Effective internal communications is vital to the success of any company. It helps ensure that all employees are working collaboratively towards the achievement of corporate goals. It can also positively impact employee engagement, improving the morale of workers, boosting productivity and promoting a good working environment.
Employee communications continues to evolve, what with modern communication tools that corporate communicators may tap as well as new practices that they may employ. The following are some of the employee communications best practices that your team can try to get the rest of the organization connected, engaged, and motivated:
1. Use of new communication channels
The email isn’t the only communication medium that you can tap to reach out your employees. There are many internal communication tools that can be used to communicate news, information, motivational quotes, and event reminders without bothering the busy office worker.
One modern communication tool that is being used in the corporate world is desktop alerts system, in which company news are displayed in the corporate desktop. Unlike email, employees will not miss out on important company announcements when the information is disseminated through the desktop wallpaper.
Instant messaging systems, too, can be considered as modern communication tools that are being harnessed in the corporate world. Instant messaging systems can facilitate collaboration amongst officemates.
2. Recognizing employees
A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association in 2012 revealed that employees who feel appreciated by their bosses have higher levels of motivation and satisfaction. This only goes to show how important it is for employees to feel appreciated and valued.
Recognizing employees don’t even have to cost the company a lot of money. It may be as simple as featuring top employees in the internal newsletter, or announcing individual successes through the PA system. This employee communications best practice will boost employee morale, and in turn positively impact the company’s bottom line.
3. Encouraging use of social media
Social media use in the workplace has long been considered as having a negative effect on productivity. But lately there has been some studies suggesting that employees are considered to be a trusted source of information by consumers.
Moreover, allowing employees to post pictures of themselves working on their social media account, and tagging the company’s official page, gives the company social media exposure. It can also help portray a company as a fun place to work in.
4. Soliciting employee feedback
This is one of the employee communications best practices that has stood the test of time. Internal communicators in the past were encouraged to solicit feedback from their employees. Time hasn’t changed though, as employee feedback remains very important in internal communication.
What has changed, though, is the manner by which corporate communicators solicit feedback from the employees. Instead of the dull, paper-and-pencil survey forms, there are now more modern approaches to getting employee feedback. Surveys now appear on the desktop of employees, and this lets them answer questions with a few clicks of the mouse.
5. Avoiding information overload
Internal communicators realize that the ordinary employee is too busy with work that it would be impractical to bombard him/her with too much information. The trend now is less is more. Messages are brief and straightforward. The typical internal newsletter doesn’t have as many pages back in the day; with articles short and concise because the average office worker doesn’t have much time to read them.
These are five employee communications best practices that many companies around the world have adapted. It wouldn’t hurt if you start employing these strategies in your own office to enhance internal communications.
