April 30, 2007

For HR communications, just in time is just right

Remember the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears? One lesson from this tale can be applied to HR communications. To effectively reach employees and achieve your business objectives, make sure your messages are not too early, not too late, but just right.  Apply “just -in-time” principles to your HR communication planning.

“Just-in-time” communication means sending the right material, to the right audience, at the right time. Here’s how you can make your HR communications just right.

• The right material: When you develop your messages, keep the objective of the communication in mind and leave out extraneous content. Ask yourself:

•  What do employees need to know? What is new or changing, and why?

• What do employees need to do and by when? 

• How can they get more information? Keep your initial message brief and give employees detailed information on the intranet to help answer questions.
  

• The right audience: Know your audience then target messages specifically for them. Ask yourself: Who will be impacted by this message?
  

  If you plan to send an e-mail to all employees, identify the audience up front so employees know if the communication affects them. For example, open your message with “A message for all part-time employees.”

• The right time is just in time. Busy, overloaded employees don’t have time to store information that arrives too soon and then retrieve it when they need it. Resist the temptation to send information months before it becomes effective, or your message will get lost in the shuffle.

If a new benefit or program is being introduced, or a previous benefit is being changed, it is customary to give employees 30 days notice. For other types of HR information, make sure employees receive the message when they need it:

• If enrollment materials are being shipped on Friday, send an e-mail that day and explain when employees should expect to receive it.

• If an online survey is launching on Monday, send out the message on Monday.

• Use “heads-up” messages to managers with discretion: often they are even more overloaded than employees.
  

Working to get your communications just right will pay off in the end. Employees will read, understand and take appropriate action--if you give them what they need and when they need it.