Internal communications tips

[internalcommunications]

Honest reflections on an unprecedented time

When you’re part of an industry such as hospitality that’s been hit incredibly hard by COVID-19, it can be tough to motivate a dispersed workforce when they are naturally worried about what the future holds – and finding the right platform to unite your team is essential when it comes to landing those inevitable difficult messages. With restaurants in London, Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and beyond, Workplace from Facebook has really helped bring the team at Honest Burgers together on many levels during the pandemic – and Engagement and Communication Manager Dan Davis is happy to share his key takeaways with the Journal of Internal Communication.

Look on the bright side

“You have to take positives out of the situation. I always saw the potential of Workplace as an amazing way of shifting how organisations not just communicated but also operated holistically. I was always banging the Workplace drum to the stakeholders at Honest and COVID-19 has helped us to really drill down on the return on investment, to highlight just how powerful having a platform that connects everybody in one place – speaking to each other, working with each other, connecting with each other – can be when things aren’t going so well.”

Harness the power of communication

“One of our senior leaders has even said – no exaggeration – that he didn’t know if our business would have survived without Workplace. Because of it we could reach everyone really quickly, especially because we had to communicate so much – for example, giving people a clear understanding of how furlough worked. But, on top of that, for people to be able to query things instantly and for it all to be working really seamlessly, we could make sure that everybody immediately had that insight of what we were doing, why we were doing it and how it affected them. It was just so powerful.”

“One of our senior leaders has even said – no exaggeration – that he didn’t know if our business would have survived without Workplace from Facebook.”

Keep things interesting – and collaborative

“One of the big things we did was run an initiative called Honest Nation. There was, essentially, a schedule of events and broadcasts through Workplace; things that people could participate in or just watch or listen to. We had all sorts of stuff happening there – one of our founders, Tom, ran a HIIT class twice a week at the beginning of lockdown, we had yoga twice a week too, and we also had a weekly call with our executive team called State of the Nation. It was a Q&A session, so people could come in and ask questions and the executive gave an update on how things were.”

Execs are people too!

“Having our execs contributing to the comms that we put out was hugely valuable in helping our people stay informed about what was going on, while feeling better supported by the leadership team. And, actually, we saw a real authentic side to our leaders; we realised that we were all people going through the same thing. It didn’t matter if you’re a senior exec or a waiter, everyone was going through very similar challenges – and, because of that, there was a level of openness that was really powerful.”

Learn from this experience

“From a senior leadership position, we knew that we had to decide x, y, and z – and that we needed to tell everyone straight away. We were very resilient in terms of the amount of time and effort we put into keeping people in the loop throughout the entirety of this pandemic; you know, from full lockdown to partial lockdown, to reopening restaurants for delivery, to reopening restaurants to eat, and all along that road. But, ultimately, we are still in a pandemic, so we still have a lot that we don’t know yet. That’s where we’ve actually had to take some of that COVID-19 mentality and think, ‘okay, how does that look in a longer-term strategy?’ It’s about how we can look forward and apply the mentality that we had when we were in full lockdown of human first every single time to build something that is meaningful to people.”

Focus on what’s important

“We’ve all become ruthless prioritisers [sic] – and the reason is twofold. Reason one is because we have to focus on what’s really important in a working environment; and reason two is because we need to give ourselves the personal space to get on top of our work-life balance. I think one of the biggest things that’s come out of this is that work-life balance is unbelievably important. Looking to the future, I think people’s expectations are going to be very different. I think we need to be ready to adapt, be flexible and be understanding when people say, ‘the first thing that matters to me is my work-life balance’. I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve been on furlough for a few months and had that reflection time and been like, ‘Wow, that was awesome’.”

Don’t be afraid to rewrite your story

“We’ve seen a much rawer version of our culture, in terms of the way that we’ve communicated over the last few months. I think that rawness has helped us to really understand our story – about who we are, what matters to us, our culture, our purpose. We’re in a much better position now, based on the last few months, to know what’s in our DNA as a business and what matters to us. How that applies in an internal communications space is that we have to focus on ensuring our messaging revolves around coaching, not telling – and that it’s much more focused on storytelling, bringing people on the journey, and mentoring them through that journey.”

Honesty is the best policy

“Clear that to-do list and prioritise ruthlessly. Be honest about timelines, cut out what’s not important, and focus on the things that really, really matter. And be honest about it with stakeholders, because you’ll be much more effective – and that’s going to be better on your mental health. Try and find ways to focus on how to be an authentic storyteller too. We saw truth and honesty and realness from people that we haven’t seen before. I think stripping things back is a way of building trust with people, as is simply making communications really interesting. When people see something real, they will engage with it better.”

