Good internal communication is critical for a successful business. If your employees have problems communicating effectively, it can be difficult to have a high-functioning and committed workforce. Strong communication also fosters a better working community and helps boost the strength of your company culture. The best way to promote healthy communication amongst your team members is by creating an effective internal communication strategy. Learn more about how Viostream can help you with your corporate communications here.
What Is an Internal Communication Strategy?
An internal communication strategy is at the core of creating an outstanding customer and employee experience. It is a plan for how employees will share information, engage with each other, establish roles, and create a productive environment within your company. An effective internal communication strategy is achieved by aligning all the different elements of your organization working together to create successful internal communications between company departments, managers, and employees.
A good strategy serves as a guide for consistently communicating amongst employees, so they feel informed about goals and initiatives within your organization. It also outlines the individual part each person should play in carrying out those goals. An internal communication strategy helps outline important conversations with key leaders and partners to allow them what they need to optimize business opportunities.
Ideally, you should think about your employees the same way you do as your customers. You want to attract, engage, and delight them, creating exceptional experiences every chance you have to communicate with them (or when they communicate with one another). This helps attract new talent and keeps your employees satisfied, which in turn enhances the customer experience as well.
Internal Communication Best Practices
To ensure that your internal communications plan is well thought-out, consider adding the the following best practices into your strategy.
1) Establish a Budget
Before you start writing your internal communication plan, you must determine what your budget will be. Determining a budget helps you avoid random attempts at communication. It streamlines your efforts into a succinct business strategy and investment in the success of your company. Projects that begin without a firm budget tend to fizzle out because companies can't justify the resources necessary to get the project up and running. Try to offer your internal communication strategy the best chance of success by allocating the necessary funds from the start.
2) Take a Collaborative Approach
Assemble a team to put the strategy in place. Creating a cross-functional group of 8-10 key players in your organization will help your strategy reflect a diverse variety of perspectives. Make sure to involve key stakeholders in the plan so that you gain approval from the most influential people in your organization. Appoint someone as the leader of the team and have them organize the initiative so the project doesn’t just die out.
3) Do An Internal Communications Audit
A good way to gauge what you need to do to improve internal communications is to look at what is currently helping (or hindering) your efforts. Conducting a communications audit helps refine haphazard attempts into a structured and effective strategy. When you conduct an audit, look at all areas of communication within your organization. And be sure to get feedback from all levels of the organization.
Part of measuring your efforts includes assessing the channels you’re using to reach your audience. You want to focus on the channels that drive the most engagement. For instance, you may prefer sending out communications via email, but your employees prefer checking your Twitter account or using a different software platform for updates.
4) Set Objectives
A good plan starts by clearly defining the goals and objectives you want to achieve. Brainstorm all your possible objectives. Here are some items it might include:
- Establish a baseline for internal communication and employee engagement.
- Empower managers to have crucial conversations with their teams
- Recognize employees who uphold brand values and fortify company culture.
Try to come up with as many ideas as possible for leveraging different channels to facilitate internal communication.
5) Avoid Communication Overload
Technology is a blessing and a curse. It allows us to communicate more quickly and with greater ease than ever before, but it can also create communication pollution and overwhelm recipients with too much info. People remember things best when they are clear and simple. Try to keep communication short and concise, and use visuals whenever possible. Only send necessary information to specific parties and avoid cluttering up people’s inboxes with excess.
How Viostream Can Help
The goal of internal communication is not just to impart information. It should also seek to engage, motivate, and inspire. If you’re considering ramping up your internal communications plan, start your free trial today.
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