Internal communications departments are busier than ever. Along with the usual business updates, you are now communicating on a growing list of topics from employee wellbeing to allyship, and purpose to sustainability. Technology has brought new channels like employee apps and forums that require community management and maintenance. Workplace culture is going up the corporate agenda. And to add to this noisy and busy internal communications world, the volatile and uncertain environment businesses are operating in is throwing a never-ending set of curve balls at you.

It’s no wonder then, that it can be hard to pause and reflect on what’s working and what’s not. Grab a coffee and let’s take some time to review what strategies drive effective internal communications.

1. Leading with accessibility

From accessible channels to the way communications are written, your message can only get through if it’s accessible. Let’s look at a few things that often get in the way: 

•  Literacy exclusion: In the UK, the average reading age is 9-11 years old meaning that many communications could be inaccessible to large parts of your workforce. To overcome this, lean on your trusty AI tools to help you simplify the messaging.

• Digital exclusion: We recently talked about the findings of the Communication and Digital Committee report which served as a great reminder that not all of our workforce have access or the capability to access digital channels. You can combat this by ensuring more traditional channels like posters, noticeboards and newsletters are still available.

• Neurodiversity exclusion: From careful font choices to breaking up text, and changing coloured backgrounds to introducing text-to-speech tools, there are so many opportunities available to help make communication more accessible. To make communications more effective and equitable, offering reasonable adjustments to increase accessibility is a must.

 2. Going beyond broadcast

A helpful perspective on your communication channels comes from the recent Gallagher Internal Communication and Employee Experience State of the Sector Report, categorising communication channels into three distinct buckets:

• Broadcast channels: To get an important message heard, nothing does it better than a face-to-face, virtual townhall or all-team web conference call. Interestingly, text messages are also hugely effective yet very rarely used. The use of environmental channels, like posters, banners, and TV screens is shrinking possibly due to hybrid working) but be careful not to overlook place-based employees who still rely on these formats. Reducing comms, quietening the noise, choosing the right channel, the right message and at the right time will increase cut through. Next time stakeholders ask for yet another internal email comms to go out, it’s a great opportunity to share

• Collaboration and interpersonal channels: Community is becoming king or queen, the importance and effectiveness of knowledge sharing from lunch and learns to ERGs or topic-based committee sessions is growing.

• Self-serve channels: It’s probably not a surprise that employee apps get the highest score when it comes to effectiveness but what might be surprising is that their year-on-year use has slightly decreased.  Perhaps a victim of post-pandemic more face-to-face opportunities opening up.

3. Cutting through the noise

We all feel it. The overwhelming overload of messages we’re all exposed to from the minute we wake up to the moment we fall asleep. Some suggest we’re now being bombarded by around 4,000 – 10,000 ads per day. No wonder comms teams struggle to get the cut-through you want, but adding more (countdowns to important dates, reminders, and more newsletters) is not the answer.

Reducing comms, quietening the noise, choosing the right channel, the right message and at the right time will increase cut through. Next time stakeholders ask for yet another internal email comms to go out, it’s a great opportunity to share that 35% of emails are never read.

Your workforce will prioritise urgent and business-critical messages first, leaving the latest newsletter to fester flagged and unopened. In fact, the IC Index 2023 suggests 7 in 10 UK employees say they spend 15 mins or less per day reading or reviewing updates from their employers, while 25% said they spend ‘hardly any time’ in this way.

To make the most of this narrow window, take a long hard look at what messages are being repeated in multiple channels, have the least engagement, or could be reduced to simplify your communications.  

4. Choosing clarity

“If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” 

 We’ve probably all heard this quote, but it is a great reminder that as comms teams battle to juggle their multiple projects and priorities it’s easy to overlook the importance of editing the latest article from the demanding subject matter expert, the long introduction from the senior stakeholder or the latest insert to the newsletter bulletin.

Effective communications are well-positioned, quick to the point and clear on what the audience needs to think, feel, or do. The well-established single-minded proposition approach applies well here and could help internal comms teams focus on a more disciplined approach.  

