Author: Kate Dunstan
Published: 11 October 2024
Whether you’re a hard working family firm, a mid sized powerhouse, or a monolithic international, a great culture doesn’t happen by accident. It takes well considered policies, processes, promotion KPIs, and rewards guidelines to shape culture, but one essential element often overlooked is internal communications.
Information sharing and how it’s done is critical to building trust and a sense of belonging. It’s also how you reinforce what’s important in an organisation.
Internal comms is a path to efficiency, sharing the information people need to know, like when tasks are due. But it’s most powerful when it’s sharing positive sentiment – congratulating a person or team on a great work outcome, thanking others for putting in a huge effort, or sharing a great idea. People care deeply about what those around them think of them, so internal praise for work well done is valued highly. It also sends a repeated message about the behaviours and outcomes sought by the organisation in a very welcome way.
Communication is at the top of employee concerns in every engagement survey. Often the immediate response is ‘OK, let’s create a newsletter.’ Equally often, though, the newsletter just becomes a vehicle for propaganda. Sometimes, what the employees really mean is they don’t feel listened to. So, it’s important to find ways employees can share their views of what’s important in the firm. Employee comms can be more than an email newsletter. It can be town hall meetings (even if your firm is just a village), informal rotating morning teas, chats at the coffee machine, even just walking the floor.
Style matters. Communication that is open and honest about troubles and shares something new with genuine excitement gets people on board.
And the reverse of all this is undoubtedly true. Communication that shouts the boss’ position through tone and content can help create a culture of blame and encourage people to hide mistakes or just go quiet. If it’s insensitive, officious, absent – or worse untrue – it can do real damage.
For example, when important things are happening, like leadership or ownership changes, loss of important clients, significant new hires, or media controversy. Instead of communicating with the people affected most, leadership will communicate with clients or media, or not at all, and staff often learn the news second hand.
It’s human nature for people to talk about what concerns them, so when no information is forthcoming, they’ll speculate. And what they make up is invariably worse than reality. These rumours spread rapidly, causing stress, reducing productivity, and eroding loyalty. People feel insecure, and insecure people start to look elsewhere.
Communication doesn’t come naturally to everyone. And the ability to do it strategically to get the right outcome, even less so. Good strategic communication can be a critical factor in getting the best outcome from a crisis, but it’s just as useful in shaping your culture and getting the most out of your people. In this regard, some good advice can go a long way.
Author: Kate Dunstan
Published: 11 October 2024
Whether you’re a hard working family firm, a mid sized powerhouse, or a monolithic international, a great culture doesn’t happen by accident. It takes well considered policies, processes, promotion KPIs, and rewards guidelines to shape culture, but one essential element often overlooked is internal communications.
Information sharing and how it’s done is critical to building trust and a sense of belonging. It’s also how you reinforce what’s important in an organisation.
Internal comms is a path to efficiency, sharing the information people need to know, like when tasks are due. But it’s most powerful when it’s sharing positive sentiment – congratulating a person or team on a great work outcome, thanking others for putting in a huge effort, or sharing a great idea. People care deeply about what those around them think of them, so internal praise for work well done is valued highly. It also sends a repeated message about the behaviours and outcomes sought by the organisation in a very welcome way.
Communication is at the top of employee concerns in every engagement survey. Often the immediate response is ‘OK, let’s create a newsletter.’ Equally often, though, the newsletter just becomes a vehicle for propaganda. Sometimes, what the employees really mean is they don’t feel listened to. So, it’s important to find ways employees can share their views of what’s important in the firm. Employee comms can be more than an email newsletter. It can be town hall meetings (even if your firm is just a village), informal rotating morning teas, chats at the coffee machine, even just walking the floor.
Style matters. Communication that is open and honest about troubles and shares something new with genuine excitement gets people on board.
And the reverse of all this is undoubtedly true. Communication that shouts the boss’ position through tone and content can help create a culture of blame and encourage people to hide mistakes or just go quiet. If it’s insensitive, officious, absent – or worse untrue – it can do real damage.
For example, when important things are happening, like leadership or ownership changes, loss of important clients, significant new hires, or media controversy. Instead of communicating with the people affected most, leadership will communicate with clients or media, or not at all, and staff often learn the news second hand.
It’s human nature for people to talk about what concerns them, so when no information is forthcoming, they’ll speculate. And what they make up is invariably worse than reality. These rumours spread rapidly, causing stress, reducing productivity, and eroding loyalty. People feel insecure, and insecure people start to look elsewhere.
Communication doesn’t come naturally to everyone. And the ability to do it strategically to get the right outcome, even less so. Good strategic communication can be a critical factor in getting the best outcome from a crisis, but it’s just as useful in shaping your culture and getting the most out of your people. In this regard, some good advice can go a long way.