Original Source: Honest reflections on an unprecedented time

[internalcommunications]

Because of COVID-19, The Profile of IC is Higher Than It Has Been For Many Years

When you have a 65,000-strong workforce to steer through a crisis the magnitude of which has never been felt before, making sure your people feel informed and supported is no mean feat.

That was the challenge that COVID-19 presented to Lloyds Banking Group back in March this year – and the internal communication team was primed and ready to step up and do what they do best: help colleagues understand what the business they work for hoped to achieve, and the role they had to play in it.

As Head of Internal Communications Jody Lewis explains, the organisation was very clear on its strategy from the outset:

“The company approach was very much centered around ‘this is a situation that’s affecting people’. So, we looked at it from a point of view of ‘how do we help our customers and make sure that our people have the support and access they need’.

“My team’s focus, of course, was on our colleagues and helping them understand what the company was doing to help them. They are people as well, after all.

“Firstly, it was about helping colleagues understand the process side of things – it was a huge transition, so we spent a lot of time just making sure people knew there was clear guidance; secondly, it was about sharing the great stuff that people were doing, because the news was full of horrible headlines. We had some amazing examples of people doing brilliant things in their communities such as delivering food and medicine or calling elderly customers we knew were on their own to have a chat. An awful situation brought out the best in people and it was nice to be sharing those stories widely.”

But with such huge numbers to reach with their messaging, how does the team ensure that colleagues have access to the information they need when they need it?

“We’ve made really good use of our existing channels; but we also have a mobile app called Move, which we started to promote very early on in the pandemic. We knew that the people who may not be able to get into work at short notice would still need to access the information they needed, so we pushed the app and started to see a surge in users. At the start of March, we had 13,000 of our colleagues using it; come June, that number had doubled – 26,000 people had it on their work phone or their personal device,” says Jody.

“We used Move to share the same content we were sharing on our intranet. So, no matter where you were, as a Lloyds employee you could access the information you needed – even things like ‘are there any changes that affect me going into work tomorrow?’ And because people can comment on everything we communicate and publish on these channels, it’s a great way of gauging the mood.

“Plus, people seem to have really appreciated the sense of community that Move has helped build – that and the honest, straightforward approach we’ve taken with our content on the platform. Certainly, when we’ve surveyed our colleagues, people have shared how much they’ve not only valued the way in which we’ve communicated with them, but also the tone and the humanity of it.”

With so many changing messages, updates, and news stories to communicate on a daily basis, this has certainly been a time for internal communication professionals to shine. So, has Jody seen the value of his team’s role within the business skyrocket as they’ve navigated the pandemic?

“We’ve always been valued to an extent – we’re a massive part of the organisation; but the importance placed on internal communication since March has definitely gone up. We’ve had to step up and step in – clearly, this has been a situation we’ve all had to respond to, and we’ve risen to the challenge. I’m incredibly proud of what my team has done,” he tells us.

“But we have to learn from an experience like this. If we go back to the way things were, it’ll be a wasted opportunity. It’s on us as internal comms professionals to make sure that doesn’t happen; to be brave and continue to respond to what’s happening around us. We don’t want to go back – we want to look forward and look at how we continue to improve and adapt.”

And on the subject of adapting, many IC strategies have had to completely change as a result of COVID-19 – a situation that has been no different for the team at Lloyds Banking Group.

“We’ve had to work around the pandemic. The plan we had at the start of the year – have we ended up doing that? No,” shares Jody, candidly.

“I wouldn’t say the strategy itself has had to change – our strategy is to help colleagues understand the business they work for, where we’re trying to get to, and the role they can play in it. Where we’re trying to get to might have changed, but the essence of what we do hasn’t.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re doing internal communications or communicating with an audience outside your business, the principles still apply. You’re communicating with people. So, the challenge is always how do you tell a story which they want to hear, while making it easy for them to understand?

“The big thing for me is that – no matter who you are or where you are – you can read and understand our communications. That’s the thing, we don’t suddenly become different people the moment we log on and start working.”

It really does feel like great communications are essential right now – especially within the workplace. For Jody, this is something that absolutely has to be capitalised upon.

“Because of COVID-19, the profile of internal communication, I believe, is higher than it has been for many years – and I mean consistently, across sectors, across different organisations. So, let’s take advantage of that opportunity. Let’s show what we can do. Let’s represent our audiences. Let’s move internal comms on to where it needs to get to – and let’s drop the ‘internal’ bit of it,” he enthuses.

