Are you wondering how your communications need to change to reflect your new DEI strategy? Are you having difficulty equating your inclusivity training with your daily reality? Are you conscious that there are some words that shouldn’t be used, but you don’t know which ones or why? Are you worried about communicating across cultures in an inclusive way? Let’s take a look at the key role communications play in DEI.

Are you disconcerted by the gap between your awesomely well-defined employer brand and your job advertisements? Do you struggle to align your corporate values with the need to clearly guide unruly employees in your HR memos? Do you wonder how to convey your company culture in legal documents? Here are some pitfalls to avoid and ways to keep step with the employee journey.

Does your company speak to audiences in different areas of the world? In their own language? Do you wonder if your audiences are understanding exactly what you spent hours meticulously crafting in the original language? Do you mark up texts for translation or trust the translator to figure it out? Have you ever been unsure what a text meant, and realized that something was lost in translation? Let’s take a look at what makes a translation accurate.

Does storytelling seem like something unattainable to you (unless you had a massive budget)? Do you think too much emphasis is put on it? Do you think it’s just not applicable to more mundane communications? Many people know that a storytelling approach can make communications more engaging. However, here at Usher & Spur, we’ve noticed a lack of certainty about what it actually is and how to go about it, to the point where we’re never sure in advance if we and our clients are on the same page.

When the pandemic was declared, communications suddenly became important, beyond clever media campaigns, branding, and strategy. Organizations still needed us to convey business messages, but they wanted it to be done in an empathetic, understanding way. In short, they needed to show they were human. But what does that mean, why is it important, and is it just a sales or HR tactic?

Many companies are now mandating the use of AI for written communications, for everything from RFPs to inter-company emails, via blog and social media posts. It can save time researching and writing first drafts, and it can also, in the multilingual world, help with translation. It’s an excellent resource… for those who know how to use it to get useful results, but most especially, for those who know what a good outcome looks like.