There’s nothing worse than executives who fail to communicate their vision to employees. If a team doesn’t share a strong company vision, it’s easy to lose focus and direction and a company will struggle to successfully implement its business strategy.
That’s why it’s essential that managers create an authentic and relevant vision of the company’s strategic goals. The next step is communicating this vision to the entire team to encourage attitudes that advance this strategy and improve the overall results.
Here are 6 strategies to help your message effectively reach your employees and boost their output.
1. Keep It Simple, But Meaningful
Why does your organization exist? Every company has a deep reason for its operation, and it usually has a huge impact on the decision-making processes at executive levels.
But how often is this reason communicated to employees?
You can call it your central values, mission statement, or your purpose as a company. Whatever you decide to call it, the important thing is that you make it relevant to your employees. That’s how you engage them with the tasks at hand and the company as a whole.
This strategy-specific message should be at the core of all of your communications. Make it simple and easy to understand. Help employees embrace it and get inspired in their daily efforts to realize your vision.
2. Develop A Framework For Communication
When communicating your vision to employees, you should rely on messages that are meant to inspire and educate them.
Choose an inspiring message that showcases the progress your team has made and how it helps your company achieve its goals. By introducing new strategic initiatives or significant accomplishments in this framework, you’ll make employees feel like they’re all working towards the same goals.
You want to leave a specific impression about the company on the employees. Create a lasting memory. That’s how you change focus, build optimism, and prepare your team for future decisions.
But your messages should also educate employees. Once you energize your team with a series of inspiring communications, it’s time to explain your strategic plans for implementing decisions. That’s the best way to present your vision as valid.
Offer detailed information on how your strategy can be implemented in day-to-day activities. Your company’s purpose as well as how employees can work towards this goal should be crystal clear. Repeat your message to increase the understanding of your vision.
3. Listen To Your Employees
Communicating your purpose is most effective when done in dialogue, not a monologue. Seek employees’ opinions and thoughts about your processes, especially before making decisions that will affect their work. Fewer surprises like this lead to greater engagement and productivity. Encourage employees to provide their input and to help you make the best possible decisions.
You should share information and discuss the company’s strategic vision in small group sessions. By including employees in this process, you give them the opportunity to feel heard and to collaborate with you. It will give them a sense of ownership, and encourage them to consider new ways of achieving the company’s vision.
4. Stop Playing The ‘Corporate Executive’ Role
Leave the corporate speak at the door and put on your ‘real person’ hat.
People aren’t inspired by corporate communications. These messages simply don’t feel genuine and often sound as if a robot wrote them.
If you want your messaging to resonate with your employees, be authentic. Make sure your communications are consistent. Help employees share your perspective on key challenges and opportunities. They’ll be happy to pursue the same direction if you offer them meaning and value.
5. Double Communication Efforts During Periods Of Rapid Growth And Change
If your company is undergoing a period of rapid change, you need to boost your communication efforts.
It often happens that you communicate your vision, and then shortly after, you change it. Change is essential in today’s fast-paced economy, but employees need to be able to keep up with values that evolve.
Your team is aware that in order to succeed, they need to adjust to changing plans and circumstances. But they don’t like to be surprised about them. Make it your priority to give timely updates when your plans change.
6. Employ The Power Of Storytelling
Nothing engages our attention like a good story. You can shower your team with exciting facts and figures, but don’t count on employees to remember them within a week or two.
However, if you rely on stories and experiences, you can be sure that they’ll add a touch of humanity to the company and help employees relate to your strategy.
Offer real-life examples of progress and potential shortfalls. Encourage your team to share stories as well. Use these stories to build a dialog that boosts the understanding of the behaviors and mindset you’d like to implement at your organization.
That’s how you build a culture that’s capable of realizing your vision.
Key takeaways
Most executives are aware that it’s their employees who carry the company culture and realize the company’s strategic goals.
Internal communication is essential if you want to ensure that your team understands and shares your vision and idea of progress. That’s why you should be willing to invest in internal communication campaigns designed to spread your purpose and help employees internalize your strategy.
If you choose not to invest in it, you’re exposing your organization to certain risk. How do you expect to win over your customers if you can’t convince employees about your value proposition?
Ultimately, it’s your employees who communicate the vision to the external world, so engage them and you’ll be on your way to building a company culture that promotes your brand and central strategic mission.
