Internal Communication Strategy
As organizations close out the year there will be a slew of activities related to internal communication. This time of year, the topic of internal communication is top of mind for senior leadership. Communication with the Board or executive stakeholders will be built from the yearly performance. KPI information will be translated into high-level “board speak”. Messaging will be developed. Presentations crafted. All communication related to annual performance will be standardized and sanitized.
This “board speak” message will then be delivered to the staff. The messaging may come with standardized talking points or FAQs. What will likely not occur is to have the message adapted for the many different staff, departments, and constituencies. The message will likely not be adapted to the audience outside of the executive leadership team.
When discussing an organization's performance culture with an executive, one of my favorite questions is about the internal communication strategy. This question is nearly always met with a blank stare. Organizations spend a significant portion of their resources focused on external communication and give internal communication a cursory-level focus once a year. A focus on internal communication with the people doing the job is often not part of the organization's operations and ethos. The people doing the work require equal if not greater attention than the external environment and yet are barely considered when discussing communication strategies.
Employees need to hear messaging in terms of what will it do for them. How will the information help the person do their job? How does the person’s job help with department and organizational objectives? To feel of value, people need to understand their contributions in connection to the larger organization. This understanding needs to be at the very tactical level of their job if it is to benefit them at all. This is a foundational element of a performance culture’s internal communication strategy.
An internal communication strategy requires consideration of messaging going both ways from the C-Suite to the back-end team and back up to the top. Both directions of communication are important elements to consider.
When a message from the C-Suite down is not appropriately guided (adapted and directed to each level and department within an organization) its adaptation is left up to front-line managers. This is a recipe for disaster at worst and creates disconnection at best. People do not feel appreciated when they are spoken to with a message that does not meet them where they are. An unguided message will vary by the manager and the personal priorities of the manager may bleed into the messaging. A guided message will help a person understand why it matters to their specific job. The message will also help them understand how their specific job will benefit the future performance of the organization. Being appreciated means knowing how one fits into the organization. A performance culture requires that a person understands how their efforts drive organizational performance. The two topics are symbiotic for the employee.
An internal communication strategy of a performance culture will also ensure that communication from individual 1:1 performance data, both quantitative and qualitative, is directed back up the chain to the executive team. Of this data, qualitative is a greater indicator of future performance and needs to be appropriately considered in the strategy. Quantitative individual performance data, while valuable, is basically the skeletons of past performance. All KPI data represents past performance.
Qualitative data, however, is a strong indicator of future performance. Information such as strategy misses or disconnects in a position or department often arises in 1:1 meetings. Deficiencies in resources can often be uncovered in these meetings, and most importantly, the employee engagement level is best uncovered during a 1:1 meeting with their manager. During the direct meeting with an employee, management can learn the most from their teams.
Organizations that employ Millennials and Gen Z, which is every organization today, need to understand and leverage the fact that these generations of employees expect to be heard. They expect to have a voice at the table and are not afraid to openly express their ideas and opinions. Organizations must embrace this truth and provide pathways for anonymous and direct communication. Established pathways need to exist to give employees a voice and ensure that voice is directed to the top.
When an organization is considering how best to implement an internal communication strategy it may be appropriate to put into writing any policy considerations unique to the company. An organization may want to consider documenting a policy regarding appropriate communication topics and channels. Can any topic (e.g. politics) be brought up in any meeting or are some topics off-limits and some channels inappropriate? It may be important to document how suggestions for improvement are to be provided.
When documenting the strategy for bringing information from the staff to leadership it is important to establish in writing that all suggestions are welcome AND not all will be acted upon. An organization can't pursue every new and great idea that arises. There is a multitude of constraints that will prevent an organization from acting on any given topic. And it is important to make this clear, while also acknowledging that every idea is a good idea.
An organization needs to ensure that ideas are documented, publicly acknowledged, and appropriately attributed to the submitting source. Even when ideas are not acted upon, acknowledging the employee and the value of the submission is important to ensure the person feels heard. Ensure everyone understands that feedback will be listened to, appropriately credited to the source, and acted upon when operationally and culturally appropriate.
Some best practices to consider include having regular messaging meetings or methods to ensure that all departments are represented in the message formation process. Consider also having regular idea-sharing meetings between senior leadership and staff. Create multiple channels for anonymous suggestion submission. Create templates for all 1:1 meetings that allow staff to submit feedback to management. And perhaps the most important best practice is to create a regular cycle of communication and feedback in the company’s internal operating calendar (the sequence with which activities occur). Build internal communication into the operating strategy and make it a cultural norm.
In the end, an internal communication strategy is about understanding and communicating with, not to, employees. What do they need and want to hear? How will the information help them do their job better? How can their ideas be incorporated into the operation and ethos of the company? Answer these questions and an organization might just be able to answer the most important question of all. Where will the next great idea come from?
