Blog - Liz Sheffield Copywriting

WRITING ABOUT THE PEOPLE SIDE OF BUSINESS

One Way to Engage Your Social Audience

Last week I was scrolling through my Facebook feed at around 6 am.

I noticed a headline from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) page I follow. (I’ve included a screen shot for reference.) The first line reads: Throw Back Thursday and Scrunchies are back.

Having worn a few scrunchies in my day, I had to click on the link.

The post was an article from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) about scrunchies and dress codes. The WSJ article contained a quote from a SHRM member about her thoughts related to scrunchies: “Do I think it’s professional? Would I wear a scrunchie? Absolutely not,” she says. “But if it’s not a customer-facing situation, then it becomes a matter of taste.”

That SHRM decided to post the article struck me as odd—are scrunchies a worthy topic to post about on a professional organization’s Facebook page? The tie-in for throw-back Thursday was clever, but it also made me question the judgment of the person behind the Facebook account.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone in wondering about the value of the post. By the end of the day, there were 200 comments, more than 40 shares, and a lot of angry emojis. Most of the responses rebuked SHRM. Here’s a sample:

“Wow!! Really? Some pretentious snob decided these were fashion disasters at some point and now SHRM social media thinks that’s a worthy topic for HR professionals?”

“Good lord, with ACTUAL problems in the world and the workplace and THIS is what SHRM wants to tackle … how a woman accessorizes?! Go do an article on #MeToo or #TimesUp or pay equality or FMLA.”

The SHRM social media team was busy that day. From what I could tell they responded to many, if not all, of the comments. Their basic approach was to:

thank readers for their feedback,
reassure them that SHRM brought the topic up to encourage discussion, and
remind readers about other (more serious) topics about which they regularly post.

If we’re communicating with an audience and readers via social media, we can learn a lot from this experience.Your followers are watching what you do. They are smart. And, they have a voice. When you’re engaging with your community, be judicious about what you share on social media. And be ready for each and every possible reaction.

In the case of what I now refer to as the “SHRM Scrunchie Debacle,” I came away impressed by their social media team. Did they really intend to “start a discussion”? Maybe…or, maybe not.

But once the discussion began, they didn’t run and hide. They didn’t delete the post. Instead, they responded and reacted in a sincere and meaningful way.

Hopefully the sincerity and appreciation they expressed is what their Facebook community will remember.

Posted by Copywriter on March 31, 2018

HR Matters, Rewards and Recognition

Have you said “thank you” today?

My massage therapist recently let me know she’s changing careers. She’s going to become a city bus driver. That’s quite the change for a woman in her 40s—from heated tables, quiet waterfall music, and lavender-scented oils to the driver’s seat of a city bus that weighs at least 20,000 pounds!

After talking with her regarding the decision to switch careers, it was clear that there were various issues are at the root of the career change. As someone who writes about the people side of the business, there was one that was very disappointing.

This massage therapist has been at the same spa for 10.5 years. She’s never received any recognition or appreciation from the owner.

Sigh. That’s not okay.

Why would I mention this in a LinkedIn article?

For those of us working in HR or the HR marketplace, we must be leaders in demonstrating how easy it is to show appreciation—for our employees, our colleagues, and our clients.

Appreciation breeds appreciation.

This year Employee Appreciation Day is Friday, March 2. Make sure you have a plan to appreciate and recognize your employees. Share this date with your colleagues, clients, friends and family so they can plan, too.

(Not sure how to demonstrate appreciation? Start with these five questions.)

One person at a time, my hope is that together we can make sure no one goes 10.5 years without recognition and appreciation for a job well done.

And before I sign off: thank you for reading this post. I appreciate it.

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Posted by Copywriter on February 20, 2018

MeYou Health, Portfolio, Wellness

How to convince your CEO and CFO you need a wellness program

Startup Stock Photos

It’s no secret that workplace wellness programs are rapidly moving from an extra to an essential for growing businesses. As an industry, wellness is expected to continue growing exponentially in the next several years, surpassing other common benefits such as professional and career development, flexible work schedules, retirement, and family-friendly policies. As wellness programs become more common, employees are seeking employers who offer them as a benefit.

If you’re considering implementing a wellness program for your company, it’s important to gain early and consistent support from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and CFO (Chief Financial Officer) to ensure long-term success for your program. Executive leaders don’t just “sign the dotted line” to get a wellness program started, they’re also influential as champions of the program. You need to get their support to:

Demonstrate an investment in employee health
Empower other workplace leaders to share the vision
Encourage employees to participate

Read the full post here, at MeYou Health.

