Amid inflation, the looming threat of a global recession and widespread labour disputes, we’ve seen an increasing level of employee disengagement that continues to dampen productivity and workforce morale in different sectors across the world. We may not be able to control the macro-economic environment, but if you’re worried that “quiet quitting” and “bare minimum Mondays” are becoming increasingly common in your workplace, you need to act fast and liaise with your HR and corporate communications teams to combat this negativity before it has detrimental impacts on your company’s culture, reputation, brand image and bottom line.
But don’t worry, it's not all doom and gloom. If you implement a well-structured internal communication strategy and continue to invest in the employee experience as much as the customer experience, it will pay off dividends and can ultimately boost your company’s growth trajectory. The first step is to view your employees as you view your customers. The same principles that go into creating a robust content marketing strategy are the sample principles that go into creating a smoothly-running internal communications strategy. Your main objectives should be to interest, delight and reward both parties, so read on, as Wordsmith shows you how you can apply classic content marketing tactics to bolster relationships with your current employees.
When it comes to creating an effective internal communications strategy, you need to realise there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution that will work across your employee base. It’s essential that you consider factors like generational differences and communication preferences. For example, today’s workforce covers five distinctly different generations including, the Silent Generation (1927-1945), the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1979), Millennials, (1980-1994) and Gen Z (1995-2012), and each of these groups have unique needs, working styles and employer expectations. But if you tap into their psyches effectively, engaged employees can be more productive, more likely to stay with the company and more likely to go out of their way to recommend the company to others. So, if you’re looking to increase productivity, retention and attract major talent in the industry – it’s time you started investing in enhancing your employee experience.
The pandemic forced internal communications to the forefront, with companies focusing more on employee engagement, mental health and wellness than ever before, but now that we’ve all transitioned back to business as usual, this doesn’t mean companies should drop the ball on effective internal communications. We’ve seen it too many times before when companies focus on their customers at the expense of their employees, so let’s delve into how we, as writers, can help steer internal communications in the right direction, by employing the content marketing skills we use to attract, delight and retain customers.
1. Leverage your best internal influencers
We all know the sheer power influencer marketing campaigns can have. When done well, they can heighten brand awareness, improve credibility and customer trust, increase engagement, boost social traffic and push sales. But what about considering an employee influencer to help boost morale and productivity in the workplace? Flipping the script from external to internal influencers is easier than you think, it could take the form of an engagement committee with representatives from geographically dispersed offices. These representatives can be recruited to help with; the delivery of corporate messages; how to construct employee satisfaction surveys and provide crucial advice on internal improvements that need to be made.
Luckily, most businesses already have a strong influencer community that can be easily tapped into, from middle managers to sociable starters looking to make an impact. So, when designing your next upcoming internal communications campaign, reach out to these influencers for advice – and divvy out jobs on how they could help with promoting key messages. Getting these internal influencers actively involved in essential areas of the business will also empower them as they feel like they’re part of the decision-making process, so it’s a win-win situation.
Marketing strategist and founder of InnavationLabs, Inna Semenyuk, said, “Brands are expected to spend up to $15 billion on influencer marketing in the next few years, yet many ignore the best brand ambassadors that money can't buy, who are showing up for the very brands day in and day out: their employees.” She continued, “As a concept, employee advocacy programs (or employee ambassador or employee influencer initiatives) are nothing new, yet with the growing popularity of platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, they are making a return with a bang.” So, next time you start planning an upcoming internal comms campaign, you should reach out to influencers from within your own organisation.
2. Share relevant, interesting content that sticks
If you want your internal communication campaigns to be effective – they have to educate, entertain, engage and inspire. And just like external marketing campaigns to current and prospective customers, the internal content you create must align with your brand style and core values. This is your opportunity to inject a bit of wit and personality into your day-to-day communications, so don’t be afraid to shake things up and have some fun! But remember, all humour is subjective so it’s best to remain professional so your company avoids becoming the butt of the joke. It’s important to tap into your company’s history and culture when crafting your internal messages and also put the same amount of thought into your internal campaigns as you would your external ones, with eye-catching designs, memorable slogans and tag lines. You can even introduce gamification to drive employee engagement as this will help to make your key messages “stick.”
