Why Your Business Needs to Care About Internal Comms

The thought of internal comms can often put a person to sleep. But an optimised internal comms strategy can have a powerful impact on the culture and success of a business. 

Why Internal Comms matters

• Workforces are becoming more dispersed and mobile. Flexible working hours mean more staff are working from home or away from the office. A strong internal communications strategy can help an organisation feel united and connected even when physically distant. 
• Communications help define workplace culture. A strong internal communications platform which allows for two-way engagement enables employees to feel included, informed and part of something bigger. 
• It presents an opportunity for management to communicate with all parts of the organisation. Hearing directly from management also removes trickle down communications which can make employees feel unimportant and secondary.

Yes, but…

Now here is the part I can hear you say “open two-way internal comms is a great idea but it’s just not right for my business”. One of the most common concerns we hear time and time again from businesses is along the lines of “giving our employees too much of a voice will bring the cracks of our business to the surface; we can’t control what they publish”. 

The short and honest answer to this is, yes. Yes, it will and yes you cannot control them. But think of this. 

Your employees already have a voice and are talking anyway, but it’s just hidden. By bringing it into the open through an official internal communications platform, your business can know about it, address it, influence the conversation, correct the information and manage it. It puts you on the front foot and in a position of power to positively action change.

3 tips to help implement effective internal comms at your workplace 

1. Choose a platform that’s right for your business. From Workplace to Yammer, there’s a range of internal comms platforms to choose from. Take the time to find out what they offer, how they can serve your business and how they’ll be received by the team.  

2. More listening and less talking. That’s what the latest HR research is showing is a key concern from employees. The ability to listen is as important as the ability to speak, so factor this in when you’re developing your internal comms content strategy and make sure you’re encouraging conversation and fostering interaction between your employees. 

3. Content is king. Here at Now Comms, we like to follow the MICE model for internal comms.

Motivate – Share successes, encourage hard work and show employees you value their efforts

Inform – Provide organisational updates including changes to the team, products, operational efforts and much more

Connect – Connect employees with each other, to management and to the organisation’s principles and values. 

Engage – Make sure your content is not all work and no play. Crack a joke or two (as long as it’s work appropriate) and don’t forget to make your content as relevant to your audience as possible. 

Introducing internal comms isn’t always easy but it’s worth it. If you’ve got any questions or are keen to get started, don’t hesitate to reach out.