Internal comms is starting to make waves in the world of digital as businesses realise that the era of millennials taking up jobs, as well as an increasingly tech-savvy older generation, has made social media and online communication more important than ever.
Diving headfirst into the world of digital internal communications can seem a bit overwhelming. It’s scary trying something new and embracing digital often requires a bit of a culture change. But it doesn’t have to be a plunge into the unknown.
External comms went first with digital, as companies put their efforts into keeping customers happy. We can use these insights as guiding principles on what good looks like for digital in the world of internal comms.
So here are some of the best ways to kick-start a successful digital IC journey:
Giving your employees a voice within the business can make a huge difference to their happiness and sense of satisfaction. Communication should be a two-way street: your team won’t feel connected if they have no voice. Information needs to be communicated clearly from the top down, but it also needs to come from the front line of workers. Many great examples of content are created for employees, by employees.
Digital channels are fab for encouraging two-way comms. It’s all about finding which platform works best for your people and using the right types of content to keep them coming back regularly.
Intranets can sometimes get a bad rap, but when it comes to implementing a successful internal communications strategy, it’s usually the content that makes the different and not the channel it’s hosted on. See previous point!
Make your intranet a place for great, relevant, current content – as well as a space filled with tools to help your people do their jobs.
People check their mobile phones over 100 times a day (crazy right?), so having an app just makes sense when it comes to giving your employees instant news updates and content. It’s easier for people to upload videos and photos straight from a phone too.
Apps are great because they tend to be designed to do one thing really well. It’s all about having a focus. You go straight to Google Maps for directions, Uber for a lift or Spotify for your playlists. Keeping it simple and to the point is key.
Digital signage can be incredibly powerful when it comes to getting your message across to your team.
Screens placed throughout a workspace can be used to instantly push out important news and content – and refreshed just as quickly. No more wallpaper posters! Touch screens can also be used for pulse surveys, simple quizzes and other interactions.
Digital signage makes a huge difference to businesses that have sites and locations all over the world but need to be able to share information in a fast and efficient manner.
No one on your team is likely to go a whole day at work without checking at least one of their social media channels. This means companies are in the perfect position to create an internal social media channel that they can publish content on and use to engage their employees.
The lines between personal and professional social network use has become blurry with platforms like Facebook at Work, Yammer, Slack, Skype and Jive now being used around the world, changing the way employees communicate with each other online.
When it comes to incorporating digital into your internal comms strategy, there’s no “one size fits all” solution. It’s all about choosing the right channel, creating the right content and delivering the right message. Find out what your people really want (don’t swim against the tide!) and check what’s already out there and working.
