Does your diversity and inclusion messaging have a plan?
Beyond the diversity team, how well is the approach to support diversity communicated and understood by associates in your company?
The challenge for diversity & inclusion success is communicating the who, what, why, how and when of diversity & inclusion activities. While diversity teams intimately understand the difference between workforce and supplier diversity the rest of the company needs consistent and strategic communication. With corporate purse strings tightening it’s critical that event sponsorships and activities make business sense and diversity is no exception to that rule. Start by preparing your answers to the tough questions through a thorough strategic communication plan. Here’s an example of how an effective communication plan breaks down a common sponsorship and exhibiting activity strategically:
Getting Regional Buy-In Sponsorship & Exhibits – Your team has dedicated dollars to sponsor and exhibit at an upcoming event in a market where your brand has presence. In addition to having a brand presence a number of senior leaders are in the market place and you need their support and participation at the event.
Target Audience – Regional Leadership, Middle Management
Who (Who’s involved in this activity) – Key representatives from the diversity team are looking to partner with regional representatives to reinforce the corporate brand and create local market connections.
What (Do you want them to know) – Our diversity team will be exhibiting at a diversity related event in (Insert City Here) to identify diverse suppliers or diverse candidates for hire [It’s important not just to not where you are going but why].
How (How can the target audience participate, support messaging) – We need regional leadership’s support in identifying appropriate internal partners to join us at the event to meet diverse candidates.
Why (Why does this make business sense, what’s in it for me?) Our brand has significant presence within the market place and we have yielded a large number of viable prospects annually from this conference.
When (What is the time-frame related to the activity) – Team members identified within 10 days of notification, pre-event planning and coordination 30 days prior. Event is held on MM/DD/YY.
Events, new measurable goals, strategic partnerships and initiatives should have the deliberate strategy for communication defined in the diversity and inclusion team’s annual communication plan. Developing the foundation of an effective plan creates a living document that can be updated year to year as initiatives change keeping internal and external partners on the same page.
The business case for diversity has to be consistently reinforced and substantiated to key stakeholders and a communication plan done the right way can is a valuable tool for success.
Our team at Nuance Marketing has developed winning communication plans for some of the Fortune 500’s leading corporations, small and mid-size businesses and non-profit organizations. For more information on communication planning contact us or send and email to info@nuancemarketing.net.
