the content.
Motivating
Each and every time a person reads or views content provided by their employer, you want them to feel involved or connected to something bigger than themselves. Better yet, that’s what employees want too.
Give your reader/viewer a reason to feel a little more energetic, proud or committed to their work, your business and the company. Offer glimpses of success, use empowering language and offer gentle challenges for healthy internal competition.
Tip Use a light touch. Employees don’t like being hit over the head with rah-rah statements. In fact, too much overt motivating will have an effect opposite to what you’re trying to do.
A closing thought
If you encounter resistance from leadership or other stakeholders when you actively include these elements in your employee communication, here’s a suggestion. Remind them that these same elements are practically de rigeur in customer communication. Why? Because they address what people want from communication. And employees are people too.
