With a few exceptions (such as a well known airline!), most brands value their customers very highly these days, and that’s quite right. However, fewer put such high value on their own staff. And that’s wrong. Your own staff are your brand ambassadors and as such need to be both ‘loved’ and informed so that they represent your values appropriately. This makes internal communications incredibly important – and that’s not just for large, global corporations.
Simon Wright, MD at Greenwich Design, talks about why creative design shouldn’t stop at external customer-focused campaigns and why businesses that don’t see internal communications as a priority are missing an important opportunity.
So, we all understand the importance of keeping communications flowing through the organisation, we may even have an internal communications strategy in place. But how do we know if it is really working? Sadly, the short answer for many is it’s not.
The problem is certainly not a lack of communication. Businesses today find themselves swamped in legislation that they need to adhere to and so it’s no wonder that the pressure to consistently communicate so much information, to so many, often, results in messaging being unclear, un-engaging and unnoticed all together.
Often organisations are so busy focusing on their products, services and external communications that they neglect one of their most important asset – their employees. Internal communications are often, especially in times of economic difficulty, the first place to face budget cuts. However, as employees we are fundamental as ambassadors of the brand, so why should internal communications be seen as inferior to external, customer facing campaigns?
Internal communications have to work much harder to be heard through the noise and are vital in turning the business strategy into action. An organisation’s communication must be able to help employees share knowledge and information, extract meaning and make decisions that add value. Sadly, all too often, adding value is all about what effect investment has on the bottom line, and the more direct the link to the bottom line the better. With an externally focused campaign, this is much easier to measure and probably much quicker to reap a return than internal campaigns. And yet, it may well be that a well prepared and engaged staff will actually be much more profitable in the mid to long term.
To generate the awareness and impact required to do this, the creative execution of an internal campaign needs serious consideration. Smart internal campaigns can be created via a combination of smart thinking by Marketing and HR departments and communicated effectively through impactful design that is a reflection of a company’s visual identity. By creating compelling messages that capture the imagination, the results of campaign objectives have a greater chance of being successful – helping articulate, motivate and engage employees in creating positive change.
You have to work hard to build your audience and gain their attention and trust. And that doesn’t happen overnight. An internal communications programme should be viewed as a long-term investment rather than a one hit wonder. All activity must be integrated with consistent presentation in the same way as external campaigns. Newsletters need to be published at set and regular intervals – not just when you have enough time to write them or enough news to fill them. Similarly, intranets and blogs must be updated often, or no-one will come back to read them.
Combine verbal and non-verbal communication methods, print and electronic media, to ‘layer’ messages and make sure you connect with everyone, no matter what their communication style.
When it comes to engaging with a workforce, one size most definitely does not fit all. The most successful internal communications campaigns learn from classic marketing techniques, in breaking down internal customers into groups based on interests and motivations.
The trick is to identify these groups and then tailor your messages and your method of communication to reach each of them. Digital communications, in particular, offer lots of potential for customising your messages, making them relevant to each individual situation.
A simple image is a much more powerful way to convey a message and another trend I think we will see more of is in visuals – particularly infographics – being used when communicating internally. Ultimately, in the digital world, the consumer is always switched on and that is also true for the employee – in essence they are one and the same. In the social generation, the employee’s recommendation is of even greater value to a brand as their opinions as ‘ambassadors’ are trusted. Organisations that are already creating internal content that can be shared with the outside world in one ‘click’ are already one step ahead.