The company I work for is in the process of updating our employee handbook. I have been charged to think of creative ways to communicate this information to employees. We have not done much of this in the past so this will be something new employees are not used to. The idea is to travel to each one of our regional office locations and hold an employee meeting about the policies found in the handbook.

A few ideas we have come up with include:
1. Instead of one meeting, hold tailored sessions throughout the day that relate to particular policies. This will give people more of a choice to sit in on what interests them most.

2. Hold roundtable sessions that cover main policies. Allow flexible communication, Q&A

I am looking for other ways to relay this information and appreciate any suggestions.

Isn't the communication IN the handbook? Make sure you're first clear on the purpose/goal of this adventure in adult-sitting.

If it's to give them a chance to ask questions, then just be available to answer questions. If it's to make sure they read the stuff, try a jeopardy game that reviews the key information. If it's both, have Q/A and the Jeopardy game.

Bottom line -- avoid having people sit through sessions listening to stuff they can and should read for themselves.

Also - regarding questions -- you could offer a way for people to easily submit questions in advance and you could provide "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions" in an email or on your Intranet.

Excellent questions and suggestions from Fanatic! I also wonder why the company believes the communication should involve on-site facilitation? Does the analysis show a gap in performance relative to the policies in the employee handbook that training can address? My impression from your description is that that's not the case, since you're considering offering voluntary sessions. Perhaps the goal is for the employees to feel good about getting a personal touch? Which in itself is a worthy goal, since remote locations can often feel disconnected from the mother-ship.

We're also challenged with traveling to remote locations to deliver information, and one approach we're implementing is the use of webinars. On the upside, we're finding very real cost savings...a big downside has been more technical difficulties than anticipated (due to non-standard operating platforms at some locations), and so we're partnering with IT to find a feasible way forward. An additional challenge is making the delivery fun and activity-based. As a facilitator, it's been a rewarding challenge to tackle. For instance, a live video feed is not feasible (and I don't like them for webinar anyway), but I put a candid photo of myself on my Welcome slide, to put a personal touch in the presentation and help participants see me as a real person.

Good luck!
Jim

Great suggestions! My company has been around a long time and believes in face-to-face interaction.

I have tried webinars and agree that they can be technically challenging at time. It's ashame since they are very efficient when they want to work correctly!

How about a scavenger hunt through the handbook or scavenger hunt to different departments re: handbook info?