Employee Engagement Blog - Message Relevancy and Architecture

Posted by Allan Steinmetz on 30 June 2015

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This is the fifth submission in an 11-week series on how to launch an employee engagement program. Last week I spoke about having a codified sequential framework and process. In this post I will discuss the importance of message relevancy and message architecture.

Before people will change behavior they need to embrace the message personally. They must find relevancy as an individual and understand how it impacts their job, performance and activities. Change is difficult and without a compelling reason to embrace it, they will stay in their comfort zone.

Laddering and message architecture

Effective internal/brand communications requires message relevancy and rationale at three distinct levels. The first is the corporate level; why is it important for the company. Next is the benefit level; why is it relevant and important to the individual employees. We like to call this phase the “WIIFM” or “what’s in it for me?” Attributes represent the third level, which explains the new behaviors and actions that need to be embraced by the employee in order to deliver on the brand promise. When leaders neglect to explain the hierarchical fashion of the corporate messages, employees generally become confused and don’t know why they should even listen to the message.

value attribute

Corresponding to the key messages should be a cascading hierarchy. For instance, when you are communicating at the value level as to why it is important for a company, the message should be communicated through corporate communication channels. When communicating at the benefit level explaining why it is beneficial for employees to understand the message, it should be communicated through the local/regional office communications. Finally, when you are communicating at the attribute level and explaining what behaviors and actions must be embraced to achieve the goals, it should be communicated directly from a supervisor or manager channel.

The mistake that many companies make is that they take the message for granted; with little understanding or anticipation of how people will react, or if the target audience will find it relevant to their jobs.

How do you get started?

First assemble a team and brainstorm the key messages that need to be communicated. As a team, brainstorm the reasons why the key messages are important to the company and what the consequences will be if they are to be achieved.

Second, have the team discuss why it is important to the individual employees and why the initiatives and communications matter. Ask questions such as, “how will this initiative impact their lives in the long-term?” Or, “why should they care?” Or “how will it make them feel?” In essence you’re trying to learn “what’s in it for me?” or WIIFM.

Third, have the team answer the question “what requirements and actions are required by the employee to deliver the end result?” Do they need a fundamental shift, or a small change in their attitudes? Should they take extra efforts to learn what the program is all about? Do they need to take special training?

Fourth, once you have all the elements of a message ladder, the team should try to create a simple overarching message that is based on the elements of attributes, benefits, and values. The result will be a message that explains why it is important to the company, why it is important to the individual, and what behaviors they need to embrace to make the message a reality.

If you would like some guidance on message architecture and laddering don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’d be more than happy to discuss how it’s done and share some examples we have done for our clients.