How do you reach those hard-to-reach employees? You know the ones… the doctors, construction workers, factory employees, and baristas. Getting their attention is hard, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be.
With a little strategic planning and the right tech in place, says our in-house expert Tom Van Rousselt, a SharePoint Architect and customer success manager, it’s possible.
Below he shares his insights and the advice he gives to Involv’s customers in Healthcare, Construction, Manufacturing, and Retail sectors.
Doctors – Email
“I’ve worked with hospitals quite a bit. Doctors are hard people to reach. They don’t like spending time behind their computer because they don’t get paid for that. So, to get around this, some hospitals we work with request that we make it easy to send an entire news page from the intranet, not just a teaser, in an email.
“Evidence tells us that the only way to reach doctors is to send them content into their mailbox. If it’s not in their inbox, they’re not going read it.”
Construction workers – Mobile app
“Construction workers are notoriously tricky to reach. You may have an intranet app available, but actually getting it onto their phone in the first place is the hardest obstacle to overcome. So, as a comms person, you’ve got to physically go to the site, explain you have an app, help them install it, and log them on. If your app asks them for a username and password every time they need to log on, that’s where their engagement typically ends. It’s got to be really easy to access and have content worth reading.”
“We’re working with one construction company that splits news into two feeds, corporate news and on-site news. They encourage staff to post pictures of what’s happening on the construction site, like major developments or new buildings opening. All they need to do is open the mobile app, take a picture, write a short description, and post the article there and then.”
Factory workers – Shared computers + digital signage
“In most manufacturing companies we work with their factories have shared PCs spread out across the work floor that have the intranet as the homepage. This way employees don’t have to do anything, it’s already logged in, so they don’t need a username and password to see what’s on the intranet.
“Some factories also put digital signage in their restaurants or break rooms and publish teasers on the screens. Employees need to be extra motivated if you want them to install an app. In this instance it’s trickier to convince workers to install the app, as they’ll be on a break when you’re expecting them to read content.”
Baristas – Mobile app + push notifications
“Baristas will have a computer that they’re using as a cash register but will have limited time to read content on it. I think giving them mobile app is the only way to reach them with push notifications enabled.
“You need to put something on your intranet that forces them to go there – and it could be something like shift applications, shift swapping, timesheets, and of course holiday forms.”
Want to know how to use your intranet to improve your internal comms?
Book a demo with one of our friendly experts today for tips and advice.