One of the smartest things I did professionally was hire an employee communications director: she taught me the value of internal corporate communications and how to write. To this day, I hear her instructions every time I start to write one of these messages: keep it simple, short, clear, and to the point. Companies spend a lot of time and money on external communications – PR, promotions, and advertising; but if they really believe that their employees are their most important assets, then it stands to reason to put that same kind of time and effort into communicating internally. You want to get information to your customers – tell your employees and they’ll tell your customers. If you need to make changes to your policies or plans (I bet you did that a lot this year) – tell your employees simply and clearly: do that and they’ll sense your sincerity and follow you; don’t, and whatever culture you have will unravel. Doing that creates trust, respect, loyalty, and a team mindset. Before you say or write anything, read it back to yourself, or to someone who doesn’t know anything about the subject matter. If they get it – good; if not, keep at it. Until it’s simple, short, clear, and to the point. Then you’ll have the tremendous power of effective communications at your fingertips today.
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin (born 1963): American record produce and president of several major music labels
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