Mike Tippets, VP at Hughes, encourages employers to, “Sprinkle in current events, fun facts and even pop culture trends. In the same way, a marketing campaign needs to break through the clutter of messages assailing us nonstop (inside and outside the office), some well-placed creativity in internal messaging will help to break through the noise of business-related content that comes at employees at a pace of about 100 emails a day.” Roy Hutchinson, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer at Deem Finance LLC, echoes Mike’s advice by saying, “The trick is to deploy internal comms with the same care, precision and thought that goes into producing external social media content. Articulate the company message in very plain language through internal comms platforms and make it as engaging as the content shared on public-facing platforms. Every company should be delivering interesting content through a well-defined messaging calendar.”
3. Reward your employees like you reward your customers
Just as we reward our customers when they purchase our goods and services, we should equally award our employees for the time and effort they’ve put into creating our brands. Rewarding your employee base can take many different forms, including a well-being allowance, remote work opportunities, fitness club memberships, professional development funding, sabbatical leave, mental health resources, and even time off to support a charitable cause they’re interested in. Taking the time to communicate these benefits to employees effectively through the intranet is crucial, as research has shown that consistent acknowledgement of your employees’ efforts has shown to decrease absenteeism, encourage higher engagement, productivity and even increase retention and future recruitment opportunities.
Jenny Gottstein, Director of Games at The Go Game, has taken a novel approach to how she rewards her colleagues, “Interestingly, we’re seeing companies use their strong corporate culture as a bargaining chip to recruit the best and brightest talent. When applying for jobs, millennial employees are not only assessing their salary and benefits, but also whether or not they relate to the working environment, and enjoy rolling up their sleeves next to their peers. So, we often produce games for prospective employees or interns of large companies as a way to show off the perks of the company’s working environment.”
She continues, “Applied play is the new secret weapon for healthy workplaces. When designed correctly, play can help us reframe problems, find new solutions, try out new strategies, and celebrate small victories. We’ve designed games to help international division leads find a sense of purpose in their work, games that empower entry-level employees to take pride in their contributions, games that help policy-makers understand the impact of their decision-making on the communities they serve and games that help marketing teams brainstorm new campaigns. While each workplace is completely unique, the core theme remains the same: Play gives us mental flexibility and emotional confidence. Play is a dress rehearsal for the future.”
4. Give employees their own voice through open platforms
In this day and age, almost all customers have access to 24/7 helplines, customer service emails, chatbots, forums and social media channels to voice their opinions on our services and products, so it only makes sense that employees should have the same right to open communications with higher management. Employees are no longer wanting to just clock in and clock out for a good paycheck – they want to work for a company where they can find alignment, feel like they can contribute to business decisions, maximise their creative potential, and overall achieve significance in their industries. Past studies from the Harvard Business Review, have even gone as far as to say that 9 out of 10 employees are willing to trade a percentage of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work – so it’s safe to say that open communication between employees and upper management matters more than ever before.
The non-profit clinical research centre, City of Hope, allows its employees to influence business decisions through the hosting of forums, from informal breakfasts with the CEO to frequent leadership town halls with supervisors who can implement changes across the board. Employees are invited not only to hear from the C-suite but also to ask pertinent questions about the running of the business. Kety Duron (Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer explains, “We encourage questioning. Participants can submit questions via text anonymously allowing them to ask what comes to mind in a safe setting. The process encourages transparency and forces two-way communication between staff and leaders.” She stresses, “Healthcare is in such a state of flux. Like many healthcare organisations, City of Hope is on a transformational journey. Giving employees the opportunity to influence the outcomes creates a culture of transparency, trust, and engagement. This is the only way to move organisations forward and create an alignment with its mission and vision.”
So, there you have it. Once you start considering every piece of internal marketing communications like a piece of external customer-facing content, you will see a noticeable shift in employee morale, productivity, retention and even when recruiting new talent. It all begins by evaluating your current company practices, actively listening to your employee base and being ready to make real adjustments in order to build a positive workplace culture. When you take the time to channel your external creativity, choose the correct internal influencers, effectively communicate employee benefits and ensure there are open platforms available for your employees to voice their opinions you will, over time, create an engaged and efficient workforce, that will help to champion your brand.