For a staggering 93% of employees, trust in their direct boss is essential to staying satisfied at work (Ultimate Software).

We now recognize that ruling through a culture of fear and tyranny is a recipe for disaster for organizations: to get the most out of our staff, trust and respect are paramount.

Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.

However, it’s also one of those elements that can be difficult to establish and nurture in today’s workplace.

For starters, it’s not something you can get with a quick fix: trust has to be earned over time. It’s often dependent upon the actions of individuals – in particular, our middle and senior management – rather than the collective organization as a whole.

In today’s digital workplaces, where face-to-face interaction is in rapid decline in favor of virtual communication, it’s increasingly difficult to develop. Once lost or damaged, employee trust is also very difficult to recover.

So, beyond following fundamental internal PR tips, what can we – as managers, as an organization – do to nurture a culture of trust in the workplace?

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The value of employee trust

Today’s headlines are dominated by abuses of trust by the corporation: whether that’s broken contracts or data breaches, allegations of discrimination or harassment, or large-scale job losses followed by reports of six-figure bonus payouts for those in the C-suite.

45% of employees say lack of trust in leadership is the biggest issue impacting their work performance.

Tolero Solutions

Trust comes in many guises; however, it’s not always on a big scale. It could be a broken deadline commitment, lack of transparency on a project deliverable, a line manager who remotely micro-manages when you request to work from home. But regardless of the form it takes, the cost of that distrust can be significant.

Productivity slumps, along with the collaboration needed to solve problems, innovate, streamline processes. Employee engagement plummets, along with the quality of work.

There are knock-on effects on customer experience, financial performance, profitability. Employee turnover and associated costs increase. And in today’s review-driven digital environment, that lack of trust is far more likely to reach the likes of Glassdoor or Indeed, damaging your organizations’ employer brand and reputation.

By contrast, employees who feel they have a culture of trust at work experience 74% less stress and feel 76% more engaged than those in ‘low-trust workplaces’ (Forbes). Trust correlates to higher revenue and 75% of staff believe trust affects their performance to a high degree (Know Your Team).

In short, earning and maintaining the trust of our employees should be a strategic priority for any organization.

How do we build – and maintain – trust with our employees?

#1. Be open and honest about changes impacting them

The fear of a negative reaction can motivate many managers into silence about change. We all know change management is a tricky subject, but attempting to gloss over the details or remaining mute is far more damaging in the long-term. Being transparent about (but understanding the impact of) change is crucial to earning employee trust.

#2. Don’t hide behind the corporate curtain

If information needs communicating to your employees that is likely to spark a negative response, don’t resort to hiding behind your corporation or flooding your comms with “business speak” jargon.

As human beings, we respond best to people. When there’s something to say, have it come from individuals – senior management, middle managers – rather than issuing a nameless top-down statement from your organization’s brand.

#3. Consult and include them in decision-making

One of the strongest tools at the disposal of any manager looking to roll out change is consultation with, and inclusion of, their staff.

Involving your employees in shaping change not only increases their buy-in, support, and advocacy, it also instills trust in both the organization and management as staff feel their views and needs are considered.

#4. Share the big picture vision

Aligning staff behind your organizational mission and goals is crucial to both the employee and the customer experience.

It’s important to communicate to staff where you’re headed, and their role in getting you there. This has the dual benefit of instilling purpose and direction in employees and earning their trust by communicating your long-term strategy and defining vision statements as practical objectives.   

#5. Be a person first, not a title

While there can be a challenge for some in retaining the professional boundary in a manager-employee relationship, steering too far into the distant, impersonal or authoritarian ‘manager’ role can be detrimental to building trust.

Allow for some degree of social or personable relationship with staff. This can be as simple as sharing what you got up to at the weekend, grabbing a coffee, or attending work social events. Most importantly, respond to and treat your staff as human beings, rather than deferring to your authority when they come to you.

#6. Own your mistakes

It follows from being a person first, a manager second: we are all human. We all make mistakes. The pressure and expectation we often place on ourselves to be superhuman as leaders is unfounded; in fact, one of the greatest ways to earn trust and respect is to own our shortcomings and failures.

If you fall short or make an error, don’t cover it up or pass the buck. Acknowledge it, learn from it, take steps to address it and communicate each of those steps to your staff. They’ll respect you all the more for it.

