Optimising your internal communications

Rather than one-way broadcasting from leadership, it employs a combination of messaging, channels, culture and feedback which promote clarity, motivation and behaviour change, keeping employees informed, connected and aligned with company goals, culture and strategy.

 

Strong IC really matters. Not only does it align the workforce with company vision, values and goals, it improves employee engagement, morale, collaboration and retention, building trust and transparency and is also essential in facilitating change and crisis management whilst reducing misinformation and rumour. 

 

The five core goals of internal communication are to:

 

Inform: Ensure employees know what’s happening and why

Align: Connect individual roles to organisational goals

Engage: Create emotional connection and motivation

Enable: Give staff the information they need to do their jobs well

Listen: Create channels for dialogue and feedback

 

Today, organisations often utilise several communication flows to ensure alignment and engagement across various audiences, adapting tone, format and channel to each group. These audiences can include anyone from executive leadership to frontline staff, new hires and remote employees, across regional and global offices. 

 

Common internal communication channels:

 

·      Newsletters and email announcements

·      Internal blogs and newsfeeds

·      Video messages

·      Internal podcasts

·      Intranet or employee portals

·      Microsoft Teams/Slack/WhatsApp

 

·      Conferences, workshops and roadshows

·      Team meetings

·      Q&A sessions

·      Town halls/all-hands meetings

 

·      Policies, reports and guidelines

·      Toolkits for managers

·      FAQs and playbooks

 

·      Peer conversations

·      Manager cascades

·      Workplace culture and rituals

 

With remote working now the norm, the way employers communicate with workforces about policies, requirements and expectations is more important than ever. IC professionals need to deliver authentic, inclusive, personalised, high-impact interactions to convey relevant content to specific employee segments. Clear, relevant and empathetic writing, storytelling, video and infographics are all highly effective IC tools. With the shift from broadcasting to dialogue, a focus on employee experience and detailed analysis are equally important in measuring success. 

 

We have put together some key focus areas to strengthen your IC systems and processes:

 

• An internal comms plan is essential to relay key messages and regular updates. This should be a two-way thing so that feedback and questions from employees can be addressed - awareness of employees' concerns is vital.

 

• Your tone of voice should be simple, honest and empathic – clear, factual communications are important, but showing you're human is even more so.

 

• Review your channel frameworks and don't be afraid to put new ones into place. Employees need to know where to access trusted and current information, for example, a dedicated intranet page with links to official sources, company policy updates and relevant supporting information.

 

• When each day brings a new challenge, your comms need to be agile - a 'living' digital document can fulfil this function as it can be updated easily and is less cumbersome than overly managed communications.

 

• Look outside official channels to extend your connection. WhatsApp groups, individual calls and text messages can provide additional communication and support.

 

• Line managers face the majority of employees questions so it is especially important to keep them informed and updated and support them in connecting with their teams. Provide clear instructions on channels to use, key messages and frequency of communication.

 

• Keep planning and don't put your vision aside. Stay focused on the future and new ideas with regular collaborative innovation sessions.

 

• It is also important to reinforce the foundations, values and purpose of your organisation and emphasise what hasn't changed.

 

• Focus on wellbeing and recognition - check in regularly with employees, keep talking, ask what is and isn't working and don't be afraid to change the latter.

 

We can create a branded look and feel tailored to all your internal comms:

 

Ingenious Design has a proven track record in interpreting mission statements and values graphically, making them more meaningful and memorable for employees. We can help provide consistent messaging throughout your organisation - creating office environments, intranet updates, behaviour documents, wellbeing communications, news and business updates, training and workshop material, screensavers and templates for you to use internally - all of which contribute to successful and coherent internal communications, helping to build engagement, trust and productivity across your workforce.

 

If you have an internal comms project you would like to discuss, we're always available for a chat...let's keep communicating!