Internal Communications: The Good, The Bad and the Indifferent

Internal communication needs to be more than just a tick box activity for organisations. It needs to encourage employee engagement, be relevant and add value.  Getting internal communication wrong can be just as bad as not doing it at all. Staff are much more likely to remember a bad communication than a good one and that can leave a lasting impression.  Let us look at some examples of good internal communications alongside some examples that have gone wrong or just left staff feeling a bit… meh?

When communications go bad

“This was years ago but I can still clearly remember a particularly misjudged email that came round from our CEO” says *Lauren. “The day after all staff received an email to say there would be no pay increase or bonuses that year, we got an email from our CEO, complete with a picture of his flashy sports car that he was taking on a sponsored drive across Africa. He was asking people to sponsor him but was quick to tell everyone that he had thrown in a spare £1000 of his cash. It was so badly timed and out of touch, that email left a sour taste with staff for a long time.” Whilst staff need to hear from their CEO and senior staff members, they are not always the ones most in touch with staff feelings or concerns, particularly in a large organisation.  Someone whose role is focused on internal communications will be much more suited to read the room and advice senior management on messaging and how best to communicate that message to staff.

“It is important to vary the methods of communications to enable you to catch all staff in different ways. MTW Facebook reaches a different crowd to the daily emails for instance.” – Francesca Durrell, Service Manager for COVID Testing at an NHS Trust

Using the wrong method of communication is another big issue to avoid – *John remembers when their IT systems went down at work “IT was getting bombarded by calls to see what was happening, as they insisted on putting out service updates via email and the intranet.  That is not helpful when no one can access them.  It took quite a few people pointing this out before they realised they would need to find another way to keep staff updated that day.” Finding the right channel to reach staff is a challenge that Healthcare must overcome too. Francesca Durrell, Service Manager for COVID Testing at an NHS Trust, tells us “It is important to vary the methods of communications to enable you to catch all staff in different ways.  MTW Facebook reaches a different crowd to the daily emails for instance.”

COVID has thrown up yet another communication challenge for Healthcare staff, “during the peak of COVID it was hard to reach our staff on the frontline, who were so busy in demanding and emotionally draining roles, that they didn’t see emails as a priority to read every day” says Francesca. “We tried doing posters and communicating with Matrons and Ward Managers, however again during the peak, there were different staff daily covering a lot of sickness and isolating regular staff, therefore maintaining updating the messages became difficult.”

What are the consequences of bad Internal communications?

At best bad communications are simply ignored by staff but it can have a significant impact on employee engagement, staff retention, and recruitment. Many organisations make the mistake of putting emphasis only on communicating with the customer, without considering the role that staff play in this.  If staff are not engaged or do not buy into company values this can be evident when dealing with customers and can result in mixed messages and an impact on customer loyalty. A study by Forbes, in association with Saleforce, found that “70% of executives agree that improved EX (employee experience) leads to improved CX (customer experience), which in turn leads to rapid revenue growth.”

“70% of executives agree that improved EX (employee experience) leads to improved CX (customer experience), which in turn leads to rapid revenue growth.” – Forbes in Association with Salesforce

Whilst revenue growth may not be a concern for Healthcare organisations, it is evident that employee experience has an impact on the patient experience.  A Directorate Matron for the NHS, who wished to remain anonymous, tells us, “It is vitally important that all staff buy into any changes in the operating of an organisation. This ensures patient and staff safety. Failure to engage would see the organisation’s compliance with national directives and policy undermined.” She continues, “A trust that is well published at the moment for failure in A and E is a classic example where staff live by the command and not the supportive directive.  This form of communication and culture will not secure positive outcomes for patients, staff or the organisation.”

What about communications fatigue?

For some organisations, finding the balance between communicating with staff but not hounding them can be tricky to achieve.  In healthcare, particularly during a crisis such as COVID where messaging can change almost daily, this can be a real concern. Zara Martin, Head of COVID Testing at an NHS Trust, says “Sadly, staff are bombarded with so many messages, are tired, and are working even harder than ever before that communication fatigue is a real challenge. [But] if staff don’t read it, or act on it, it is useless.”

Without a strategic approach, organisations can end up sending message after message. This is something that *Sarah is all too familiar with, “our company is great at keeping us informed but it is very reactive. Some weeks we receive ten separate emails. Ultimately, we stop reading them. Unless the messaging is urgent, one round-up email at the end of the week would be enough.” Having a thought-out strategy to follow for internal communications can ensure that staff are not bombarded.  It can also avoid sending out information to all staff that might only affect a few. “Staff don’t need to know that the sink is blocked in a kitchen in another building.” Sarah continues, “Receiving emails like this just wastes my time and makes me less likely to read other emails sent by the company.”

What do good internal communications look like?

• Keep messaging simple. An article from the International Association of Business Communicators confirms that “Average organisations are 40% more likely to pack a lot of messages into their comms. High performing ones are much more [sparing] about packing messages into comms.” Focus only on the important messaging so as not to make staff feel that their time is being wasted.

“Internal comms campaigns that work well require good planning, clear messaging and a thorough understanding of your audience and what they need to know and how best they can absorb the information.” – Communications Officer, NHS Trust

• Remove all the waffle. Messages from CEOs can be the worst offenders for this.  Catherine, a Copywriting Consultant, tells us how she was asked to rewrite an internal communication from the CEO at a big finance company. The original copy was far too long, focused too much on himself, and kept referencing Jim Morrison from The Doors for no clear reason.  Catherine cut out anything that was not relevant and just focused on the key messaging designed to inform and motivate staff during a difficult time.
• Allow two-way communication. Internal communications should not only be about the company pushing messages to staff.  For staff to feel engaged they need the opportunity to respond and feedback. Each comms that goes out needs to be clear about who they can speak to if they need more information or if they have any concerns they want to raise.
• Segment your audience. Some messages may be company-wide but there will be many that are only relevant to sections of the organisation.  Taking the time to do this initially will save time later and will avoid sending out communications that are not relevant to people.
• Use the right channels for the audience. Zara Martin has a good example of where an NHS Trust needed to adapt its communications to reach staff in the right way. “The visiting policy was a key one, the front door teams had to implement the policy, but ward staff were overriding them. A call with the matrons responsible helped them understand the policy, the purpose of the front door team, and improve communications.”
• Speak their language. Communications need to be clear for the audience and should avoid unnecessary jargon. A member of senior management from an NHS Trust makes this important point, “Don’t forget that even if staff speak the same language, consideration must be made in the pitch i.e. medical staff may say that they don’t get management speak and managers may say they don’t get medical terms. So, pitch appropriately to the audience.”
• Ask staff for their opinion. One of the things so many organisations fail to do is to ask staff how they want to be engaged with.  A staff survey that asks them their opinions on the frequency of messaging, the content of the communication, and how they want to be contacted can save so much time and guesswork.

These examples highlight the need to reach out to staff on their terms. The organisation will ultimately dictate the messaging but staff that find their internal communications to be easy to access, clear to understand, and relevant are much more likely to take the message on board and action it.  Adopting a strategic approach and following the good examples of internal communications will help organisations avoid falling into the trap of bad communications and becoming an anecdote that staff share for years to come. Viva can help organisations develop a strategic approach to their internal communications.  Contact Viva to find out more.

References

“Does your Work Add Value?”, International Association of Business Communicators, https://iabcemena.com/uk/does-your-work-add-value/

Forbes Insights, “The Experience Equation: How Happy Employees and Customers Accelerate Growth”, Forbes in association with Salesforce, https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/reports/forbes-insight%20experience-equation%20final-report.pdf

*some names have been changed