Effective Internal Communications: The Beating Heart of Our Organizations

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Playwright, George Bernard Shaw beautifully summed up what usually goes wrong in both, personal and professional environments. But I am not referring to the need or importance of dedicated internal communication specialists, or the fact that communication is everyone’s responsibility across levels and functions, or that communication structuring should account for the diverse backgrounds and perceptions of the users/ receivers. Those are well-established and accepted aspects over the last several decades. What I am referring to is the what (structure and delivery of the communication), where (platforms or media used), and when (timing and frequency of delivery) of internal communications in our organizations, and how it links to real business outcomes.?

?Numerous studies over the years have shown that a well-built and executed internal communication strategy has a direct linkage to:?

• Stronger and more efficient teams?
• Higher employee satisfaction and engagement scores?
• Greater innovation and productivity?
• Better and sustainable employee culture??
• Supporting change and enabling a dynamic workforce?
• Brand building?

In fact, in the age of a connected world, where almost 60% of the global population has a social media presence, with the penetration rate in countries like the U.S. being 82%, we need to take the importance of effective internal communication more seriously than ever before.??

Poor or Inadequate Internal Communications is a Costly Affair??

The research titled “The Cost of Poor Communications” that surveyed 400 U.S. and U.K. companies of 100,00+ employees concluded that there was an average loss of $62.4 million per year per company because of inadequate or poor communication to and between employees. This includes actions or errors of omission by employees who misunderstood or were misinformed about the job function, business processes, or company policies.?

Organizations often underestimate the time and effort needed to engage with one of their most important stakeholders, the employee. An ill-informed, or insufficiently-informed employee who does not understand the linkage of their job with the overall business goals and strategy will not be able to contribute to the best of their abilities on the job, and may even present a considerable risk to the brand. For example, in 2017, an 18-year-old McDonald’s employee in Louisiana tweeted some gross photos of unsanitary practices in that outlet. It may have been an isolated occurrence for the globally-reputed fast-food giant, but had its internal communication strategy included a strong two-way channel where the employee alerted the management instead of publicly shaming the company, it would have prevented the big dent that the brand experienced worldwide at that time.???

Internal Communication is Not Just About Informing?

A 2019 study that surveyed employees in Fortune 500 companies concluded that 63% of employees wanted to quit because ineffective communication interfered with their ability to do their job. The situation would now be even more compounded after a two-year-long pandemic that led to fragmented teams and remote working environments, followed by the back-to-work scenarios being currently enforced by several organizations. One of the key issues here is the leadership mindset of “What do we want to tell the staff” instead of “What does the staff want to hear from us”. The bulletin-style one-way information is good for sharing generic updates, such as training reminders or server downtimes. However, for most other stuff, internal communication is not just about informing, but also about engaging, inspiring, building trust, showing linkage to organizational values, and in effect, promoting the brand.???

Relying on Communication Systems is Not Enough?

Many large organizations have invested in sophisticated digital communication tools and platforms that unify and standardize the quality, frequency, and delivery methods of internal communication. To some extent, this may have addressed the attractiveness of the message and eased the flow of information on business processes, company policies, key organizational priorities, and more. But let us not be under the illusion that investing in communication systems is sufficient to drive employee engagement, productivity, or brand strategy. We need to remember that there are two vital aspects of any work communication; - its simplicity and its relevance. As long as the message is clear, direct, and well-contextualized, our employees will care about consuming and further disseminating that information, making them brand advocates who can boost our businesses and help attract top talent.??

What Gets Measured, Gets Done?

Like most business deliverables, the measurement of meaningful data is the language that leaders understand and respond to. This is why, bringing internal communications into the radar of ROI can arguably lead to an ever-improving, robust communication strategy that actually hits the mark. What to measure and what success looks like may depend on the nature of our businesses and the channels we employ (intranet, mobile apps, networking tools, emails, and so on). But measuring details about peak access times, format preferences, relevance, and usefulness through analysis of the content and communication delivery systems will help in tracking the desired outcomes, including employee sentiment, and behaviors, that eventually help in measuring and delivering the internal communication ROI.?