5 steps for mapping your comms cascade

A well-planned comms cascade keeps messaging organized. They ensure the right people get each message in the way most likely to resonate with them. Taking this kind of care — especially around sensitive news — can go a long way toward keeping people informed and connected to the organization.

Bryan Bullock, internal communication director at Children’s Hospital Colorado, told Ragan that his team has a carefully built cascade for internal comms messaging. His team’s content cascade is more than just a set of boxes that need to be ticked — it’s a purpose-built process that allows for careful dissemination of any message within the voice of both the larger organization and smaller teams.

“The goal is not just to inform, it’s to equip,” Bullock said. “It’s to help leaders feel like, ‘I know what to say, how to say it and how to support my team while I do it.’”

Below is a step-by-step walkthrough of how Bullock’s team structures its internal comms cascade for maximum impact.

1. Executives first. Before any announcements, Bullock’s team meets with the hospital’s top brass. The comms team walks through the nuances and potential reactions to the message to ensure that leaders are well-positioned to answer any tough questions that might come from employees after the news is shared. “We want to make sure senior leaders are aligned and have the full context,” Bullock said. “The rationale, the timing and the risks. That way when others start asking questions, they can reinforce the message and not contradict it.”
2. Managers next. Managers are a critical touchpoint for internal communicators to leverage. Employees place a great deal of trust in their managers, and in turn, managers can help translate and shape messages from the top of the company in a way that makes sense to their teams. Bullock told Ragan that at the managerial level of the cascade, his teams can’t just give a message to managers and wash their hands of the situation — they need to carefully listen to feedback to run back up to executives as well. “That middle layer of leadership — they’re closest to the day-to-day,” he said. “They know how teams will react. So this is also where we listen.” He added that the comms team organizes “Team Leader Briefings” to give managers clarity on when and how a message needs to be shared. It’s also a chance for the comms team to run messages by managers to help shape them before they’re released in the cascade. “Sometimes we’ll preview the message in the briefing before it’s gone public,” Bullock told Ragan. “That gives managers a chance to react, raise red flags or ask for help with delivery.”
3. Provide the tools. Once executives and managers have the message, Bullock’s team provides leaders with a comms toolkit to help them reach their audiences effectively. “We give them guidance, and that’s where we found talking points really helpful,” Bullock said. “How to navigate potentially nuanced or complex topics and how they might want to message them.” Some of the tools in Bullock’s toolkit include:
   1. Talking points.
   2.  FAQ documents. “It’s OK if you don’t have all the answers,” Bullock said.” If you get questions, here’s how you can elevate them and follow up.”
   3. Tone guidance.
   4. Expectations for delivery timing and channel.
4. Roll out the message to employees with manager reinforcement to teams. Once the message gets to employees, managers help ensure that their teams are aligned on what’s being shared. That includes organizing team huddles, one-on-one meetings or follow-up emails to check in on reports. “We ask our leaders to follow up and not just relay the message,” Bullock said. “Employees want to hear it directly from someone they know and trust.” He added that the comms team structures these employee-focused messages carefully to help reinforce the employee-manager relationship. “We provide callouts in the message itself that say, ‘Talk to your leader if you have questions,’” he said. “That drives people back to their manager and reinforces the relationship we want to support.”
5. Don’t forget the feedback loop. The process doesn’t end once the message is shared. By focusing on feedback between employees and leaders, Bullock and his team equip themselves with valuable information that shapes the narrative going forward. “That feedback helps us refine the message and create updated FAQs or talking points if needed,” he said. “Especially when something unfolds over time.” He added that the feedback loop doesn’t have a set timeframe on it, and can often be an ongoing process. “We recognize that there could be developments on a topic that take place over months or years, so it’s not a one-and-done sort of push,” Bullock said.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.