From Onboarding to Advocacy: How to Shape Your Communication Strategy Along the Employee Journey (+ Workshop Guide)
In marketing, product management, and HR operations, taking the perspective of employees or customers is nothing new. Concepts like customer journey mapping and empathy mapping are widely used to create targeted strategies tailored to the needs of different audiences. So why not apply this approach to internal communication as well?
Corporate communication strategies are often rigid—once designed, they’re rarely adjusted. Yet, employees' needs are constantly evolving. How can your communication strategy keep up with this dynamic?
By aligning it with the phases of the Employee Journey and using methods like Empathy Mapping. This article will explain why employees’ informational needs are constantly changing, how to tailor your communication accordingly, and how an interactive workshop can help your team develop these skills.
Dynamics in the Employee Journey
Just like customers, employees are not a static audience. Their needs, expectations, and emotions change over time, influenced by experiences, role developments, and external factors. Each phase of the Employee Journey brings new challenges and information needs. Here’s why these needs are so dynamic:
New tasks & growing responsibilities
An employee’s role evolves over their time at a company. During onboarding, the focus is on understanding processes, tools, and company culture. Once settled, the focus shifts to contributing effectively, integrating into the team, and developing new skills.
Changes in role and expectations
Expectations of the job also change throughout the Employee Journey. New hires look for intensive support and clear communication about workflows. Later on, feedback, recognition, and growth opportunities become more important.
External influences & change
Employees are not immune to external factors like market changes, technological advances, or unexpected events (e.g., a pandemic). These changes affect their work reality and, consequently, their communication and information needs.
Overview of Employee Journey phases
The communication needs of employees vary across the phases of the Employee Journey:
Onboarding – creating clarity
New hires need structure and information to settle in quickly. Effective onboarding communication reduces uncertainties and conveys a welcoming feeling.
Engagement – integration & motivation
After settling in, the goal is to keep employees motivated and fully integrated into their daily work. Feedback, recognition, and a transparent information flow are key here.
Development – growth & perspective
As employees spend more time in the company, development opportunities and career paths become more relevant. Communication should encourage skill acquisition and outline paths for growth.
Retention – long-term commitment
Long-term retention is closely linked to feeling valued and identified with the company. Communication should be transparent about roles, celebrate successes, and foster a sense of belonging.
Advocacy – engagement & brand ambassadorship
Employees who actively support and represent the company significantly boost its reputation. Communication in this phase should share positive experiences and actively involve employees.
Why keep communication in sync with the Employee Journey?
Just like in marketing, internal communication must be audience-centered. A dynamic, journey-based communication approach provides several benefits:
Improved Employee Experience: Tailoring communication to the needs of each journey phase leads to higher satisfaction and engagement.
Ensured Productivity & Motivation: Providing information at the right time enhances productivity and job clarity.
Building Loyalty & Trust: Transparent and appreciative communication fosters trust and strengthens long-term commitment.
Early Identification of Challenges: Regular exchanges enable early recognition of issues and proactive solutions.
A practical workshop: Employee Journey & Empathy Mapping
Empathy Mapping is well-established in marketing and HR operations—and it’s perfectly suited for internal communication. A workshop helps understand employees’ needs throughout the Employee Journey and develop targeted communication measures. Here’s a step-by-step guide for the workshop:
1. Introduction: Understanding the Employee Journey (10 Min.)
Goal: Participants learn how employees' needs differ across the phases of the Employee Journey and why dynamic communication is crucial.
Overview: Briefly introduce the phases: Onboarding, Engagement, Development, Retention, and Advocacy.
2. Introducing a Persona: "Frontline Fred" (5 Min.)
Goal: Present an example persona to serve as a basis for the Empathy Map. Meet Frontline Worker Fred—a frontline employee with clear needs for information and processes.
Why Fred? Fred represents typical frontline employee needs, like clear processes and accessible information.
3. Group Work: Empathy Mapping by Journey Phase (20 Min.)
Group Division: Split participants into groups, each focusing on one phase of the Employee Journey.
Task: Create an Empathy Map for the assigned phase, exploring:
Emotions & Needs: What emotions does Fred experience in this phase? What information does he need?
Communication Measures: How can communication address these needs? What channels (e.g., intranet, one-on-one talks) are best?
Success Metrics: How can communication effectiveness be measured? For example, satisfaction surveys or engagement rates.
4. Presentation & Discussion (20 Min.)
5. Conclusion & Key Learnings (5 Min.)
Summary: Communication must be dynamic and employee-centered throughout the journey. The Empathy Map is a powerful tool to identify these needs and derive specific actions.
Outlook: Encourage participants to transfer the method to their own organizations for continuous strategy improvement.
Conclusion
While Empathy Mapping is familiar in marketing and HR, it shows significant potential for internal communication. By better understanding employees' needs at different stages of the Employee Journey and translating those into targeted communication, you can improve satisfaction, motivation, and your organization’s long-term success.
Your employees evolve—your communication should too!
P.S.: Our new e-book, "From Input to Impact – The Business Case for Internal Communication (IC)," offers you even more tips, best practices, and data for your communications business case.
Stay tuned if you want to completely rethink your IC! And if you’re ready to get specific, let’s chat. We’ll help you build a communications business case that will blow your stakeholders away.
Q&As
Why should you adapt your internal communication to the Employee Journey?
The needs of your employees change throughout the different phases of the Employee Journey – from onboarding to advocacy. Communication that takes these phases into account helps you to provide more targeted information, boost motivation, and better support your employees. This way, you can significantly improve satisfaction, engagement, and long-term loyalty to the company.
What is Empathy Mapping, and how does it help shape your communication strategy?
Empathy Mapping is a method that helps you understand the emotions, needs, and challenges of your employees. In the context of the Employee Journey, Empathy Mapping allows you to tailor your communication efforts to the specific phase and needs of your employees. The result: more effective and human-centered communication.
How can you practically implement the methods from the article in your own company?
The article provides a guide for a workshop that practically applies the Empathy Mapping method. This includes an introduction to the Employee Journey, working with personas (like "Frontline Fred"), and group work to create Empathy Maps for each phase. The insights gained then serve as the foundation for making your internal communication more dynamic and employee-centered.
.png)
Comentarios