Internal communication: what it is, objectives, tips and tools
Internal communication, we often hear "we need to improve our internal communication", but what does that really mean? What is internal communication? What is the purpose of internal communication?
In this article, we'll talk about concepts, what internal communication is for, in other words, how it can help, we'll give you tips for improving internal communication between teams and we'll also talk about some internal communication tools and software (corporate social networks).
Stay tuned, as this article also impacts communication between teams, even remote ones or those working from home.
What is internal communication?
Internal communication is the dissemination of relevant information to an internal audience regarding the strategic alignment of an organisation . It can be "top-down", from the highest to the lowest hierarchical levels, vertically; or horizontal, between departments and employees. The larger the company, the more important the role of internal communication.
According to research by ABERJ (Brazilian Association of Business Communication), the "Top Leadership" and "Immediate Manager" channels are the main channels for internal communication in companies.
What is internal communication for?
It is essential to ensure that all employees are aligned with the company's strategic and important points. For example, the targets for the year. IC (Internal Communication) contributes directly to ensuring that everyone knows the objectives and expectations, as well as the importance and impact of their respective roles in achieving these objectives.
What are the objectives of internal communication?
Internal communication aims to
- develop and enhance a corporate culture;
- reinforce employees' sense of belonging as a whole;
- value skills;
- provide strategic information;
- decompartmentalise the company;
- improve collaboration within and between teams;
- improve productivity;
- centralise information;
- avoid conflicts.
Therefore, the importance of internal communication is increasing within companies, as it directly affects employee engagement and synergy.
The levels of internal communication
Internal communication can have three levels:
- Strategic level, linked to the company as a whole, for example, values, mission and vision. As well as global goals, for example;
- At a tactical level, it is the derivation of strategies into actions. For example, in order to achieve a certain global objective, the company will hire more salespeople or increase its digital marketing budget.
- At the operational level, linked to day-to-day operations, these are the micro-actions to implement the established tactics. For example, now that it has a larger digital marketing budget, it will start running ad campaigns with Google.
What are the types of internal communication?
It's essential to know the types in order to best use them according to the organisational culture and the respective work environment. They are
- Written, the most common and used in various communication channels;
- Verbal, present on a day-to-day basis, but also in specific actions (meetings, announcements, presentations, etc.);
- Vertical, as we have seen, the one that comes from the leadership. Usually to communicate strategic and alignment information;
- Horizontal, which covers all employees, regardless of hierarchy;
- Diagonal, communication between directors and managers from different areas, restricted to the hierarchy.
Obstacles to internal communication
What in the company can hinder internal communication?
- Strong hierarchisation and closure between the different levels of the company: information doesn't get through, everyone evolves in their own world and we don't understand each other;
- filtering of information: listening is selective, we only retain information that is relevant to us at a given moment, we don't pass on the information we receive to other people;
- the lack of standardisation of concepts: not everyone uses the same words for the same concepts, the message doesn't get through and we don't understand each other.
The corporate glossary is a good solution to the last problem. A single document lists the specific vocabulary of your company or your activities, your "jargon", to be used for exchange within the company.
What are the internal communication tools?
There are different ways and means of communicating your message to the internal public, but which channel is best? Depending on the company's size, structure, employee profile, etc:
- Notice board;
- Email;
- Intranet;
- Corporate social network;
- Corporate TV;
- Internal video channel.
Later on, we'll talk about tools that can precisely increase the role of internal communication and prove to be efficient channels for this.
Tips for improving internal communication
Tip 1: Identify communication problems
How do you identify internal communication problems?
©️ Dilbert
There are several signs that can suggest a lack of communication in your organisation:
- the unavailability of people;
- loss of information;
- a lack of adaptation to different communication cultures;
- resistance to change;
- an unstable or rapidly changing work environment.
For example, with the rapid growth of start-ups, the constant arrival of new employees, a constantly changing structure, etc. This creates a favourable environment for communication problems, which is why CI is as important as any other action. It will keep the new team aligned with the company's main objectives.
Tip 2: Create a corporate culture based on communication
It's about creating a working environment that fosters the well-being and productivity of teams - the two are closely linked. Trust, attention and time are three essential ingredients for employees to express themselves.
