It’s that time of year. Planning and budgeting for 2023 can be all-encompassing for many leadership teams. In the middle of the madness, I’m asking CEOs and leadership teams to take time to evaluate their internal communications strategy and be clear about who owns it. Too many companies either don’t have a robust internal communications strategy or they have one, but it’s fragmented. Employees are bombarded with memos from HR, managers, and the CEO. No one feels genuinely connected to the company.
Surveys by HR hit standard questions without getting helpful feedback, with some departments feeling informed and others feeling isolated. Somehow in the midst of all the moving parts, internal communications often becomes a check-the-box item instead. The result is employees who feel that senior leadership is disconnected.
A Gallup poll showed that 74% of employees feel they are missing out on company news because their internal communication department is nonexistent or doing a poor job. And it isn’t just employees who see the problems here.
According to Deloitte’s research, 77% of executives think companies are not focused on aligning employees and their personal goals with corporate purposes. That means only 23% of executives believe companies consider their employees’ personal goals when making decisions. We know employees are the beating heart of the business. It’s crucial to consider their priorities. That means two-way engagement, not one-way communication. In the last two years, we’ve all seen the incredible importance of internal communication and what can go wrong when it isn’t given the proper attention.
Internal communications starts at the top and must fan out in ways that allow employees to digest the information in exactly the ways they need. To do that, first we must assume the following are true and in place:
- A strong budget and an owner of internal communications.
- A great assistant who can keep the CEO on track with agreed-upon internal commitments.
- HR and marketing working closely together to establish an integrated internal comms strategy. This involves a customized, layered approach that includes a variety of crucial components:
- Face-to-face communications in which employees attend meetings
- Informal engagement
- One-on-one conversations
- A company intranet
- Company email
- Collaborative platforms
- Pop-ups – like a celebration for learning about a new product launch
- Surveys
- Diversity and culture committees for expanding on the messaging with employee engagement
Once CEOs have buy-in from the above stakeholders and a solid framework in place, I suggest seven ways for a company to build out a compelling internal communication strategy:
- Establish an inspiring company narrative. The CEO can come back to it often to illustrate the company’s progress.
Engage with teams. Too often, CEOs are talking at employees instead of spending time with them, asking questions and learning about their day-to-day efforts. Instead, create the opportunity to informally engage with employees weekly, then connect with genuine interest. The key is to be consistent and informal! - Engage with teams. Too often, CEOs are talking at employees instead of spending time with them, asking questions and learning about their day-to-day efforts. Instead, create the opportunity to informally engage with employees weekly, then connect with genuine interest. The key is to be consistent and informal!
- Be accessible. We have seen employees truly embrace a less formal level of communication. Hearing CEOs talking about real-world challenges and acknowledging the issues that impact business, from major news events to financial challenges, just humanizes management. That goes a long way. Consider holding Ask Me Anything Zoom calls monthly and invite people from various parts of the company to join. This demonstrates accessibility and transparency, which builds connections and trust.
- Be a connector! What feels like unscripted moments builds trust with employees. CEOs and the leadership team should schedule formal interactions but also leave room for what feels like unscripted time. For example, host a brainstorm on a hot topic with another member of the leadership team and bring employees together to solve a problem. Establish set weekly times for the CEO to walk the office. Even though this requires scheduling, it should feel informal to employees. Access and present leadership matter!
- Roles, please. Define the CEO’s role as a communicator in contrast to the leadership team’s roles. For example, suppose the CEO’s role is to articulate the organization’s vision and mission. In that case, the leadership team is responsible for articulating what that vision and plan mean for their part of the business and how their department will be held accountable.
- Collect information! Survey employees formally to see how they rate the CEO’s communication. Also, find informal ways to collect data. For example, have lunch and learns in which the CEO asks the same set of questions across all groups to get a sense of the issues that need addressing and the bright ideas and insights that easily can bubble up from any part of the company. Then, have someone collect the comments on each question. These can be pulled together to determine themes for future communication and refine tactics. You can also use the results to garner support for how to expand on solid internal communication by giving leadership members company-wide communication roles and actions to address top issues.
- Read the data. Consider spreading out the communication plan and ensure the company understands when and how employees digest information. Have someone review the data, because data on how many employees open newsletters, how many are using the intranet and whether anyone is emailing the CEO directly show what’s working and what’s not. Ask employees how they want to receive information, and determine if they are also getting information from their manager as well. How a company identifies, hires and nurtures managers helps ensure that internal communications are consistent but not centralized and that employees feel engaged, heard and valued. Having the right people and systems in place is essential.
