Questions about going back to the office have quickly become complex.
Beyond company culture, it’s also an economic question as office space lease decisions need to be made and can be one of the largest costs after payroll.
And the business media isn’t helping the situation by covering employees and companies as a monolith where one approach fits all. This is never the case. Not only are the needs different by individual industry and company, but can be as granular as the division, department, or team level to say nothing of the differences among countries or regions.
Employees have different reasons for their approach to work. For some, working remotely allows them to manage family obligations or avoid a costly commute. For others, working in the office is a chance to build a network, seek mentorship, and be part of a team. Different needs among employees makes a standardized approach difficult.
This is why many companies are implementing hybrid office requirements and flexible workplace policies. These can work well, but they need to be supported with consistent and preferably multi-media communications. But how do you go about doing this?
The development of an annual employee communications calendar with regularly scheduled outreach is a good place to start. This concept is moving from being a best practice among large companies, to medium and even small organizations. The shift back to the office, even if not full time, can be an opportune moment to implement regularly scheduled outreach. This will give employees a sense of consistency and connection during a particularly fraught period.
To make these communications effective, take a cue from your marketing team and utilize different media formats and platforms. For example, video is often underutilized because it is seen as time consuming and expensive, although that’s no longer the case. A good video can go beyond the standard message delivered straight to camera. It can be an interview, sitting in on a leadership meeting, coverage of an important event, and more.
The value of video in internal communications is that it allows you to convey complex information quickly, with the right tone and a sense of authenticity. This can go a long way towards building acceptance around difficult changes within an organization. And even if the leader isn’t great on camera, the fact that they are speaking directly to people will go a long way. Also, production elements can be added to help overcome any on camera shortcomings.
The objective is to give people useful information presented in an interesting way that resonates with them emotionally. If done well, beyond communicating the big decisions, regular video updates can help employees feel more informed, connected, and positive about the organization. In the long run this will contribute to a better company culture and higher retention rate.
John Theriault is owner of Communistrata Strategic Communications.
