C-Suite Corner -- Lesson 1: Communications
C-Suite Communications: How many times do I have to tell them?
Feedback from every Engagement Survey says that employees want more communications. I do town-halls, keep my door open, put information in our newsletter, and it’s never enough! What more do they want? Does this sound familiar to you?
The reality is that people want and need more communication than most leaders think is necessary. Just telling them once and expecting everyone to understand (and act on) the key goals and objectives does not work. Period.
People remember things that get repeated. How often? Researchers have found that a message needs to be communicated between 7 and 30 times to be remembered ... and more is always better. There really is no shortcut. And the overwhelmingly positive outcome will be getting the right behaviors and the right results.
Interestingly, employee engagement is impacted by many factors. Organizational communication is one of them. What if, by simply increasing your communication frequency, profitability and productivity soared across the organization while reducing safety incidents? (Gallup 2020)
At Excelerated Leadership Partners, we tell leaders to share their message and then share it again and again until employees are tired of hearing the same thing over and over. This approach may sound torturous to you, but it is the only way to ensure that your Values, Mission, Goals, and Objectives are clearly understood (and acted upon) at every level in your organization.
We know that some of you are thinking I don’t have time for all that communication. Given the data, the reality is you don’t have time NOT to communicate. Effective messaging may be the best use of your time to ensure success toward your goals. Don’t assume that people know what you are thinking, and don’t assume that you only need to say it one time!
If you would like to engage in a 30-minute (no fee) session to learn more about how to better communicate and engage your organization, please contact Excelerated Leadership Partners today: robin@elpadvantage.com. We will help you create an internal communications plan using several proven methods.
What message should YOU be communicating every day?