How can you create a transparent and authentic campaign?

Where possible look beyond the present and into the past. This is particularly relevant when you are focused on the internal workforce. All employees have a history with an organization no matter how short their tenure. Make sure you do your research and speak with the people you are going to be communicating with. Know what some of the past challenges were. What were some of the roadblocks. Understand where some of the gaps, threats and risks still remain with the workforce, that you'll need to consider in your campaign approach. How does the workforce perceive the organization currently? This is critical to understand.

I'll be looking at this from an internal workforce perspective so I'll need to consider the following: - the vision and mission of the organization - the broader strategic objectives of the organization - relevant department/team strategic plans It will also be important to define what the key outcomes and impacts are from undertaking this campaign. Impacts are vital and relate often to the human factors like behaviour, actions, thoughts and language. These are essential to understand in terms of the change you are wanting to see as a result of your campaign. Without being able to clear define this you are flying blind.

Be mindful how you want to communicate with the audience - remember I'm coming from an internal workforce perspective. Consistency is key but so is truthfulness and transparency. To show you have nothing to hide create ways to meet and converse face to face throughout the course of the campaign. This makes it personal to the workforce and helps convey a genuine sense of care and commitment. Involve remote workers on line at the same time. Create ongoing ways to update people and set timeframes that keep everyone accountable. If you don't know an answer let people know what you'll do to get one and by when. If you cannot find an answer let people know - stick to your deadlines to be seen as credible. Let people know next steps.

I like to set up a quarterly organizational report card. This is shared digitally with key highlights shared directly with the workforce. This campaign report card focuses on areas like: - what's been achieved/when in terms of action - key people involved in delivering - progress update - lessons learnt - challenges, threats and risks - real and potential plus solutions to these - next steps and areas of focus - what the workforce can expect This engagement also allows for workforce advice, ideas and insights. It's key there is also a level of buy in and ownership. Especially as actions will often impact how they will work on a day to day basis.

At every touchpoint throughout the campaign there will be ways for the workforce to engage and help shape the direction of the campaign. This can be done via - at the initial planning stage of the campaign people need to play a role in sharing advice, insights and lived experience - one on one discussions between Manager and and employee as part of ongoing role check ins - regular team check ins and catch ups - put it on the agenda - whole of organization planning days - team/department strategic planning days

It begins with a genuine commitment to honesty and openness, where your audience knows you're sharing not just the successes but also the challenges. Embed your campaign with real stories, real people, and real experiences that resonate with your audience on a human level. Freshness comes from evolving your messaging in real-time, acknowledging mistakes, and highlighting the journey of improvement. Transparency is not a one-time act, but an ongoing narrative of sincerity, and authenticity is born from the courage to be vulnerable. It's about connecting at a personal level, demonstrating a commitment to truth, and walking the talk every step of the way.