In a recent employee pulse survey during a change initiative, we heard this feedback from employees:

• “We don’t know what’s going on.”
• “I wish they’d share information with us.”
• “I wish we’d get a heads up on what’s coming!”
• “We’re the last to find out about changes.”

When we shared feedback themes with leadership, we heard this:

• “I sent emails. We did a town hall. We’ve done presentations.”
• “I’m surprised and frustrated. We communicate a lot.”
• “There was a detailed announcement last month.”
• “How much more can I communicate when they don’t listen?”

What’s the reality? Maybe you’re unintentionally engaging in “drive-by communication.” This is one-way communication (feedback, announcements, updates, etc.) that’s dropped without pausing to understand what your audience wants to hear or how they need to engage.

Everyone’s competing for time and attention these days. If your communications aren’t customized, attention-grabbing or addressing immediate concerns, they may be missed.

Remember that people retain information by engaging in two-way dialogue.

This doesn’t mean asking, “Any questions?” at the end of a presentation. You’ll likely hear crickets.

It doesn’t mean saying, “Contact me with any questions” at the end of an email. It means actively reaching out, in person or to groups, to find out what’s on their minds and then listening. Reach out before communicating to identify what your audience wants to hear about. Then build in time for follow-up after the initial communication to make sure your message landed as intended.

When planning communication, pause to consider:

• What’s important in this message? (Key points, empathy, context, etc.)
• What’s not important? (Extra words, too much narrative, judgments or commentary, etc.)
• Who needs to be included? (Who will be impacted by the information, directly or indirectly.)
• Who doesn’t need to be included? (Don’t be lazy by copying everyone when only a few people or teams need the information.)
• What’s the right forum and method? (For example, give difficult feedback in person versus email. Don’t post important messages in group chats that aren’t checked by everyone regularly. Confirm that your audience received and understood what you sent via email. Don’t assume that because you communicated, people received.)
• What needs to be repeated? Yes, people often need to hear messages multiple times for those messages to sink in. However, plan the repetition. Avoid random, constant messaging. If you’re going to repeat messaging, make sure those messages are consistent and don’t change over time. And make sure you’re hitting the right audience(s) as you reinforce messaging.

How do you balance quantity versus quality in your communication? How do you avoid messages getting lost in the noise?