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trong employee communication doesn’t happen by chance. It takes a purposeful, strategic effort by organizations. Even when there is a clear business case, employee comms can still be a persistent challenge for business leaders. When communication flow breaks down, it quietly drains time, resources, and employee engagement. And can even cost organizations up to 507 hours and $54,860 per employee each year, according to research by Axios HQ.
To avoid these repercussions, company leadership should first take a closer look at three assessment concepts we discussed in a previous blog:
- Moving at the speed of trust within an organization
- Navigating communication overload within teams
- Ensuring clarity in messaging
What comes next is laying the groundwork for activating impactful employee communications within the workplace: striking the right tone, building consistency, and establishing the proper dialogue across internal teams.
Let’s explore practical ways to engage your workforce.
Strike the Tone of Your Organization
How an employer communicates has a meaningful impact on how workers see and connect with it. Clear, authentic, and approachable messaging nurtures trust and unity from the top-down. But to strike the tone of an organization, it requires uncovering key insights across channels and employee sentiment.
At Full Tilt, we support many of our clients through assessing and elevating their employee communications. Through our discovery sessions and in-depth conversations with workers at all levels, we identify standout descriptors and messages that reflect daily interactions and the company culture from multiple perspectives. Developing a comprehensive, brand voice guideline has proven to be a recurring success factor – serving as the single source of truth that articulates an organization’s personality and unites messaging across departments.
This strategic framework becomes especially critical during times of transition, such as merging teams or systems after an acquisition.
Laying a Foundation of Consistent, Effective Messaging
Effective employee communications rely on consistency. When messages arrive at a predictable rhythm, trust is built and employees buy-in—especially during complex processes like Open Enrollment.
A well-structured Open Enrollment communication plan provides reassurance for HR and clarity for the employees. Making information both accessible and easy to understand fosters confidence and helps ensure timely completion within this critical window.
Begin with an initial email announcement that outlines the timeline, process, key contacts, and benefit highlights. From there, confirm all remaining tactics are audience-specific and structured for success. Consider incorporating the following:
- Benefits Guide with FAQs: Link within all HR emails and company newsletters for easy access.
- Leadership communication toolkit: Include timelines, resources and reminders of roles and responsibilities during the Open Enrollment period.
- Scheduled email reminders: Send leading up to the final enrollment deadline, reinforcing available benefits to the employees and their dependents.
- Live Town Halls, Q&As, and one-on-ones: Offer opportunities for employees to connect directly with HR for additional support.
Clear, consistent communication lays the groundwork for trust during Open Enrollment and beyond. To sustain that engagement, organizations must take it a step further, tailoring messages that meet employees where they are.
Communicate to Your Workforce
Each employee consumes information differently, and activation depends on recognizing those nuances. All employees, regardless of position or location, are given the same access, though different channels could resonate with certain departments. Frontline workers may appreciate quick, mobile-friendly updates, while office staff might prefer desktop-friendly company portals. This is why an employee communications audit can be impactful for uncovering gaps across multiple departments.
Segmenting communication by audience and choosing the right channel ensures that every employee feels included, informed, and valued—no matter where or how they work. Very similar to how we assess gaps in employer culture, Full Tilt looks at industry-specific communication landscapes. We find the following methods helpful for our manufacturing clients in particular:
- Breakroom TV slides: These are distributed in a condensed, visual format—ideal for hourly staff who may not always have the time to read long form content.
- Regular email communication: Established cadence that includes bi-weekly updates, newsletters, and leadership briefings keeps employees informed. The newsletter is a great engagement tool for highlighting employee appreciation and community involvement.
- QR Code access: Ideal for print flyers, newsletters, and TV slides, this scannable engagement tool gives employee direct access to content or company portals.
- Town Halls: This is an opportunity to bring an entire organization together– monthly or quarterly– to open the door for two-way engagement while introducing a human element to your employee comms.
A consistent, authentic voice with audience-first messaging creates a powerful ecosystem of connection and trust. From simplifying benefits enrollment to aligning leadership messaging, Full Tilt can help bring these practices to life.
Ready to develop a robust employee communications plan that fosters healthy engagement? Let’s talk.
