Well done on completing Week 2
WEEK 3: Getting Staff Involved From the Start
Monday
Subject: The messages you should never have written alone
That announcement you spent hours perfecting?
An employee could have told you in 5 minutes why it wouldn’t land.
But you never asked.
This week: Real ways to involve staff from the beginning.
Tuesday
The working-together approach
Stop creating in a bubble.
Old way: IC team creates → Boss approves → Employees get it
New way: IC spots a need → Brings in employees → Creates together → Tests with staff → Fixes it → Launches
Communication should be back-and-forth, not just you sending stuff out.
Big shift: You’re the person who brings people together, not the only writer.
Wednesday
Start a communication advisory group
Create a regular group of 10-15 employees with:
- Different jobs and departments
- Different levels (not just managers)
- Different locations and work setups
- Mix of new people and long-timers
What they do:
- Look at communication plans
- Test messages before they go out
- Give ongoing feedback
- Share communications in their areas
Meet: Once a month for an hour
Thursday
Test everything first
Every message should go through real employees before launch.
Quick testing:
- Show a draft to 5-10 people: “Does this make sense?”
- Read it out loud to a coworker: “Where did you get lost?”
- Show someone outside your team: “What’s the main point?”
What you’re checking:
- Do they understand it?
- Do they care?
- Do they know what to do?
- How does it make them feel?
Your turn: Pick your next message. Who will you test it with?
Friday
Find your communication champions
Look for natural communicators across your company.
These are people who:
- Their coworkers trust
- Ask good questions
- Share information naturally
- Connect people
Get them to:
- Look at communications early
- Share in team meetings
- Collect feedback from their peers
- Be a two-way bridge
Note: These aren’t managers—they’re people others actually listen to.
Saturday
Create change messages together
Change communications fail when you do them TO people, not WITH them.
Involve staff in:
- Naming the change
- Writing the main messages
- Creating the FAQ (they know the real questions)
- Planning when to roll it out
- Making the materials
Example: Ask employees to send in questions about the upcoming change. Answer them together.
Sunday
Week 3 Challenge: Co-Create One Thing
Pick one upcoming communication.
Steps:
- Identify 5-8 employees who’ll be affected
- Share what you need to communicate
- Ask: “How should we say this? What matters most?”
- Draft it together in the meeting
- Test with a few more people
- Launch it
Notice: How does this version compare to what you would have written alone?
