How to get your message across (Hiring & Retention, Part 2)
Today I’m continuing to explore the theme of how communications can help with hiring and retention, but first, I have some exciting news to share…
My new podcast is live! Woo hoo!
The Storytelling with Heart podcast explores storytelling and thought leadership through conversations with experts and leaders of varying backgrounds.
I absolutely love learning from different people and hearing about their journeys and, well, stories. :) If you enjoy conversational podcasts and want to build your storytelling skills, you’ll definitely want to check it out.
My very first guest is Megan DePutter. Yes, she’s my twin. ;) But she’s also an expert in leadership coaching and training, and currently specializes in employee retention. I learned a lot from this conversation and I bet you will too.
You can listen to the episode wherever you typically listen to podcasts —like here on Apple Podcasts, here on Spotify — or on my website.
If you listen to the show, please subscribe, rate & review, and share! I appreciate all your support.
Okay, back to the post. Today’s topic is..
How to get your message across (Hiring & Retention, Part 2)
Whether you’re a marketer, a leader, an expert, or all three, likely one of the biggest and most pressing questions on your mind is: how can I get my message across?
If you’re concerned with hiring and/or retaining talent, you might be wondering:
- How can I show potential hires what our company has to offer? How can I make a compelling pitch for them to work with us?
And
- How can I get my employees on the same page? How can I make sure they understand and buy into our strategies, goals, and efforts?
Well, there are lots of ways we could approach this question. But perhaps one of the most valuable is this:
Instead of thinking: “How can I get my message across?”
Think: “What do they (my audience) really care about?”
As leaders, we can have blinders on. We care about our top-of-mind issues so much, we can easily forget about what is most pressing to the people we seek to serve.
To that end, I encourage you not just to focus on refining or spreading your own message, but to approach your audience with empathy — and ask better questions.
Consider things like:
- What do your staff REALLY want to know? What do they find confusing, or frustrating? What is unclear to them about your message? What are they afraid of or concerned with?
- What do potential new hires REALLY want to know? What do they need to know in order to be assured they will thrive in your organization? What are they concerned with, or afraid of? What’s at stake for them?
If you want to get better at asking questions — and ultimately, be more effectual at getting your message across — check out this advice from Organizational Development Consultant Megan DePutter, MA, who says that asking better questions is key to hiring and retention:
“When entering into dialogue or communications initiatives with staff, take a step back and consider, what’s really important to them?
Forget what problem YOU’RE trying to solve. Get to know what problem THEY’RE trying to solve. What keeps them up at night?
You might not be able to solve that problem. But it will at least give you insight into how to speak to them more effectively and better meet their needs.”
For more of Megan’s tips on this, be sure to check out the podcast here: camilledeputter.com/podcast
In this episode, “How to Ask Better Questions”, Megan offers loads of advice on this subject, including more “hip pocket questions”, scripts, and prompts you can use to ask better questions and foster more productive dialogue.
So with all that said, what’s keeping YOU up at night? What’s on your mind lately?
Write me back and let me know, I’m always interested in what topics or themes you’d like to learn about.
Meanwhile, stay tuned. Next newsletter will wrap up this mini series on hiring and retention.
If you missed Part 1: Can better communications help with hiring & retention, be sure to check it out here: camilledeputter.com/blog/hiring1
Next issue I’ll share a remarkably simple, powerful (yet under-utilized!) action you can take to get better results with both potential hires and existing staff… yet hardly any leaders actually do it!
Thanks for your commitment to better storytelling — I appreciate you.