HR Communications
Effective communication leads to well-informed and engaged employees, compliance, and organizational success.
Let us help you get your message across in the best ways to achieve your goals.
Have you ever run into a situation at work where you thought, “Well, that was communicated poorly,” or “If I had known, I could have avoided [insert any number of problems here.]”? Communicating effectively with your employees is not only a vital part of ensuring that everyone is “in the know,” but it also can help you to remain compliant, avoid unnecessary obstacles, and lead to increased employee trust, engagement, and satisfaction.
HR Communications Strategy
When establishing your HR communications strategy, consider the following:
- WHAT you want to share
- WHO needs to know the information
- WHEN they need to know it
- HOW it can be communicated best to achieve your goals
For example, some messaging can be delivered effectively through email, weekly newsletters, or added to your employee handbook, while other messages may require a more personal touch through in-person meetings or videos. It’s important to choose the best communication tool(s) to optimize information receipt and retention.
Clark Schaefer Strategic HR can assist you in developing and streamlining your HR communications and determining which communication vehicles will successfully reach employees and produce your desired results.
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HR Communication Tips
Having an effective HR Communication Plan is key if you want employees to feel valued and to be able to understand and meet your organizations’ goals and expectations. We also need to be realistic because let’s face it – everyone gets busy. It’s easy to miss an email here or there while juggling heavy workloads. Therefore, you may need to communicate a message multiple times and through multiple channels, particularly if you are trying to implement a change (i.e., a new company policy) or action needs to be taken by a specific date (i.e., benefits enrollment). You may also need employees to provide their signatures confirming that they received the information for compliance purposes – another important layer to your organization’s communication strategy.
It’s critical to use the tool(s) that best fit the needs of your message and your audience whether that’s email, the company intranet, employee handbook, company-wide or one-on-one meetings, weekly/monthly newsletters, and more. Whatever method you choose, Strategic HR can help you apply the three C’s of Communication so that your message is Clear, Concise, and Consistent.
How your employee handbook can help or hurt you
An Employee Handbook is a great tool to communicate your organization’s policies to employees. For new employees, it serves as an introduction to the company and should outline your history, mission statement, and values. A handbook will often cover policies and expectations in the areas of employment, compensation, benefits, acceptable employee conduct, and health, safety, and security. It gives employees a quick reference for commonly asked questions such as “When am I eligible for vacation?” or “How do I call in sick?” It can also provide guidance that allows for latitude when handling employee relations matters.
The employee handbook also serves as a legal statement of policy on behalf of the employer. Having your policies in writing and available to all employees helps to ensure that they are adhered to and applied consistently. When constructed well, your handbook can be used as a defense should your organization ever find itself in litigation or contesting an unemployment claim.
Some employers worry that employee handbooks are harmful, but in reality, it is only poorly written handbooks that present a problem. It is true that if your employee handbook is not designed well or used consistently, it can be detrimental to your organization and used against you. However, this can easily be avoided with an expert review. Your handbook is significant for what it includes – as well as what it does not include – so it is critical that it is done right. Best practice calls for an annual review of your handbook to confirm that it is accurate and up to date with current employment laws.
Our HR experts can develop, review, and augment your handbook to ensure that it is appropriately comprehensive and legally aligned with ever-changing legislation. Request a Free Handbook Consultation today!
Is it time to create or update your employee handbook?
How we can help with your HR Communications
Your organization’s ability to communicate effectively with employees is the cornerstone to your overall success. Using the right strategies and tools can help to keep employees informed, engaged, and energized to do their best work. In addition, providing formal and informal ways for employees to share their thoughts and suggestions can help to identify employee concerns and address them before they become big problems.
Examples of our HR Communications support include:
- Conducting Employee Surveys (i.e., new hire surveys, onboarding surveys, engagement surveys, pulse surveys) and Focus Groups to assess employee satisfaction and engagement
- Creating, reviewing, or augmenting Employee Handbooks
- Designing and conducting stay or exit interviews
- Developing Employee / Company Newsletters
- Designing Employee Reward and Recognition Programs
- Creating Job Descriptions
- Designing Employee Suggestion Programs
- Providing the tools and training to run effective one-on-one and group meetings
Worried about employee engagement and retention?
We can design an Employee Survey that leads to the right solutions.
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