“Communications, generally, has changed hugely – and it will continue to change. So how do we make sure we stay at the forefront while helping the people we represent understand where the business that employs them is trying to get to? If we can do that and make people feel part of it, feel enthused about it, feel like there’s something more, and that it’s actually fun to work there – to me, that’s internal communication; that’s what we’ve got to say.

“Let’s keep pushing that and stay close to our audiences, to represent them and deliver things that will make people say, ‘that is superb’. You know, that’s leading in communications. Full stop. Not just inside our business.”

And looking into the wider internal communication community to share experiences and knowledge is something that Jody sees as key to building on the great work that’s been done by so many since March.

“As we’ve moved through the pandemic, I’ve found myself looking outside the business more – and it seems that no matter where you are, internal communications have similar challenges and opportunities. I really want to see more of an internal communication community,” he explains, hopefully.

“I think, collectively, internal communication as a specialism can grow together. We can all learn from what we’ve been through during COVID-19, and really become something that attracts people from all backgrounds. I want to be part of that – I can see how internal communication can make a huge difference.”

Original Source: Because of COVID-19, The Profile of IC is Higher Than It Has Been For Many Years

[internalcommunications]

State Of The Sector 2020: The Good And The Bad

As always, this year’s report has highlighted some good and some not so good.

On the bright side, we’re seeing evidence of increasing trust in internal communicators, as a financial investment into IC is increasingly being funnelled into skilled specialists to build the function. These specialists are also extremely positive when describing leadership’s perceptions of them: the vast majority believe they are viewed as trusted advisors by executives.

Communicators are slower to assume good things when asked how employees receive the communications they produce and distribute — but when we overlay State of the Sector data with that from our audits, sourced from employees of FTSE 100 companies, we see that IC teams are in fact too hard on themselves! For the most part, employees think internal communications are either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, and feel they have a good understanding of their organisation’s vision and how they contribute to the strategy. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that, in 2020, a trend for internal communications reporting into strategy and transformation teams has emerged…

On the other hand, perhaps this should be a surprise… As a profession, we’re unfortunately still not thinking or acting strategically enough. We’re not adequately identifying our flaws and obstacles, and even when we do, we’re not doing enough to overcome them (line managers’ lack of communication skills, anyone?). Generally speaking, we’re not planning ahead enough, taking into account not only our organisations’ long-term objectives but the threats that could be our undoing. Scarcely any IC teams surveyed said they produce a formal strategy covering a period of more than 12 months, and just one in two have a channel framework. Meanwhile, two thirds of internal communicators measure their impact on an ad hoc basis, with a focus on outputs (such as online metrics and attendance levels) over outcomes (such as a reduction in absenteeism or turnover).

Look, we know that we’ve got a tough job, and we know that many of us feel underappreciated for all the effort that we put in, so we’ve tried to make things simpler for everyone this year. We’ve put together six recommendations to propel your IC team forward — three shorter- term ones, which will have an immediate impact on employee engagement with your communications (and, by extension, trust in the function as a whole), and three longer-term ones, to develop a more strategic approach and position within your organisation. Take these as slowly or as quickly as you like — but know that this is where we see the IC profession heading over the next decade, so the sooner you embrace this challenge, the better.

What to do next: three projects to increase engagement with your communications

Whilst the benefits of these projects are far-reaching and touch many areas of organisations, the causes at the root of any issues can actually be clearly identified and killed at a relatively low cost.

1. Craft a channel framework

Planning has long been a thorn in internal communicators’ sides — but in today’s fast-paced world, in which channels tend to proliferate, overlap and overtake one another in recurring cycles, it is increasingly difficult to define what messages we’ll send out, with what purpose, when and on what channel. Currently, fewer than one in two IC teams (46%) use a formal channel framework document — but this is a crucial piece of the puzzle, which, frankly, should be far more widespread than it is. In 2020, let’s stop investing time and effort in channels that aren’t working for us, and focus instead on the channels our audiences engage with most, formalising this into a document that holds us accountable.

Currently, fewer than one in two IC team (46%) use a formal channel framework document – but this is a crucial piece of the puzzle, which, frankly, should be far more widespread than it is.

2. Address the content overload

It was just two years ago, in 2018, that we began asking internal communicators how big a barrier the volume of internal communication in their organisation is. Ever since, it has featured towards the top of the list, and both this year and last year, it was singled out as the biggest obstacle to internal communicators, with around one in two battling content overload! And this isn’t all — it very frequently features in the internal communication research we produce for clients. Across the board, employees are struggling to see the wood for the trees — they’re finding it hard to prioritise the important content due to the overload of irrelevant stuff. It is imperative that we, as IC specialists, get a handle on the messages being sent across our organisations as soon as possible.

