#12: How To Scale Your Internal CS Communication

Most scaling companies' communication channels are as noisy as a street market. 

The average employee receives 115 emails a day. And that's not even including other channels like Slack, Teams, Zoom, Project Management tools etc. On top of that, CSMs are also exposed to customer-generated information. 

How can we possibly expect CSMs to retain all that information?

The answer is, we can't.

We need to re-think our communication strategies to maximise the CSM's ability to retain information and more importantly apply knowledge.

🎯 The Challenge With Internal Communication 

I talk to many CS Leaders that are confused and frustrated at the level at which their CSMs retain information.

They are wondering why their training isn't sticking. Scratching their head to find ways to increase the adoption of new frameworks. Worried about the speed at which their people upskill in product knowledge. Annoyed that people haven't actioned the CTA on their email.

The consensus is that because the communication has been sent multiple times through different mediums, people should have gotten the memo. But it’s not that simple.

When you over-communicate every single workstream, your organisation is unbearably noisy.

It's like being in a street market, where every stall owner shouts at you about their products and how great they are. Asking you to come in, complimenting you, offering 2 for 1 etc.

Most people get so frazzled in that situation that even if they wanted to buy anything, they walk away with their hands in their ears, ready for a relaxing drink in a quiet spot. 

That's what's happening in your business. 

🎯 The Solution for Scaling Internal Communication

The answer is: focus on fewer things and finish the swing in each of them. 

But that's easier said than done.

So much of the volume isn't in your control. Product has their own updates cadence. Enablement is on their own schedule. Leadership just fires off whenever they have something in their mind.

That's why you need to interlock with other teams to work on a companywide strategy for disseminating information.

Here is where you can start:

1. Define Your Priorities. You can't move the needle on 100 things at the same time. What are the 1 or 2 non-negotiable plays that you want your team to have mastered this quarter? Align with your leadership team and counterparts. This is where you will increase the volume. Everything else should be turned down dramatically. 
2. Classify Other Communication Using the Eisenhower Matrix. A P1 to P4 structure helps you make decisions on how you disseminate information. It's not that you lock the door to all other information. But as soon as a new initiative hit your desk, you apply a priority level to it depending on importance and urgency. This system will guide your decision of how this information should be shared with your CSM team. Commit to only having 1 or 2 things as P1s. If something new comes, what drops out?
3. Develop a Process to Deal with Each Priority Level. Define your main communication channels and create an approach to using each. Having a cadence or a Rhythm of the Business is useful. You can have a weekly newsletter, a monthly meeting, and a quarterly offsite. The medium should be varied to cater for different learning styles. A cadence is effective because it drives consistency, everyone knows to expect your Wednesday Newsletter and to make time for it.
4. Create Knowledge Application Opportunities. It's not enough to share information. In order to consolidate it, people need space to apply and learn by getting their hands dirty. If it's product knowledge, create mock projects. If it's consulting frameworks, pair people up for mock calls etc.
5. Assess Information Adoption. How will you know people's assimilation of information? Find ways to measure and learn what people's maturity in a subject is. This will inform whether knowledge has been consolidated or still needs working on. Don't forget to measure impact. What's improved since people started applying this knowledge?

 TL;DR

1. Don't lean on overcommunication for everything.
2. Define your key priorities with the rest of your leadership team.
3. Create a scalable structure to distribute content.
4. Make the application of knowledge a priority.
5. Measure the adoption and the impact.

Communication is never 'done'. This structure can help you build the foundations to scale successfully.

See you next Friday.