Hughes Vice President Mike Tippets has a dynamic and passionate vision for digital transformation and communications in the 21st century. for the 21st century company.
Through "quiet layoffs" or "minimal meetings," some workers express job dissatisfaction in new and unexpected ways. Amid layoffs, inflation and a looming recession, returning to the office seems to be unleashing a new level of insularity and deviance that threaten productivity, not to mention employee morale. This allows HR and corporate communications to control the negativity that can spread among employees, whether in the office or remotely, at the speed of a Slack or a tweet.
Covid-19 has moved internal communications from the back office to the front line, with a much-needed focus on employee engagement, well-being and morale. During the busiest weeks and months, managers and all employees communicate regularly about the need to exchange security policies and protocol updates. But is communication dead when employees return to the office? Or are they constantly innovating because of the value of internal campaigns in building alignment and engagement?
As the chief marketing officer for my organization, I work closely with our corporate communications team to coordinate messaging, digital communications, and media relations, primarily for our North American corporate marketing offerings, including digital signage solutions. I work in a remote back office from our Maryland headquarters where I have the ability to remotely view our internal communications, support corporate programs at our Utah facility, and train the internal communications team on our digital services. Signaling As we moved to “regular” communications rather than pandemics, our internal communications program has expanded and continues to gain momentum. As communication priorities shifted from health and safety to business alignment and employee engagement, I have three marketing principles in mind that have contributed to the success of the campaign.
Use multiple communication channels.
While "media mixing" is no longer an analog tactic like print and radio, the use of mixed media is more important than ever. The old "rule of seven", which stated that consumers must see or hear a message at least seven times before acting, has grown exponentially as the media has grown. Just as consumers view marketing messages across multiple mediums—television, websites, social media apps, and store signs—employees will receive internal communications differently, in different places, and at different times. . We need to be mindful of these differences and use different channels to communicate where, when and how they want to consume content, just as we do with well-designed marketing campaigns.
In today's hybrid workplace, we no longer have the market-loving audience of employees we used to rely on a single coffee maker poster for, our media network needs to be much larger today. For example, you can send messages on your company's intranet, use digital signage in your office, send emails, hold private meetings, organize virtual group meetings via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, etc.
Add personality!
Like any external marketing campaign, your internal communications strategy needs to match your brand style, and just as social media has pushed marketers to be more creative, interesting, and savvy than ever, our internal campaigns must do the same. most. Internal communication allows us to show style, feelings and personality. Have fun!
Of course, be professional and critical of attempts at humor that can go awry, but you can be a little less careful with internal communication than with external communication. Use your company's culture and history to create your message, and give your campaign a creative and catchy title, slogan, and gameplay to grab attention and keep messages going. Don't be afraid to include current events, fun facts, and even pop culture trends. Just as a marketing campaign has to cut through the clutter of messages that are relentlessly bombarding us (inside and outside the office), a little creative internal messaging will go a long way in breaking through the noise of corporate content reaching employees. The speed is about 100 letters per day.
Benefit from internal influencers.
We all know how a high-profile (and well-informed) influencer can increase product awareness and sales. Select featured or sponsored celebrity content from any social media feed. However, influencer marketing existed long before social media existed, and it can and should be used in internal communications campaigns just as it is used as a tactic in external marketing programs.
Internally, this may include a committee to liaise with representatives from geographically dispersed locations. These employees may be hired to facilitate company messaging and, in the most effective programs, to help direct employee questions and provide feedback to the company team. (The best of these programs will rotate site employees after a set period of time to minimize employee overtime and share ego "status" throughout the agency.)
Most companies already have a ready-made influencer community - middle managers are often an untapped resource for communicating company information to their teams. When designing your next internal communications campaign, consider this level of control as the driving force behind your campaign. See how they feel able to communicate the message of the company and not just embrace it like everyone else in the organization.
In the same way that marketers will consider all available tactics to promote products and services to the target market, so do internal communications specialists. We will never consider a single media outlet to run an effective external campaign, and we should never assume that employee messages are delivered through a single point of contact. Involving all of our external and internal stakeholders in communication with employees can mean the difference between advertising that only informs and advertising that inspires, motivates and engages our audience.
The Forbes Communications Council is a closed community for successful leaders in public relations, media strategy, creative agencies, and advertising. Am I eligible?
