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Introduction: Employee Communication ChallengesWhen you look back, it’s staggering to think how technology has transformed the practice of HR. Software-as-
a-Service (SaaS) technologies now relieve some of the burden of implementation (although not necessarily
the challenge of user adoption). Everyone has a smartphone. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and others have
changed how and when your people communicate as well as how you communicate with them. As an employer,
you’ve had to hustle to deliver an employee experience that keeps up with their expectations. And it seems like
no matter how hard you work at it, there’s always more to do.
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE AND CREATING ALIGNMENT
Reaching your people has never been harder as you
find yourself competing for their attention with all of the
other professional and personal communications they
receive. At the same time, HR programs have become
more complex and are always in flux — making it even
more difficult for employees to keep up. Indeed, such
complexity presents an increasing challenge — and need
— for communication that creates greater alignment to
improve engagement, retention, and productivity.
Finally, the stakes seem bigger as investments in benefits,
compensation, and talent programs increase, with the
corresponding need to make sure employees understand
and realize the value.
As an employer, your communication challenges have never been greater. So, what’s the answer?
IT’S TIME FOR EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0
It’s time to take a page out of marketing’s playbook.
Content not only needs to be compelling, but also
presented in multiple formats to satisfy the preferences
of diverse audiences. And, you need to reach out and pull
these audiences in, not expect that users will seek content
out. Marketers do that by segmenting their audiences
and creating multistep messaging “campaigns” that
motivate recipients to engage with content and take the
desired actions.
Creating great digital content is a good first step. However,
engaging your employee audience also means creating
targeted campaigns using “snackable” pieces of content
available in different formats and at different times on
different devices. That’s Employee Communication 3.0 (EC3).
In this e-book, we’ll show you how to evolve into the EC3
world. Using EC3, you can drive adoption of HR programs,
processes, and technologies, as well as impact culture
and performance in your organization. As a marketing-
minded HR leader, you can couple engaging content with a
technology-driven campaign approach to drive HR program
adoption. Now is the time to change the conversation in
employee communication. Before you begin your journey, it
helps to understand how we got here and the forces that are
driving the urgency to change.
A Brief History of Employee Communication Historically, employee communication has been a top-down
exercise. Whether it was yelled through a megaphone or
posted in an announcement on the shop floor, it didn’t
change much from the dawn of time to the dawn of modern
management in the 20th century. The process was analog —
an executive announcement or a big handbook. The boss issued
an order. The employees listened and complied. And in large,
hierarchical organizational structures, this sort of worked.
This was the Employee Communication 1.0 world.
21ST CENTURY, MEET EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 2.0
The workplace has changed since 2000 and so did employee
communication. Leading companies embraced digital media.
Paper-based communication moved online. This was a
quantum leap from the 1.0 world, as digital channels such as
email and video brought more clarity and value to employee
communication. But in this Employee Communication 2.0
world, at the same time the changes in technology, work, and
communication styles were taking place, employees and their
expectations were changing as well.
GuideSpark, founded in 2008, has been a pioneer in creating
innovative HR content. We also introduced content analytics, and
the results have shaped our understanding of what’s next. We
believe a continually evolving approach is needed today because
employees — their needs, expectations, and work styles — are
very different.
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
THE WORLD OF WORK IS DRIVING THE NEED FOR CHANGE
In today’s world, the structure of communication and the nature of work have made it harder to reach employees — work has
changed, information has changed, and along with it, the way we communicate has changed. Employee expectations are now
different in terms of how and when they want to consume information, on what device, in what format, and when. There are
now four generations at work. Teams have also become more dispersed in a post-2008 economy. In this brave new world
of work, people not only expect communication to happen how, where, and when they want it, they also want it in a way that
isn’t overwhelming.
WORK IS CHANGING
WHAT EXACTLY IS EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0?
