When is internal communication critical?

Today.

Today, internal communication is a high priority. Employee communication programs are more important than ever with the connected, remote workforce. Its content should help unify a diverse, dispersed workforce and consequently help increase job satisfaction and performance.

Follow the research

Instead of rehashing the value of internal communications for employee effectiveness, increasing stakeholder value, job satisfaction…, please review the research from IBM. In 2018, the IBM Smarter Workforce Institute and the Workhuman Analytics & Research Institute published the Employee Experience Index based on 23K respondents in 45 countries, The report lays out the value of employee experience to the profitability of companies and communication as a positive way to impact the employee experience.

Four long years

2018, the year of the study, was a different time for companies, very different from 2022. The work environment changed dramatically as isolation and distancing regulations turned many employees into remote workers overnight. Working from home gave employees a different perspective. The life balance concept now supersedes work-life balance and work-life integration, as people found new approaches to harmonizing their lives. Simultaneously, sustainability, ESG and net zero are no longer options for companies and dramatically change companies and the work of employees. With corporate social responsibility programs, the impact of a company's engagement with employees gets public attention.

People are resigning from jobs in record numbers to reset their career or life balance. An easy way to increase job satisfaction and reduce resignations is through internal communications. Some employees just need better communication from their employer. Logically, employees with access to information can better understand their role in the company, successfully achieve their tasks, and take pride in their contribution to the company.

Internal is the new external

Internal communications need to have a higher priority and focus than external communications, even in publicly traded companies. Stakeholder communication through investor relations, public relations and influencer marketing programs should include employee comms. Does this mean having another town hall, employee newsletter or engagement program? Any of these actions or more could help, but that is not the solution.

The solution is treating employees as the primary influencers of a company. Internal comms should share compelling content and listen (make sure internal comms include multiple feedback channels). Show employees the same courtesy and respect given to external influencers. Unlike social media influencers, employees have a personal stake in the success of their employer. BTW- social media influencers are formidable but can be unreliable in their work. For more on problems using social media influencers, read, What happened to social media influencers?

Establishing employees as influencers

Start creating employer influencers by refocusing internal comms from transactional to strategic. Keep employees informed on the latest company news and policies but integrate strategy and context. Approach employees with the same finesse used with shareholders, journalists and social media contacts. Give employees the context of news, not just announcements. The same key strategy points in an investor program or interview with a leading journalist should be in internal stories.

Reset internal comms

If a company wants to reset its internal comms as a strategic priority, understand the types of information and best channels to communicate. Effective employee communication usually relies on a matrix of channels based on content, importance and company attributes. A company might need to go out to get in using its online presence, including social media, to communicate more effectively with employees.

Winning together

Employees are opinionated, biased and vocal. Give employees the information, tools and training to develop their influence in positive ways. Help employees establish their voice and provide easy access to the information shared with other stakeholder groups. Create courses like executive media training and help employees understand their responsibilities even as informal influencers.

By moving internal communications into a strategic communication priority, companies can strengthen employee satisfaction and develop the strongest influencer channel possible.

References

Capossela, C. (2022). The next chapter of our hybrid workplace: update on our Washington state work sites - The Official Microsoft Blog. [online] Microsoft. Available at: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2022/02/14/the-next-chapter-of-our-hybrid-workplace-update-on-our-washington-state-work-sites/ [Accessed 25 February 2022].

Dean, B. (2021). How Many People Use Social Media in 2022? (65+ Statistics) [online] Backlinko. Available at: https://backlinko.com/social-media-users [Accessed 20 February 2022].

Graham, J. (2019). What happened to social media influencers? [online] LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/what-happened-social-media-influencers-jonathan-graham/ [Accessed 25 February 2022].

Semenyuk, I. (2022). Employees As Influencers: A Blessing or A Curse? [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/02/14/employees-as-influencers-a-blessing-or-a-curse/ [Accessed 19 February 2022].

IBM Smarter Workforce Institute. (2018). The Employee Experience Index A new global measure of a human workplace and its impact?[Ebook]. Retrieved from https://www.workhuman.com/resources/research-reports/the-employee-experience-index [Accessed 20 February 2022].

Kunsman, T., 2020.?The Anatomy of an Employee Influencer. [online] EveryoneSocial. Available at: https://everyonesocial.com/blog/employee-influencer/ [Accessed 19 February 2022].

Poppulo.com. 2017.?Communicating effectively in the workforce – reaching beyond HQ. [online] Poppulo. Available at: https://www.poppulo.com/resources/communicating-effectively-in-the-workplace [Accessed 19 February 2022].

Wiese, K. (2022). Microsoft tells workers to prepare to return to the office. . [online] New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/technology/microsoft-rto.html [Accessed 22 February 2022].