8 Core Netiquette Tips For Effective Employee Communications Via Netiquette IQ

There are very good ways to communicate both to employees and great ways to communicate among employees. All of these practices of Netiquette invariably have positive results/ The article below reflects these!
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 CRAIN'S BLOGS

Michelle Gilbert

The PR Message

September 12, 2014 1:09 PM 

8 tips for effective employee communications

I’ll fill you in on a little secret: Most C-level execs don’t write their own employee communications. While some of you may not be surprised by this revelation, I anticipate others are a bit shocked.

Just as a CEO relies on experts to manage HR, IT or marketing responsibilities, a company’s leader trusts the strongest communicator on the team to develop and implement an effective internal communications strategy. But not every executive has this luxury.

So, whether you’re responsible for employee communications for yourself or another leader, here are eight tips to ensure your messaging resonates with employees:

Less is more: Think about your own email consumption. How do you react to a lengthy message? Like yourself, employees are less apt to read a long email to the end and retain the key message. Before sending something, put it through the “scroll test” to see how far you read before getting distracted. Also, pay attention to paragraph length. Paragraphs that are too long are difficult to read.

Know your audience: Employees who work in the field or a retail setting and are not regularly in front of a computer have limited time to check email. Furthermore, if they’re nonexempt employees they may not be permitted to access work email on mobile devices, making it virtually impossible to keep up with important information. Make sure your communication strategy accommodates the needs of all employees.

“Communi-gage”: There’s no better way to reinforce something important than by communicating in an engaging way. Recognize someone with a hand-written note, voicemail or even quick text message. Host monthly recognition breakfasts to celebrate the highest achievers’ accomplishments and give them the opportunity to interact with key leadership. Use the power of video, if you have the bandwidth and technological capabilities, to reach your audience.

Keep lists updated: According to collaboration software provider Atlassian, businesses waste an average of $1,800 per employee annually on email inefficiencies. Furthermore, each time employees receive an irrelevant communication, they’re less likely to pay attention to what you really want them to see. Hence, it’s worth the investment to regularly update email distribution lists.

Face-to-face communication trumps everything else: The advent of email has impacted how often most leaders get out from behind the desk to deliver or reinforce a message to employees in person. This, combined with other factors such as how scattered employees are across the state, country or even globe, makes it more challenging to communicate face to face. While it may be more time intensive to meet with employees in person and you probably cannot schedule it as often as needed, make the effort to fit it in when possible. It’s far more effective and rewarding.

Let them hear it first from you: The best way to avoid rumors among your employees is to share the news first with them. Good and bad news travel fast and far, so be prepared to answer questions externally as soon as you notify employees.

Don’t put anything in writing that you don’t want to see online: Some experts say there’s no such thing as internal communications anymore because employee leaks happen all too often. As a general rule, be careful what you share in writing.

Leave no room for errors: Regardless of how strong a writer and editor you are, double and triple check your facts, spelling and grammar. Also, make sure a second set of eyes reads everything before it goes out.

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 In addition to this blog, I have authored the premiere book on Netiquette, "Netiquette IQ - A Comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". You can view my profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:

 www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki

 If you would like to listen to experts in all aspects of Netiquette and communication, try my radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.
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