3. Upskill line managers

And now, another barrier that has been felt by internal communication professionals for years! Line managers are denounced as detrimental to internal communications every single year. But still, senior leaders are prioritised over line managers when it comes to support — in fact, two thirds of internal communicators attribute the lowest level of priority to line managers, and fewer than one in five consider them the highest priority group to support! Beyond that hands-on support, just 39% of IC professionals provide internal communication coaching and training —arguably a one-off investment that could make things easier for everybody. It’s time now, as we kick off the new decade, to overcome the line manager obstacle once and for all.

Beyond that hands-on support, just 39% of IC professionals provide internal communication coaching and training – arguably a one-off investment that could make things easier everybody.

What to do next: three multi-faceted transformations that will reposition your IC function

1. Create a data-driven culture

You’ve probably already heard the term ‘data-driven culture’. It’s been creating a buzz across the business world — from the more technical functions like IT and operations to the people-driven ones, like HR and internal communication. But just as employees are suffering from an overload of information, it can be daunting for organisations, faced with this much data, to develop a strategy to reap the benefits of it all. Many seem to have determined that the number one thing that is needed is more data — IC professionals have diversified the channels that they’re using to capture data, incorporating a mix of traditional surveys, online analytics and qualitative feedback from managers and communication champions. And that’s great, but at the root of the ‘data-driven culture’ is, in fact, the ‘culture’ part. Taking data and doing something with it is not embedded into people’s day-to-day behaviours at work. The solution to the problem has to be multi-faceted and implemented over time, ensuring your organisation knows what it wants to know, has the tools to retrieve this information, has the resource to analyse the output, and consistently shares insights across teams.

Taking data and doing something with it is not embedded into people’s day-to-day behaviours at work

2. Shift from a focus on channels and content to one on employee experience

A consistent theme across the State of the Sector reports of recent years has been around the broadening scope of the internal communication function. IC has shifted from the internal post office to being much more of an influential entity. Importantly, 70% of internal communicators say they are now involved in propelling the people agenda and employee experience, with two thirds stating they are seen as a key driver of this by others. With all that said, many IC functions are still setting fairly limited objectives for the future — continuing to spread the strategic message, communicating change and carrying on improving channels. There are two core areas we can improve in. First, tying in with the previous recommendation, we should be measuring more, developing a better understanding of our people’s wants and needs, so as to deliver a tailored communication experience to them. In addition, we should be building stronger relationships with other functions, collaborating with them far more than we do now. As a function, we’re not an island, and we need to prove this by working with and for our colleagues to deliver a better employee experience, which motivates everybody to come to work in the morning.

IC has shifted from the internal post office to being much more of an influential entity.

3. Develop an all-encompassing IC strategy

Taking a broader perspective, every obstacle that is faced by internal communicators could be, at the very least, minimised if we took a more proactive approach to our activity. Long-term planning is the biggest area of opportunity for us as a profession. We’re OK at campaign plans, and most of us have a yearly communication calendar, but multi- year IC strategies are actually on the decline— and they were never prevalent to begin with! Only a third of internal communication functions have developed a formal IC strategy. It’s not just internal communicators who are missing out… We’ve spoken to plenty of executives over the years who have expressed frustration at their ‘reactive’ rather than ‘proactive’ IC functions — and then those same leaders have declined to give IC a seat at the table when making decisions. If we want to be taken seriously as specialists in our field by our stakeholders, and maximise our chances of delivering effective messages to our target audiences, we need to do some forward-thinking. This will change our reputations in our organisations — positioning us as consistent, purposeful and goal-driven. It will increase trust in our function and what we have to offer — and lead to us being invited to sit at the decision-making table. We’re already seeing evidence of this happening, with 2% of internal communicators worldwide reporting into a strategy, transformation and innovation team.

Original Source: State Of The Sector 2020: The Good And The Bad

[internalcommunications]

The Benefits of Building Trust

Grant Springford is the news, stories and campaigns lead at the DfT, a ministerial department that works with 24 agencies and public bodies — such as the British Transport Police Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority and Network Rail — to support the transport infrastructure and keep the UK on the move.

The DfT consists of around 3,000 employees in the central department — and this includes remote workers.

Grant joined the Department around three years ago with a specific remit to lead its Be Yourself diversity and inclusion campaign. His team forms part of the Internal Communication (IC) function, which reports into the Department’s People function, and works closely with DfT’s wider Communications Directorate.

Education & awareness

The DfT already had in place various self-managed networks for staff who are disabled, colleagues who are black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME), LGBT+, 50+, young people and individuals with young families, to name but a few. The DfT’s family of networks has continued to grow and now includes support for ex-service men and women, and neurodiversity.

