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Lift Internal | Revitalizing B2E Communication
LiftInternal.com
LIFT INTERNAL | Revitalizing B2E Communication | LiftInternal.com Copyright © 2014 Page 1 of 6
WHITE PAPER: THE 7 SECRETS OF EFFECTIVE B2E COMMUNICATION
Effective B2E communication doesn’t happen without effort. However, focus on the right things and
the effort becomes more cost-effective and the results improve.
There are seven “right things” you can focus on. They are referred to as “secrets” because not many
organizations – and the B2E communicators within them – pay attention to them with consistency.
Therefore, they become the secrets to creating outstanding B2E content which contributes to positive
employee experiences and efficient use of time.
This document explores:
The definition of B2E communication
What “effective” communication means
The mindset needed for effective B2E communication
The cost benefit of creating effective B2E content
Each of the 7 Secrets
Putting it all together
Definition of “B2E”
Business-to-employee (B2E) communication is any content that is generated by the organization and
actively or passively delivered to all employees. It is the part of internal communication that focuses
on organization-wide communication, not team or individual communication.
It can be delivered in many ways such as: email, intranets, town hall meetings, posters, video and
various print documents.
Definition of “Effective”
In the case of B2E communication, it means employees, on a broad scale, have the information and
context they need to be successful at their work and feel a connection to the company they work for.
Effective B2E communication creates a positive experience for employees every time they consume
content created by the organization.
All this results in more effective use of everyone’s time, reducing costs and increasing productivity.
Mindset is Key
Communicating with employees isn’t new and traditions can run deep. However, in today’s world,
people are being continually trained to consume information differently than they did even ten years
ago. The first and most pivotal step toward effective B2E communication, is accepting that
employees’ expectations and habits are changing.
People increasingly want content to be concise, appealing, relevant and available to them when they
need it. They have less time and/or patience for content that doesn’t “speak to them”. Employees are
no exception.
The 7 Secrets create a
framework that helps
build good habits while
allowing for flexibility to
suit ay organization’s
size, culture and
resources.
The 7 Secrets of Effective B2E (Business-to-Employee) Communication
LIFT INTERNAL | Revitalizing B2E Communication | LiftInternal.com
WHITE PAPER: THE 7 SECRETS OF EFFECTIVE B2E COMMUNICATION
Unfortunately, there are still companies, especially those established before 2000, that maintain a top-
down approach to their B2E communication. They use corporate language and deliver the content
when and how it suits them, not their employees.
The good news is that those same companies have started shifting their mindset about customers.
CEOs and senior leaders across industries and sectors have created strategies, processes and
tactics that put their customers’ needs and expectations at the forefront. Everyone benefits.
The same thing happens when companies shift their mindset about B2E communication and adapt
strategies, processes and tactics to serve employees’ expectations and needs. Everyone benefits.
The Cost Benefit
Employees spend time consuming and absorbing the content the organization generates. That can’t
change. However, the amount of time spent can.
Effective B2E communication reduces or eliminates the time employees will spend on:
Re-reading content in order to understand it
Talking to colleagues about how they feel about the content, delivery or both
Asking their manager or the area that produced the content (e.g. HR or IT) to clarify the
content and/or required actions
Doing rework because they didn’t read the content in the first place
brief example using conservative assumptions
Scenario: An email is sent to all employees advising them of an upgrade to the phone system.
The company has 100 employees.
By implementing the 7 Secrets, the company would save $2,250. With one email. Multiply that
by the scores of B2E content that is generated each year and the amount of time and money saved is
substantial.
Another advantage of implementing the 7 Secrets is the increased efficiency a reusable framework
offers. The time spent upfront commonly remains flat yet the quality of the outcomes increases.
Ineffective B2E Communication
Effective B2E Communication
Time spent on reading, understanding, asking questions, chatting with colleagues, dealing with feelings of confusion, frustration or apathy
30 minutes 15 minutes
Cost per employee based on average hourly cost of $90. (Includes benefits and executive salaries)
$45 $22.50
Cost of one email to 100 employees $4,500 $2,250
Copyright © 2014 Page 2 of 6
LIFT INTERNAL | Revitalizing
WHITE PAPER: THE 7 SECRETS OF EFFECTIVE B2E COMMUNICATION
Secret #1 - Know (really, truly) your audience
“Know your audience” is a time-honored rule of communication for a reason. It’s critical to
successfully helping people want to pay attention what you’re saying then understand what you’re
saying.
The mistake often made with B2E communication is that the audience is given a group label of “all
employees”. The assumption then follows that the audience is homogenous. It’s not.
Within every organization, no matter the size or industry, there are many segments that make up the
“all employee” audience. There are dozens of lenses through which to see the segments. The ones
that provide the most immediate benefits are:
Access and comfort with technology
Location
Job function
Age group
Level of autonomy
Employment status
Level of authority
Understanding the segments within an organization leads to comprehensive view of the entire
employee base. It enables communicators to make better decisions about communications strategies
and tactics and increase the effectiveness of both.
The intent of segmenting isn’t to create customized content for each segments. That wouldn’t be
efficient and isn’t necessary. The intent is to keep the expectations, needs and constraints of each
segment in mind so that they are addressed in universal communication.
Secret #2 - Structure content from the front-line up
Traditional B2E communication uses a “top-down” structure, which implies that the organization’s
needs are greater than those of the audience.
Possibly the single-most effective way to increase the effectiveness of B2E content is to use a “front-
line up” or “employee-centric” structure. That makes it easier to address the ever-present and silent
question “What does this mean to me?” right away.