Posted by Copywriter on December 22, 2017

Employees, Portfolio, SPARK by ADP

Employee Retention Starts with Understanding Their Top Concerns

There are many factors that impact employee retention. But rather than watching employees walk out the door and working to figure out what went wrong, HR professionals would be wise to proactively examine and address the factors that drive employees to leave in the first place.

According to the ADP Research Institute® (ADP RI) report, The Evolution of Work 2.0: The Me vs. We Mindset, there are three key areas that HR leaders can focus on to keep employees. These areas are as follows:

Openness and Transition
Creating Meaning, Human Connections and Advancement
Attraction, Retention and Attrition

1. Openness and Transition

According to ADP RI, 56 percent of employees say they feel there is “no such thing as job security today.” While they may enjoy their jobs, this insecurity can put employees in a constant state of transition, ready to jump on other positions that meet their needs.

Address this concern by making sure your organization’s leaders regularly share business results with employees and relate those results to job security and long-term opportunities. Also, HR must influence leaders to be open and honest during the difficult times. Rather than making employees fear what’s ahead, talking about struggles can serve to inspire greater commitment and help employees self-identify as part of the team that will help the organization overcome its obstacles.

Click here to read the full post published at SPARK by ADP.

Posted by Copywriter on December 7, 2017

HR Buyers, HR Matters

What are you saying?

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to California with my younger son and my mother. As we sat in t

he Sacramento airport waiting to board our flight home, an airline gate agent’s voice kept interrupting my thoughts and conversations.

Within the span of about 15 minutes, she made the following update, not once or twice, but at least five times: “If you’re in possession of a boarding pass…please proceed to the gate.”

After I’d heard this phrase for the fifth time, not only was I annoyed, I realized there were a few issues:

The words the gate agent used were not simple enough for everyone to understand.
The plane which was boarding was not only a different airline, it was nowhere near our gate.

This experience brought to mind two important points:

We must choose our words with care.

When you try to make your product or service sound complex, you risk losing your audience. Which sentence would make you take action?

Option 1: “If you’re in possession of a boarding pass…please proceed to the gate.”

Option 2: “If you have a boarding pass, please come to the gate.”

Don’t use words like “possession” and “proceed” when you can communicate with much simpler language.

We must broadcast our message to those who need to hear it.

Based on your buyer personals, craft content marketing (a blog post, case study, tweet or other content) that will reach them. Regardless of the formant, make sure you’re directing your message to the right audience.

Regardless of whether your message is about boarding an airplane or purchasing HR products or services, make sure it’s clear. If it’s not, you may end up with an empty plane.

Posted by Copywriter on November 22, 2017

HR Buyers

HR Marketers: Got Bandwidth?

I remember well my days working under the corporate HR umbrella—especially those frantic summer months when directors and vice presidents realized it was time to get cracking on the projects they committed to complete by the end of the year.

What does this mean for you as an HR marketer?

This is the time when your prospects may be in panic mode.

Their strategies are set. Their list of deliverables is only growing. And, their employees are…on vacation.

(The phrase I remember most from those summer days was :We don’t have the bandwidth.)

This is the time when you need to share the services, resources, and tips you have that will make their life easier.

The only problem? You may find yourself in the same situation—with team members on summer vacation. Staring at the list of projects on your plate, you have no idea how you’re going to create the articles, white papers, case studies or blog posts that will intrigue your prospects. Your team may not have the bandwidth.

Regardless of the content marketing issue you’re facing: I’m here to help.

I’m currently booking my schedule for June – August. Contact me to schedule a time to about how I can support your content marketing needs this summer.

Let’s put a plan in place for how I can help you make timely, meaningful connections with your prospects so you can meet those goals you set at the beginning of YOUR fiscal year.

Posted by Copywriter on May 12, 2017

HR Buyers, HR Matters

HR Matters: Invest in the Story

Image Credit: https://info.ikea-usa.com/Catalog/

Sometime last September a new IKEA catalogue showed up in our mail box.

I tossed it on the counter along with the bills, promises for better wireless service, and an abundance of local grocery fliers.

Later that week I pulled out the catalogue. (This is strange behavior for me: I never flip through catalogues.) But for some reason, this catalogue from IKEA captured my interest with the promise of some much-needed lunchtime distraction. I opened to a page with a photo of people younger than me, sitting around a coffee table, sharing a meal.

