Paycor Shift in Communication Tools Increases Engagement and Efficiency

Paycor’s 180-degree shift from an office-based workforce to one that was fully remote was motivated by imperative needs. Virtually overnight, they transitioned from having 2,000 employees who were primarily office-based, to a 100% remote workforce.

Having started as a small mid-western payroll business and grown into a national technology company with all these products, their product had been expanding fast. Consequently, so had their customer and associate base. As the business continued to grow, so too, did its need for effective internal tools and technologies. The obvious challenge was that to continue serving their U.S. employees and international associates, they needed a communication strategy that would keep them informed and engaged. But, it became even more imperative when Paycor became a fully virtual-first company due to the pandemic.

Identifying the Challenges

The Paycor internal communications team was acutely aware that when a company starts communicating too much, people stop paying attention. They also realized the importance of focusing on what their employees and associates need to know.

When they began exploring new options, they identified a series of more specific challenges relating to:

• Email: Bananatag, the communication tool they were using at the time was integrated with Outlook, which wasn’t always smooth. There was no integration with content from other channels. Also, it performed very slowly and they weren’t able to send attachments with emails.
• Newsletters: Weekly newsletters were produced manually and there was often a rush in getting material together.
• Intranet: They identified the intranet as “a huge hurdle” to overcome. It was under-utilized across the business, with outdated information and in need of a refresh.
• Lack of personalization: All communications were sent to all employees and associates, without regard for their needs or interests.
• Manual operations: There was no automation incorporated into the internal comms program, which meant everything had to be done manually. The risks included the possibility of inefficiencies and increased errors. Also, there was less time to focus on strategic initiatives that drive engagement and alignment across the organization.
• Basic analytics: Because their internal communications program was based on manual operations, analytics were fundamental and the internal comms team was distrustful of their accuracy.

Another major challenge was that due to the nature of Paycor’s business, security was paramount. “Being a payroll company, we have a ton of security measures in place which can make any sort of new integration a 10-step process.” Keeping customers’ information as secure as possible “added some IT hurdles for us along the way.”

The specific goals and objectives of Paycor’s internal communications team aligned with the challenges they faced.

They needed to upgrade their existing internal communications system and streamline it. They wanted an email system that performed more effectively and efficiently. They were frustrated with the existing newsletter process which was time-consuming and unmanageable.

A primary goal was to improve the very outdated intranet. A key objective was to introduce a completely new strategy that would make their intranet the front door of Paycor’s virtual workplace. They also wanted a reliable analytics solution and automation of at least some tasks to streamline their efforts.

But it wasn’t that simple. Emily acknowledges that the first step was to truly understand what they wanted and to define their goals. For this reason, it became a collaborative effort between the internal communications team and the chief human resources officer (CHRO).

They knew that they wanted communication within the company to be better. They also knew it needed to feel more personal. “But what does that actually look and feel like? And what are the steps that we need to take to get there?”

Ultimately, they wanted to communicate things that people really needed to know. In addition to the right content, they were aiming at shorter communication in general together with increased video communications. The internal comms team also aimed to ensure employees could recognize their leaders, understand their values, and feel connected to the vision they represent. Making leadership more visible helps foster trust and builds a stronger sense of unity within the organization.

Measuring the outcomes of an internal communication strategy is essential. Tracking results and metrics helps confirm the effectiveness of communication efforts and highlights areas for improvement to support organizational goals.

Valarie McCarthy finds that just understanding how many people are actually clicking through content is really exciting. “Analytics help us understand what our associates are interested in, and what topics they like reading about.” She also emphasizes the benefit of being able to identify audience reach.

“It’s pretty exciting. When you think about the stuff that you’re putting out there that people are clicking through and wanting to actually read that stuff. It’s not wasted effort, after all.”

But what about the numbers?

Email analytics from 2023 to September 2024 show:

My Paycor News for the same period shows:

• 614k Email Blasts have been sent
• Average audience size has been 1,412
• 34% click rate

The top categories of readership for My Paycor News are employee experience, career development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

• 285k sent
• 68% audience reach
• 32% click rate
• 247 Segments

How Do These Results Align With Expectations?

Paycor found that their audience became super-engaged — which is exactly what they wanted. They were particularly pleased with how their audience responded to personalizing their experiences. “Some employees say their favorite time of the week now is when they get My Paycor News,” the newsletter collated by New Digest.

It’s a highlight for the internal comms team. Instead of a last-minute panic before producing the weekly newsletter, they are able to strategize. Customization is also a win-win.

The new email approach was also on the mark. “The scheduling feature has helped our team immensely. Previously, being integrated with Outlook, we could schedule emails, but they wouldn’t send unless a person’s computer was open. The scheduling feature task in Broadcast has enabled us to be more intentional — to get ahead.”

Shortly before Emily left the company in 2022, she said it was just the beginning of Paycor’s Broadcast journey. It had already helped by integrating the platform with their intranet. And it provided them with a unique opportunity to give people the news that they want or that’s most impactful for their jobs. According to Emily, it was even better for their associates.

However, achieving their analytics goal was still a job in progress. But she wasn’t fazed. Even though the data element wasn’t exactly where they wanted it to be, she believed it would help them by showing continuous improvement. After all, personalization hadn’t been high enough at first. But, with help from the Cerkl CS team, they were able to get it to grow. As the personalization rate grew, so too did overall engagement. It’s an ongoing process.

Valarie McCarty confirms that, two years later, the Internal comms team uses vital analytics to guide and inform decision-making using actionable insights from data.