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Lift Internal | Revitalizing B2E Communication

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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


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


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.




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.




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.




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.


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