Ear’s the plan

When you take on a new internal communication role, you should be paying a lot of attention to your audience. This becomes even more important when on top of developing communication campaigns you need to initiate a change of behaviours.

To listen to my target audience, I used a combination of different channels including an internal social networking tool, Yammer. Everyday, as part of my work, I was engaging with colleagues and provoking reactions that would allow me to identify their main challenges. I did a number of tests and launched initiatives with a view to get all sorts of reactions. I surely learned a lot from going to the people, managing conversations online across all services and listening to a – sometimes – meaningful silence.

Very quickly, I noticed that most people were not ready yet to embrace new working methods. Before any communication campaign, they had to understand that there was something wrong with their current work practices. Think about it, they have been told to do exactly like this for years. Why should it be different now?

The problem I encountered was that no one was ready to admit that. I had to create awareness, in order to fight a high level of resistance.