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#7. Accept that mistakes happen

Of course, you’re not going to be the only one who makes mistakes. It’s important your staff feel they can come to you and accept responsibility for their own mistakes, without the fear that they’ll face serious repercussions or even lose their job.

This doesn’t mean letting staff completely off the hook; performance issues, of course, need addressing. Instead, show understanding, encourage staff to learn from their mistakes and not fear failure: particularly in the pursuit of innovation and development.

#8. Keep your word

One of the greatest foundations of trust is integrity. If you are making promises or commitments, it’s important to say what you mean and do what you say. Failing to keep your word is a fast-track to break down employee trust in both you as an individual, and the organization as a whole.

If breaking your word is unavoidable, own it: apologize, explain to staff why and what has happened, and demonstrate humility.

#9.  Practice what you preach

When establishing a company culture and internal brand, many organizations will collectively establish values and expected behaviors of staff, often cascading those down from management.

It’s crucial that your leaders are aligning their own actions to their words and demonstrating those same behaviors and virtues. Don’t ask something of employees that you aren’t willing to do or live by yourself: model the behavior you seek. Accountability should be expected at all levels and not one rule for the collective, another for those in the C-Suite.

#10. Be willing to muck in

One of the most humanizing acts that can establish trust is a willingness to ‘get your hands dirty’ when needed.

Although manager and employee responsibilities are often very different, breaking down the ‘us and them’ mentality by chipping in – particularly during high stress or pressurized situations – demonstrates to staff that you’re all in this together and working to the same goals.

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#11. Listen – actively

We all like to think we listen to our staff, but how much are we really taking in?

When your employees have something to say – ensure you’re actively listening. That includes using tools such as mirroring or reflecting back, drilling down by asking additional questions, or even simply maintaining eye contact, closing your laptop lid, putting down your cellphone. Small things make a big difference and create the foundation of a trusting work relationship.

#12. Respect staff ideas and contributions

Speaking out and putting forward ideas isn’t something that comes easily to all staff; particularly when they’re putting those to a senior figure. However, ideation and feedback from staff can also be hugely valuable.

Be open to staff contributions and show respect when they’re offered. Grass-roots staff may not have the same level of experience as their senior counterparts, but they have a unique understanding and insight from the frontlines. Dismiss or belittle that, and you’ll quickly push them away.

#13. Act on what they’ve said

OK, so listening is important – but if your staff are giving feedback, ideas, or airing their concerns, you’ll lose them in an instant if you simply nod, smile, and then forget about it.

Respond and take action. Or, if you can’t, show that you’ve taken on board what they’ve said and explain why you can’t do anything about it at this time. Again, they’ll respect and trust you more for your honesty.

#14. Offer your own trust

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.

– Ernest Hemingway

It’s a two-way street. How can you expect to earn the trust of your employees if you aren’t willing to give them the same courtesy?

This can come under many different guises: not micro-managing when assigning tasks, for example, or trusting them to manage their own time and workload effectively. Give your staff the autonomy, freedom, and trust to perform their roles; delegate responsibility where possible and offer the space and opportunity to go above and beyond for those who want it.

#15. Recognize staff – in the moment

Employee recognition is a frequently underestimated act that has a significant impact on engagement, motivation, satisfaction, and productivity. It also directly correlates to how much staff trust their boss.

86% of employees who were recognized in the past month said they trusted their boss. This diminished by almost half to 48% when employees reported not being recognized. (Globoforce)

Don’t defer appreciation or recognition to the formal review. A time-lapse between deed and reward loses impact and can foster suspicion, distrust, even resentment. Make recognition a priority.

Employee trust is built on communication.

When we look at the variety of tips here to build, embed and improve trust in the workplace, it’s clear that overwhelmingly, they have one thing in common: communication.

Communication is one of those skills that we innately understand to be important, but often fail to keep front-of-mind in our day-to-day roles.

While organizations increasingly recognize the value of the employee experience and are placing internal communication on the management agenda, it’s not something we can build a strategy around and dictate from the top-down. It needs to be embedded at every level, between every manager and employee.

Only when we get the foundation of how we communicate right, can we expect to build a culture of trust within our organizations.

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Confidence – the belief in ourselves and the conviction that we have the ability to meet life’s challenges and succeed – is one of the defining factors for both individual and organizational success.

However, for many, it can be an allusive quality.

No matter how skilled and technically proficient our staff are, those skills mean nothing if they don’t have the confidence to use them.