5. Building trust

We all have a choice of what we tune in and out of. Being human we make our emotional choices based on trust and likability before our rational brain even has a chance to make a conscious decision. Think about how quickly you scroll through social media streams without making rational decisions on which posts you pause on. These same emotional decisions are being made at work. Employees are quickly deciding what they trust, so it’s vital we give them clear trust signals in our communications. This could look like sharing clear facts, referencing employee feedback, being consistent with previous messages, aligning to ongoing strategies and attributing/naming articles with key recognisable figures in the business.  

6. Harnessing creativity

 We might be biased on this point because we champion the use of creativity in communications, but it’s also proven that humans process visual content 60,000 faster than text and process 80% of what we see, 20% of what we read and only 10% of what we hear. We know a creative-led communication strategy that leans all our senses is the optimal format to deliver results.

7. Understanding human psychology

Drawing on well-established psychological behaviours, such as the fear of missing out (which stems from the psychology of scarcity) and loss aversion, as well as techniques like framing and gamification, communications need to be tailored for humans rather than robots. A deep understanding of human behaviour is key to success.

8. Adapting to the environment

Whether it’s reading the room and understanding that a positive celebratory communication might not land in the wake of recent bad news, or simply getting the timing right, you act as a custodian to the employee audience, protecting them from comms overload, poorly timed or poorly positioned communications. Speak up if you feel you’re being forced into something that won’t land or face the damage it has on the reputation of internal communications.

Your partner for effective internal communications

Ready to transform your internal communications? Partner with us and unlock a world of impactful strategies that will elevate your initiatives and engage your workforce. Let’s work together to build effective internal communications strategies that resonate with your workforce.

According to the latest, rather bleak, results from the Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report, employees are stressed, angry and ready to quit.

The Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report is an annual report that measures employee engagement, wellbeing, and job opportunities around the world. The report is based on surveys of over two million employees globally, looking to represent ‘the collective voice of the global employee’.

Let’s get into the findings:

State of the Global Workplace: employee engagement and workplace stress

Employee engagement metrics have risen meaning employees are more engaged at work. However, simultaneously employees are also reporting feeling more stress:

• The European region has the lowest employee engagement, at just 13%.
• Globally, 31% of managers are engaged, compared with just 20% of individuals.
• Fully remote employees (30%) are more engaged than on-site (21%) and hybrid (24%) employees.
• U.S. and Canada are among the most engaged workers in the world, with 52% of workers reporting stress a lot of the day yesterday.
• However, while a smaller percentage of Europeans are engaged, reported stress is lower, at 39%.
• Stress is also high in East Asia (52%), a region with low employee engagement (17%).
• Stress is higher globally among young workers and those in remote or hybrid work locations.

And in terms of UK-specific stats:

• 19% of UK employees say they feel angry a lot of the day.
• 38% say they feel stress.
• Only 10% of Brits describe themselves as engaged with their jobs.

While exclusively remote and hybrid employees report higher employee engagement, they also report higher stress – which can perhaps be attributed to a less predictable or structured work life. But the results also show that employee engagement has 3.8 times as much influence on employee stress than work location.

In other words, what people are experiencing in their everyday work - their feelings of involvement and enthusiasm – matters more in reducing stress than where they are doing their work.

State of the Global Workplace: younger employees

The workplace is worse for employees under the age of 35 than it was before the pandemic. The Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report found a decline in engagement and employer satisfaction among remote Gen Z and younger millennials. This is a significant change from pre-pandemic years. Since the pandemic, younger workers have declined significantly in feeling cared about and having opportunities to develop – primarily from their manager.

• The percentage of engaged employees under the age of 35 dropped from 2019 to 2022 and actively disengaged employees increased.
• Younger workers are not feeling like someone cares about them, encourages their development or that they have opportunities to learn and grow.
• There was a significant drop in fully remote and hybrid young workers strongly agreeing that someone encourages their development.
• Less than four in 10 young remote or hybrid employees clearly know what is expected of them at work.
• Stress is higher globally among young workers particularly for those in exclusively remote or hybrid work locations.

What do the findings of the Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report tell us?

When disengaged employees were asked: What would you change about your workplace to make it better? The top answer was to improve culture.

