Why this matters

Avoid these common traps

Despite best intentions, it’s easy to miss the mark. When you’re busy focusing on a big project you can become so consumed by it that you can overlook the extent of the impact it will have on those people closest to the organization – your staff and volunteers. When you do, you miss the chance to harness your most important force, and at worst, risk alienating them in the process.

Here are the most common causes:

Too busy – when planning for a major initiative, much of the emphasis is placed on the external announcement or event and spending much time on the internal announcement can become an afterthought. However, the last feeling you want to inspire in the troops is disregard.

Using the same message for all audiences – whatever your message is, it needs to be meaningful and inspire a specific reaction from your audience. Staff will have different interests than media would, for example.

Leaving more questions than answers – there are times when you won’t have all the answers, granted. But anticipating the questions and having reasonable answers will at least take care of the immediate reaction and show that you have taken the time to consider their needs.

Giving the wrong message – what could be great news to one group can be cause for concern for another. In the second scenario above, program staff may be pleased for the organization but worried about the extra workload, for example.

Failing to segment your internal audiences – staff is not a single entity. Divide your internal audiences up as much as appropriate to the project. This can be done by function, by role, by department or whatever works for your situation.

Not giving enough time for your internal audiences to digest the information – you’ve spent weeks or months being immersed in your project. When you announce your news, don’t be surprised if there are no immediate questions. Most people like to reserve comment or questions until they’ve taken the time to think it over.

Ready, Aim, Inspire! – the blog

In the Ready, Aim, Inspire! blog I write at few times a week about opportunities for non-profits and how they can achieve greater results through improved communications from the inside out.

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Tip of the month

Welcome new subscribers

Welcome to the new subscribers who joined the exclusive list of communicators, fundraising professionals and directors of non-profit and philanthropic organizations who receive this e-newsletter. The list is growing and contains readers from across Canada and the United States. If you know someone who would also find this information useful, feel free to forward using the box at the end of this email. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to spend with me and to invest in continuous learning and improvement. I hope your communications with staff, volunteers, donors and the community are the better for it!

Sincerely,
Sherri Garrity

Make It Count Communications for Success
w: www.makeitcountcommunications.com
e: makeitcount@shaw.ca
t: (204) 955-6391