How to build an Executive Communications Plan for Slack
Executive communications is a crucial component of communicating with employees. Your colleagues want to feel that leaders are visible in the organisation, addressing key concerns and providing strategic direction. Exec comms have traditionally tended to be delivered verbally on company all hands calls or via longer form, written updates over email.
There’s nothing wrong with leadership using these channels, and for most companies, they will continue to be important going forward. However, there has been an increased emphasis on execs communicating with employees in a more fun, informal way as companies have shifted to a hybrid/ remote working model. Among other things, Slack is an excellent channel for the C-suite to engage with employees, but what should you consider when building an executive comms plan for Slack?
1. Set clear goals with the C-suite
2. Provide training and support for leaders
3. Understand the topics employees care most about
4. Plan and coordinate executive comms
5. Consider which Slack channels are best suited to exec comms
6. Streamline the drafting and review process
7. Report on the outcomes using data
8. Listen to employee feedback and questions
1. Set clear goals with the C-suite
As a starting point, consider the primary objectives for using Slack as a channel for exec communications. What are each leader’s individual goals and how do these align with internal communications or broader organisational KPIs? For example, an executive may want to provide more Learning and Development (L&D) opportunities to employees as part of her goals. One of the KPIs for internal comms could be to improve the % of employees engaging on L&D comms. Slack could be a great place for the exec to highlight L&D opportunities, embedding relevant links and providing senior sponsorship to maximise engagement. The executive communications plan for Slack will in most cases form part of or be aligned with a broader plan, as internal comms tends to be multi-channel.
2. Provide training and support for leaders
After you’ve set some objectives with the C-suite, you may want to provide them with relevant training and best practices for using Slack to communicate with employees. Leaders may be more comfortable with email comms if this is what they’ve used historically, so working with them to identify any important knowledge gaps can save time and improve the effectiveness of executive communications on Slack. For some external training of leaders, you could contact your primary point of contact at Slack to determine which options are available or visit the Slack Help Center. There are also some great Slack-first consultants who can help, such as 21b.
3. Understand the topics employees care most about
When planning content for executive comms, a critical step is helping leaders understand which topics employees want to hear from them on. Employee surveys and roundtable discussions can provide some guidance on this. It’s also worth leveraging any data you have from previous internal comms to inform your thinking on which topics generate most engagement. If possible, try to align these topics with the interests of different leaders. For example, one of your executives may be very passionate about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), so it’s worth speaking with each leader individually to understand what they are most passionate about.
4. Plan and coordinate executive comms
Now that you have some content ideas, the next step is to plan the timing of your executive communications on Slack. You should try and avoid leadership comms clashing with one another, especially for important strategic updates. Create a content calendar for executive comms which covers multiple channels, including Slack. This should be different to an internal comms calendar, as a calendar which includes all employee communications may be overwhelming for leaders. Working with key stakeholders (such as EAs) is important to coordinate Slack posts coming from execs.
5. Consider which Slack channels are best suited to exec comms
Another consideration in the planning process is to think about which Slack channels leadership comms should be posted to generate the most impact. Some companies have specific channels for C-suite comms (e.g., #CEO-corner) or others just post in a general company updates channel (e.g., #announcements). It can be best to use channels which are restricted in terms of who can post, as these channels tend to be less busy, and therefore the risk of exec comms getting lost is lower.
6. Streamline the drafting and review process
Internal Communications teams and other employees often draft Slack posts on behalf of leaders. When ghost-writing for execs, understanding a bit about their tone of voice is important, as it’s important to have consistency across different channels and mediums (while recognizing that certain channels, like Slack, tend to be more informal). Keeping the review/ approval process streamlined for leaders is essential, as the greater the time commitment, the less likely they are to engage with internal comms.
7. Report on the outcomes using data
Once you’ve put your executive communications plan for Slack into action, it’s time to report on the key outcomes to the C-suite with data. This could be the number of click-throughs, average reading time or sign-ups (for an event/ L&D session). Compare employee engagement across channels and between different topics. You should also try to find some ways to demonstrate (using data) why it's important for leaders to post on Slack (e.g., leads to higher employee engagement). Finally, try testing different mediums with your leaders (e.g., video) to determine which are most effective.
8. Listen to employee feedback and questions
It's essential to show to employees that the C-suite is listening to employee feedback and questions. You can build this into your exec comms plan by using Slack’s workflow to moderate a live Q&A session. This provides an easy way to structure executive comms on Slack in a live environment.
Don’t be afraid to try new approaches to exec comms on Slack as long as you have buy-in from leaders. Many of the best ideas have come about through chance or evolved organically over time. A visible C-suite which communicates with employees both formally and informally can help foster a strong culture and improve the company’s ability to retain top talent. By devising an executive communications plan for Slack, your company will have a framework to excel in this area.
Canopact provides the tools and analytics for companies to deliver exceptional internal communications on Slack. We help companies streamline their exec comms on Slack: book a demo or visit our homepage to find out more.