To compare the results:

• 16% of disengaged employees specified wellbeing
• 28% wanted better pay and benefits
• 41% said engagement or culture

When investing in the workforce, organisations should consider the level of service that employees who are stressed, angry or disengaged might be offering their customers. With such deeply discontented employees, the fear is not just that employees may leave but instead that they stay and sabotage success by providing poor service, making mistakes, being inefficient or unproductive, frustrating higher-performing colleagues and slowing down innovation.

What can your business do to beat the odds?

To be successful, organisations need to beat these odds by investing in their culture, employee experience and engagement to outperform their competitors, driving the best customer service, innovation, and productivity in their industry.

• Invest in a comprehensive programme to drive employee engagement and positive culture. Great Place to Work provides an opportunity to benchmark your company data with others and is easy to implement.
• The rise in employee stress emphasises the importance of organisations addressing employee engagement and wellbeing. Start by capturing wellbeing data so you can build a proactive strategy around the findings.
• Only one in three managers is engaged at work. Senior leadership need to address this lack of engagement in their management tier.
• Managers need skills coaching to enable them to have wellbeing conversations to help employees reduce disengagement and burnout. Gallup finds the best habit for successful managers to develop is having one meaningful 15-30 minute conversation per week with each team member.
• Employees want to understand better how their work contributes to the organisation’s purpose. Communication plays a vital role in this, ensuring the whole workforce understands the journey the organisation is on, how it’s doing and where they fit in.

Unlock the potential of your business by cultivating a workplace culture that not only engages your employees but also propels your business forwards. Get in touch to explore how we can help you create a thriving culture that sets your organisation apart. We’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Most businesses report that they have made five big changes across their organisations in the past three years, and nearly 75% are expecting to make even more major changes in the next three years. All this change can stir feelings of uncertainty and apprehension among employees.

We believe there is a powerful trifecta that can greatly assist communicators in the task of communicating change to employees: authentic stories, a clear narrative, and genuine excitement for the future. By embracing these elements, organisations empower their workforce, foster unity, and turn change into a journey of transformation that leaves no one behind.

Providing a clear direction: how to create stability and direction for employees

Change without direction can lead to confusion and failure. A united and shared vision acts as a guiding beacon, leading employees through the journey of transformation.

Ofcom recently refreshed its brand and launched a new strategy to employees. Whilst the strategy and message initially landed well, there was a significant opportunity to build further engagement across the organisation. The annual employee meeting provided a flagship opportunity to create excitement and get the workforce fully invested in the strategy.

Helping employees align to the future

So how did we help employees get a clear understanding of what to expect over the next year? And how would they be empowered to contribute to the future of Ofcom?

• A hero video was just the trick to reach the workforce across the network. The video was launched at an all-employee meeting and live-streamed on their intranet to reach the entire internal workforce.
• Real employees were the focus of the video. The people of Ofcom helped to build authentic stories and an understanding of the strategy in action.
• The video celebrated the new brand look and feel, with a mix of animation and real footage showcasing the refreshed brand and creating energy and excitement for the future.
• We ensured transparency of message, with the simple narrative clearly outlining the benefits the new strategy would have on employees.

Embedding the strategy is ongoing, but realigning colleagues has helped the internal workforce feel more equipped and able to cope with changes in the future.

“AMAZING!  Thank you so much! Everyone who has seen it loves it. Please thank the team for such a great job!”

Creative Manager, Ofcom

Talk to us to find out how we can support you in offering stability and direction to employees through times of change.

We often talk about EDI, DEI, and DEIB – whichever acronym you prefer – and at the core of these concepts lies inclusion. Inclusion, in this context, involves meeting the needs of underrepresented groups, creating a positive culture of allyship, and viewing policies through the lens of a diverse range of individuals. But are you following best practices for inclusive communications in the workplace?

Let’s consider how your workforce could be experiencing exclusion from your communications.

Digital exclusion

The Communications and Digital Committee recently reported that we have reached a crisis point in digital exclusion. While many of us have embraced digital technology, there is still a gap in access and capability to use digital tools.

“7m households have no broadband or mobile internet access. 1m households have cut back or cancelled their internet packages in the last year due to affordability issues.”

