Let’s talk about Internal Communications Strategies.

Why are they important? What are the most common myths related to them?What makes them effective?

The following pages cover the role and significance of a proper Internal Communications strategy, debunk common myths and misconceptions, and outline a clear path to crafting an effective Internal Communications strategy.

There’s more to Internal Communications than managing channels between employer and employee. There are various communications occurring at all times between all branches and levels of an organization.

There’s More to It

It is the role of the Internal Communications department to find ways to facilitate and contribute to the various ongoing communications within the organization.

Influence Has Many Forms

Top level management is not always the most effective channel of communicating messages to employees. There are a few Influence techniques that can sway their opinion, depending on the nature of the communication.

Authority: Managerial power and subject matter experts both have an authoritative effect. The Internal Communications department can capitalise on key figures and relevant experts to convey trustworthy communications.

Scarcity: Exclusivity and limited opportunity are powerful approaches that the Internal Communications department can use. Limited availability and exclusive time windows can drive massive engagement among employees.

Social Proof: People tend to follow a group mentality; they will imitate what many others do. If there is a trend that the Internal Communications department can utilize to deliver a message, then it must be considered for strategy formulation.

Goodwill: Investing in people emotionally brings about positive results later on. Gaining the trust and admiration of an employee by giving them appropriate benefits is a powerful approach to any Internal Communications strategy.

Liking: Simply put, people listen to people they respect, regardless of their position. The Internal Communications department would do well to cooperate with popular voices within an organization to convey effective messages.

It’s About How, not What

Not all messages must be conveyed in a serious and/or urgent tone. It’s important to determine the kind of response an organization wants to elicit from their relevant departments in order to choose the right message.

There are beneficial messages that only serve to inform. There are critical messages that only serve to elicit an immediate response. Between these two ends of the spectrum are different methods to obtain different results. The choice of message type, tonality and channel of communication must align with the kind of response the Internal Communications department and the organization desire.

People are People

Communication is a human process and, in the eyes of an employee, their organization is a person.

Internal Communications as a concept is based on this simple fact. Digital offers more diverse tools and techniques to communicate with members of an organization, but by no means is it a substitute for human interaction.

The main focus should be on building a relationship with employees based on their need to grow, connect and form human bonds. Digital should be a versatile bridge to reaching that goal.

Consistency is Key

Any brand’s persona should be consistent on both sides of its operations; internally and externally.

Every employee is a consumer when not on the clock. If the way they experience the brand on the outside is different than how they experience it on the inside, then there will likely be barriers with how they perceive internal communications.

A consistent brand experience is key in any organization’s internal communications strategy.

The myths surrounding Internal Communications allow organizations and departments to finetune their processes with time. Internal Communications strategies are diverse, dynamic and constantly developing.

It’s important to challenge any norms in order to create stronger, more effective Internal Communications strategies.

Audience Profiling

It’s important to know your audience on a personal and human level rather than by viewing broad statistics and demographics.

What are their beliefs? Their values? What are their lifestyles like before, during and after working hours? What do they talk about? What do they enjoy doing? When? Where?

People communicate more effectively with those who are close to them. Knowing your audience on this level will enable you to formulate and implement effective Internal Communication strategies.

In short:

- Don’t trust broad statistics.- Identify your desired audience.- Get to know them on a close and personal level.- Tailor communications that speak to them as people.

Channel Assessment

How well your messages are received, whether via email or otherwise, depend on a number of performance indicators.

Factors such as message type, timing and tone can affect the visibility and reception of Internal Communications. Similarly, channel placement and type, from the perspective of an employee, dramatically affect the effectiveness of your strategy.

A simple survey can help in gathering clear data on your communication channels upon which a proper Internal Communications strategy can be built. It’s important to study the effectiveness of all communication channels.

In short:

- Identify your communication channels.- Study the approach and timing of your communications.- Ensure proper placement and channel selection.- See your communications through your employees’ eyes.- Gather and assess data with surveys and similar methods.

Finding the IC Purpose

It’s crucial to identify the purpose of Internal Communications within the organization.

For example, if a company decides to adopt a customer-centric approach to their operations, Internal Communications should promote a culture of customer centricity in all its efforts. This is to say that the purpose of the strategy is in line with the overall purpose of the organization, its mission, vision, purpose and operation pillars.

Once the aim is clear, it should be the organization's focus throughout the year. It should have a singular purpose statement about its goal for the year, based on the strategy selected. What happens then is personifying the kind of individual who will enable this goal to become a reality. Once that persona is detailed, the Internal Communications department can then finetune communications per this persona.

In short:

- Identify a clear goal and purpose statement.- Create a strategy to base your efforts on for the year.- Personify the ideal employee to achieve your goal.- Communicate with this persona to begin achieving your goal.

Defining Objectives

In order to fulfil an Internal Communications goal, you must have a clear definition of this goal, the milestones necessary to achieving it, and build awareness about the impact of achieving it.

Different tool and approaches must be implemented in order to create a sense of awareness and involvement in the ongoing Internal Communication purpose. Splitting your bigger milestones into minor messages can help facilitate this goal.

In short:- Envision a clear and achievable goal for your Internal Communications.- Assess its milestones and challenges.- Study the impact of this goal and measure the awareness of it.- Implement different tools to create engagement with ongoing Internal

Communication efforts.- Consider segmenting bigger challenges to facilitate the process.

Setting Tactics

This will require a combination of what we’ve learned so far.

We have many streams of communication, as previously mentioned. It’s important to choose the right stream to assess your approach to fulfilling your Internal Communications strategy.

To deliver an effective message, the Internal Communications department should identify who the most appropriate and effective voices or streams of communication are. The department should ideally immerse them in the campaign with events, activations, sessions and other settings in order to pave the way for communications with various audiences.

It’s not just about authority; it can be any influence stream, from liking, to goodwill and even scarcity.

In short:- Study all the factors that affect an employee’s response to your

communications.- Learn from common misconceptions and practices.- Choose the right stream of communication for your strategy.- Tap into the various influence techniques that affect an employee’s

decisions.