We believe that employee communication today needs to meet your employees where they are. We know they’re
overwhelmed with information, and getting through to them requires repetition over time. Breaking through the noise
means thinking of employees as consumers and using communication tactics aligned to consumer marketing — continuous,
frequent, sustained, targeted, multi-channel, multi-format, and measured. Communication needs to reach employees when
and where they are ready to consume these bites of information, and in a format that resonates with them.
Employee Communication 3.0 (EC3) is designed to be campaign-driven and deliver “just-in-time” information experiences to employees.
Ultimately, the value is creating a better employee experience that makes it easier for employees to understand what’s
going on and engage with programs. But the impact is greater than that. Employees begin to understand and appreciate the
employer value proposition (EVP) at a time when 59 percent of companies are investing more in their employer brand.
With retention being the biggest talent challenge for companies, we believe effective employee communication can be a driver of strategic business results.
Making the Move to EC3There’s a saying in marketing today: 70 percent of a buyer’s journey is complete before they even reach out to make a
purchase (SOURCE: SiriusDecisions). In today’s online world, customers do their research. They consult review sites like
Yelp. They talk to friends. They consume bits and pieces of information over time to make decisions. Moving to Employee
Communication 3.0 isn’t about creating a new world. It’s fitting in with the way your employees prefer to consume
information and make decisions.
With EC3, you can create a better employee experience that makes it easier for employees to understand what’s going on,
engage with programs, and ultimately take action. How do employees make decisions about HR initiatives? It’s not that
different from your customers.
DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS EXPERIENCESANALOG
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
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“If information is being communicated to you and you don’t receive it and learn from it, then there really wasn’t effective communication.”
— Keith Kitani, CEO and Co-founder of GuideSpark
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
HOW DO YOUR EMPLOYEES CHOOSE? JUST LIKE YOUR CUSTOMERS.
An employee’s decision journey closely parallels how customers make buying decisions. People move through a consistent
journey from Education to Consideration to Decision. Whether you’re trying to get employees to enroll in a 401(k) plan or
complete a performance review, you need to create awareness and align what you’re doing with their personal needs,
so the employee can consider what’s best for their needs when they make a decision. Employees need to see clearly
what’s in it for them.
And not unlike the way your customers make decisions — or even you do in your own life — the decision journey requires
different touch points, small pieces of information over time, in different formats and at different points in time. But getting
employees to take action — and especially the right action — requires understanding that how they consume information
is changing.
STEP 1: Create awareness about a problem
STEP 1: Create awareness about HR/business initiative
EDUCATION
EMPL
OYEE
SCU
STOM
ERS
CONSIDERATION DECISION
STEP 2: Align problem with an issue and create urgency
STEP 2: Align initiative with employee needs and create urgency
STEP 3: Help buyer identify needs in solving problem
STEP 3: Help employee identify needs in solving problem
STEP 4: Align solution with buyer needs
STEP 4: Align solution with employee needs
STEP 5: Make the business case for solution
STEP 5: Make the case for solution adoption
STEP 6: Validate choice and reinforce value
STEP 6: Validate choice and reinforce value
STEP 1: Segment employee groups by interest/need
HR A
CTIO
N
STEP 2: Capture employee attention by segment
STEP 3: Present multi-channel content in context
STEP 4: Enable self-navigation and discovery
STEP 5: Use prominent calls to action to drive decision-making
STEP 6: Measure and iterate
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
HOW EMPLOYEES CONSUME INFORMATION IS CHANGING.
INFORMATION IS CHANGING
• Short-form “snackable” content: For most people,
key messages are not internalized on a one-and-done
basis. More short messages, communicated consistently
over time, are more effective.
• Mobile: Designed to reach employees where they live —
mobile is key.
• Multiple formats: Videos, emails, dynamic landing
pages, infographics, downloadable checklists,
breakroom posters for deskless workers, and more,
provide a far-reaching employee experience.
• Campaigns: A series of key messages and calls to
action are designed and pre-populated for delivery,
speeding up development time. A detailed program
plan and timeline make it easy to track and execute
campaigns.
