It’s About Knowing Your Audience

by Jun 21, 2017Uncategorized

To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge. — Confucius
Collective bargaining communications are amongst the most challenging and stressful type of communications that any employer will have to engage in. Whether you are at the strike deadline or communicating the contents of a tentative agreement, nothing about collective bargaining communications is simple. Politics, audiences, and legal requirements all dictate what you can and cannot say and how you say it. The key to success is to have a communications plan that works in conjunction with your legal, labour relations and disruption plans. The first step in a communications plan is to know your audiences—who they are, how they think, and how best to communicate with them. Each employer has a different set of audiences. They range from the board of directors to the hourly employees and can also include everything from elected officials and parent councils to hockey moms and activists. Among those audiences is a broad range of considerations—tech savviness, knowledge level, understanding of labour relations processes, key influencers and most important, the audience’s perception of the current labour relations situation. While it may seem clear, it is never that simple. This is why you need to be listening to the talk on the shop floor, traditional media, and social media. The more you know about who your audience is and what they are thinking and saying, the more effective your targeted communications will be. However, some people fall into the trap of saying different things to different audiences. In the social media world, this will only get you into trouble. While the tools, tactics, and tone are interchangeable between audiences – the messages must remain consistent. Once you understand your audience, you can determine the messaging, tactics, and communications rollout. Stay tuned for blogs on these topics.
Originally published: http://www.afimacglobal.com/kgordon/2016/06/28/its-about-knowing-your-audience/