American Airlines and FDRA on earning buy-in for internal communication tools

Communicators uniquely know how to craft a story, even one as notoriously hard to prove as the ROI of internal communications.  

• Why it matters: When you have no insights into how communications are performing — and where they need improvement — it’s hard to deliver a convincing proposal that gets executives onboard with investing in even better, smarter tools.  

American Airlines’ Manager of Editorial Strategy Liz Mach and FRDA’s President and CEO Matt Priest discussed their best-in-class strategies for earning stakeholder buy-in to get investment in the communication tools they wanted at a recent Axios HQ event. 

Advice from Liz: Describe what will happen after you invest. 

• Better efficiency. Modern tools mean faster and more modern collaboration. If teams can tag-team content, keep it in one system, stick to brand guidelines, tap who’s next in the workflow, and just keep moving, critical news gets to the folks who need it faster.
• More bandwidth. When systems and workflows are moving more smoothly, there are fewer fires to put out and more time to reassign to other projects. Talk to leaders about what your team will be able to do because of this tool — and beyond it.
• Actionable analytics. Take an honest health check on the reader insights you have. Explain what could be better — maybe you want more intel around engagement — and why it’s critical — like how there’s a direct line between strong communication and things like smart decision-making and team retention. You just need the best data to track it. 

Advice from Matt: Show how effective communications can work. 

• Be proactive. Talk to your stakeholders. See what they like and dislike about your communications. Lean into the ways new tools could specifically ease those issues. It helps people be more open-minded to trying something new.
• Test your tactics. Ask yourself if there’s a lightweight way to test what you ultimately want to implement. Matt started using elements of the Smart Brevity writing style before he brought on the tool that helped scale it. Once people felt the potential of its impact, they were eager to let it expand. 

The bottom line: Investing in the right tools will take your communications to the next level — giving you the insights you need to track where your strategy is working, where it can still be stronger, and why your tools were worth the investment. 

Go deeper: Earn stakeholder buy-in when evolving your communication strategy