Use multiple communication methods to effectively engage employees on your foundU platform.
As we all know, communication is a crucial aspect of managing any business, and communicating with employees can be time-consuming but essential.
To help you with this, foundU offers different levels of functionality for communicating with your employees. As there are multiple ways to communicate, we will direct you to the specific guides for each option below.
In this article, we will cover:
- Considerations on audience size and employee recognition when choosing your communication method
- Employee, candidate and admin Announcements
- Triggering Push notifications for shift changes
- Sending documents that employees sign and acknowledge
- How employees can acknowledge documents through the Onboarder
- Emails and SMS notifications
- Communicating via Week, Day and Shift notes on your roster
- Quick messages using Payslip comments & notes
- Applying comments to declined leave applications
Interested in seeing the various ways to communicate through your foundU platform? Register for our Communicate from your foundU platform on-demand masterclass here!
Communication considerations
As foundU offers multiple ways to communicate from your platform, it can often be tricky to determine which methods to use. There are a few key questions to ask yourself before you jump in and choose your method to communicate:
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- What is the size of your audience? - Are you looking to send your message to all employees or just a specific group?
- Do you require acknowledgement? The method for sending a message or document depends on whether you need your employees to acknowledge receipt.
- Will this be a once-off or recurring communication? - The choice of communication method for sending a message or document can vary based on whether it's a one-time event or not.
The images below will help you consider the communication type based on your audience size and whether you require acknowledgment.
Size of your audience
As shown in the diagram below, audience size is a significant factor in determining the most effective communication method.
To communicate with all Employees, you can choose from the following communication methods:
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- Announcements and Resources
- Adding a mandatory item to your Onboarder (in conjunction with foundU Support)
- Bulk email or SMS
- Push notifications
- Payslip notes
For a segmented group of employees, you can choose from the following communication methods:
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- Adding a mandatory item to your Onboarder (in conjunction with foundU Support)
- Bulk email or SMS
- Using a group from the roster/rosters
- A note on a payslip
For an individual employee, you can choose from the following communication methods:
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- An email or SMS
- A shift comment on the roster
- A comment on a payslip
- A comment on a declined leave application
Record of acknowledgement
As shown in the image below, whether acknowledgment is required is also a factor to consider when determining your communication method.
If you need your employees to acknowledge something, you have several communication options. These include:
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- Capturing an acceptance of Terms and Conditions via a mandatory item in the Onboarder. Even existing employees will be able to see this item.
- Sending a document to an employee through the Employee Profile. The employee signs, acknowledges it, and sends it back.
- Sending an email or SMS (if integrated) directly to an employee, you can verify that it has been sent by checking the communications log or the communications record in the employee's profile. While the employee cannot acknowledge it, you will still be able to see that the message was sent.
For more information on the Communication Log, please see our help guide article here.
Now that you have determined which communication method you would like to use, please continue reading below.
Platform communications
Resources and announcements are the best way to communicate changes or provide resources that affect your entire business/ platform. We will explore each below in more detail.
Announcements
The Announcements function allows you to display an eye-catching banner across your chosen foundU portal. You can consider this your “always everyone” communication tool for reaching admins and employees.
There are 3 key places you can configure a message to display to all logged into that portal.
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Your foundU admin portal - Displays to all admin users.
- This announcement is particularly useful for providing key information to those managing staff in your business.
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The Employee app - Display a message for all employees to read upon entering their app.
- This announcement is ideal for reminding employees about upcoming events or important procedures in your business.
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Your candidate registration page - Display a banner message to all candidates who self-register with your business.
- Since this onboarding method is self-managed, an announcement banner can help share information such as onboarding instructions.
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Your foundU admin portal - Displays to all admin users.
Tip: You can also enhance accessibility for admin users by adding quick access links to relevant documents via the document URL!
Some common use cases for Announcements are:
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- Update for managers on new government restrictions.
- Update employees on new mandatory items. e.g., all employees in the food and beverage industry must complete their food handler certificate by the XXXX date.
- Business reminders. e.g. updated business marketing and need to change logos on LinkedIn.
- Provide onboarding instructions or contact details to potential candidates registering for jobs.
- Safety update - Embed a link with the new map of evacuation points.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- Recruitment manager
- HR & Payroll managers
Resources
Resources provide employees with a convenient link to a preferred website, form, or company intranet, complete with an attractive image. This will appear as a clickable image and link on their Employee app, simplifying their daily routine. Allows employees to access frequently used links without having to search through emails.
Some common use cases for Resources are:
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- A permanent link to your company's intranet
- Link to non-mandatory training/growth/skill-building opportunities
- Link to internal Job boards for internal recruitment
- Link to Microsoft or Google Forms to capture information from employees
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- HR & Payroll managers
To read more information on communicating with Announcements & Resources, please see our Announcements and Resources help guide article here.