• Multiple channels: Multiple delivery options (e.g.,
email, poster, or digital channel) make it easy to
reinforce messages, allow employees to choose how
they want to consume content, then measure which
channels are most effective.
SOURCE: IDG RESEARCH
HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE? THINK LIKE A MARKETER.
We know what you’re thinking. Wow, this looks like a lot of work. It shouldn’t be. At the end of the day, effective employee communication
in an EC3 world is about working smarter, not harder. It’s not necessary to
master marketing if you’re equipped with the right tool set — that’s where
an EC3 solution such as GuideSpark Communicate Cloud does the heavy
lifting for you.
So, what are some lessons we can take from marketing?
1. Talk to each person, not to “the workforce.” Look at it from the employee’s
point of view. Communication has evolved in the consumer marketing
world to offer users a choice in how and when they want to consume
information. Some employees want to read a guide. Others want to watch
a video. Given that different people consume information in different ways,
employee communication needs to follow the same path and offer employees
real choices.
2. Think of campaigns as engagement and reinforcement. Marketing campaigns use
short messages delivered over time and experiences designed to engage users.
Repetition reinforces key messages and increases understanding. Employee
communications need to do the same thing. Employees need to understand and
connect with the information you’re passing on to them — why it’s important — then
you need to reinforce those messages. Getting business results with your programs
depends on it.
3. Management and measurement make a big difference. Marketers don’t go it alone; they use
technology to schedule campaigns, track analytics, and automate much of the process.
For example, you will usually have many campaigns running simultaneously. Marketers
use automation software — such as Marketo and HubSpot — making it easy to manage the
complexity of delivery and analytics. Measure and iterate with analytics and best practices
that make it easy to gain insight into the effectiveness of your communications and calibrate
as needed.
VERY HAPPY OR EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH EASE OF ACCESS
TO INFORMATION
57%
NE
W H
IRE
S
39%
1-3
YE
AR
S
36%
6-10
YE
AR
S
VERY HAPPY OR EXTREMELY
HAPPY WITH PERSONALIZED HR COMMUNICATIONS
43%
28%
30%
NE
W H
IRE
S
1-3
YE
AR
S6-
10 Y
EA
RS
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
4. Segment your audiences for better personalization. Think about your 401(k) enrollment
campaigns. New hires and non-enrolled employees need different messages than
long-term employees. Segment audiences to create targeted messaging that will be
engaging and relevant. Satisfaction with traditional employee communication drops
off the longer people are employed with a company, so keeping communications
relevant over time is critical.
5. Keep your KPIs simple. Measure, iterate, and repeat what works. This is
an important part of EC3. It’s important to track whether people prefer
information on certain devices, which format they want it in, and even
choices based on demographics and location. These are an important
part of optimization. However, just because you can measure something
doesn’t mean you should. Focus on results. For example, if you’re trying
to drive participation in a high-deductible health plan or increase
performance management check-ins, your most important measures
are pretty simple.
Employee communication is a journey rather than a destination. You
will continually be adding capabilities and evolving your approach
to think about communicating with employees as you do with
your customers. Employee needs will change with time, and
communication will need to keep up in a way that enables
organizations to tell their stories and impart company culture.
This kind of approach will keep communications engaging and
reinforce your messages in different ways.
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
How GuideSpark Can HelpThe right technology is essential to make the EC3
world a reality. With GuideSpark, HR teams can deliver
communication campaigns and multi-format content
experiences that drive adoption of HR programs and
broader company best practices. For organizations ready
to implement Employee Communication 3.0, GuideSpark
can help you deliver the communication campaigns and
multi-format content experiences that drive adoption of
HR programs.
GuideSpark is the leader in employee communication —
our approach is based on 10 years of experience helping
companies modernize employee communication, beginning
with the introduction of engaging short-form videos,
along with the analytics necessary to measure content
engagement. Based on this data, along with customer
feedback, GuideSpark recognized the need to address two
essential truths.