As individuals, some of us naturally exert more confidence than others. We may be more comfortable in certain situations or around particular individuals than others. And it’s more than natural to experience self-doubt or knocks in self-esteem when things perhaps don’t go the way we planned, when facing periods of change, or when entering a new role and taking on new responsibilities.

The challenge is, no matter how skilled and technically proficient our staff are, those skills mean nothing if they don’t have the confidence to use them. And if you have individuals lacking the confidence to speak out, put ideas forward, or challenge the ideas of others, you risk holding back your organization: creating a culture where only the select few steers it’s direction.

Confident employees, on the other hand, will be:

• More productive and engaged
• Willing to contribute and innovate
• Stronger collaborators with their professional peers
• Happy to voice concerns or speak out when things aren’t right
• Open to learning and development opportunities
• Early adopters of new tools, technologies, processes or changes
• Empowered to do their best work

Whether you have naturally introverted employees or individuals who are simply experiencing a temporary lapse in self-esteem, understanding how to support, nurture, and grow their confidence is critical.

So, how do we do it?

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Confidence: nature or nurture?

But what even is confidence? Is it something we either have, or we don’t? Something we tap into, or something we can grow?

“Confidence is the necessary spark before everything that follows. It is the difference between being inspired and actually getting started; between trying and doing until it’s done. Confidence keeps us going even when we’re failed.”

– Brittany Packnett, ‘How to build your confidence – and spark it in others’, TED Talks.

Many of us believe we know what confidence is and looks like, but very few understand how we get it. There are limitless books, workshops, talks and articles focused on the issue. Often, it’s regarded as something the lucky few are born with – and the rest of us wish we had. But it’s not as simple as that.  

In fact, scientists and psychologists argue confidence is shaped by three things:

• What you’re born with: such as your genes, which will impact things like the balance of neurochemicals in your brain
• How you’re treated: the social pressures of your environment
• Ourselves: the choices we make, the risks we take, the beliefs we hold, and how we think and respond to challenges

As leaders and managers, we can’t change what our staff are born with: but we do influence how employees are treated in our workplaces. We can also support individuals when it comes to their choices or thinking, helping to nurture their belief in their own abilities.

Here’s just some of the ways leaders can grow confidence.

#1. Recognize that confidence comes in many forms

Traditionally, the term ‘confidence’ is associated with extrovert behaviors. This includes those who speak loudest or freely assert their opinions, are comfortable in group situations or meeting with new people, or perhaps adopt a more dominant demeanor when they walk into the room.   

Confidence actually manifests in many forms and it can look different on everyone.

Those demonstrating stereotypically ‘confident’ behaviors may in fact been masking insecurities or lack of self-esteem; the more introverted among your staff could be the ‘quietly confident’ who have assurance in their own skills and abilities.

Question your own assumptions, which may be holding you back from supporting those who really need it.

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#2. Talk about it

Particularly in a high-pressure or corporate environment, there can be a perception of lack of confidence as a weakness.

In the same way that we historically shied away from discussing mental health in the workplace, moments of feeling ‘not good enough’ don’t tend to be openly talked about.

Open the conversation and show humility with your employees. Rather than directly asking, “do you feel you lack confidence?” which can feel like an attack, speak to them honestly about your own experiences of lapses in confidence and position this as an opportunity for development can help staff.

Are there areas where they’d like to grow their experience and understanding? Where do they feel their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how can you support them? How are they feeling about the upcoming project/presentation/event, and is there anything you can do to prepare them?

#3. Remember that confidence isn’t an all-or-nothing characteristic

Confidence is not all-encompassing.

You aren’t simply a ‘confident person,’ or not. Typically, we’re confident in those areas associated with our particular skills or expertise: but once out our comfort zone, it’s another story entirely. We may also feel confident in ourselves…until a particular event or trigger calls those self-held beliefs into question.

The ‘confident’ senior executive who holds her own in the boardroom won’t necessarily bring that same characteristic to delivering a careers workshop to a group of disinterested teenagers, for example. Or she may hold belief in her abilities until a situation beyond her control creates a negative outcome or criticism from her peers.

Confidence waxes and wanes throughout our lives and even day-to-day. Showing awareness of this will prevent us from ‘branding’ individuals one way or another and reiterate the need to continually invest in and address it.