It also makes content – regardless of format or delivery channel feel contemporary and empathetic.
When content starts with the impact on employees their attention has been captured. They are then
far more likely to continue reading/viewing than if the “what it means to me” content is part way
through or at the end.
The result is that
employees feel respected
and are more likely to
read/view the content.
Copyright © 2014 Page 3 of 6
LIFT INTERNAL | Revitalizing B2E Communication | LiftInternal.com
WHITE PAPER: THE 7 SECRETS OF EFFECTIVE B2E COMMUNICATION
Secret #3 - Think push and pull
Content that is delivered by both push and pull channels expands its reach and practical usefulness
for all employee segments.
Push communication happens when there is something the organization wants
employees to know. It’s delivered based on the organization’s timing needs.
Common push channels are email, personalized mail, posters, display cabinets
and town hall meetings.
Pull communication happens when the employee acquires content based on their
individual needs and timing.
Common pull channels are intranets, user guides and handbooks.
There is often cross-over between the two types. For example, an employee may save an email for
future reference so it could be said that they are pulling the content. However, it’s the original method
of delivery that determines whether something is push or pull.
Making a habit of creating both push and pull content with every communication does more than
serve employees well, enabling them to use their time well. It also provides a sense of empowerment,
a key factor to positive employee experiences.
Secret #4 - Use clear and approachable language
Employees like to be treated as people, not human resources. They will respond more favourably to
content that:
Uses clear, plain and familiar language, not formal, corporate language
Has an approachable tone
Speaks to them, not at them
Varies sentence length
Is to the point
There’s an odd phenomenon that happens quite often. As soon as words that represent an
organization start going on paper, formality and detachment start to set in. It’s as if there’s a belief that
any content from the organization must be serious.
The opposite is true, if the goal is to communicate more effectively with employees. It is powerful and
engaging when content is professional in a business casual way, making it sound more “real” and
“human”.
Secret #5 - Keep content relevant
It’s human nature that can make a person gloss over news about conflict and disease in faraway
places yet read every word about a burglary in their neighbourhood. People will put more energy into
learning about things that affect or threaten their own well-being, daily routines and future or that of a
loved one.
Copyright © 2014 Page 4 of 6
LIFT INTERNAL | Revitalizing B2E Communication | LiftInternal.com
WHITE PAPER: THE 7 SECRETS OF EFFECTIVE B2E COMMUNICATION
Translated to the world inside an organization, employees will make quick assessments of all content
to determine its relevance to their well-being, daily routine or future (or that of close colleagues). As
soon as it starts to be (or seem) irrelevant to them, they’ll generally stop reading/viewing.
It’s important to note that relevance includes the way the information is created and delivered. For
example, a twenty-year-old might dismiss a video of the CEO talking to the camera for two minutes
but embrace an infographic that essentially conveys the same information. The opposite might be true
for a sixty-year old. (This is also an example of how Secret #1 makes implementing the other Secrets
easier.)
The communications objective must be considered too. Objectives are often misunderstood with B2E
communication.
An example of objective that would likely lead to ineffective communication: “Tell employees about the
new product launch”. An objective this vague and transactional allows all kinds of unimportant and
minor points to make their way into the content.
An effective version of that objective might be “Give employees three statements about the new
product that they can share with customers, family and friends.”
Keeping an eye on the communications objective will help reduce noise and make the content easier
to understand and put into action.
Secret #6 - Encourage feedback
There will always be questions and comments. People like to share their opinions and are
increasingly expecting that they can do so. When there’s at least one clear way for employees to
voice their questions or concerns, the effectiveness of the content increases.
Every piece of content whether email, news article, poster, handbook, presentation or video should
include a simple way for employees to ask questions or voice concerns.
That mechanism for interacting doesn’t have to be elaborate. Options include:
Including the email address and/or phone number of the person or team that can respond
Using a third-party survey tool to protect anonymity
Adding a comments field to intranet articles and other content
The key is to make it part of all content and to maintain a process for gathering and responding to the
feedback.
Regardless of the mechanism used, if it’s easy for employees to use, they will. Then company-wide
conversations about topics important to employees can happen and the overall effectiveness of B2E
communication increases even more.
Before creating any content, it’s imperative to know
what needs to be achieved.
Copyright © 2014 Page 5 of 6
LIFT INTERNAL | Revitalizing B2E Communication | LiftInternal.com
WHITE PAPER: THE 7 SECRETS OF EFFECTIVE B2E COMMUNICATION
Secret #7 - Make the most of managers as a channel
Effective B2E communication has frequent and consistent reinforcement. One way to achieve that is
by creating the push and pull content explored in Secret #3.
Another way is to use managers as a channel.
This can’t be the sole method of delivering content. However, as reinforcement, it’s powerful. The
reason lies in the nature of the relationship between managers and their direct reports. There’s a
common wisdom that says Employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers. There is some
truth to that saying because managers have a tremendous amount of influence over an employee’s
experience.
The same is true when it comes to information. If an employee hears their manager reinforcing
information and messages that originally came from the organization, they are more likely to truly
absorb it and take appropriate action.
Organizations that provide managers will the support they need to be that additional channel have
more sustainably effective B2E communication.
Putting It Together
The combination of an employee-centric mindset and putting the 7 Secrets into action provides
tremendous long-term and sustainable value to the organization.
Getting to that point takes time. However, it’s not an all-or-nothing situation. Organizations usually
make a habit of one Secret at a time. As long as there’s a commitment to the mindset and 7 Secrets,
the organization will continually see improvements in the effectiveness of their B2E communication.
Copyright © 2014 Page 6 of 6
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