These networks operate a busy calendar of events and other opportunities “to help people understand the different aspects and cultures of pretty much everyone who works in the Department”, says Grant.

They all work closely with the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion team, which has three overriding objectives: 1) to ensure that people feel safe and happy to bring their whole selves to work; 2) to encourage people to celebrate that fact in the workplace; and 3) to reflect and represent the general public that the Department serves.

As part of this, they also embed educational strategies that run across the civil service. For example, ensuring people have the right training to reduce unconscious bias in selection processes.

Clearly, a diverse and inclusive culture was already established and embraced at the DfT. What it was lacking, from an internal communications perspective, was direction.

Walking the talk

“People were sharing their stories, but we certainly didn’t have a campaign to spearhead it and we didn’t really have clear objectives to make that happen,” says Grant. “So, the Be Yourself campaign was created to really get the message out to say: ‘Look, we celebrate diversity and inclusivity at the Department. We don’t just simply write stories about the strategy and the importance behind it. We’ve got a campaign to make it happen.’’’

Grant and his team decided to take forward a storytelling approach to help bring the strategy to life, being careful to use the voice and idiosyncrasies of individuals. They also developed specific branding for all visuals, news pieces and screens.

The campaign was launched with a ‘Bring Yourself to Work Day’, encouraging people to wear an item of clothing or bring something to work that would reflect who they are as an individual.

It received a tremendous response.

“In previous Departments I’ve worked in, if we’d done such a thing, we might get a handful of people. But, even then, we’d have to twist their arms to take part.

“I think because there was already this nice positive vibe to the organisation, people threw themselves into it. There were close to a hundred people who took part; they wore T-shirts, they wore hats, and they brought in items that reflected who they are.

“We got lots of photographs. We got lots of goodwill. We got lots of stories we were able to start sharing. And that kind of led the way.”

We celebrate diversity and inclusivity at the Department. We don’t just simply write stories about the strategy and the importance behind it. We’ve got a campaign to make it happen.

Listening & insights

It was at that stage that Grant and his team started really talking to the networks and people around the business, asking: “OK, we’ve had some fun with this, but what serious stories have we got? What can we do to start sharing and celebrating the fact that we’re open and honest and we’re all individuals.”

A breakthrough moment came early on in the campaign when one brave individual from the network supporting mental health got in touch with Grant, saying he wanted to share his story about his battles with suicide.

Grant spoke with him about what that might look like. “He was very candid and honest. But I think because we’d already done that publicity around the campaign and spoken about this culture we’re trying to build around positivity and support, he was up for it.

“He wrote a really powerful story for us about the fact that on several occasions, he’d attempted to take his life. And, thankfully, he got the support he needed. Although it was an ongoing battle for him, he was still with us and he was getting the help he needed.”

The story received a huge amount of comments via the internal news channel, says Grant. One or two individuals even said that by sharing his story, he’d given them the courage to reveal to the Department that they’re in the same boat: feeling the same and going through the same battles.

Support, honesty & empowerment

“I get goosebumps when I talk about that,” says Grant. “Because, to me, that’s one of the powerful things about internal communications. If you can nurture a culture where people feel supported — where they feel they can open up and share something that personal and know they’ll be supported — that’s when you know you’re getting things right.

“For me it was a real turning point for the campaign. The doors really opened on a number of topics: really tough, personal stories around, for example, depression and battles with cancer. Also, some lovely light-hearted stories as well; not everything was hard-hitting or soul-searching. We had lots of stories about volunteering and different aspects of life in different cultures.”

One of Grant’s favourites included a lady who’d been a carer for many years and hadn’t told anyone at work for fear of issues. Feeling empowered by the campaign, she felt she could open up to her line manager. As a result, they figured out a working pattern that would better suit her. Plus, she went on to become chair of the carers’ network.

The Be Yourself campaign has proven such a hit, the blog space is now booked weeks, if not months, in advance.

Campaign evaluation

Clearly, this is a strong indicator of campaign success. But what other measurement tools do the team use?

“In addition to measuring the engagement of our stories, like the number of hits and comments, we use our people survey. This is an annual survey to help us learn how people are engaged within the civil service, what’s important to us, and what issues need to be tackled,” explains Grant.

Meanwhile, as part of their regular news items and stories, they introduced a sister channel a year ago. Entitled ‘Who am I?’ this is intended as a fun, 10- to 15- question interview, aimed at all levels of seniority. In addition to some diversity- and inclusion-focused questions, it asks things like: what makes you proud to be a civil servant? What’s your job at the department all about? What’s the most embarrassing moment in your life? Who would you play in the movie of your life?

