Corporate communications don’t always reach field employees who aren’t sitting in front of computers. To fill the gap, all sorts of home-grown field communications tend to spring up, driven by well-intentioned managers trying to keep their teams informed. But these managers aren’t usually professional communicators. Although they’re filling a real need, it can be the Wild West out there, without the benefit of corporate support — or even brand guidelines.
Here are five ways to lasso those rogue communications:
First make sure you’ve clearly articulated your company narrative, from vision and values to your employer brand. What is your company here to do, and how do all the divisions and departments support that mission?Even more importantly, explain how the various job roles in the field contribute to the success of the company.
You need someone in charge of field communications, even if that’s not their primary role. They’ll need to lay down the law on issues ranging from volume of communications to brand guidelines. This person is also responsible for resolving conflict and building consensus across the business. Without someone taking a bird’s eye view, you may overwhelm field employees with too many different communications.
You can’t run every communication at the same time and expect employees to pay attention. Use a communications calendar to schedule the flow of messaging — and to make sure important messages are sustained over time. Vision and values, for instance, should probably be included in field communications across the entire year. By spacing out communications, you help avoid overwhelming employees.
You could use people on the ground in all your audiences to create a steady stream of fresh and relevant content. Give them the training and support they need and keep them on track with regularly scheduled meetings. For example, you might provide them with monthly slides of corporate messaging for digital signage, and task them with creating additional slides with local content.
Provide them with the tools they need to develop communications more easily, and to keep them on brand. You can elevate the professionalism of everything from newsletters to posters with templates and how-to guides. But make sure those templates are simple and accessible. If it’s too hard to find or to use the templates, those field communicators are likely to do their own thing instead.
