Manager comms toolkits: A step-by-step drafting guide

Drafting a manager comms toolkit should be a deliberate process that takes both the needs of the employee audience and the manager receiving the toolkit into account. They should both have patterns that any manager can pick up and follow, but be customizable to a specific manager’s comms tendencies.

Cat Colella-Graham, internal communications consultant at Deloitte, told Ragan that by leaning into a repeatable structure, communicators can write guides that ease the change management process.

“Too often, communicators assume managers are natural communicators,” she said. “But they’re not — they need resources. If you don’t give them structured documents or live guidance, they’re left without the tools they need to succeed.”

Here are a step-by-step tactics for internal communicators who are tasked with drafting a manager comms toolkit.

• Start your drafting process with the Q&A section. The core of any great manager comms toolkit is the FAQ section. It should be the first thing comms pros work on in any toolkit drafting process. Colella-Graham said that the language of the Q&A section should be direct to minimize confusion and misinterpretation. “It has to be drafted in a very stark, simple format — question, answer, question, answer,” she said. “No fluff, no narrative.” She added that when putting together the Q&A section, comms pros should consider the perspectives of the employees managers will address with these Q&A points. “Don’t write as a communicator, write as an employee,” Colella-Graham said. “Drafting FAQs means anticipating employee questions and writing answers that are clear, direct and employee-centric. Sometimes it helps to imagine yourself in a different role and ask what you’d need to know if you were in their shoes. That exercise keeps your draft grounded in real concerns.”
• Messaging blocks should come next. “When drafting, think of your messaging blocks as scripts or talking points,” she said. “Use bold headings, outlines and formatting that make them easy to scan. Write them so managers are all singing from the same songbook — consistent language across the organization.” Colella-Graham also illustrated how these messaging blocks can look in action. “For example, you might draft a block that says, ‘In your next team meeting, share this message and repeat it weekly,’” she said. “The draft should be explicit about frequency, tone and phrasing. The goal is to make it effortless for managers to pick up the document and know exactly what to say and when to say it.”
• Carefully choose your language as you draft. The best toolkits work when the reader finds them easy to decipher. Throughout the drafting process, comms pros should seek out opportunities to word documents as simply as possible. “This is not your SAT word time,” Colella-Graham said. “The language should feel familiar and approachable. I call it ‘weekend language’ — the kind of words you’d use casually, not the stiff phrasing you’d see in a corporate memo. Draft FAQs and message blocks in this more relaxed tone.” Colella-Graham also cautioned communicators to write these guides in a fashion that allows for customization to a manager’s own communication style. “Draft in a way that gives managers flexibility to adapt, but always keep the language simple, human and direct,” she said.
• Write clear instructions for information delivery at the end. It’s not enough for you to just write all the instructions a manager needs down — these toolkits need guidance on how to deliver the messaging within them toward the end of the document. “For example, specify whether a message is shareable by email or if it must be verbalized,” Colella-Graham said. “Draft language that explains the why behind the choices, like ‘We’re bringing you into the circle of trust, and this message should be shared verbally to avoid external leaks.’’ Additionally, comms pros should include a section on how often managers need to repeat a given message and where to direct employees for deeper questions on a topic. “Drafting this guidance ensures managers don’t just have the words, they have the context for how to use them,” Colella-Graham said. “That’s what makes the document actionable, not just informational.”

For examples of great manager comms toolkits in action, join the Ragan Communications Leadership Council.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.