“That channel skyrocketed,” says Grant. “It’s really encouraged people to engage.”

2019 also saw the rollout of a campaign to mark the Department’s centenary: DfT100. A lot of the team’s diversity and inclusion stories were absorbed into this campaign to help talk about the history of the Department and the networks. “We were absolutely delighted when DfT100 was given the ‘Best Ongoing Communication’ award at last year’s IoIC Awards — judges fed back that they were impressed by the extent to which employees were actively involved in the campaign,” says Grant.

What’s next?

So, what does 2020 have in store for Grant and his team?

“We’re now looking to embed DfT’s new vision and values — and the message that diversity and inclusion is important to us will be an integral part of this work.”

Grant says he and his team plan to take certain elements from the DfT100 campaign, such as involving staff at an early stage in the thinking and development around content and activities.

They’re also working closely with their colleagues from the Communications Directorate to help staff better understand how their work positively impacts on the public and using this to further develop the DfT’s employer brand.

“We want to ensure people are aware of the fantastic culture we have here at the DfT, so they start to realise it’s a brilliant place to work. We want potential new recruits to think: ‘It’s an inclusive department. Just look at all these stories that are being shared internally. It’s a place I really do want to come and work.’”

Original Source: The benefits of building trust

[internalcommunications]

The Evidence is Clear: Insights + IC = Strategic Success

Bought yourself a designer face-covering yet? Booked a two-hour time slot at your local for some antisocial socializing? Planned a ‘quick’ trip to the corner shop for a pint of milk with military precision while allowing at least 30 minutes for shuffling through the one-way system past the questionable ‘meat’ products?

It’s a funny old time at the minute, isn’t it? Heck, it’s even got its own brand with a Marmite moniker – gotta love that ‘new normal’; or hate it…

Nothing’s as it was. We’re all feeling it and reacting to it differently. One day we’re loving cooking another meal from scratch, the next we’re screaming through a Kafkaesque existential crisis – or is that just us?

Yes, the personal challenges of surviving a global pandemic are taking some getting used to – after all, there’s only so much forward planning you can feasibly apply to be human before the wheels fall off; only so much ‘shoulda woulda coulda’ any of us can forgive with a wry smile.

So how on earth do you mitigate the impact that something like COVID-19 will have on your organisation – or the real-life people who work so hard to keep it going?

‘Be as reactive as the situation itself’

Like businesses all over the world, leading resource management company Veolia UK & Ireland had no choice but to take control when the coronavirus first took hold – and its small-but-perfectly-formed IC team did what came naturally: they embraced the challenge that a crisis like this brings, tackled it head-on and took the opportunity to shine.

As Head of IC Emma Weatherby said: ‘Our campaign needed to be as reactive and dynamic as the evolving situation itself. Therefore, ‘adaptability’ became our mantra.’

And the team wasn’t messing about. The launch of their meticulously planned four-year global strategy was sidelined for the immediate delivery of one simple goal: to make sure their people were in the know when it came to the operational impact of social distancing, home working and the partial closure of the business.

Quick and clear messaging needed to be a priority, as did delivering this to the right people in the right way.

And, boy, did they deliver! Weekly exec video messages, dedicated Whatsapp groups, bespoke COVID comms branding, new Google+ communities and intranet pages, tailored multi-platform newsletters… and that’s just scratching the surface – V-Source, anyone?!

But how did they know so much about the wants and needs of the diverse, dispersed, 15,000-strong workforce that was relying on them so heavily for guidance?

One word: insight.

Fresh insights, fresh approach

We’d worked with Veolia on an internal comms channel audit in 2019, the results of which were the IC team’s ace card during their dynamic coronavirus campaign planning.

There was a lot of meaningful evidence in the audit report, and because of this the Veolia IC team knew which of their comms channels were the strongest and which methods of communication would be best received by the workforce.

Hours of interviews, peer reviews, surveys, measurement, focus groups and segmentation exercises during the audit told a story of an appetite for clear messaging from senior leaders – and insight into how coupling this with everyday operational info yielded a delivery double whammy.

Plus, knowing that the workforce had a preference for digital channels but many frontline workers were without intranet access told the team that reaching those sites was a problem that would need a fresh approach – and the fact that the V-Source app (that’s what it is!) saw 1,500 new users registering over a three-week period speaks volumes about their innovative solution.

The importance of goal-oriented communications had never been so clear – and as lockdown took hold and the goalposts moved yet again, thanks to the fresh insights unearthed by the IC audit, adapting to even more change was just a day at the (home) office for Emma and the team.

