It's embarrassing when it happens, but ... it happens! Sometimes we think we've told others about something new coming their way, but we didn't a) communicate at all, b) communicate clearly, or c) reach them where they're at. And so, they never received the message we were trying to send.
The first step of galvanizing something new with others is to build awareness about that new thing. Preferably this is done before you ask them to start using it—in this case, start participating in a POPin session to give you honest, valuable input or feedback.
Tips for building POPin awareness with your team:
Keep initial communications basic. Stay focused on the What, Why, When and How of using POPin in your organization. Keeping it simple allows others to actually consume what's being said in this 'noisy' world of high-volume communications!
When appropriate, personalize communications to address different stakeholder groups that will be using the app. ("Remember how painful it was last year when we tried to build alignment on what projects we were going to prioritize in the budget? We went back and forth ... and back and forth. It was exhausting to keep up with the emails and meetings!") Research says that 60% of people remember stories, while only 5% remember individual stats.
Use multiple communication channels to ensure you reach everyone. This might include sending an email, posting an announcement on your intranet or social tool, making an announcement in a meeting, AND having one-to-one conversations with the influencers on your team so they can help socialize the message.
A sample written communication for inspiration.
(Feel free to borrow language that makes sense for your environment!)
Hi there,
Our leadership team is going to start using a web-based app called POPin. Specifically, we'll use this tool to gather company-wide feedback and input on topics that impact our workplace happiness and productivity.
While we've used employee engagement and other surveys in the past, POPin is different because it allows us to have a dynamic and actionable conversation as a collective group. Our hope is that leadership will be able to react faster to what you say, because we can efficiently identify what's most important to the majority of the team, in a real-time fashion—and without seeding the answers (like surveys often do).
So, here's how we'll get started with our POPin journey:
On [Date], I'll email a link to our first POPin question: [example: "What's ONE thing the leadership team could do to make your work environment less frustrating/more fulfilling?"]
You'll have 72 hours to weigh-in on this topic.
To access the session, you'll simply click the link that's shared—no desktop or mobile app to install; no login credentials required because this will be a completely anonymous and company-wide (unrestricted) session.
You'll start by reviewing other people's answers. If someone submitted an answer that represents your thoughts, give it a thumbs up. If you disagree with someone's answer ... give it a thumbs down. This is how we'll determine what matters the most ... to the most of us! (Try not to enter duplicative answers. If you want to clarify or add to someone's answer after you give it a vote, comment on their post instead.)
If you don't see an answer that represents your thoughts/feelings, post something! All submissions are 100% anonymous. So be vulnerably honest. We don't want any awkwardness to prevent us from hearing game-changing ideas.
Check back in to participate in this conversation over the 72-hour period.
When the session closes, the leadership team will meet to define an action plan for the Top 3 voted answers! Stay tuned for more.
Here's a How to Use POPin help article if you're interested in learning more about the tool. Otherwise, watch out for my email re: our first POPin session!
Use the live Help chat to contact our Client Success Team if you'd like additional support on any of these topics.