What is internal communications?
What is internal communications?
Internal communication is all about promoting effective communications throughout an organisation to grow and foster a shared culture, one that is built on collaboration and information sharing.
Solid internal communication nurtures company culture and builds employee engagement. Larger organisations will have dedicated staff for this role, who solely look after the internal comms function however, in smaller organisations it’s more likely to fall under existing administartitive and marketing roles day-to-day activities as part of the overall marketing communications plan.
Why is Internal Comms it important?
Internal communication is integral to a healthy workplace culture: it helps employee feels like they’re a valued part of the company and by promoting two-way conversations reassures workers that their voice matters.
Having effective communication nurtures employee engagement by opening a channel for feedback and ideas from staff. When employees are actively engaged, they are more motivated in turn producing better quality of work.
Internal Communication Channels:
It’s unlikely your workforce is made up of one demographic, who all think and respond the same way. This is why it’s important to have a variety of internal comms channels. Whether your teams are in-house or work remotely, internal comms channels should be easily accessible for everyone:
Internal Communications come in different formats such as Leadership Down, Employee up or Peer to Peer and there are many methods to adopt. We can categorise these as Verbal, Electronic or Paper. Let’s look further…
Internal Comms Methods:
Verbal:
Open door policy
Team meetings
Company-wide meetings
Electronic:
Company Intranet
Group Messages – Whatsapp, chat rooms
Zoom meetings
Microsoft Teams
Walkie talking apps – like Voxer
Email newsletters
SMS messages
Paper:
Printed monthly newsletter
Printed quarterly magazine
The pandemic has accelerated electronic communications, Zoom/ Teams calls have replaced in-person meetings and instant messaging services like Slack are booming.
Here are some real-life examples of the changes companies are making to their internal comms…
Stage Coach
Businesses are creating their own internal apps and platforms that their employees can access from anywhere. Bus operator Stagecoach has won multiple awards for replacing their outdated intranet system with a mobile app to communicate with thier 20,000 + workers through news, social updates and two-way chats.
Royal Mail
For more than 50 years Royal Mail has kept its employees in the loop with a monthly newsletter, this has recently been reimagined as a quarterly glossy magazine ‘Courier’ set out to inspire its 150,000 workers alongside a weekly TV Show.
Virgin Media
Virgin Media revamped its internal comms strategy after the pandemic launching an Enterprise Social Network with Workplace from Facebook. A platform where colleagues can connect across all locations and use video to increase the visibility of leaders.
Why Internal Communication is important for marketing?
According to Gartner Communications, “Employees who feel well-informed become a company’s most credible ambassadors externally, while they may become its fiercest critics if they do not.”
Having clear internal communication turns employees into brand ambassadors who want to talk about the brand and share on social media, generating positive word of mouth which can be key to strengthening a company’s reputation.
Communicating and sharing projects with the team can help to generate new ideas.
How to build an effective internal comms strategy.
In an ideal world, all businesses should have a clear internal communication plan, whether that’s for 2 or 20,000 employees. But how do you do that?
1. First analyse your current internal comms situation, how do managers and employees currently communicate, and what needs to be improved? What is your company culture and values?
2. Define clear objectives – what do you want to achieve through your internal comms and how will they benefit the company
3. Identify the different groups you want to speak to – managers, departments, demographic
4. Outline your core messages – are you communicating news updates, setting tasks, team building etc
5. Choose your communication channels and frequency – Trello, Zoom, Blink, chat rooms etc
6. Create an internal comms calendar and stick to it – will you do a monthly newsletter or weekly update etc
7. Monitor the effectiveness – how many views or clicks is the internal bulletin getting? How many staff attend the group meetings, what feedback are you getting?
A well-crafted internal communications plan will help you to main consistent communication across your business and promote a collaborative and engaged workforce, what every business wants, right?
If you’re looking for inspiration on your internal communication methods why not book a Bevic Marketing Power Hour to get another perspective or some fresh ideas.