Even when organisations dedicate plentiful time and resources to ensuring their external communications are integrated, targeted, creative, measurable and impactful, if they fail to invest in communicating internally, they are unlikely to achieve great things.
This is particularly true in times of change, such as growth, change of ownership, consolidation and economic uncertainty.
Generate excitement for a new idea by making people feel part of the action
Regardless of the size of an organisation, communicating regularly and effectively with your employees is key to optimising productivity, nurturing talent, achieving consistency and fulfilling your moral, social and ethical responsibilities as an employer.
The way in which you communicate is critical – it should be simple, targeted, appropriate, relevant, legally acceptable and well intentioned.
Here are some dos and don’ts that we follow for our own organisation and when planning our clients’ internal communications initiatives.
- Segment your audience – this is most appropriate for larger organisations, where messages should be tailored for different roles, departments and regions. In smaller organisations, segmentation is less important, but should not be overlooked. Be sure to think carefully about what each of your employees may want to know and how best to deliver that message to them. Only involve them if you think the message will impact them or their teams.
- Communicate regularly – employees should be the first to know about changes, problems and successes, and they must be updated regularly if you want to encourage their loyalty. We hold short, regular company meetings, where our employees set the agenda. We supplement these sessions with email updates, announcements and bi-annual team-building days which include thorough business updates.
- Don’t patronise – using relevant themes or creative concepts to help communicate your messages internally is a good idea. However, if you misjudge the tone or delivery of your internal campaigns, you could end up isolating employees, instead of inspiring them. Remember, they often understand the organisation as well as you do.
- Don’t use spin – we all know when someone is trying to sell an idea or concept to us. Many of us are in the business of doing just that. But don’t be tempted to dress up a situation internally. Employees expect their hard work and dedication to be rewarded with truth and honesty, especially in difficult or uncertain times.
- Get people involved – one of the best ways to generate interest, excitement and support for a new idea or strategy is to make people feel part of the action. Simply asking for feedback on a system or structure before changing it will mean employees will be expecting the change and feel that they had a part to play, making them more open to it.
Internal communications don’t have to be elaborate, costly and over the top. The sentiment behind the message is what matters most. Employees will always be happier, more productive, loyal and supportive when you keep them informed. It’s as simple as that.
