Internal communication often feels impossible to get right. In every employee survey I have ever run, the one thing, without fail, which employees always say needs improving is communication. Ask any senior leader and they will be adamant that they communicate well, ask employees and they will be adamant that they haven’t been told XY and Z.
Communication is key in the workplace and it happens all the time whether we are aware of it or not. The unspoken message about the way things are done, how present senior leaders are, transparency around processes, and more formal updates. Many organisations will (hopefully) provide regular updates to senior managers and managers, often this is a one way process, there is no follow up or cascade creating a culture of only the people in the room being informed. Everyone else probably finds things out via gossip.
Do you have a plan?
Communication doesn’t just happen, a clear structured plan is required. We live in a world of information overload. There are so many channels for communication including emails, intranets, teams, slack, whats app groups and then verbal communication. Of course, verbal communication can by itself, take many forms from team meetings, town halls, away days, manager meetings, cascades, in person meetings and via teams or zoom. With all these channels it is no wonder that things can get missed.
What channel?
The first thing to think about is what is being communicated and what is the best channel for that. Often to ensure that the message reaches all the recipients it will probably be necessary to use more than one channel. If you want to make a companywide announcement you might email the whole organisation. If it is a sensitive message you might cascade to senior managers verbally first and then agree a time when they will cascade to their managers and then their teams, then followed by an email. This ensures that people find out at the same time, the message is consistent and anyone who is not in work will see the email.
The company intranet might be more appropriate for informal messages, to encourage employees to check out the intranet you can usually send weekly updates encouraging them to check out posts.
You should have monthly updates with the wider management team to update on strategy, company objectives and if appropriate financial updates.
Two way street.
Communication should be top down and bottom up. How do you get feedback and encourage new ideas? Senior management should ask employees on the front line of the business, about the challenges they face and what ideas they have to fix them. They are closer to the day to day of the business and often have good insights as to how problems can be resolved. Demonstrate you have listened, some ideas may not be feasible however, let employees know why.
Encourage employees to ask questions and think about what that tells you about their understanding of what is going on. Tell employees what has been changed and achieved as a result of their feedback. Set up an employee forum and use that forum to discuss ideas and ask them to share and get feedback from their colleagues. Employee forums are great as long as you ensure you are clear on the expectaions and it is not a space to moan about toilets and temperaure of the office!
Final thoughts.
Think about the different messages you want to share with the business and how you plan to do that. Use more than one channel to reinforce the message and ensure it reaches all the recipients. Listen and let employees know you have heard them. Communication should go both ways and builds a culture of trust, safety to speak out and continuous improvement.