Along with the photo was a paragraph of copy, part of which read:

“The days of ‘have to’ are over. Go ahead and eat around the coffee table. Sit on the sofa. Or the floor. Because it doesn’t really matter where we eat — Just that we get to be together.”

The message of the days of “have to” being over, and of the importance of just being together? They rang true. I flipped to the next page. And the next. During lunch, I continued to browse through the IKEA catalogue. Not because I was looking for furniture, but because I wanted to read the copy in the catalogue.

I’m not saying I think we all need to run to IKEA and get a new set of décor. But I do think as marketers speaking to an HR audience, we can learn from this experience.

Like the pile of unwanted mail I found in my mail box, HR professionals receive messages from every corner of their lives. If we want to make a connection, we need to provide a meaningful story about our products and services.

The power of the IKEA catalogue was that it told a story. I was pulled in with pictures and copy that went beyond showing me the latest and greatest new item from IKEA. Sure, those were included—they had a new bowl that was only 99 cents! But that new, cheap bowl wasn’t the focus.

“Because it doesn’t really matter where we eat—Just that we get to be together.”

The focus of the story that resonated with me was about the importance of gathering together for meals—regardless of the type of table. Regardless of the state of my kitchen, dirty floors, or flatware that doesn’t match.

You might be thinking that cool couches and new dishes are easier to sell than HR products and services. An example from Intuit illustrates how the power of story can change that.

“At Intuit, a software company born of the laments of ordinary people about what a pain in the posterior it is to balance a checkbook, the key to success has been relieving customers’ anxiety about money and computers. People don’t buy technology, they buy products that improve their lives.’”

– Scott Cook, Intuit Chairman

Don’t let your next newsletter, hard copy mailer, or website be the one that gets tossed aside. Try to infuse story within your copy. Where do you start? Ask yourself this question:

“If I were an HR specialist, manager, director or VP in these circumstances, what would I do? What story would I want to hear?”

Not sure of the answer? Study the people who are reading your story. Listen to what your audience talks about (their hopes, fears, dreams):

Participate in a Twitter chat, join a local HR group, read industry content
Schedule coffee with a customer
Send me your questions about HR folks—I’m happy to share what I’ve learned

The information and insight you gather will help you become a better, more relevant storyteller for your HR readers.

When you focus on the story you’re telling, as well as the people reading the story, your copy might just make your readers pour over your message as they eat their lunch.

Like this post? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, HR Matters!

Posted by Copywriter on April 3, 2017

Benefits, HR Buyers

3 Reasons Why I Love the “For HR People Who Do Everything” Ads

When I feel compelled to share an ad on every social media vehicle to which I have access, I take that as a signal that someone is doing something right.

That happened to me today, when I watched these ads from Gusto!, a start-up provider of online HR services such as payroll, health benefits, and time tracking.

Why do these ads appeal to me?

They demonstrate that Gusto! knows their audience. People in HR get asked every question under the sun, just like the HR director depicted in these ads. The inside joke factor in her handling of everything from benefits to recruiting to the bathroom key illustrates that the people behind these ads truly get the challenges faced by their HR audience.
The ads are quick. HR people are busy handling people emergencies all day long. Rather than sending out a 250-page white paper to generate leads, these ads convey enough information to generate interest in less than a minute.
They’re engaging and fun. Some folks may view the topic of benefits, payroll, and time tracking as bor-ing. These tongue-in-cheek ads make light of the topics, but in doing so, also illustrate how the HR function is relevant to everyone who is employed. In a comic way, they celebrate that HR does contribute to the business.

So, I encourage you to watch these ads. If you’re an HR professional, they’ll give you a chuckle.

And if you’re someone in the business of marketing to HR professionals, they’ll give you a chuckle, too…as well as some inspiration about how to get creative about delivering your message to HR.

Posted by Copywriter on October 13, 2016

a magazine, Human Resources, Portfolio, Talent Management

What do job descriptions say about your culture?

Job descriptions provide a way of communicating about the organization, performance expectations, and job requirements. When they’re done well, they’re useful tools to engage applicants, inform employees, and help guide employment decisions. They provide valuable information about your organizational culture.

But how often do you read a job description that leaves you saying, “Huh?”

Don’t let that happen! In this post published at O.C. Tanner, I provide three ways to infuse some of your culture into your job descriptions—and on your website’s careers page—so that everyone understands what’s required.

Posted by Copywriter on July 27, 2016

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Sometime last September a new IKEA catalogue showed up in our mail box.

Like this post? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, HR Matters!