The internal communication revolution is here to stay
You could be forgiven for thinking industrial revolutions were a thing of the past. But in 2020, it happened all over again. The arrival of the global pandemic changed where, when and how we work – forever.
With many businesses trying to navigate uncharted territory, an internal communication revolution was born. Businesses needed to motivate employees, convey vital messages and keep productivity high. However, many organisations fell short, leading to disenfranchisement among an already unsettled workforce.
According to Gallagher’s State of the Sector report 2022, ‘Adapting channel strategy to hybrid working’ came in as the second highest priority for the 1,300 organisations that took part. With around two in five respondents (39%) saying this will be a priority for their organisation this year.
A driving force for employee re-engagement
Employee disengagement was cited as the biggest challenge by respondents in the survey, with nearly four in ten citing it as a major hurdle for those working in internal comms. An insight our experts here at Emberson Marketing concur with. Catching up with Development Director, Natalie Sweet we get her view:
“Internal communication has been rising up the corporate agenda over the last ten years, but with many teams moved to home-working we’ve been able to shine a light on just how vital it is for effective employee engagement. Our clients realised that having internal comms at the decision-making table helped immensely in terms of speed and clarity of message. Now that we are moving to different ways of working, smart organisations are keeping up this momentum.”
Create belief in your corporate cause from within
Home and hybrid working is here to stay. 743 people took the Remote Work & Compensation Pulse Survey in May 2021. 48% of those asked expressed a desire to be fully remote and 44% favoured hybrid working arrangements.
So how do you create an internal culture across thousands of disparate home offices?
A good internal communication strategy translates into more engaged employees, which means businesses do better. As Natalie says, “people are so fixated on communicating to customers and potential customers that they forget their biggest ambassadors are their own employees. If an employee is engaged, understands your strategy and what you’re trying to achieve as a company, then they can be the most amazing ambassadors for your organisation.”
Four quick wins for internal communication revolutionaries
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of quick wins from our own experience of running internal comms campaigns for global businesses and agile start-ups. But remember, every business is different. So to really get to the bottom of your unique challenges, why not get in touch and have a chat with us?
Understand what it is you want to tell your employees, and what you want them to tell you. How they want to engage with you is important, so don't be afraid to try forms of messaging that are a bit different.
Acknowledge that internal communication is as important as external communication. If employees are engaged, feel part of things, understand your strategy and what you’re trying to achieve as a company, then they can be your best ambassadors.
Ensure your messages are consistent across all communication channels. This shows you are listening and are trying to involve people, giving them opportunities to be involved in the organization.
Accept that we are all different. When we communicate, we try to pigeonhole people into categories. Not all individuals will listen and engage in everything, so try and keep your communication fresh and varied. Give your employees a range of things that they can engage with and learn from everything you do.
