Employee Personas improve your internal communications

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Employee personas provide insight into employee needs that allow organizations to develop targeted internal communication strategies. Personalizing messages can boost employee engagement and increase overall employee productivity. Find out in this blog how implementing employee personas can improve and optimize your internal communications.

What are Employee Personas?

Employee personas are detailed profiles of specific employee segments. They are similar in many ways to the customer or user personas that many companies already use, but the crucial difference is that employee personas focus on their own employees rather than customers or users. These profiles include their challenges, needs, how they orient themselves and take in information. They serve as a guide for management to tailor their approach and initiatives to better meet the individual needs of each employee. They act as semi-fictional representations that highlight various aspects of employees, such as age, professional experience, position, communication preference, location, challenges, career goals and motivations. By developing employee personas, organizations gain a deeper understanding of how to more effectively engage and support their employees within the context of their specific work experiences. However, many organizations are unaware of the importance of defining such personas for their own employees.

What is segmentation of workers?

Workers’ compensation creates a strategic advantage that contributes significantly to an organization’s diversity. Organizations can improve employee relations and increase worker satisfaction and productivity by identifying and understanding different employee personas.

Why is it important to segment employees using Employee Personas?

Applying employee personas allows organizations to create work experiences specifically tailored to the unique needs and preferences of their employees. 

This personal touch not only gives employees a sense of recognition and appreciation but can also increase productivity. In fact, research from KPMG has shown that investing in the employee experience can lead to significantly higher profitability. In addition, employee personas provide valuable insights for management. They can better understand how employees feel about different decisions, which helps them refine their leadership communications, thus contributing to a more positive work experience. In terms of  internal communications, organizations can use these personas to tailor their messages more effectively. Delivering tailored information and choosing the right communication channels reduces redundant information and improves the overall communication experience. Finally, in the hiring process, understanding these personas helps organizations identify candidates who truly fit the organizational culture. This leads to higher retention rates and helps avoid unnecessary recruitment costs.

By putting employee segmentation into practice, organizations can strive to create an inclusive environment that reflects the unique needs and interests of all employees. Discover all the reasons why your organization needs employee personas in our infographic.

How to create Employee Personas

Creating employee personas is a strategic approach that helps your organization gain a deeper understanding of your employees’ diverse needs and preferences. By developing these personas, you can more effectively align your internal communications, leadership communication and employee experience. Here are the steps to developing an effective employee persona:

• Research and data collection: First, collect information about your employees. This can be done through surveys, interviews, or analysing existing data such as job descriptions and performance reviews.
• Role Identification: Classify employees based on their role in the organization. This will help you understand the tasks they perform and their responsibilities.
• Segments: Further segment these roles based on other relevant factors such as age, experience level, location, etc. This will help you create more detailed characters.
• Identify Characteristics: Identify the key personal and professional characteristics of each segment. Consider demographics, skills, communication challenges and preferences.
• Personal profile development: Use the information collected to create a detailed personal profile. Give each employee a name and add a picture to make them more “human.”
• Validation: Test developed personalities by using them in real communication situations. Gather employee feedback to ensure personas are accurate and useful.
• Iterate: Change characters as needed based on feedback and added information. This is an ongoing project; Employee needs and preferences may change.
• Implementation: Integrate personas into your communication strategy. Use them to personalize your messaging, campaigns, and internal processes.

6 examples of Employee personas

Understanding the different types of employees within an organization is essential for effective management and communication. Creating employee personas gives you a clear picture of the unique needs, motivations, and challenges of each type of employee. Here are some examples of employee personas you may encounter in an organization:

The Newcomer – “Sophie” (Junior Marketing Associate):
Sophie is an enthusiastic and inquisitive starter who is determined to develop her marketing skills. She is open to feedback and eager to learn from more experienced colleagues. Sophie is proactive in contributing to projects and exploring new ideas to improve the company’s marketing strategies. 

The Office Employee – “David” (Software Engineer):
David is a self-driven software engineer who thrives in a virtual work environment. He is adept at solving complex technical problems and communicates effectively with his team despite distance. David is autonomous and takes initiative in delivering high-quality code and solutions, even from a distance. 

The Manager – “Mark” (Operations Manager):
Mark is a results-oriented and empathetic manager who closely monitors the company’s operational processes. He values open communication and encourages his team to work together on efficiency improvements. Mark strives to create a supportive and motivating work environment to achieve the best results. 

The Outbound Employee – “Emiel” (Sales Representative):
Emiel is an enthusiastic and goal-oriented sales representative who thrives in a dynamic and competitive environment. He is determined to exceed sales goals and builds strong relationships with customers through his persuasive communication skills and deep understanding of their needs. 

The Worker “Henk” (Production Worker):
Henk is a dedicated and hard worker who works carefully and efficiently to meet production goals. He is disciplined and thrives in a structured environment where he can perform practical tasks. Henk is motivated to contribute to the company’s success by delivering consistent and quality performance. 

The Specialist – “Diederik” (Physician):
Diederik is an expert physician with a keen eye for detail. He is highly skilled in diagnosing and performing treatments. Diederik is always up to date with the latest medical insights and works closely with his team for the best patient care. He is dedicated to continuous improvement and is fully committed to providing the highest quality of care.

Integrating Employee Personas

After developing employee personas, actively applying them in various organizational aspects is vital. By integrating them into internal communication strategies, specific employee groups can receive tailored information, increasing employee engagement and response. In addition, personas act as guidelines in creating effective learning and development programs that foster individual employee needs and preferences. They can also guide recruitment efforts by attracting ideal candidates who fit the organizational culture and team dynamics. Identifying strengths and weaknesses helps target improvements to promote overall performance and efficiency. In addition, personas provide valuable insights to strengthen organizational culture, fostering an environment of engagement and satisfaction. Identify various employee groups: Start the process by identifying various employee groups within the organization based on demographics, positions, interests, and needs.

Use Employee Personas with Netpresenter

With Netpresenter, you seamlessly tailor your communications to the unique needs of your employees. Advanced targeting capabilities allow you to specifically target content to various employee personas, departments, or specific locations. Within the platform you can easily create content for defined groups through channels or ‘spaces’. You can even communicate on an individual level or bundle users into specific groups. In addition, you can target content to specific devices, such as the mobile app or TV screens in a cafeteria. And with Active Directory integration, the targeting process becomes even more streamlined. To truly optimize your communications, no matter where your employees are, it’s essential to leverage all Netpresenter’s capabilities. Wondering how best to go about this? Dive into our technical blog and take your communication strategy to the next level.

Customer story: Hogeschool Utrecht

The client story of Hogeschool Utrecht clearly shows how effective Netpresenter can be for targeted communication: Hogeschool Utrecht was looking for an effective and sustainable way to reach different audiences, including diverse groups of employees and students who are accustomed to visual and digital content. See how targeted communication can increase engagement and response.

A quote from an Advisor and Editor of Corporate Communications at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences highlights the effectiveness of Netpresenter:

“Especially towards students, I think Netpresenter is a good tool. This is just a tricky target group. They are on everything, but usually not on their school email or the intranet. They are used to visual content and Netpresenter lends itself very well to that. It really comes in.”

Meral van Leeuwen Advisor and Editor corporate communications at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences

Want to fully harness the power of employee personas and take your internal communications to the next level? Want to see directly how our communications platform can support you in doing so? Contact one of our experts for a free 30-minute demo and discover all the possibilities Netpresenter has to offer!