Hey there, I'm Devin!
Most of the time you can catch me deep in the world of internal comms at Workshop (yes, the Happy Mondays folks!), and while I love AI, there are just some comms questions that need a human who really gets it… that’s me!
Hi Devin! Summer is coming and I can already feel the chaos — half the company going OOO at the same time, important updates getting buried, and engagement dropping off a cliff in July. I want to get ahead of it this year instead of just reacting, but I’m not sure how to plan comms around a season that’s inherently unpredictable. What does a smart summer comms strategy actually look like — and how do you keep people connected when half of them are mentally already at the lake?
Haha “mentally already at the lake” is sooo real, and honestly, same! As much as you can, aim to communicate in advance. And then communicate again. I know that sounds simple, but whether people have families, summer travel plans, or are just mentally checked out by Friday afternoon — they’re not just planning around the next two weeks. They’re looking at the entire summer. So get those holidays, closures, and key dates on the company calendar as early as possible, mention them again at your All Hands or town hall, post them again in Slack or Teams. It’s 100% going to feel like you’re over-communicating, but I promise you’re not!
This is also a great moment to lean on your async comms. A clean, consistent email summary (weekly, biweekly, whatever cadence makes sense for your company) is one of the best things you can have going into summer. Because even when people are out, they’re probably peeking at their inbox just to feel prepared for when they’re back. If they can read two or three emails and feel caught up, you’ve done your job. (And yes, I am personally very bad at not checking Slack on vacation. I know, I know! I’m working on it.)
Another thing worth mentioning: AI can actually help you get smarter about your timing in a way we don’t always talk about. If you have access to it, pull your OOO data, look at when people are most and least available, and let that inform when you schedule big announcements. Maybe you don’t drop a major update the week 60% of the company is out. Getting ahead of it and thinking about when people are actually going to be present and engaged makes a real difference. Happy (almost!) summer!