Raising the bar

The Veolia IC team are rightly proud to have achieved smashed through their initial goal to keep their people informed, supported and safe over the past four months – and the fact that it’s been done with a clear focus on employee wellbeing, open communication and very visible leadership makes this an even bigger success.

The results speak for themselves, but knowing that their drive for greater employee engagement through tailored, people-first comms has raised the bar is what’s really making Emma and the team tick right now – and it’s safe to say that the evidence and analysis offered by their IC recruitment audit plays a very real, very valuable part in that.

We all know us IC types aren’t in it for the glory (well, not that we’d admit), but when your HR Director says ‘you’ve done a phenomenal job and we are very grateful’, it’s easy to see why the team is giving itself a very well-deserved pat on the back.

And as they build on their success and use their COVID learnings – and the results of their IC audit – to influence the way forward, resetting the strategy for 2020 and beyond is being met with a sense of excitement about what happens next…

Original Source: The Evidence is Clear: Insights + IC = Strategic Success

[internalcommunications]

Getting Leadership Communications Right in a Crisis

Leading responsibly, with empathy and integrity, is always essential, but especially during crises. We find ourselves in unfamiliar and unprecedented territory, as COVID-19 has radically changed the way we live, work and interact with others. Against a backdrop of health concerns, anxiety for what the future will bring, job losses and concerns over business continuity, never before have leaders been put under such pressure and scrutiny. As such, the actions and words of leaders are more important now than ever – a moment in time that will remain in the minds of employees long after this crisis is averted.

More than ever, employees are looking to leaders for guidance, compassion and consistency – making the role of internal communication more integral than ever. According to our recent COVID-19 survey, internal communication professionals are rallying around leaders right now, with 77% making their visibility to the rest of the organisation a priority.

But internal communications may not be top priority for senior leaders, with 42% of communicators struggling with the lack of advance notice of leadership decisions, and 35% believing their lack of involvement in decision making is holding them back from IC recruitment success. Is it a question of a lack of trust in internal communicators, or the pressure to react quickly to a situation that changes daily? Whatever the answer, internal communication can truly show its value-add by supporting leaders and employees through these trying times.

The silver lining is that the basic building blocks of effective internal communication still work: be proactive and don’t stay silent; listen to stakeholders and employees; and create opportunities for dialogue.

Here are some things to do to help make leadership communications during a crisis successful:

Solidify trust through transparency and authenticity. Trust in leaders is never as essential as during a crisis, when employees need to be guided through a landmine of ambiguity and adjustment. It’s our job as internal communicators to help leaders craft messages aligned to a narrative that is both genuine and transparent, while also reassuring and unifying. It’s important that we reassure leaders not to be afraid to be vulnerable, visible, or to shy away from acknowledging uncertainty. Employees will appreciate their frankness, be better prepared in the event of a challenge, and feel more connected to their leader who has made plain that they’re only human.

Communicate clearly and consistently. Don’t underestimate the value of simple, straight forward messages. Communications recruitment agencies that complex or abstract in times of crisis are not always internationalised or understood. People also don’t always hear your message the first time, or the second time, so it’s important to reinforce messages through repetition.

Communicate what people need, when they need it. People’s information needs change throughout a crisis. And so should the message being communicated. Crises are times when leaders’ priorities in terms of topics, whilst still important, really must be supplemented with messages which focus on employees’ needs and interests. At the initial stages of a crisis, provide facts and instructional information to provide clarity and help people remain calm. As the shock wears off and people start following instructions, focus on helping them adjust to their new reality with messages of empathy, motivation and looking to the future. As we come out of crisis, support employees by helping them making sense of what happened, what changes they may see as a result and a rallying cry to rebuild a sense of unity.

Create dialogue. As important as it is to communicate out to the organisation, it is maybe even more important to listen to employees and support two-way conversation. Create opportunities for employees to share their fears and concerns, particularly when the crisis first breaks. Though it may be difficult to see initially, dialogue can slowly evolve into innovation as people have more time to pause, think, and experiment with new ideas.

Crisis can, understandably, cause leaders and internal communicators alike to panic and react without much consideration – but taking a breath and going back to basics will help to ensure organisations come out the other side calmer, clearer, and stronger.

Original Source: Getting Leadership Communications Right in a Crisis

[internalcommunications]

What Internal Communications Can do About Employee Wellbeing

Health and wellbeing have become a major focus for organisations in recent years as they begin to understand the impact of stress, both physical and psychological, on productivity and staff turnover. They have found ways to encourage sleep, exercise and healthy eating, for example, and internal communicators should be key to supporting these initiatives.

