What are the best ways to keep your skills current in Internal Communications?

Learn about Internal Comms Tech. From how to use Microsoft tools effectively to Email and mobile apps that help get the right information to the right employees at the right time to Artificial Intelligence to drive efficiencies, it's important to be aware of what's new and working effectively.

Read! Listen! Watch! Share! I focus my learning on people. After all, we are in the people business. In the past 10 years, we've learned so much about human behaviour and the human brain that there's a lot to catch up on. I am a voracious reader, and in addition to books, I have a subscription to Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. (My hairdresser thinks I am weird for wanting to read HBR instead of the gossip mags. ??) Staying current on the latest studies in behavioural science, change, culture, and leadership is essential.

Attend webinars, read articles and subscribe to discussion boards and IC platforms like ICology to network or sign up to be a mentor or a mentee. Another valuable tool is signing up to judge IC awards - evaluating submissions is an excellent way to keep current and see best practice. Find courses to update and refresh skills - there's always new developments in technology and evolving research.

Get Certified The Global Communication Certification Council, GCCC has certification available for communication professionals that are (or in the process of being) at ISO standard. You can certify to be a CMP (Communication Management Professional) or SCMP (Strategic Communication Management Professional). Just like HR certifications like CHRP, CHRL or SHRL or Project Management Certifications PMP...certifications require a exam to test qualifications and experience and continued annual professional development in order to recertify every year. This global standard was created by IABC. The PD to recertify includes reading books, articles, going to conferences, webinars, training, getting formal education and sharing your expertise.

It's crucial to stay updated. Engage in continuous learning, embrace new tools and technologies, maintain curiosity and adaptability. Having a strong professional network plays a significant role in shaping your skills in this domain.

The communications field is rapidly changing, as are the expectations of both internal and external stakeholders. There are various ways to stay current on trends and best practices. 1. Subscribe to and read industry publications, such as Ragan Communications, PRWeek, and Axios Communicators. Also, try to read research from communications practice leaders at firms like Spencer Stuart and Korn Ferry. 2. Beyond just industry publications, you need to be a valuable business advisor to your executive team. Stakeholders, including many employees, increasingly look to executives to take a public stance on various and sometimes controversial topics. It would be best to monitor current news and events worldwide closely at all times.

Become more strategic. At Inner Strength Communication, we talk about our i5 Framework. Implement, Interact, Integrate, Influence and Impact. We feel delivering the tactics are foundational tablestakes. You start to evolve when you interact with people through both relationships and feedback; Integrate by connecting the dots between strategy and results; Influence others in the organization to communicate consistently and impact bottom line. The power of internal communication is to enable, engage and empowerment leaders, managers and employees to turn brand promises into employee and customer experiences.

There are some excellent internal comms email newsletters out there, too. And I would add that it is worth following internal comms thought leaders here on LinkedIn, people like Mark Dollins, Priya Bates, Rachel Miller, Katie Macauley, and Sharon McIntosh.

I would just add the amazing value of interns and young graduates! They are full of ideas and bold. They know and use so many tools that helps our everyday job.

Tip for not getting overwhlemed with too much content: ?? Use aggregation tools like feedly to have all relevant news souces in one place ?? Use a trello board for collecting the most important pieces of information which you can't read / listen to in the moment or you want to o back to later. Also a great way to write your notes ?? Use GenAI tools like ChatGPT to summarize long articles or whitepapers

Sign up for a webinar. There are so many talented consultants and agencies offering webinars for Internal Communications. Try some of the free content first before spending hundreds of dollars on a class.

Look outside the industry for areas that can compliment or extend your communications knowledge. Internal Communications professionals can also benefit from having an understanding of psychology, sociology, neuroscience, organisational behaviour and business management, for example.

Internal communication is strategic and very volatile. Trends evolve quickly, so it is important to: - continually update yourself through training - communities of practice - research of new trends Furthermore, as Internal Communication has a trial and error component, it is also essential to share good practices with other companies and identify trends. I would also say that it is important to draw on other disciplines, such as marketing, neuroscience or social psychology, to identify how to reach our audience.

One of the best sources of feedback can come from your audience. Consider assembling an internal communication council made up of employees from inside your organization. They can be a wealth of valuable insights and ideas.

