by bswift Insights

Employees want to hear directly from leaders—they want straight answers, clear direction, and context, and no corporate jargon or platitudes. Most leaders get it at least halfway right. They know communicating to employees matters, but they still struggle with motivating and engaging employees in ways that resonate.

Internal communicators can help leaders by establishing a strong leader communication program. While every organization has its own challenges and communication needs, these five strategies can help you take leader communication to the next level:

1. Establish clear leader communication roles

An effective leadership communication program has a clear purpose and defined roles for each level of leaders in your organization. To start, think about communication roles for the CEO and the senior leadership team that reports to the CEO.

CEOs set direction. Senior leaders translate that vision into what it means in a concrete, actionable way from day-to-day. For example, the CEO will share the annual priorities, and members of the senior leadership team will articulate what their departments and teams need to do to meet those priorities.

Get leaders on board with their roles by facilitating a workshop to ensure they understand their specific communication role and how to fulfill it.

2. Make the company strategy memorable

When we measure employees’ knowledge of their company’s strategy, we often see that employees are aware of the strategy, but they don’t understand their role in it. Leaders—because they live and breathe the organization’s strategy—often assume the connections are obvious. But they aren’t.

Start by helping leaders see the strategy from the employees’ point of view. Then, work with leaders to simplify the strategy and connect the dots so employees better understand how they contribute. Here are a few steps to get there:

• Simplify: Try to boil down the main concept of the strategy to a few words.
• Design: Bring the strategy to life with visuals by creating a one-page overview that leaders can refer to in meetings.
• Collaborate: Involve employees in discussions about the strategy. This builds understanding and buy-in.
• Distribute: Share a printed version that employees can hang in their workspace. Make it really memorable by printing a version of the strategy on company swag like mouse pads, notepads, and water bottles.
• Reinforce: Coach leaders to connect day-to-day topics back to the strategy. For example, “This project supports that priority in our strategy.”

3. Use channels that drive dialogue for employee engagement

Employees want to interact with leaders—from asking the CEO questions to sharing ideas with the department heads. When trying to encourage more two-way communication between leaders and employees, align the channel with the group. After all, what works well for desk-based employees may not be the best tool for employees who work in labs or manufacturing.

Here are five effective ways to engage employees with leader communication:

• Short interactive posts on social media or internal platforms: Use tools like LinkedIn, Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc., to share quick updates and encourage employees to leave comments or reactions.
• Coffee chats or snack breaks: Host small, informal conversations where employees have an easier time speaking up. (Bonus points if it’s over coffee or ice cream, popcorn or energy bars/drinks
• Medium size meetings: Facilitate a group exercise to tackle a real issue.
• Large group forums: Build in polls and provide plenty of time for Q&A at all-staff meetings.
• Impromptu huddles: A quick five-minute conversation during a shift change or the start of a day can go a long way with employees.

4. Have leaders share content that employees actually want

What’s the best way to create content that matters to your employees? Ask them. Use surveys or a poll to identify topics employees are interested in hearing about from their leaders. Then, integrate those topics into leadership communication. For example, we conducted a survey for a client where half of the employees said they wanted to hear more about issues affecting their industry. As a result “industry trends” was added to every town hall agenda.

When covering topics that didn’t make the employee wish list, coach leaders to make it personal and describe why it’s important to the organization. Employees are more likely to engage when leaders share:

• Their take on industry news.
• Personal stories related to the topic—this could be about their family, hobbies, work experiences, or career path.
• Lessons learned from tough decisions.
• Reflections on experiences and conversations that shaped key decisions.

Studies show that insights like these are inspiring and helpful to employees. Plus, when a leader speaks from the heart, they create connection and build trust.

Remember to employee preferences on leader communication through pulse surveys and polls and adjust accordingly.

5. Celebrate your wins—big and small

It’s no secret that employee engagement levels are higher when leaders recognize their work. Yet recognition may unintentionally get lost in the shuffle with so many other responsibilities. But it’s vital to prioritize recognizing employees’ contributions. Recognition is an essential part of improving engagement and overall satisfaction at work.

Internal communicators can help leaders embed recognition moments into existing employee communication channels.

Here are a few ways to recognize employees:

• Add a recognition moment on department or team meeting agendas.
• Have the CEO or a leader highlight individual or team contributions in company blogs, newsletters, or all-staff emails.
• Mail cards from the CEO to employees’ homes to celebrate a milestone—from an impressive service anniversary to winning an award.
• Send a “thank you” or “job well done” email from the CEO to individual members of a team behind a major success.

Helping leaders create effective communication is possible with these proven strategies. Leaders—and employees—will thank you. By implementing these strategies, organizations can experience numerous benefits. Effective leadership communication leads to improved employee engagement, increased productivity, and enhanced organizational alignment.

Frequently Asked Questions About Leadership Communication

Q: Why does leadership communication matter so much?

A: Because leadership sets the tone for your organization. When leaders are clear and consistent, employees trust them. They understand where the company is headed and how their work makes it possible. That sense of connection makes employees feel valued, and gives company culture a boost. And that trickles down as motivation, loyalty, and productivity.

Q: What if a leader is hesitant about communicating?

A: It happens more often than you’d think. The trick is to take the pressure off. Start by defining the leadership communication role. Lay it all out: what they need to say, when, and to whom—then back that up with time to practice. Also remind them to speak from the heart—they shouldn’t sound scripted. Sharing short personal stories or insights makes it more authentic and relatable and helps the message land.

Q: How do you make a company strategy stick with employees?

A: Don’t take employees through a 40-slide deck. Have leaders communicate a few simple phrases that define the pillars of the strategy. Share visual aids with employees, like an infographic, a one-page overview, a desk card, maybe even something fun like branded notebooks. And keep looping back to those strategy pillars in everyday conversations. When employees get to talk about what the strategy means for their own work, they’ll remember it better and understand how they contribute to the bigger picture.

Q: How do you encourage two-way communication with leadership?

A: Fostering two-way communication between leaders and employees starts with choosing the right channels—the ones where employees already are. Desk-based employees may prefer digital platforms where they can comment or drop questions right from their computer. Frontline teams might respond better to quick huddles or a coffee break with a leader. Consider interactive elements like live polls for town halls or Q&A sessions, too.

Q: What are some fresh ways to recognize employees?

A: If you want to get better at recognizing employee contributions, build it right into your regular communications. Leaders can set aside a moment at the top of team meetings to thank people. The company intranet, or even the blog, can be used to spotlight employees. If you really want leaders to make an impression, have them send a handwritten note or a card. Those kinds of small personal touches tend to make an outsized impact. And don’t underestimate the power of a quick, genuine thank-you email.

Q: How do you actually measure whether leadership communication is working?

A: If you want to really understand if leader communication is resonating, run a short survey or poll. Ask for honest feedback from employees. Keep tabs on how many people show up to town halls, ask questions on internal platforms, or engage with your leader’s posts. Double down on what works, adjust the approach in other areas, and try again. A continuous cycle of feedback and action is what keeps internal communication sharp.

A version of this was originally published on talentculture on August 21, 2023: https://talentculture.com/5-steps-to-improve-leadership-communication/