The end result? A feeling of belonging to the company, generating loyalty and engagement, positively impacting the organisational climate.
On the other hand, if your corporate culture is based on withholding information and dividing up services and skills, you're bound to encounter internal communication problems.
Celebrate important events for your employees: birthdays, weddings, births, the success of an important project, the achievement of goals, the arrival or departure of an employee, etc.
Tip 3: Define an internal communication strategy
To define the best internal communication strategy for your organisation, here are a few steps to follow:
- Identify the different targets,
- adapt the content to the targets you want to inform,
- Vary the types of content and means of communication: website, internal newsletter, blog, newsletter/display, intranet, corporate social network, video, event, etc,
- move towards a more flexible and attentive type of management.
Tip 4: Use transparency to involve your employees
Watch out! Avoid only announcing good news or only communicating information about a project or a client.
Transparency requires communication about all ongoing or future changes: not knowing what is happening is worse and can be a real source of stress for some employees. Change of management, acquisition, reorganisation, new processes, etc. Any information is good to share.
Explain clearly what is happening and why.
Tip 5: Adopt collaborative communication
©️ Turadinhas
Collaborative communication may sound like a pleonasm: you rarely communicate alone.
Your employees actively participate in your company's internal communication; they are vectors of information and are not content to just receive messages. Increasingly, collaborative communication is also an employee expectation. They want to be more involved, and this is most often achieved through tools that are common to the whole company.
The aim here is to encourage employees to communicate with each other, within a team and between teams. This brings us back to the idea of cross-functional communication.
Tip 6: Use a tool
How can you communicate easily in a company, without wasting time sorting through your emails or searching through your documents to find the latest version? One tool that is gaining ground and popularity is the Corporate Social Network (CSN).
Chatting, news feeds, document planning, exchange and management, discussion groups with access rights management. Everything is provided so that everyone has a personalised tool to improve their daily work, in the office, working from home or on the move (app version).
Tools to optimise your internal communication
Azendoo
Azendoo is a platform that combines corporate social networking with team and task management. Of French origin, the software has the potential and capacity to centralise all team communication and is suitable for companies of any size. Flexible, Azendoo can be tested free of charge and works on any device: mobile phone, web or application installed on the computer.
Azendoo's strengths :
- workspaces by team and subject;
- integrations with other tools;
- better monitoring of tasks.
Azendoo
Slack
Slack is one of the platforms that most facilitates communication between teams. Used by thousands of companies, Slack is tremendously popular and this helps in building integrations and small "add-ons" that the tool makes available. Its free version may well suit smaller teams and companies.
Strong points:
- the world's most advanced unified communication tool;
- themed discussion channels to target the right people;
- a powerful search function;
- Integrations with dozens of tools and applications.
Slack
Workplace
Workplace is Facebook's Corporate Social Network, that's right, you read that correctly. Your company can have its own Facebook! But in fact, Workplace is more than that, it's a true collaboration space.
Workplace's strengths:
- a familiar interface for everyone;
- intuitive management of the platform;
- a tool easily accepted by employees.
Workplace from Meta
Yammer
Yammer is to Microsoft as Workplace is to Facebook. Yammer is Microsoft's Corporate Social Network. It combines communication functions with collaborative work. Yammer is included in the Office 365 package for companies, so you can see that integration with other Microsoft software is encouraged and easy.
Yammer's strengths:
- integration with Office 365,
- open and dynamic communication,
- knowledge management in a collaborative tool.
Yammer
Solutions for better internal communication
Communication and team spirit are closely linked: investing in the former reinforces the latter. Giving your employees a space dedicated to internal communication encourages their daily commitment and, ultimately, their productivity.
Are you afraid that your teams will use a CSR for things unrelated to work? Trust them! This is also a challenge for internal communication: to strengthen your corporate culture and share common values. Is the risk worth the time wasted looking for information or the lack of internal communication? Bear in mind that all these tools provide functionalities that foster teamwork and focus on productivity.
Do you have any innovative ideas for improving your internal communication?
Article translated from Portuguese