Push notifications are an efficient and cost-effective way to communicate shift information to employees. The foundU Employee app generates these alerts even when it is not in use, ensuring that employees receive immediate visual reminders about shift updates. This feature lets them stay informed without opening their app or checking their email.
Push notifications offer convenience for employees using smartphones. They help reduce the number of emails for businesses with frequent shift changes and updates. Additionally, they are more cost-effective and equally convenient as SMS messaging.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Rostering managers
To read more information on communicating with employees using Push notifications, please see our Push notifications help guide article here.
Documents & Policies communications
One of foundU's most valuable HR features is the Document Library. This feature allows you to create and store personalised document templates, which can be issued to employees for signing and acknowledgement, then stored in their profiles.
Some common use cases for the Document Library include:
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- Employment Agreements/ Letters of offer
- Employment contracts
- Employee handbooks
- Performance management documents
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- HR managers
To read more information on how to communicate with employees using the Document Library, please see our Document Library help guide article here.
Terms and Conditions are an effective way to communicate significant policy and procedural updates to your employees.
Terms and Conditions work by linking a PDF policy document stored in your Platform Files library to your Onboarder. This allows new employees to agree to your policies during onboarding, or your current workforce when new Terms and Conditions are introduced.
Some common use cases for Terms and Conditions include:
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- Employee Handbook
- Terms and Conditions of Employment
- Policies and Procedures, i.e. Uniform Policy, Information Security, Equal Opportunity
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- HR managers
To read more information on communicating with Terms and Conditions, please see our Terms and Conditions for Policies help guide article here.
Personalised communications/specific employee communications
Using email or SMS on your platform makes it easier for you to communicate effectively with your employees. It facilitates both ad hoc messages for single employees and templated messages for consistent communication.
Easily distribute them to a targeted group of employees or your entire workforce with just a few clicks!
Communicate via email
Communicating via email on the foundU platform allows you to send messages directly to employees quickly and efficiently. Using email, you can reach individual employees or specific groups, ensuring that important information is delivered.
Some common use cases for email include:
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- Communicate with your applicants throughout the onboarding process.
- Notify your employees of shift offers and job offers.
- Communicate with employees and see a record of the communications you have sent them.
- Inform your team that payroll has been finalised.
- Send a bulk email with a video link to your workforce.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- HR & Payroll managers
To read more information on communicating via email, please see our Communicating with Email help guide article here.
Communicate via SMS
The foundU platform offers a convenient feature that enables seamless communication through SMS, allowing you to send text messages directly to your employees. This functionality ensures quick and efficient messaging, keeping everyone informed and engaged in real-time.
Some common use cases for SMS include:
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- Communicate with your applicants throughout the onboarding process.
- Notify your employees of shift offers and job offers.
- Let your workforce know that payroll is complete.
- Send a bulk custom message to all employees.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- HR & Payroll managers
To read more information on how to communicate with SMS, please see our Communicating with SMS help guide article here.
One of the features users value in our roster is the ability to communicate with employees via various roster note types. You can add roster notes for the entire week, for individual days, or even for specific shifts for each employee.
Some common use cases for Roster notes include:
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- A primary contact for that roster, set to be ongoing, to enable employees to access it easily.
- A featured theme, menu or reminder to all employees for the week.
- Daily events, function notes or delivery times.
- Booking numbers, staff ratios, and meeting reminders.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Rostering managers
To read more information on communicating with Roster notes, please see our Roster Building & Publishing help guide article here.
Adding a comment to an employee's payslip is a simple and effective way to explain any changes made to their pay.
This can be done on both draft and finalised payslips. You can include a note or comment that can be viewed by either an individual employee or all employees in your selected pay entity (office code).
Some common use cases for Payslip comments & notes include:
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- Explaining to an employee why there might be adjustments on their payslip.
- Providing information about back pay, early pay, or out-of-cycle pay.
- Justifying the addition of pay items, allowances, or deductions.
- Clarifying why leave is being paid upon termination.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Super users
- Payroll managers
To read more information on how to communicate with Payslip comments and notes, please see our 'Add a note or comment to payslips and invoices' help guide here.
When managing Time Off, if you decline an employee's leave application, you may optionally provide a reason that will be sent to the employee.
Some common use cases for Leave comments include:
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- Explaining to the employee why a leave application was declined.
- Ask the employee to resubmit their leave application under a different leave type for approval.
This method of communication will be useful for:
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- Rostering managers
- Payroll managers
To read more information on communicating with Leave comments, please see our Manage and Approve Leave / Time Off help guide article here.