These ways to treat the impact of stress on wellbeing in the workplace do not, however, address the underlying cause — the work itself. In recent months, a number of experts have made the case for introducing better working practices to improve wellbeing and bring benefits to employee and business performance alike, improving engagement in the process. Look after your people and they will look after you, so to speak.

In his book Dying For A Paycheck (Harper Collins, 2018), Jeffery Pfeiffer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, explains how employee engagement and wellbeing are linked. Pfeiffer provides research to show that two critical contributors to employee engagement — job control and social support — also improve employee health.

Job control — the amount of discretion employees have to determine what they do and how they do it — has a major impact on their health and wellbeing, Pfeiffer says.

Take control: the Whitehall Studies

The Whitehall Studies, conducted by British epidemiologist Michael Marmot and his team, looked at employees in the civil service and found striking links between job control and health.

Marmot’s team discovered that the higher someone’s rank, the lower the incidence of (and mortality from) cardiovascular disease. Controlling for other factors, it turned out that differences in job control, which were correlated with job rank, most accounted for this phenomenon. Higher-ranked employees enjoyed more control over their jobs and had more discretion over what they did, how they did it and when — even though they often faced greater demands in their jobs. There are similar findings correlating employee engagement and job control.

Additional Whitehall data related levels of work stress, measured as the co-occurrence of high job demands and low job control, to the presence of metabolic syndrome, risk factors that predict the likelihood of getting heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Employees who faced chronic stress at work were more than twice as likely to have metabolic syndrome compared with those without work stress. This suggests that more discretion and job control benefits engagement and wellbeing alike.

It makes sense that a chaotic workplace environment of frequent, uncontrollable events will cut engagement and motivation, and if employees cannot predictably and significantly affect what happens to them, they are likely to stop trying. “Why expend effort when the results of that effort are uncontrollable, rendering the effort fruitless?” asks Pfeiffer. “That’s why research shows that severing the connection between actions and their consequences — leaving people with little or no control over what happens to them at work — decreases motivation and effort.”

There are ways internal communicators can help boost job control. Work with HR to find ways to avoid micromanagement across the business. Give employees places on teams or working groups with more autonomy and discretion, and encourage job swap or secondment initiatives. These can make a difference but there is one key thing in internal communication’s remit: make sure employee ideas are always followed up, considered and publicised.

Pfeiffer’s second contributor to wellbeing and engagement is social support, the people you can count on and relationships with them. He says anything that pits employees against each other weakens teamwork and relationships. This could be performance reviews that force a certain percentage of staff to be rated ‘poor’, or inferring lower status on some groups (such as calling them ‘workers’).

Again, internal communication can play a role in boosting social support. Develop a sense of togetherness and community, and refer to employees as ‘colleagues’ or ‘team- mates’. Flatten structures in feedback or working groups so there is no us-and-them gap between managers and non-managers.

If the organisation cares, show it. Software company SAS has appointed a chief health officer not just to manage an on-site facility but to follow through on its commitment to care for employees if they fall ill and to provide the right care they need to remain healthy. Finally, celebrate connections and social bonds through awards, volunteering and corporate social responsibility schemes. Making social support part of your internal communication strategy can have a real impact on wellbeing.

Addressing stress and wellbeing is not always simple. For example, businesses may be tempted to ban out-of-hours email to tackle burnout. University of Sussex researchers studied this and found that some employees would benefit from switching off but for others, the accumulation of emails could cause those with high levels of anxiety to feel even more stressed. Indeed, human resources body CIPD says that some staff want or need to work flexibly. Mental wellbeing is a personal thing. Support for all employees, however they prefer to work, is critical.

The 2014 Health Survey for England found that one in four people reported having been diagnosed with at least one mental illness at some point in their lives. Awareness is growing and, in parallel, businesses are becoming more conscious of the importance of promoting positive mental health in the workplace. That means putting measures in place to help. A Mind study found that 56% of employers said they would like to do more to improve staff wellbeing but don’t feel they have the right training or guidance.

What can internal communicators do on this aspect? First, address the need for training or guidance through campaigns to promote mental wellbeing. Second, make sure that employees regularly see that help with wellbeing is easy to find, so they can feel assured it is available and accessible. Third, develop a first-aider network with mental health advice as part of the training. Finally, ensure managers set the tone from the top, with senior leaders championing wellbeing.

The case for making wellbeing a priority is compelling. Every organisation should strive for a healthy, happy and engaged workforce, and internal communications has a major role in making that happen.

Source: What Internal Communications Can do About Employee Wellbeing