Internal communication plays a crucial role in building company culture, increasing employee engagement, and encouraging collaboration that drives business results. Yet, sometimes it is difficult to get your busy workforce to actually read internal communications and consume the information they need to be more connected to the organization and effective in their jobs.
Consider your audience (employees) and what it is you want to achieve (inform and inspire). Your employees are very busy individuals. They might even be spread across the globe. Be aware and respectful of that in your communication attempts.
Simple. To ensure your employees are in-the-know, keep communication simple. Whatever the distribution channel, keep communications concise. Diversify your communications by providing information and content to your employees in various formats. A simple 1-minute video or well-designed infographic can be just as impactful as a written message. And of course, always make sure that the information is delivered in a responsive fashion – people should be able to access the information on any device, from any location, at any time.
Fast. Enable and empower your workforce by keeping employees informed and invested. Communicate in real time. Employees expect to be the first to know when new information that impacts the business becomes available. There are risks to being in a rush to share information as immediately as possible – (think: errors, miscommunication, incomplete information, etc.) – so ensure your organization has a process in place for real-time information sharing.
Direct. Communicate directly with the people who need the information. Distributing information to “the top” and expecting it to trickle down to the right people is inefficient and ineffective. By providing the most relevant information directly to the intended recipient, you’re also reducing the risk of miscommunication.
Tell us in the comments section below: how do you create and distribute internal communication that employees actually want?