As we work to build more diverse workplaces, this means we will encounter diversity not only in identities but also in the way people think and see the world. An important component of sustaining people in the workplace is consistent and transparent communications. Communications take two primary forms, internal (i.e., your audience will be employees or board members) and external (i.e., your audience will be customers or clients). These two categories, though not exhaustive, capture the primary users of your organization’s information.

When events occur, internally or externally, an equitable approach requires nuance and critical thinking. We offer a few suggestions below on communicating with purpose. If you are interested in this content, we offer an in-depth workshop on this topic as an option in our Equity Labs Workshops. We can also include content on this in a customizable Equity Consulting package.

Start with ideas around what kind of events (internal or external) your organization currently responds to, some examples include communications around repetitive events like Heritage Months or communications around company performance. Higher intensity communications might be responding to changes in federal legislation or global politics.
Next, consider writing down (or reviewing) your communication process. How do you decide who receives what communications and in what form? Do you share the same information with everyone or do you discern based on certain criteria? When it comes to this criteria, is your decision making informed by a recipients role or identity? What is your timeline for responses? Is it different for different groups?
Major social, economic, or geopolitical events will require your organization to take a stance. And yes, even neutrality or saying nothing is a stance (though we do not recommend this approach). Be ready to respond to these events by determining how your organization defines low, moderate, and high intensity events and subsequent responses. Decide, in advance, what form your communications will take and who will be on the team of people organizing the responses. Discuss your team’s anticipated outcomes. What do you want the users of the communications to know – your stance, your actions, your support systems? Ideally your communication will include a little bit of it all. Timeliness matters in these scenarios, be mindful of sending effective communications in a reasonable time frame.

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