Are your employees ignoring your communications? Find out why and take action!
You invest a lot of time and effort on your internal communications, but you feel that your employees are not reading your messages? This is a well-known frustration for companies, and luckily you are not on your own!
Newsletters ignored, meetings where minds wander, intranet left abandoned… Why don’t your employees seem engaged? And above all, how can you make your communications a lever for motivation and cohesion? We explain everything, with simple and effective solutions to get your messages across effectively.
Why don’t your employees read (or listen to) your communications?
Imagine you are in a crowded room, and everyone is talking at the same time. How do you get someone’s attention? Difficult, isn’t it? This is exactly what happens in your company when it comes to internal communication. Your employees are overwhelmed with information: emails, meetings, notifications… The result? They end up ignoring it all.
Information overload is not the only reason why your messages are not read or heard. There are other, more subtle reasons that should not be ignored:
– Conflicting priorities: If employees do not share the same priorities as you, it is difficult to get their attention. What is urgent or important for the company is not necessarily important for them, especially if no one has explained why.
– Lack of relevance: If the message does not seem to concern them directly, why would they bother to read it? Content that is too company-centric and not focused enough on the concrete impact for them is likely to be ignored.
– Inappropriate media: A long and dense email to announce a major change? Unlikely to work.
– Lack of trust: If your employees think you are withholding information from them or if they do not believe that their feedback will be taken into account, they will disengage.
So how do you capture their attention and get them involved?
Today, the way we consume information has changed radically. Social networks have transformed our habits: we search with hashtags, we are interested in content thanks to catchy slogans, we interact via comments, and we zap as soon as authenticity is not there!
These new rules of the game don’t just apply to our personal lives. They also influence the way your employees stay informed and interact in the company. Take inspiration from social media practices to spread your messages with impact:
– Use video for inspiring messages: On social media, short, punchy videos are key. A video of the CEO explaining the company’s current challenges will have much more impact than an email. Use this format for storytelling, to share a vision or to bring general topics to life.
– Adopt catchphrases that make people want to read: Employees don’t have time to guess whether a message concerns them or not. A good catchphrase should give them an immediate and clear idea of what they will find in it. A vague title like “Procedure update” is likely to be ignored, while “3 changes that will simplify your daily life” will naturally arouse more interest.
– Create spaces for interaction and dialogue: On social networks, commenting and liking help engage the audience. In your company, create similar spaces for your employees to ask questions, share their ideas or react to information. An internal platform with an FAQ system or real-time polls can work wonders.
– Be authentic and transparent: The most popular content is often the most authentic. Be transparent, show what goes on behind the scenes, and don’t be afraid to share the challenges as well as the successes. Your employees will thank you for it.
– Make information easily accessible: On social media, everything is designed to be easy to consume: videos lasting just a few seconds, clear infographics, one-sentence summaries. Do the same in your company! For practical information (summaries, checklists, procedures), choose short and easy-to-read formats. And above all, centralize them on a platform accessible to all, so that everyone can find them with a single click.
The key is adaptation!
For a message to find its audience, it must be delivered via the right medium, depending on its urgency, its complexity and its target audience:
– Use live communication for important announcements: For strategic changes or emergency situations, nothing beats direct communication. Organize face-to-face or videoconference meetings to announce the news. This allows you to show the importance of the message and answer questions immediately.
– Be clear and accessible for practical information: For procedural updates, opt for easy-to-consult media. Short, targeted emails with clear titles and bulleted lists are often very effective. But be careful not to drown your employees in an avalanche of messages. Another solution is to centralize this information on an internal platform or intranet that is easily accessible and regularly updated.
– Listen and act on surveys and feedback: Anonymous online surveys are a great way to gather honest opinions. But for it to work, you have to show that the feedback is being taken into account. Share the survey results and the concrete actions that follow from them, and you will gain your employees’ trust.
Conclusion: Transform communication into engagement
If your employees don’t read your internal communications, it’s not necessarily because they’re not interested, but perhaps because the message isn’t reaching them in the right way. Communicating with your teams is not just about sending emails, newsletters or organizing meetings. It’s about creating a bond, inspiring trust, and giving meaning to what you share.
Adapt your strategy to the context and the audience, involve your managers and make the information accessible and engaging to improve the impact of your internal communication. By borrowing the codes of social networks, you can transform your communications into real levers of engagement. And that is the magic of well-thought-out internal communication!
Managers are your valuable allies in disseminating messages and maintaining fluid and reassuring communication. If you would like to know more about how your managers can help you strengthen the cohesion and commitment of your teams, read our article on the subject here.
So, are you ready to take up the challenge?