Communication Strategy
As you plan your outreach to employees, consider the following:
The information below will help your workgroup create the foundation for a comprehensive communication program.
Statement of purpose
The statement of purpose is the foundation of your cardiovascular/behavioral health program; it acknowledges the problem, commits to supporting the individual, work team or group and expresses the core objectives of the program. Try to develop a statement that closely supports the company mission statement.
Here is an example of a statement of purpose:
As the nation’s No. 1 killer of both men and women, heart disease poses a significant threat to employee health and quality of life. In order to safeguard the health of our workforce, (your company name) will help individuals change behaviors that negatively affect their heart health. We also will ensure that those living with heart disease get the support they need to follow their treatment plan and cope with their condition.
Communication objectives
Consider establishing communication objectives that:
- educate individuals on the lifestyle habits that put their heart health at risk
- support individuals who are changing their behavior for improved health
- for individuals living with heart disease, encourage compliance with their treatment plan and support them in dealing with the stress and emotions surrounding their condition
- help individuals identify the signs of depression, anxiety and chronic stress and know when to seek help for them
Key educational messages
To support these communication objectives, here are some key messages to include in your communications:
- Changing a risky health behavior is a process that requires planning and support. Take it one step at a time, and believe that you will succeed.
- Talk to someone when you’re feeling sad, worried or stressed.
- You can take charge of heart disease with the support of your doctor and loved ones.
Communication pointers
Consistent and frequent communication will maximize the impact of the message. Keep in mind some key communication principles as you design your plan:
- Strive for frequency—People need to hear messages several times in order to process them and eventually adopt them. Therefore, consider embedding messages that relate to this cardiovascular/behavioral health initiative in other communication campaigns that support a heart healthy lifestyle, such as exercise and weight management.
- Be focused and consistent—Try to keep the communication focused on supporting the key messages rather than introducing new concepts. Keep the language consistent.
- Know your audience—How can you best reach your diverse workforce? Do they prefer written or oral communications? Print or electronic? Live or video-based? What is the functional reading level of the employee population? Are there cultural issues or perspectives to consider? Ideally, a strategy is created for the general population and then specific tactics and activities are designed for targeted audiences.
- Consider context—What else is going on in the organization? Has the organization experienced stressful events in the recent past (for example, downsizing, merger or a traumatic incident impacting workers) that might make the initiative more difficult to implement? Or does this initiative dovetail nicely with other company programs (for example, healthy lifestyles/healthy weight)? Make sure your message is communicated in the appropriate context.
- Try different approaches—Keep in mind that individuals typically retain 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 70 percent of what they talk over with others and 80 percent of what they use and do in day-to-day life. Multidimensional interventions will likely have the best results.
- Make a long-term commitment—Repeat interventions will reinforce the commitment of the organization and the original prevention goals.
With this strong foundation of commitment and clear objectives, you can now devise tactics that support your communication strategy. Please refer to “Tools” and “Program Tracks ” for assistance in planning your organization’s integrated cardiovascular/behavioral health initiative.
