A viral job post was doing the rounds recently and it got me thinking about the power of no-nonsense, plainspoken reward communications.

Granted, the learnings that I picked up could well be applied to a variety of areas involving communications; but for the purpose of this article I will look at these lessons through the lens of a reward practitioner.

The job advert in question was refreshingly honest and infused with a healthy dose of humour.

The responsibilities of the role were described as “Need sidekick/hench(wo)man to do admin tasks I‘ve been putting off since the coalition was in power”. Among the benefits listed you would find “Flexible working hours. We start at 11am. Morning people need not apply” or “Pick your own job title! (...) The only catch is douchey titles such as ‘Head of Innovation’ are prohibited”.

As for the features of an ideal candidate, these included “Despises authority in all of its guises”, “You despise meditation, yoga, self-help, healthy eating and other tosh” or - cue ‘we all know someone like this’ moment – “Wants to live the Monaco lifestyle on a Wetherspoons budget”.

You get the idea, right?

What can be learned from this in the context of reward communications?

This job advert went viral for a reason. It was real. You could picture someone actually saying those words. Someone with a distinct voice – AND personality.

For all the talk about company values and culture, how often is that really reflected on reward communications? Ask yourself, does reward have a ‘voice’ in your organisation?

Also, sometimes we forget that employees are people, with their own problems, opinions and expectations. We fall for the temptation of turning to condescending or unnecessarily overcomplicated language to deliver a simple message, particularly when it is a difficult one. Yes, it will never be easy to communicate a salary freeze or no bonus awards, but trying to substitute the human element of communications with ‘corporate speak’ only erodes trust and compounds the negative impact of an already difficult message.

Why not try picturing yourself delivering that message?

If you can’t see yourself verbalising what you’re writing down, then it’s probably time to stop and re-think what it is you want to say. Simple. And in doing so the message gains in authenticity and, most importantly, credibility.

So the next time you’re staring at your screen, looking for the right words, why not try something different? Something real?

And if you would like a sounding board to test your messages or overall approach, drop us a line.

Juan Novoa, Lead Consultant at QCG – April 2017