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Snap – Internal Communications Solutions.
11
Hot Tips for Internal Communicators
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Nobody told me
Human beings often screen out what they don’t want to hear, or what they are not ready to hear. No
matter how vociferous you have been, you will always find someone who says, ”Nobody told me!”
So what implication does this have for internal communications? Three strategies spring to mind:
1.
Get sign off from staff to say they have received and understood information. At some stage you
might need proof.
2.
Take an iterative approach, so that key messages are repeated. Try delivering the same
message through different channels, or presenting it differently, to prevent boredom setting in.
3.
Make sure your strategy includes preparing people to receive information. Listening is often
overlooked. Listen proactively, acknowledge emotions and ideas and receive feedback. Get staff
actively involved and engaged to help them be receptive to your messages.
Internal communication can be about timing. Staff who are informed in advance are more likely to be
excited and motivated than staff who find out about developments accidentally or through the media. It
is not surprising that staff feel shocked or become angry if they find out about significant changes
through a media announcement. They may feel they have lost face (which can be devastating, especially
in some cultures). We all concede that there are many occasions when staff simply cannot be informed
of everything. But what can you do to assist? One avenue may be to organize a staff briefing that
occurs at the same time as a public announcement. You need to get your timing right, so you don’t
make a bad situation worse by appearing to be insensitive or tardy.
When staff become aware of impending organizational change, this is the time when leaks spring and the
rumor mill fires up. When this happens, keep employee communication channels open, communicate up,
down and across the lines of communication, and prepare managers well.
Effective employee communication is ongoing, two-way, and targeted. Brief is good. Don’t bog staff
down with lengthy missives. They are busy enough with their work and dealing with the changes,
without having to decipher complex, lengthy or irrelevant reports.
You can’t avoid the fact that sometimes you have bad news to communicate. If you have built up trust,
communicate honestly and clearly, and have in place strategies to cope with staff reactions (loss, grief,
dismay), then you and your staff are in the best position to deal with the situation in a productive and
dignified way.
Keep communicating even when a change project is reaching its final stages. Make sure you see it
through. Reinforcing new skills, practices or behaviors is a vital part of embedding the change. Don’t let
staff revert back to the old ways by cutting the communications cord too soon.
Try these Snap Internal Communications Channels
Snap Tools are easy to set up in advance so that the Internal Comms team can be prepared and very
responsive. It is simple to synchronize go-live to the public with going live internally, or to coincide
internal releases with key public news releases or market updates.
Try:
Snap Shots screensavers and Snap Staff E-Mag for innovative ways of keeping the project in
people’s minds.
Snap Desktop Alerts can highlight the latest updates or notify staff of urgent news. Reporting
options allow you to monitor who has opened the message.
Snap RSVP Invite is an invite that is presented like a Desktop Alert. It provides options on available
time slots and venues. Once responded to, Snap RSVP Invite automatically populates the employee’s
outlook calendar with the chosen appointment. It provides a great way to ensure that as many staff