On the back of a brilliant 12 months in 2022, and as a definite sign…
Information overload. It’s a thing. A big thing. And it’s not going away.
Whether you’re a customer, an employee, a leader or any other type of human, you’ll all relate to the feeling of an inbox that’s out of control or a social feed that has a life of its own.
The numbers tell us that:
- On average, the typical office worker receives around 130 emails a day
- 5,787 tweets are sent every second
- 400 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
So, with all of this stuff competing for attention both inside and outside of the workplace, as communicators, how do we make sure it’s our messages that are heard by employees? How can we cut through the noise and create opportunities for meaningful conversations?
Enter Marie Kondo
For those who don’t know, Marie Kondo is a Japanese organising consultant who has taken Netflix by storm with her series Tidying up with Marie Kondo. She believes in a system of simplifying and organising your home by getting rid of physical items that do not bring joy into your life. It’s called the KonMari method, and it’s an idea that has resonated with millions.
What would happen if we took the idea and used it in the workplace? What if, instead of simplifying and organising our homes, we applied the rule to comms and in doing so, focused our efforts on the content and channels that really reach our employees. After all, less is more.
It all starts with a comms audit
Marie Kondo talks about ‘discarding items that lack value’ and to do that you first need to identify what ‘value’ means to you.
Clarify exactly why you’re running an audit and how you’ll use the findings to create meaningful change.
Once you’re clear on your objectives, start gathering insight. Look at every angle: content, channels, tone of voice; and categorise it. Use a classic SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and look at the quantitative data you hold and figure out what it’s telling you.
Importantly, talk to your target audience. It sounds obvious but it’s often overlooked by comms pros. What do your colleagues think? Find out what channels or content preferences they have. What ‘sparks joy’ for them?
Next, use all of this insight to simplify and organise your comms – both channels and content. Put the effort into the areas that both the stats and your people tell you are making a difference. And discard the channels that lack value. Comms with impact. Comms without noise.
Need a hand with your audit?
Our Strategy team offers a comprehensive internal comms audit, examines your strategy from every angle, evaluating and pinpointing what’s working well — and what could work harder — based on how your employees are responding and reacting.
As part of this audit package, we’ll also detail a range of inspiring development ideas and best-practice recommendations, helping you to upgrade your internal comms and get closer to your team.
Get in touch with our Head of Strategy, Rhiannon Stroud for an informal chat. And click below for more information.
