The Restart Play…
Do more with less
As they look to restart their companies, CEOs and CIOs have an internal – and costly – last mile problem. They spend millions on enterprise productivity platforms – and many are failing. Typically, the problem is not the technology. Amplified by the pandemic, the challenge lies in getting employees to adopt new tools. Steeped in the restart conversation, executives are reviewing how to boost business transformation and productivity with leaner budgets. Luckily, there’s a simple and inexpensive solution: skilled communication. By allocating nominal dollars – frequently just 1% of the program budget – to employee marketing/communication, executives unlock productivity dividends and do more with less.
CEOs and CIOs have an internal – and costly – last mile problem… And there’s a simple and inexpensive solution: skilled communication.
The Enterprise Challenge
Success for doing more with less frequently relies on employee adoption of technologies – a surrogate for productivity. Yet most – 85% – of U.S. employees are still working remotely and, as a result, their overall productivity has dropped by 14%, according to software company Aternity. This means employees are not adopting the productivity tools greenlit by CEOs in a budget-tight time when every dollar counts.
CIOs who spend just 1-2% of their budget on expert communication/marketing to employees see meaningful results… It’s the difference between receiving a bonus or an exit package.
Adopting Hyper Speed Transformation
With big budgets driving hyper speed transformation to make remote work sustainable, capturing employee attention is essential. Particularly during budget-stressed times, CIOs who spend just 1-2% of their budget on expert communication/marketing to employees see meaningful results. It’s the difference between receiving a bonus or an exit package. In fact, a focus on IT communications for the NBA has helped drive some of the organization’s recent success. (Thanks for the shoutout on CNBC this week, Jim Cramer!)
CIOs have found that internal marketing/communication campaigns that have the right story and leverage effective channels help stem the productivity issue and drive wins across the company.
And, to guarantee success, many CIOs are hiring communications experts on their executive teams to help effectively articulate their strategic plans. These CIOs have found that internal marketing/communication campaigns that have the right story and leverage effective channels help stem the productivity issue and drive wins across the company. Moreover, well-planned campaigns are scalable and repeatable – inside or outside of the office.
Finding The Right Story
As alluded to above, finding the right story starts with identifying the strategic marketing/communication executive who understands the IT, HR, and Communication vision for the company. Whether an internal or external resource, she must understand the technical, while also delivering the marketing language that engages employees and drives them to action. Delivering cross-functional wins (IT-HR-Communications) while finding the emotional connection with employees is what this person does. The person with this skill is almost never a traditional technologist.
Finding the right story starts with finding the strategic marketing/communication executive who understands the IT, HR, and Communication vision for the company.
The Big Mistake
Too frequently, overwhelmed or struggling CIOs have the temptation to assign “communication projects” to an engineer. Maybe he has a lighter workload. Maybe he communicates with team members well. Maybe the CIO reached out to the communications team and they had too many other priorities to focus on the CIO’s. Everyone at the company speaks English, right? But then the failure hits. Employees ignore poorly executed communications – or don’t understand their value – and the CIO fails to see a lift in engagement. The reason is simple: the communication targeted employees at the wrong time with the wrong message. If timing or bandwidth prevent the internal communication team from driving the employee messaging, invest a fraction of the project budget in success: hire marketing/communication experts.
You wouldn’t go to a cardiologist for a root canal, right?
Employees ignore poorly executed communications – or don’t understand their value – and the CIO fails to see a lift in engagement.
Creating Scalable and Repeatable Content
With an expert communication professional driving business transformation success, CIOs can expect well-thought plan – a communication roadmap – that leverages marketing/communication focus areas, including:
The visual story
Targeted internal platforms and channels (e.g. digital screens, newsletters, intranet, etc.)
A well-defined audience
A strategically timed approach
Well-planned campaigns are scalable and repeatable – inside or outside of the office.
So where do you start?
Step 1: Meet with a trusted communication executive
Step 2: Define your goals and audience(s)
Step 3: Get a list of all available internal platforms from your HR and Communications teams (e.g. digital screens, newsletters, executive emails, intranet stories, etc.)
Step 4: Be available to provide guidance/feedback to the communication expert
Step 5: Contact Ellebridge with questions or for additional support
Ellebridge Can Help
When it comes to driving employee productivity – especially with technology – getting the story right matters. And every dollar counts. Ellebridge can help you create the strategic marketing/communication framework to drive programs that effectively reach your employees. Contact us to learn how we can help your team cross the last mile.