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BESTPRACTICESINEMPLOYEECOMMUNICATIONSANDENGAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Letsfaceitwhenitcametocommunicationsteams,theemployeecommunicationsfunctionused

tobe

at

the

low

end

of

the

totem

pole.

To

work

in

employee

communications

was

to

be

in

ajunior

role,awayfromtheimportantstuffanddisconnectedfromwheretherealactiontookplace.

Today,employeecommunicationsandengagementisrecognizedasacriticalfunction.Itisnotonly

centraltoanysuccessfulcommunicationsormarketingcampaign,itisalsofundamentalto

organizationalperformance.

Quitesimply,alackofefficientemployeecommunicationscostsorganizationsitrepresentsanet

drainontime,moneyandeffectiveness.Worse,gapsininternalcommunicationsexposecompanies

torisksinmissedopportunityordisconnectedmessagestostakeholdersandaudiences.

Thebusinesscaseforemployeecommunicationsandengagementisnowclear.Thequestionremains

whatsthemoststrategicapproachtothefunction?

PRINCIPLES

Thefollowingprincipleswillhelpshapeanorganizationsapproachtocraftinganemployee

communications andengagementprogramthatisfitforpurpose.

Integrateemployeecommunicationsinallexternalcommunications.Itsimportanttobuildinternal

communications intoallexternalcampaignsinanintegrated,coherentfashion.Employee

communications isnotaghettoizedfunctionseparatedfromtheorganizationitshouldbeatthe

heartofallexternalorstakeholdercommunications.Thisisthecriticalfirststepindrivingalignment,

andcommunicatinginaconsistentandauthenticfashion.

Walkthe

talk.

High

performance

internal

communications

can

only

take

root

in

an

organization

that

trulyembracestheimportanceofthework,andfunctionsinawaythatdemonstratesthat

commitment.Opencommunicationandacommitmenttosharinginformationshouldbeimplicitand

explicitindaytodayoperationsandexpectationsforteambehaviours.

Considerculture.Thepivotpointfortransformative employeecommunicationsisculture.Aninternal

cultureshouldbedeliberatelydefinedandcultivatedinordertocreateconditionsinwhichemployee

communicationcanflourish.Theinternalculturewillbebuiltfromtheconstellationofseverallarge

andsmalldimensions,suchasthewayinwhichmeetingstakeplace,habitsintermsofinterpersonal

relations,patternsforemailwritinganddistribution,theformandfunctionofstrategicplanning

sessionsandthewayinwhichtheorganizationrespondstochallengesandopportunities.Building

cultureshouldbeathoughtful,carefulandcollaborativeexercisethatisnurturedovertime.

Payattentiontomanagers.Whenplanninginternalcommunications activities,payparticular

attentiontothemanagementcommunity.Considerthatmanagershavetwokeyrolesinany

employeecommunicationsinitiativetheyareatoncereceiversofinformationandvehiclesto

communicatemessagestotheirteams.Thisstructuralrealityshouldbeaddressedinthedesignand

executionofinternalcommunications.

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Designinternalcommunicationsaroundtheemployees,nottheorganization.Toooften,employee

communicationisdrivenexclusivelybyorganizationalimperativeswhatthecompanywantsto

communicateandhowtheCEOwantstobepositioned.Theseareimportant,butsecondary

considerations.Toberelevant,employeecommunications hastomaptightlytoemployeesneeds

andinterests.ThinklessabouttheCEOsmessageinthenewsletterandmoreaboutdaytoday

considerationslikeparkingpoliciesandsuggestionstoimprovethecafeteria.

Focusonauthenticity. Fundamentallytobecredibleanduseful,internalcommunicationsmustbe

authentic.Authenticitycanbeachievedbyhavingleadersspeakintheirownvoice,beingtransparent

evenwhenthenewsisdifficult,andmostimportantly,indemonstratingthattheorganization

empowersemployeestospeaktruthtopower.

BESTPRACTICES

#1: Developastrategy.

Employeecommunications istooimportanttoleavetochance.Itscriticaltodevelopastrategyto

focus

internal

communications

activities

by

setting

clear

objectives

that

track

to

measurable,

observableoutcomes.Inparticular,considerhowinternalcommunicationwillintegratewithexternal

communications andbranding.

#2: Demonstrateexecutiveleadership.

Visiblebuyinandengagementatthetopisessential. Ensurethattheheadofyourorganizationis

fullybriefedoninternalcommunications,hasanopportunitytoshapethestrategyandisfrontand

centreinoutreachactivities.ThisisimportantnotonlyastheCEOisakeycommunications channel,

butalsobecausehisorherbehaviourwillhelpsetexpectationsfortransparencyandauthenticity.

