Increase your market share and ROI

In the race for market share, companies with proactive and successful internal communication will have a competitive head start, thanks to a more committed, motivated and productive work force. According to the Watson Wyatt 2005/2006 Communication ROI Study, companies that significantly improved their internal communication effectiveness increased their market value by an average of 19.4 per cent. The study also discovered the most effective internal communication programmes achieved a 91 per cent total return to shareholders, verses 58 per cent attained by companies that did not consider it a priority.

ARM your employees

As skilled employees become increasingly scarce, establishing effective communication programmes that attract, retain and motivate employees is crucial.

Attract – Clear communication of an organisation’s culture, philosophy, and vision to potential employees is essential to attract the best calibre candidates. This can only be done if the organisation has clearly communicated these to their current employees.

Retain – Armed with information, employees will feel a greater stake in the company and their loyalty will grow. Foster a proactive, information-sharing climate in which employees communicate with colleagues and management.

Motivate - Conducted correctly and professionally, internal communication can transform a disengaged and lethargic clock-watcher into your company’s greatest asset.

Be creative

Clear communication can get lost in the noise of lazy design or wrong execution. Internal communication needs to be as accessible, interesting, innovative and engaging as external communication. It needs to be well-written, audience specific, and presented in a professional and user-friendly way. Instead of convincing a customer to buy a product, you are convincing an employee to buy into their employer brand, which is essential to the ultimate success of the business.

Segment your ‘markets’

Internal audiences, like their external counterparts, have segments. Internal communication should speak to the issues of each segment. Difference in experience, job level, location and language can affect what needs to be communicated.

An oldie but a goodie

Advances in technology have made e-communication a convenient and cost-effective way of interacting with employees. But the value of printed material should not be ignored. Employees are bombarded with hundreds of e-mails daily, so having the ability to take home a newsletter can make it more personal. While online information is quicker and more interactive, quality publications are still of great value.

WIIFM

Too often internal communication is just a mouthpiece for management. Communication is only top-down; concentrated with management news and profiles on executives, causing it to be ignored by the rest of the workforce. Employees complain about only receiving instructions concerning their work or how to best fulfil their tasks. Incorporating more features on the average worker and providing the WIIFM (what’s in it for me?) factor can make the communications more effective. 

Not just for big fish

Large companies frequently have separate internal communication departments, dedicated to providing information to their employees. In smaller businesses, the job normally falls to someone else who has little time to implement a proper internal communication plan. It is assumed that since the work environment is more intimate, information will automatically disseminate. Effective communication is just as important, if not more so, in a smaller setting.

Our charge

In-house public relations departments and external communication agencies have the responsibility to make internal communication a priority. Clear, concise communication with each of the company’s audiences is essential to its success. Too often the employees end up at the bottom of the priority list and it is up to us to keep them at the top of the agenda!

Communicate rather than inform

The importance of internal communication is not a new concept and most businesses have corporate communication departments. So what can a public relations agency offer these companies? Here’s how Davies Associates provided a valuable service to one such department…

A Fortune 500 science and technology company, with operations in more than 70 countries, has several large corporate affairs departments around the world that handle all external and internal communication. To address the challenge of keeping thousands of employees throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) informed, the EMEA corporate affairs department has an extensive communication plan, which includes an employee magazine. The goal of the magazine is to keep employees up-to-date with new developments and company strategies. In a recent internal survey, it became clear that the quality and style of contributions was not cohesive and lacked appeal. Davies Associates was asked to step in and work with local employee correspondents to create an effective and engaging magazine.

Employ your employee

To encourage the company to communicate rather than inform, Davies Associates emphasised the importance of employees’ participation; content should flow both ways. Employee interviews were conducted and a flexible design was created. Each region was given ownership of a section of the magazine for local updates, employee success stories and country specific goals. The company found that the level of participation in internal communication was directly proportional to the level of satisfaction felt by employees.

Content relevance

Internal communication has the power to build strength from within by interpreting the company strategy and relaying it to front-line staff in a way that motivates and generates enthusiasm. Not an easy feat when the business operates in many diverse markets and manufactures a wide array of products. Submitted articles were littered with corporate jargon and scientific references that were not widely understood. Davies Associates used a journalist style to rely the same information in easy-to-read articles for employees at all levels.

Language hurdles

Davies Associates knows that every region has its cultural and linguistic differences that affect the readability of the publication and that producing a European magazine goes beyond merely translating the text into seven languages. The Davies Associates team is made up of natives from most major European regions, which ensured the content flowed and was easy-to-read. Often companies will just have text translated but not vetted by someone who understands the small, but important, nuances of the language. When edited properly, the result is a magazine that feels personal and relevant to each employee and that creates loyalty and motivation.

Working together

An external agency’s view can be very valuable to in-house internal communication departments. Translating in a local voice, editing content to ensure it is relevant and in a user-friendly format can all increase employee motivation and feeling of ownership. Having an unbiased and professional communication agency working hand-in-hand with your in-house department can insure that your internal communication plan is well-executed and effective.  

Did you know?

Do you have a native speaker translating and editing your communications to ensure an accurate and consistent message? (see Did You Know…)

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