In the same way that the eyes are a window into the soul, your company’s internal communications practices are a window into your culture and employer brand.
A good internal communications strategy could be the adhesive that holds an entire organization together, without which things can get misaligned in the workplace. But, for the companies that already have a strategy in practice, how do you know whether or not you’re reaping the benefits of your investments?
Signs That Your Company May Have a Poor Internal Communications Framework.
Poor Employee Engagement – Company events and activities are always fun, and make the employees feel connected to one another, as they unwind together. They can help organizations unite, and operate as one cohesive team, as opposed to individual cogs in a machine. But in the post-covid age of remote work, have you done a good job in maintaining strategies that keep the same feelings of connectedness?
Low or Incorrect Adoption Of Perks and Health Benefits – Besides the paycheck, companies pay in kind by providing perks and benefits, discount coupons, health insurance, and the little things that keep their employees healthy and happy. But the variety of plans and options can also be confusing and unclear.
If your employees are oblivious to the existence of the perks you offer, or confused about selecting the right plan for their stage in life, your internal communication channels and messages could be to blame.
Costly Errors – If customers and clients are providing negative feedback or mistakes are on the rise, it might suggest that employees lack clear direction on expectations and processes. Better communications can help. Make sure employees receive the right amount of information presented in a way that they prefer.
Dropping Retention Rate – Employees leave companies when they feel confused and taken for granted. Good internal communications in the form of recognition and reminders helps to connect employees to the their sense of appreciation and remind them about the things they love best about their work.
This could be the perfect time to perform an internal communications audit and analyze the changes that need to be made in order to improve internal communications for better employee retention.
Here are a few signs that your company suffers from poor internal communication strategy –
- Dropping retention rate
- Frequent errors
- Poor employee engagement
Low or Incorrect Adoption Of Perks and Health Benefits
How Do Better Internal Communications Affect Employer Branding?
By engaging your company employees while drafting your new internal communications strategy, you’re putting your company’s most valuable asset forward to be its ambassadors. Hearing about their employee experience, their communications preferences and what they want to learn more about allows you to create entertaining content, and at the same time fosters engagement and a sense of being heard.
Your new strategy will help them feel connected and they will be more inclined to stay, perform and recommend others either within their network or on review sites. This has a positive effect on your organizations employer brand.
Conversely , here are the consequences of having a weak employer brand.
- A dip in the number of applicants.
- Applicants ghosting right after the interview or offer.
- Poor quality of recruits.
- Reduced employee engagement in surveys.
- Employees quietly quitting (or checking out.) .
These are some of the red flags that should make employers dive right into improving the company’s employer branding.
Here are some of the red flags that should make employers dive right into improving the company’s employer branding.
Here Are A Few Ways To Improve Your Company’s Internal Communications
Enable engaging employee communications through multiple channels and formats – In addition to leveraging the communication channels like email, the company can embrace other channels and formats like podcasts and videos. Videos are a format that the employees enjoy, as they receive more information regarding their company.
By providing employees with the necessary tools to get their message across in their preferred media formats, companies can ensure more engagement from their internal communications efforts.
Ace employee engagement – Engaged employees are more relaxed and confident that their team leaders and employers will take care of their inputs and suggestions. When there’s less fear of voicing opinions, employees are more likely to have open conversations with their leaders.
Low employee engagement is not an overnight phenomenon. Its decline is a result of continuous stress, demotivation, and anxiety, that the employees are subject to during the interactions with their leaders, and during their employment.
Create the new internal communications framework WITH your team – Your employees know themselves the best. So, involve them while creating the internal communication strategy. Since this is a collaborative project, the internal communication strategies you devise should be specific to your employees.
Ask for employee feedback – Ask your employees to provide their feedback encouraging them to express their opinions and suggestions about their job, workplace, and company culture. Employees need to feel heard, and when their companies provide them this facility, the employees feel more comfortable initiating conversations because opening up and sharing their perspective has been normalized.
The relationship between employers and employees is non-existent in some organizations. Employees mostly hear from their leaders on 1-1 meetings initiative that could be uncomfortable. In such scenarios, allowing anonymous employees to provide feedback anonymously is a valid alternative for gathering data and observations around workload, employee communications, deadlines, or anything that is causing the employees distress. Anonymous feedback, besides being less invasive, also avoids conflict between leaders and employees who may barely be familiar with one another.
If you’re uncertain about investing in an internal communication strategy at your workplace, you should learn about the aftermath of poor employee communication and unhealthy company culture. Here are a few ways to improve your company’s work culture.
In A Nutshell,
An effective internal communications is no longer a option. If you’re skeptical about investing in and implementing an internal communications strategy at your workplace, you should first consider the consequences of poor employee communications on the culture and productivity.
Get in touch with Brandemix – the best employer branding agency in New York and San Diego, specializing in internal communications, and employee engagement, and, explain why having healthy internal communication is the foundation of great employer branding.
FAQs
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What are internal communications?
Good internal communications is the adhesive that holds an entire organization together, without which things can get misaligned in the workplace.
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What is the significance of having a robust internal communications strategy?
Effective internal communication is no longer an option. If you’re skeptical about investing in, and implementing an internal communication strategy at your workplace, you should first learn the aftermath of poor employee communication and the consequences of unhealthy company culture. Get in touch with Brandemix – the best employer branding agency in the East and West coast, specializing in internal communications, employer branding and EVP research and development.
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What is the aftermath of having a poor internal communications strategy in the workplace?
Here are the consequences of having poor internal communication –
- A weak employer branding.
- A dip in the number of applicants.
- Applicants ghosting right after the interview or offer.
- Poor quality of recruits.
- Reduced employee engagement in surveys.
- Employees losing faith in the company/employer.
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What are the signs that indicate an underdeveloped internal communications strategy in the workplace?
Here are a few signs that your company suffers from a poor internal communications strategy –
Dropping retention rate
Frequent errors
Poor employee engagement
Poor awareness and utilization of perks and benefits.
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What if my company already has an internal communication strategy?
Oh great! However, we believe that there’s always scope for improvement.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.”