1. A one-and-done approach will never work, no
matter how good the content. Getting the results
you want means you need to INSPIRE (capture
attention and explain the “why”), INFORM (present the
facts in multiple formats, so diverse employees can
self-select the content most relevant to them), and
REINFORCE key messages over time to aid recall and
drive action.
2. If you build it, they may or may not come. Intranets
and portals may be required tools of the trade,
but they’re not sufficient — employees have to be
reached (more than once) through their preferred
channels. Modernizing employee communications
with microsites, mobile-ready videos, and analytics
is a good first step. However, driving engagement
and program adoption requires even more great
content (such as infographics and downloadable
digital documents) with dynamic landing pages
and targeted calls to action to create user-guided
experiences. With a platform that can manage and
measure campaigns and assets, you have an array
of tools at your disposal to get real results from
your communication.
MODERNIZING EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
MICROSITES
MOBILE-READY VIDEOS
VIDEO ANALYTICS
DRIVING ENGAGEMENT & PROGRAM ADOPTION
INFOGRAPHICS & DOWNLOADABLE DIGITAL DOCS
CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT & ASSETS
MODULAR MOBILE-READY VIDEOS (SHORT FORM)
DYNAMIC “LANDING PAGE” USER-GUIDED EXPERIENCES
TARGETED CALLS TO ACTION CAMPAIGN & CONTENT ANALYTICS
SOLU
TION
BREA
DTH
EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS
Where Can GuideSpark Help?
TOTAL REWARDS • TALENT • CULTURE • CHANGE MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
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The new GuideSpark Communicate Cloud gives HR teams everything they need, including:
Pre-defined communication campaigns and calendars that are easy to edit, update, and manage
Pre-designed (and written) campaign messages that can be easily adapted for delivery in multiple channels
Engaging multi-format content (videos, digital charts, and more) presented within a dynamic user experience
Embedded calls to action (to enrollment sites and other destinations)
Employee navigation tools, including content index and search
Analytics that measure engagement with campaign elements and content
Expert assistance from communication strategists, campaign designers, content producers, and customer success managers
“All progressive companies invest in their employer value proposition in order to attract and retain talent. If employees aren’t connected to that value proposition through understanding all the benefits available to them, that investment can be wasted.”
— Brian Schipper, EVP and Chief People Officer at Yext
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EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION 3.0: CREATING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT STARTS NOW
Conclusion: Drive Engagement and Adoption with GuideSpark Employee communication must keep pace with changes in
work, technology, and the way people consume information
today. Employees need to be engaged through campaigns
and experiences — and that requires software.
Employee Communication 3.0 delivers strategic value
because it takes direct aim at one of the most vexing
areas for HR leaders today — user adoption. After all of
the investment in budget, time, and effort allocated to
implementing new HR technologies and initiatives, it’s
impossible to fully realize the ROI without fully optimizing
communication and change management efforts. EC3
is designed to engage your employees and drive user
adoption of your programs and initiatives. In turn, they’ll
become more engaged in their work as they better
understand their benefits, compensation, and how their
roles matter in your organization.
Better communication can also build employer brand. With
talent attraction and retention being such a big challenge
in today’s workforce, progressive companies are investing
in their Employer Value Proposition (EVP) to attract and
retain talent. Employees need to understand and connect
with the information you’re passing on to them — why it’s
important, what it is — then you need to reinforce that
message. Getting the business results you seek relies
on engagement and adoption, and any communication
strategy needs to be driven by those goals to help drive
business results.
GuideSpark is ready to partner with you on your journey
to Employee Communication 3.0. With GuideSpark
Communicate Cloud, you can bridge the employer-
employee communication gap, so your employees can
fully understand your organization’s values and services.
Your HR teams can deliver messaging and communicate
programs without all the extra work.
To find out more about how GuideSpark can add
value to your communication strategy, call us at
800-519-0755.
About GuideSpark Founded in 2008, GuideSpark provides marketing-
minded HR leaders with an elegant employee
communication solution that combines content,
technology, and consultant-like expertise. To learn more
about how GuideSpark can modernize your employee
communications, visit http://guidespark.com.