Will unplugged front-line employees actually read your cleverly worded email? And could your catchy cafeteria flyer escape notice by the team with its own break room?Careful audience analysis can help you humanize and understand your employees, leading to more effective communication and, ultimately, improved employee engagement.Most employees are exposed to up to 10,000 messages a day. In fact, the average worker is checking work and personal messages 6.3 hours per day. Give your communication a chance to grab your audience’s eight-second attention span by “tuning in” to their preferences.Where to Start: Identify All AudiencesStart with your audience—not your message. Audience analysis is a crucial first step in internal communications planning. During that process, you want to ensure you are reaching your employees where they currently are.Larger organizations tend to release news through mass email distributions and front-line communications while failing to look across all the places and media where employees are active. Delivering communications in an age of content saturation requires reaching people in a more targeted way.For example, one Gagen client—one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems—was trying to shape and influence the employee experience for their workforce of 60,000+ employees in roles as diverse as physicians, nurses, executives, people managers, and other caregivers—all in different locations and on different schedules. The necessity to differentiate among each audience’s needs was clear.Before jumping to tactics, start by first naming your audiences. Ask yourself:
- Who needs to know or understand?
- Who needs to be involved?
- Who will be affected?
- Identify preferences. What do they like?
- Call out triggers. What keeps them up at night?
- Clarify outcomes. What do you want them to know, feel, do, or overcome?
- Find out what’s in it for them. How will you make their lives better?
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