Over the summer, many HR departments start gearing up for fall or winter benefits Open Enrollment. Wait—why are you reaching for the Advil? Ok, so it may not be your favorite time of year. And yes, benefits communications, especially when it comes to the level of detail required for this process, can be deadly. But […]
benefits communications
The Goldilocks Rule
Subtlety has its place in writing, of course. Specifically, it has its place in literature, where it’s often agreed that the more interpretation possible, the better the work. But subtlety has no place in employee communications. And it certainly has no place in “great place to work” applications. At least, not in the actual part […]
Houston, We Have a Challenge
Raise your hand if “integrity” is one of your company’s official values. Or maybe “honest” “candid” or “open” communications are on the list? Why is it, then, that internal communications are so often dishonest? I don’t mean the outright-lying kind of dishonesty, although it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that that goes on in some […]
Communication: The College Tour Edition
Their jobs should be obvious: sell the value and unique features of their schools to the excited teenagers and anxious parents (or is it the other way around?) that troop through their offices each year as part of that modern ritual, the college tour. But the very first two schools my son and I visited […]
Beware the Adjective!
Remember “show, don’t tell?” Generations of creative writing teachers have imparted this bit of wisdom, but if you’re like many harried communications professionals, you probably haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about how it applies to the writing you do every day. In fact, “show, don’t tell” can be a surprisingly useful bit of […]
Making It Easy
At school, my kids see a “Do Now” on the board when they walk into class. At meetings, the agenda ends with “Deliverables.” But so many communications I’ve seen leave me scratching my head: when and where is this event, what am I supposed to do to sign up for this program, how can I […]
