In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, communication has become more critical than ever before. It’s not just about conveying information; it’s about building relationships, fostering collaboration, and influencing outcomes. Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of internal communications within organizations. Effective internal communications can strengthen relationships among team members and stakeholders, ultimately driving positive outcomes.
When employees are kept informed about the organization’s goals, strategies, and achievements, they develop a sense of purpose and alignment with the company’s mission. A culture of open and transparent communication also lays the foundation for trust and collaboration. When team members can freely share ideas, concerns, and feedback, it creates an environment where everyone feels valued and heard. This, in turn, nurtures a sense of belonging and camaraderie, leading to stronger bonds among colleagues, greater engagement and higher retention at every level.
Gone are the days when internal communicators solely relied on person-person communications to relay information. Today, we have the ability to make messages more accessible, digestible, and engaging utilizing a wide range of mediums, such as written articles, videos, podcasts, and social media, to create compelling content that captures the attention of employees. Furthermore, this shift to content-focused communication allows organizations to reach a larger audience and deliver consistent messages across the various platforms. It enables us to break down geographical barriers and connect with employees regardless of their location or time zone. This inclusivity fosters a sense of unity and shared purpose among employees, ultimately contributing to a more engaged workforce.
Cross-functional collaboration becomes a natural outcome of a communication-rich environment. In many organizations, different departments or teams can become isolated, leading to siloed thinking and limited collaboration. Effective internal communication plays a pivotal role in breaking down these silos. When team members are aware of each other’s projects, challenges, and successes, they are more likely to offer assistance, share insights, and work together seamlessly.
Internal Communications – The Key To Influencing Outcomes
Here’s why aligning your internal communications efforts with your company’s mission, values and culture is key to building trust and influencing outcomes –
Your company’s mission and vision statements define its purpose and future aspirations.
Make sure all communications to employees reflect these statements and show how their work contributes to the mission. Referencing the mission and vision regularly helps keep them at the forefront of employees’ minds and gives their work meaning.
A company’s values represent its principles and priorities.
Internal communications should embody these values in both substance and style. For example, if “innovation” is a value, profile employees who have developed creative solutions. If “teamwork” is valued, highlight cross-departmental collaborations. Consistently demonstrating the values builds a shared culture.
Internal communications both shape and reflect company culture.
Promote the aspects of your culture you want to strengthen, such as openness or customer-focus. Address behaviors that undermine the culture you aspire to, such as lack of transparency or distrust between groups. Highlight examples of the desired culture in action through stories and employee profiles.
By aligning internal communications with your company’s mission, values and culture, you can transform these ideals from abstract concepts into a cohesive framework that gives meaning and guidance to employees in their day-to-day jobs. Help make these connections at every opportunity to strengthen relationships, build trust in leadership and positively influence business outcomes.
Help employees connect the mission, values and culture to their daily work by:
- Explaining how key initiatives support the mission and vision.
- Featuring employees who exemplify the values in their roles.
- Discussing how certain behaviors and mindsets contribute to the target culture.
- Asking open-ended questions to spark reflection on how employees can apply these principles.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful techniques internal communicators have in their arsenal to influence and engage employees. Stories help create emotional connections by sharing experiences in a relatable way. As an internal communicator, you can use stories to:
- Share your organization’s vision and values in an authentic way. Tell stories of employees exemplifying those values in their work.
- Recognize and celebrate employees’ achievements and milestones. Feature stories of their challenges, growth, and key accomplishments. Employees will appreciate the recognition and seeing their peers spotlighted.
- Explain strategic priorities or key messages in a memorable way. Use stories to show how decisions were made or how new initiatives will impact employees and customers.
- Strengthen relationships between leaders and employees. Have executives share stories of their career journey, mentors who influenced them, or important lessons they’ve learned. This helps to humanize them and build trust.
Engage Audience Through Internal Communications
In addition to storytelling, internal communicators have the following techniques to leverage for engaging and influencing their audiences:
Surveys and polls: Gather direct feedback and input from employees. Report back on key findings and any resulting actions. This demonstrates you value their voices.
Videos: Create short video messages from leadership or video Q&A’s. Videos are highly engaging and help to personalize communication.
Gamification: Use gaming elements like points, badges, and leaderboards to make learning and development programs more engaging and impactful.
Conversation channels: Launch channels like online discussion forums, internal social networks or messaging apps to facilitate open conversation and connection across the organization.
Ambassador programs: Identify and empower employees at all levels to share updates, stories and key messages with their local teams. Provide them with talking points and assets to be ambassadors of communication.
The key for internal communicators is using a strategic mix of these techniques to strengthen connections, share the organization’s narrative in an authentic way and motivate employees to take action. By crafting targeted communication for different groups that is delivered on their preferred channels, you can cut through the noise and ensure your important messages are heard.
Leverage Technology To Enhance Internal Communications
Technology has revolutionized how we communicate in nearly every aspect of our lives, and internal communications is no exception. Using a variety of tools to distribute your messages helps ensure they are received and engaged with. Email newsletters, intranet posts, and digital signage are tried-and-true options, but also consider:
- Instant messaging platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams allow for quick updates, questions and answers, and informal conversations. They facilitate real-time interaction and help build rapport.
