How to Create Excellent Internal Communications and thus Employee Engagement

By Liz MurphySenior Marketing and Communications Consultantwww.marketingconsultant.org.uk07939 167313 in the UK

Employee Engagement via Internal Communications

• Done well, it directs behaviours, informs of new developments and supports morale • The lack of it creates rumours some of

which could be highly damaging internally AND externally • Great staff communications are the

life-blood of any strong, growing business or organisation

is a vital part of business success

1. Your audience• Is mixed and likely to contain the ‘recently

employed’, the ‘well informed’, the ‘sceptical’, the ‘hard working’, and occasionally the ‘verbally poisonous’ • It is important to kill the rumours by

getting the truth out into the business • Investment in employee engagement is

likely to offer great pay-back in terms of commitment and motivation

2. Listening • By listening to employees and tailoring your

message accordingly to your audiences, in their language, with their terms, sometimes even playing the words of some of the staff back to them, will make your communications impactful

3. A conversation • Internal communications should

be a conversation rather than a one-way speech• Questions should be taken by any

channel and the option of anonymous questions should be considered

4. Content Often it falls into two main themes;- What the organisation wants to achieve so the corporate vision and strategy- What staff behaviours or way of working do you want as your brand- But it can also be product development, company performance, merger, take-over, leadership changes response to bad press, restructures, redundancies, appointments, jobs generally, job function awareness etc.

5. It should never be faceless • It needs to come from a person • So, for example ‘Jane Smith in Payroll

explains how to get your expenses paid promptly’ • Questions should ideally be to that person • Not a department or bland job title• Communications should be personal and

relevant

6. Channels to cut through the noise • Use more than one for maximum effect• Such as email, newsletters, magazines,

notice boards, text messages, closed social media groups, Skype, webcasts, conferences, audio message, video, meeting requests, intranet sites.• Type of content will help decide the

channel• For example redundancies would not be

appropriate via social media but ideal to announce a company wide charity event

7. Cascade face-to-face• Effective and speedy, often considered the best • Includes regular team briefings, surgeries for frontline staff with

senior leadership, town hall events, roadshows, annual conferences, regular CEO briefings etc.

• It allows for personalisation of the message so is usually the most effective for employee engagement

• Provide notes with figures so that the right information can be given

• Encourage feedback and questions and give a swift reply • Avoid raising false hopes among staff regarding the extent to

which feedback can be acted upon• When communicating the mission or values, the aim is for

employees to understand them, not just know them • Consider mixing people and departments so people can meet

each other as an added bonus

8. Newsletter propaganda?• Newsletters are a popular tool. It’s worth

considering actually printing it to gain additional attention• In some organisations directors and even

the CEO can insist on signing off all content before publication. The challenge is for them to avoid being seen as “propagandist”. In other companies, senior management have no such involvement• Balance copy with comments and articles

from juniors

9. Intranet sites• An ideal information hub for HR matters, product

updates, social events and more• Don’t become over reliant on it as it can seem

faceless and impersonal • Just typed words can be dull. Consider a multi

media approach, using it for a dialogue, webcasts and add some humour• As so little is now put on paper, it can work well

with a printed newsletter

10. Measurement and Evaluation The following is highly recommended;• An annual employees survey – with a small prize for

everyone in the department completing it• Focus groups for new issues, possible problem areas

or activity • Also adhoc qualitative research for major changes in

corporate strategy or values • Valuable data is available via click-rates to intranet

pages, emails opened/unopened, viewing figures on internal websites etc.

11. Don’t let the gossips take over• Employees talk – about good and bad

things, it’s what we do as humans • Incorrect, negative comments will

harm morale• Sometimes incorrect information can

rumble round the business and into the media, which can be highly damaging. Thus staff need to be properly informed

• Excellent internal communications and ultimately employee engagement is at the heart of any great business or organisation

Need some help? • Are you too busy? Would you like an independent review of your

communications? Or a project completed? Or need qualitative market research groups?• I’m a successful, freelance, marketing consultant at director level• You can hire me for a few weeks, a few months or offer me a job• I’m friendly and upbeat so feel free to ring me for a chat

Liz Murphy lizmurphywork@gmail.com 07939 167313 in the UK,

find me on LinkedIn or see more at my website

www.marketingconsultant.org.uk