As internal communications departments try to reach frontline workers and invest in more technology like employee apps, we still need to consider those this may exclude. In many workplaces, there will be employees who can’t use or don’t have access to digital communications.

“Over 4m people are unable to complete a single basic task online and 5m workers will be acutely under-skilled in basic digital skills by 2030”

Tip: Don’t ditch your traditional internal comms channels like posters, noticeboards, or printed updates. While they might not be your most effective or measurable channels, and budgets are tight, they are a vital part of an inclusive communications approach.

Literacy exclusion

In England, it’s estimated that 7.1 million adults can be described as having ‘very poor literacy skills’, with 14.9% of adults having literacy levels at or below the expected reading age of 9-11-year-olds. This means that they may not be able to read bus timetables, understand their pay slip or identify bias in the media. UK Government advice is to write for a maximum reading age of 9, even when writing for a specialist audience.

In the USA, according to the Department of Education, 54% of adults aged 16-74 years old (about 130 million people) lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level (11-12 years old).

It’s worth considering how often communications are deployed that contain company jargon, abbreviations and complex sentences that may be difficult for those with low literacy skills to access.

Tip: Try using AI tools, like Hemingway App, to help make your communications clearer and more inclusive.

Time exclusion

We’re all busy, and your workforce is no different. The Internal Communications Index for 2023 showed that 7 in 10 employees spend just 15 mins per day reading/viewing updates from their employers, whilst 25% of employees said they had ‘hardly any time at all’ to engage in internal communications.

What can we learn from this? Employees are overwhelmed with communication. As internal communication professionals, our role is to simplify, curate and guide the right comms to the right audiences at the right time, through the right channel. A ‘catch all’ approach, with repeating messages in multiple channels and multiple times, only adds to the noise and excludes employees from key information through lack of time.

Tip: Focus comms efforts on effectiveness, from personalising messages for appropriate audiences to choosing the right channel and timing. Leveraging the mantra ‘do it well do it once’ may prevent repetitive comms and overwhelming your workforce.

If you’re looking for expert guidance in shaping an inclusive internal communications strategy tailored to your business’s unique workforce, we’re here to help.

Gone are the days of repetitive and generic campaigns, today’s marketing landscape demands creativity, authenticity, and distinctiveness. Crafting an effective single minded proposition is your tool to cut through the noise and make an impact. Unlike a tagline, your single minded proposition is your brand’s North Star, guiding your communication strategy and inspiring creativity. It’s not about shouting the loudest, but about speaking with purpose and delivering value.

Just as Persil transformed a mundane category with “Dirt is Good,” your brand can leave a lasting impression by uncovering its own unique proposition. Let your single minded proposition be the foundation of creativity, driving campaigns that not only capture attention but also inspire genuine connections.

If the journey to finding your single minded proposition feels daunting, then this article is a great place to start.

So, what is an single minded proposition?

Not to be confused with a tagline or strapline, a single minded proposition is the one compelling reason that a consumer would want to buy your product or use your service. It should be viewed as the most important thing that you can say about your brand. It sits at the heart of a great marketing story as we talked about with Persil. It can also be known as a Key Message or One Important Thing or Key Takeaway or Point of Differentiation.

It is a simple statement and it’s never more than a sentence. It’s about ditching the all the waffle and cutting to the chase.

Here are a couple of great examples of SMPs from campaigns that you may recall:

Why is a single minded proposition so important?

The marketplace is crowded with competitors offering similar products with comparative benefits, targeting the same customers.  But being completely frank, telling customers what you do isn’t actually that important. What you do for your customers is the most important. This is truer than ever, given the top-down communication approach is pretty much redundant in today’s world and most brands are now fighting to find new and engaging ways to encourage participation with their products and services.

The very best communications focus on one thing; Simple-Minded Proposition. Of course, your product has many great features and benefits that will endlessly enrich lives and are worth shouting loud and proud about. But if you try and cram as many messages as possible into your communication strategy, you risk meaning nothing to anyone. The campaign message quickly becomes diluted.

So ultimately, if you can land on a killer single minded proposition, the thinking of your marketing team, creative team and/or agency will be much more streamlined ensuring the creative juices will be flowing from the outset. A great SMP is memorable and brave! But most importantly, a great SMP can lead to memorable campaigns that evoke emotion in the consumer and make communications much more effective.

