Communicating well with people within your company is, in many ways, even more important than how you communicate with those outside it. With employees demanding more engagement than ever before, not communicating with your team can severely impact not just morale and productivity, but your bottom line. Research even shows that 20 to 25 percent of companies’ revenue each year is being lost thanks to disengaged employees.
So with only 13 percent of employees using their intranet each day and 31 percent never using it at all, how can you make sure that employees are actually engaged with your internal communications? We’ve put together our top tips for using technology to make sure your internal comms are actually doing what you want them to do.
Open Up (Socially, That Is)
So what’s holding them back? A lack of engagement from the company leader, according to Harvard Business Review (HBR). Traditionally, leaders have tried to keep a level of distance or formality between them and employees – but today’s leader recognises the need to be a leader not just in person, but also digitally. After all, even the President of the US tweets and is all over Facebook! If a leader is able to show their engagement with a social network, it can prove a valuable tool for creating real connections between leadership and staff.
For example, as HBR describes, the President of UPS North California District, Rosemary Turner uses Twitter (because it’s the channel that most of their people are using) to share updates, photos of the team, and provide an open channel of communication for employees. Sending a ‘blast’ on Twitter has shown to result in more responses than sending out a survey internally.
When developing a social network: create interesting content that appeals to your employees; keep it front and centre on your intranet; encourage employees to take part; and most importantly, be open and honest about what’s happening – you won’t regret it.
Get Moving
Make It Fun
Everyone loves a game. The new buzzword in technology might be “gamification,” but it’s a philosophy companies have used for years, through work contests, wellness programs, fundraisers and more. With technology, that can be taken to the next level, through leader board, completion bars, badges and more, all updated in real time and shared throughout the company. Need to engage people in your intranet? Reward employees for everything from watching videos to joining in discussions. Employees will feel celebrated and enjoy engaging with your internal communications more.
Give Them Something To Watch
With one study finding that “audiovisual content is one of the most meaningful ways to communicate,” there’s no excuse not to include some in your internal communications strategy!
Get Writing
Above all, keep in mind that internal communications are all about engagement. Use technology to help draw in employees and don’t be afraid to be open in your communications, so they feel comfortable to do the same. Want to know more? Check out Rachel Miller’s (All Things IC) eBook Where’s Internal Communication Headed?
Internal Communications Help
Is internal communications an issue within your organization? If you would like some help with how an intranet can improve internal communications within your organization? For a no obligation discussion on the possibilities, contact the team at MyHub.
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