With the progress in the way organizations try to improve the employees' performance, more and more companies resort to creating an employee communication plan. Human Resources (HR) or Organizational Development (OD) teams are asked to develop and implement an internal communications plan. If you are new to this, this article might come in handy.
The need for an internal communication plan:
In the research studies conducted by Gallup, about 69% of the employees are either not-engaged on their job or are actively disengaged on the job that they do. Billions of dollars are lost due to lower productivity caused by workers who are actively disengaged. For this reason, more and more companies are pushing their HR or OD teams to increase employee engagement through an effective internal communications system. It is in this light that we can prove the importance and the need for an internal communications plan as a strategy to increase employees' productivity which results in satisfied and happy customers.
Developing an internal communication plan:
The key to effectively develop and implement an employee communication plan is to tell the employees about the campaign, the reasons behind its implementation, and to make the employees understand the problem that the organization aims to solve. Without them understanding how it is, they won't feel ownership of the solution and will not be proactive and will undermine the efforts at progress.
Developing an effective internal communication plan entails creating an employee communication plan template that outlines all the necessary and relevant information that serve as the basis for future plans and strategies. Among the contents of an employee communication plan template are the following:
The goals, ambitions and future strategic aspirations of the company:
What the people or employees in the organization need to think and feel to achieve those goals
Where the employees are in the present and what needs to be modified in their recent perceptions, attitudes and behaviors
The role of the internal communication in bridging the gap between what the organization wants for the future and what they have in the present.
The leaders' roles and responsibilities in the attainment of the objectives.
The activities that need to be implemented and done and who are responsible for their implementation.
The resource levels that the organization needs to complete the project
Effective internal communication through the use of an employee communication plan template is just a means to an end. It should not be the end in itself. It is very essential that the leaders work hand in hand in the implementation of the plans and activities as they show the link between the problems of the business and the employee disengagement and how the internal communication plan can help solve the problem.
Internal communications serves as the channel of communications that link the various parts of the organization together. Many of these communication channels are informal and cannot be controlled. Other internal communications are structured and carefully planned.
Managers need to be careful in what they do and serve as models who demonstrate the plan or strategy in an employee communication plan template. An employee communication strategy can benefit the communication function as well as link employees to the organization more effectively. Creating a sample employee communication plan details all the relevant information that employees need in order to understand the internal communications campaign.
The employee communication plan template shows the background of the company that explains about the campaign at hand. It lists down the goals that needs to be achieved and what can be done to reach those goals. The plan also lists the communication objectives that management hopes to achieve. The challenges of the internal communications campaign are also enumerated and how to overcome them. The template may also have key messages that lists down how HR or OD processes are aligned to the strategic plan. Also mentioned are the rewards that the organizations and employees get after a successful campaign as well as the benefits and advantages that come from the implementation of the campaign.
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The employee communication plan template also shows the approach that is used to achieve the goals and objectives. It also lists down the resources needed to implement the activities effectively.
As long as the employees understand the relevant details of the activities and the managers are doing their best to succeed, there is hardly any reason why the efforts will be futile. OD and HR teams know how to effectively implement the communication strategy and with the support of the senior management, the communication strategy is expected to achieve its objectives. A successful strategy results in higher employee engagement which in turn results in greater customer satisfaction and eventually, an overall organization performance that produces more revenues and profits to the company.