What’s the difference between a tagline and single minded proposition?

An SMP is usually not customer-facing or for public consumption. It inspires creative and kick-starts big thinking. A tagline on the other hand more about customers and the value your product provides. Think of it like this – the SMP is the umbrella or ‘North Star’ in the creative process. All communications (including the tagline) should fall from the SMP.

There are however some rare occasions where the SMP and tagline are the same for example – Apple iPod – 1000 songs in your pocket.

How to write a SMP

1. What are THE most important features of your product or service?

Write down the best features of the product or service. What makes your product unique? These are rational, literal things. Dig into the data to understand your customers. Become the consumer. Get to know the product well. Which feature will talk to more of the target market? What can your brand own? What can you claim that the competition can’t?

2. What are the benefits of the features you’ve identified?

Think about what’s in it for the end user. Which feature stands out the most? Why do they care? How do you improve the quality of your customers lives? Remember that benefits talk to the heart. Simply tell your customers why they want it.

3. Agree on one thing that will drive a customer to purchase.

Create a shortlist of everything you’ve written down above and agree on one thing. Remember, deciding what not to communicate is just as important as deciding what to communicate. From here you’ll be able to draft your SMP and you may well go through many, many iterations before one sticks. Remember the Dirt is Good. We know research tells us that consumers respond much better to one idea, so be brave and don’t dilute it.

4. The elevator pitch

Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Can you say it in one sentence without having to explain anything further? Could you put it on a billboard in Piccadilly Circus on a busy Friday night and your consumer would want to buy your product or service? If the answer is yes, then you might just have landed your killer proposition.

Are you struggling to define your single minded proposition or find one that sticks? If so, then we have a talented team of BIG thinkers experienced in future-proofing brands, just get in touch.

Ever-changing social media and the growing power of employee voices have shifted the traditional boundaries between internal and external communications, presenting a fresh set of challenges whilst also offering exciting opportunities for communicators. This shift calls for a strategic approach that bridges the gap between internal and external messages, fosters seamless communication and embraces the power of a fully connected world

The rise of the employee voice

Gone are the days when internal communications were focused on employee news and updates, and when marketing teams held total control over the brand image presented to the world. Through digital channels and social media, employees have had a platform to share their thoughts and experiences, making their voices stronger than ever before. Internal communications easily and quickly become external news, carrying the potential to impact a brand’s reputation far beyond its intended audience.

Through this change, the impact of negative employee voices is also growing and we are increasingly seeing consumers holding brands to account for the way they treat their employees. A recent ‘Strength of Purpose’ report found that consumers in North America and Europe rank ‘Treating Employees Well’ as the top attribute of a purposeful brand.  The study also found that a massive 76% of consumers have taken action in response to a brand doing something they disagreed with, including no longer buying from the brand, switching to a competitor, or discouraging others from supporting that brand.

Case in point: Twitter (or should we say X?) experienced firsthand the consequences of this blurred line. When Elon Musk’s internal communications were leaked externally, it had a catastrophic effect on Twitter’s brand perception and even influenced Tesla’s revenue and credibility. This serves as a stark reminder of the need for thoughtful internal communication strategies that safeguard a brand’s reputation.

Creating authentic connection

Today, job seekers and consumers look for authentic content that reflects the culture and values of a business. Traditional marketing methods and a focus on just showcasing your product or service benefits are no longer enough. Brands are realising the importance of engaging their employees and ensuring that they feel informed and aligned with the company’s values.

While internal communications remain essential, in order to successfully navigate this new landscape, internal and external communicators must collaborate closely. Maintaining strong and consistent communications strategies has never been so important.  Shifting to a content-first approach and prioritising high-quality content, irrespective of the audience, will allow for greater control of the narrative and consistency in messaging inside and outside of the organisation.

By embracing this evolution and recognising employees as powerful brand advocates who can have a significant impact on brand reputation, businesses have the opportunity to create authentic and genuine connections with both internal and external audiences.

Let’s embrace the opportunities that the blurred line between internal and external communications offers. Talk to us for support with a seamless communication approach that resonates with all your audiences.