Internal Communications Rated Most Credible Source of Information Right Now

Who knew it would take a global pandemic for many business leaders to recognize the essential value of internal communications. Often overlooked and taken for granted, for years, employee communication practitioners have been asking me how they prove their value to executives so they can build their teams to handle the demand of the organization and have budgets that can truly serve and make a difference to leader, manager, and employee experiences and engagement. 

Hiring for internal communicators has continued and even increased in some industries while mass furloughs and unemployment rates skyrocket in other industries. Perhaps the business finally gets it. We’ve been training, preparing and readying as much as we can be for something unimaginable and when COVID-19 started impacting one country after another, it was internal communicators who jumped in and got on it. Crisis communication, FAQs, change management communications, town halls, we were on it. We were also first responders.

Edelman released a trust survey specifically around the COVID-19 crisis calling the private sector as having an “essential role.” The number one key finding from the study:

1. The Most Credible Source Is Employer Communications — We knew that government and media had trust challenges going into the crisis. The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer showed that “my employer” was the most trusted institution by 18 points over business in general and NGOs, by 27 points over government and media. That explains our finding that employer communications is the most credible source of information about the coronavirus. Sixty-three percent said that they would believe information from that channel after one or two exposures, versus 58 percent for a government website and 51 percent for traditional media. Over one-third of people said they would never believe social media if it were the only place they had seen the information.

With many states looking ahead at a phased plan to ease shelter-in-place restrictions, it’s internal communicators who will be advising executives and business partners how, when, and why to communicate decisions that impact the company. Many lessons are being learned during this time about remote work that internal communicators can share and help fold into the new rhythm of the business. One thing internal communicators know is that there is no going back to “normal”, nor should we. There were a lot of things broken or missing in company communications. 

Internal communications as a respected discipline has arrived. And now, we are burned out. The sprint has gone on too long. We have been critical to our leaders in guiding them through massive change and sharing information; however we are just like our employees where many are navigating working from home, maybe homeschooling kids, supporting a partner who may have lost a job, keeping in touch with friends and family, some of whom may be sick. It’s a lot. It’s too much. 

Leaders, listen to your communications partner. They can see ahead, they understand how decisions have a ripple effect, they understand audiences, they understand timing and content. Internal communicators must continue to counsel and help design where organizations go from here. The trust has been built in crisis, may the bonds of communication only make them stronger as we emerge as more empathetic, more aware humans. We’ve always had the value, now you see it and it cannot be unseen. 

Thank you to internal and employee communicators. You deserve a seat at the table, great respect, a full team, a worthy budget...and some rest. You might be posting articles on mindful well-being for your employees but many of us are not taking our own advice. We need to be there for ourselves so we can be there for others. 

Internal Communicator Support Group

I’ve started a weekly internal communicators support group. I’m seeing far too many of my peers burning out, the stress showing up in their backs, necks, shoulders while trying to keep up a sprint speed when we are in a marathon, perhaps with no safe place to openly talk about the stresses of the job during the pandemic. There’s plenty of webinars available to learn tips and tricks on crisis communications but there’s nothing to actually support us as people. I hope you’ll join and find the meetups helpful. 

It’s free, Fridays in May, maybe longer. Get the link here: https://lnkd.in/gQU6Z93

Author: Kim Clark, Partner, Head of Internal Communications Agency Services, Employera