- Live video streaming via platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube Live, or your company’s video sharing software is an engaging way to broadcast town halls, leadership addresses, training sessions, and more. Employees can comment and ask questions in real time.
- Push notifications through your company’s mobile app instantly alert employees to important news and events. While the messages need to be short, they are attention grabbing.
- Podcasts are a convenient way for employees to stay up to date with company news and information on the go. They can be a channel for executive messaging, provide department spotlights, highlight employee experiences, and share need-to-know updates.
Tools for Connection
Technology also provides ways for you to build connections between leadership, teams, and individual employees. Some options to consider include:
- Live Q&A features on your intranet or collaboration platforms give employees the chance to ask leaders questions and get responses in real time. This kind of direct access and transparency helps to strengthen trust in the organization.
- Leadership vlogs or video messages on your company’s video sharing channel help put a face to executives’ and managers’ communications. Seeing and hearing leaders on screen in an informal way helps to humanize them and build connections.
- Social collaboration tools like Slack, Yammer, and Workplace by Facebook encourage employees to interact, share ideas, provide peer support, and build relationships in a digital space. While technology will never replace in-person interaction, these tools facilitate a sense of community when used to foster open conversations and connections between colleagues.
Leveraging a variety of technology solutions will allow you to enhance your internal communications in impactful ways. Using the right mix of tools to distribute your messages, build transparency, facilitate interaction, and strengthen connections with and between employees will help you achieve your goals and objectives. Focusing on a multi-channel approach and two-way communication will lead to a more engaged workforce.
Measuring The Impact Of Your Internal Communications Efforts
The impact of internal communication isn’t just a matter of intuition; it can be measured. Measuring the impact of your internal communications efforts is crucial to understanding what’s working and what needs improvement. As an internal communicator, you need to know whether your messages are resonating with employees and influencing business outcomes. Here are some ways to evaluate your impact:
Employee surveys
Conduct surveys to gain insight into employees’ perceptions of internal comms and gage message effectiveness. Ask questions like:
- How would you rate the quality and usefulness of internal communications?
- How well do leaders communicate key priorities and business goals?
- Do you feel well-informed about what’s happening in the organization?
Look for trends in the results and areas that need improvement. Then make a plan to strengthen those areas.
Focus groups
Hold small group discussions with employees from different areas of the business. This allows for an open dialog to get more in-depth feedback on what’s working and not working with internal comms. Some discussion questions could be:
- What types of information do you find most useful? News about the leadership team, company strategy, or team accomplishments?
- How could we improve how we communicate with employees? What channels do you prefer?
- Do messages from the leadership team resonate with you? Why or why not?
Take notes on the key takeaways and use them to enhance your internal comms planning.
Web and email analytics
Analyze metrics like open rates, click-through rates and time spent on pages to see how employees are engaging with your digital communications. Look for trends over time and content or topics that get higher or lower engagement. Then you can optimize and improve to boost impact.
While measuring internal comms impact requires time and effort, the insights you gain can significantly strengthen your ability to forge connections, share the right messages and ultimately drive business success. Evaluating what’s working and making a plan to improve in key areas will position you as a strategic partner to leadership.
Working With An Internal Communications Agency Partner
Working with an internal communications agency partner can be highly valuable. They bring an outside perspective and expertise that in-house teams may lack. However, to have a successful partnership, there are a few key things to keep in mind:
Be open and honest in your communications with the agency.
Share information about your culture, values, goals, and also any challenges. The more they understand your organization and needs, the better they can support you. Regular check-ins and reviews also help build trust in the relationship.
Define Clear Expectations.
Discuss your key priorities, objectives, and desired outcomes. Provide examples of previous successful campaigns or content for reference. Be specific about responsibilities, timelines, budgets, approvals, and metrics for success. Unclear expectations can lead to frustration on both sides.
Share Feedback Frequently.
Share feedback often, both positive and constructive. Explain what’s working well and what could be improved. Be open to listening to their feedback as well. Regular feedback helps ensure you get the results you want.
Foster Collaboration.
View the agency as an extension of your team rather than an outside vendor. Invite them to meetings and strategy sessions. Encourage collaborative brainstorming and sharing of ideas. When teams work together in partnership, the end results are usually much stronger.
Stay Flexible and Adaptable.
Project needs and priorities often change, especially in a fast-paced business environment. Discuss any substantial changes as soon as possible with your agency partner and be willing to revisit timelines or reallocate resources as needed. A willingness to adapt will lead to better outcomes for both parties.
With open communication, clearly defined objectives, frequent feedback, a collaborative approach, and flexibility, you can build a highly productive partnership with an internal communications agency. The power of connection in these relationships leads to impactful work and success for your organization.
Also read: Employer Brand Strategies: How to Leverage them to Attract and Retain Your Best Employees
In Summary
In an era where technology has made communication faster and more accessible, the true power of connection lies in its ability to bring people together, foster relationships, and shape outcomes. Effective internal communication isn’t just a tool for conveying information; it’s a catalyst for building trust, promoting collaboration, and achieving organizational success. By recognizing the impact of communication on relationships and outcomes, organizations can harness its potential to create a thriving and cohesive work environment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