Mentoring! ?? I'm a big fan of that, because you can learn from the experience's of others and gain insights that take many years of being on the job. Plus: When you do Reverse Mentoring, you can also give something back to the other person. Pro-Tip: Connect with people beyond your industry to get as many diverse perspectives as possible.

So many of those hired in internal communication don't have experience dedicated to the discipline. That's why it's wise to learn how internal communication is different from external communication and find experts for mentoring and consulting.

Buscar feedback contínuo com os colaboradores, para quem comunicamos, é essencial. Hoje marcamos com as equipes um momento de bate-papo para identificar pontos fortes e pontos de melhoria nas nossas ferramentas de comunica??o. Dessa forma conseguimos identificar problemas simples de serem resolvidos, mas que no nosso dia a dia s?o imperceptíveis, justamente por n?o utilizarmos as ferramentas no mesmo contexto e formato do usuário.

Embracing feedback and seeking coaching are essential steps towards personal and professional growth, mirroring the ethos of a data scientist's perspective. Constructive criticism from various sources provides invaluable insights, helping refine approaches and identify areas for improvement. Guidance from experienced mentors further nurtures development, ensuring continuous learning and the delivery of impactful results. By remaining open to Feedback and actively seeking coaching, individuals demonstrate a commitment to excellence and continual improvement.

Always be curious. Seek learning and development opportunities that may fall outside of your scope but can spark unique ideas or offer a new perspective. I've learned so much about how to keep presentations interesting from being a "stage mom."

Innovation in your internal communications includes learning how to engage with new employees who may join your business and bring with them different values. Weaving EDI into your communications is key to keeping people engaged, as they are more likely to resonate with your content.

Do experiments like A/B testing, create innovation that challenge your thinking or creativity, seek reference, read, listen, talk, ride the waves and connect with other Internal Communications professional. Also embrace new technology and always update your knowledge. Being an ICErs is like running, you have to keep going or else your stakeholders will leave you behind.

The hunger to do more and be more! As one climbs the corporate Comms ladder, you realize a certain level of expertise is needed per time. And only if you hunger to grow and do more, then you would ordinarily find yourself acquiring the skills needed to ascertain and remain in that level.

Embracing the discomfort zone is one of the best things you can do for yourself as an IC professional. Spending even a few moments each day moving beyond what's "always" worked helps you grow, improve, and realize your full potential. Do some A/B testing with email subject lines or intranet article titles. Take a topic that's historically gotten a lot of employee engagement and try a different variation of its content to see what happens. Experimentation and innovation doesn't always have to be radical shifts. Small adjustments can make just as big of an impact.

One of the best things about the internal communications community is that everyone is willing to share their most effective ideas with each other. So, when you meet up with other ICers, don't be afraid to share what you're struggling with or need a fresh approach too and you'll leave with many new and innovative ideas and suggestions. Have fun!

Learn and get good at useful and related transferable skills which are timeless, instead of chasing the Next Big Thing in IC to use (anyone remember Clubhouse?). You should always look for opportunities to improve at: Storytelling Copywriting (persuading people to take action) Data visualisation Public speaking and presentations Running events In addition to keeping your specialist IC skills up to date.

In a former life we ran a monthly Creative Jam where we took the time to share creative stuff that had inspired us in the previous month. That could be an advert on the tube, a book we’d just finished, a film, a play, some words, a headline… whatever. We shared what it was, why we thought it deserved a place in Creative Jam and then we discussed it. It gave us space to remember who we are creatively, our motivations and also to connect with our teammates and learn about what inspires them. It was always the best meeting in the calendar.

You can’t go wrong with empathy in internal comms. Putting yourself in the shoes of your targeted audience will help inform the messages you deliver. Tying that understanding with the voice of your speaker creates a perfect match that can resonate. Checking for feedback and adjusting quickly as needed keeps your comms relevant.

I think it’s also very important to know the generational makeup of your audience, and be open to using tools and ideas you may not see as first choice but they do. While this isn’t about absolutes, in general younger employees are often more drawn to videos, Instagram posts, TikToks, etc… and won’t be moved by the 53 slide PowerPoints or lengthy 18 page white-papers in MS Word, whereas you won’t want to use these social media tools for executive updates ??. It’s all about knowing your audience.