Consideropportunitiestodemonstratearealcommitmenttoinformationsharing,inorderto

illustratethatinformationhoardingisnotacceptablewithinyourorganizationsperformanceor

culture.

#3: Avoidthevacuumeffect.

Dontbefooledintothinkingthatifyoudontcommunicate,nothingwillbesaid.Quitethecontrary

internalcommunicationabhorsavacuum.Ifthereischangeafootorachallengecoming,the

grapevinewillbeabuzz.Thelongeryouleavetheinformalchannelstobetheonlyviablesourceof

information,theharderitwillbetoestablishrelevanceandtrust.

#4: Resourceappropriately.

Externalcommunicationsalwaystrumpsinternalwhenitcomestobudgetingoffinancialandstaff

resources.Considerthatthereisarealcosttothispatternwhatdoesitcostyoueverydayinlost

productivitythatyourteamisnotclearonitsdirection?Thatdirectoratesdontshareinformation?

Whataretherisksinhavingyourfrontlinestaffconveyincorrectorofftargetmessagestoclientsand

customersevery

day?

The

only

way

to

excel

at

the

employee

communication

function

is

to

resource

itappropriately.MakeacommitmenttoavoidtherobbingPetertopayPaulsyndromethatisall

toocommonintheperennialstruggletobalanceinternalandexternalcommunicationinvestments.

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#5: Focusonfacetoface.

Whereverpossibleandpractical,employeecommunicationshouldtakeplacefacetoface.Inperson

exchangesarethemosteffectiveandtrustedformsofinternalcommunication.Whatsmore,that

directconversationcanalsounravelotherwiseeffectivecommunicationsactivitiessuchas

newslettersandintranetcontentifthespokespersonfailstoestablishtrustorauthenticity.Design

communicationstrategiesandtacticsaroundmeaningfulopportunitiesforfacetofaceexchange.If

distanceisachallenge,exploretheuseofwebconferencesasameansofbridgingthatgeographical

gapratherthanrelyingonthepassiveandcoldmediumofemail.

#6: Thinkaboutsystems.

Considerthatthesphereofinternalcommunicationispervasiveacrossanorganization.Itisnotjust

aboutspecifictacticsormeetingsthewayinwhichtheorganizationcommunicatesinternallyis

manifestacrossseveraltouchpoints,suchasprocesses,approvalchannels,culturalpatterns,social

normsandbusinesssystems.Whatmessagesarebeingconveyedthroughthesystemsofyour

organization?Isthatmessagedeliberatelyengineered,orisitbeinglefttochance?

#7: YourIntranetwontsaveyou.

ThereisanalmostuniversalbeliefthatfixingtheIntranetwillfixinternalcommunications.Thatisa

falseanddangerousassumptioneffectiveemployeecommunicationcannotbebasedonanysingle

tactic. AnIntranetcanandshouldbeapowerfultoolinconsolidatingbusinessresourcesand

information,functioningasanelectronicconvenorfortheemployeecommunity.However,the

Intranetmustbeintegratedwithinabroadertacticalmix,whichincludeschannelssuchasfaceto

faceopportunities,communicationviamanagersaswellasinformalavenuesforinformationand

exchange.

#8: Measure,learn,refine.

Measurementisalwaysimportantinstrategiccommunications,butitmaybeespeciallyrelevantin

thecaseofemployeecommunication.Settingupclearindicatorsofperformancewillbevitalin

calibratingthe

strategy

and

tactics

with

appropriate

precision.

Internal

communication

may

be

deployedtotrackagainstoutcomessuchasmorale,retention,recruitment,productivity,job

satisfactionand/oremployeesafety. Beingclearaboutwhatsuccesslookslike,andestablishing

internalalignmentaroundthatendstateisinstrumentaltohavinghighimpactemployee

communicationprogramsthatdeliverresults.

Formoreinformationonhowthesebestpracticescanbeleveragedtomeetyourorganizationscommunicationsobjectives,pleasecontactIngeniumCommunicationsatinfo@ingeniumcommunications.comor613.729.1721.

IngeniumCommunicationsproducesasuiteofproducts,includingacollectionofbestpractices,awhitepaperseriesandusefultoolsthathelpenhanceyourorganizationscommunicationsactivities.Toaccessthissuiteofproductsvisitwww.ingeniumcommunications.com.