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#4. Build on what you have

Although some of it comes down to genetics, psychologists agree that building self-confidence is largely volitional – or put simply, “by choice.”

With consistent effort, and the courage to take a risk, we can gradually expand our confidence and with it, our capacity to build more of it.

Neuroplasticity – the ability of our brains to make new connections – enables us to literally rewire our thinking and create more confidence. However, this doesn’t mean we magic confidence out of nowhere: typically, it comes from growing what we have.

As employers and leaders, this means working with – and building on – those strengths and skills already shown by our employees.

This doesn’t mean we silo them into a particular skill area; it’s still vital to push and challenge employees, because this is how they grow and increase their confidence.

Think regular and specific positive feedback, transferring skills to a new project or area of your organization, or gradually increasing ownership and responsibility of an area they’re already showing promise in. There’s a difference between challenging the junior developer to concept up a new product feature – and asking them to deliver a company-wide presentation. Work with what you have.

#5. Understand the reality of imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome – when an individual doubts their accomplishments or talents and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a ‘fraud’ – is a very real and, in fact, common phenomenon.

An estimated 70% of people experience these feelings at some point, according to the International Journal of Behavioral Science.

It more adversely affects women and individuals from minority backgrounds, and while it’s not the same as confidence it can – for some – have a debilitating impact on their esteem and ability to perform to a high standard. It may also mean those individuals feel unable to ask for help, for fear of being ‘found out’: putting both them at your organization at potential risk.

Understanding, recognizing, and working with imposter syndrome can go a long to counter its effects.

Discuss with employees that there are times we all feel out of our depth or as though we don’t have the right to be there: and acknowledge that it’s normal. It can be harnessed and leveraged as a force for good.

When staff question their skills and abilities, it suggests there’s room for development and upskilling. Encourage them to learn, to ask for help, and gain support from others.   

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#6. Give permission by example

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” American civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman declares.

As human beings, we learn from example and hone our abilities by watching others. For those without the confidence to step into the ring first, having someone demonstrate desired behaviors is a powerful tool and gives them the reassurance that it’s OK to follow and emulate.

This includes giving our staff role models they can aspire and relate to: a nod to the importance of diversity in the workplace, where individuals are more likely to perform to a high standard (and show confidence) if they can see ‘someone like me’ succeeding before them. Mentorship between more experienced or accomplished employees and their less confident peers is another powerful model.

However, it’s effective leadership that can make a real difference. This includes having leaders who have strong communication skills, who demonstrate confidence (but not arrogance!), who invite and listen to ideas, offer clear and positive feedback, and display humility in acknowledging their own lapses in confidence or mistakes.

If we have a leader who isn’t afraid to fail or admit when they’re wrong, we’re more likely to demonstrate similar behaviors.

#7. Give them the necessary tools and information

It’s a fundamental basic, but too often, it gets neglected.

How confident would you be tackling a project where you hadn’t been given a proper brief, had never used the new platform before, didn’t have time to prepare, and didn’t know where to turn if you needed help?

It’s easy to assume that giving a member of staff the responsibility, freedom and autonomy to run with something is a nod to their capabilities and will boost their self-belief and esteem.

However, if the individual doesn’t feel confident to begin with, it may achieve the opposite effect. If they don’t have the right information, training, and support, and then feel they can’t ask for help for fear it will make them look incapable, it can derail quickly.

Give staff clear parameters, additional guidance and decision-making tools when briefing. Give them the opportunity to learn, prepare, and upskill before they need to get going. With the right foundation, they’ll feel happier picking it up and running with it.  

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#8. Be specific about what’s right

There’s a world of difference between, “you did a great job, well done,” and “when you gave that feedback, you were really clear about the expectations and showed a deep understanding of the customer needs, which will shape the next phase. Thanks.”

We can default to thinking that giving praise and endorsement will nurture confidence, but if it lacks something tangible that employees can hold onto, it may in fact achieve the opposite.

Dig into the details and give staff clear, specific positive feedback that aligns with their unique strengths and skills.

Time for renewed confidence

If events of the last few months have shown us anything, it’s that confidence isn’t constant. After an intense period of upheaval and uncertainty, many of our employees are reporting lapses in motivation, morale…and confidence.

We may have lost colleagues due to necessary redundancies or furlough programs, or even faced the loss of our own roles. There are corresponding changes in our responsibilities and how we perform our jobs day-to-day. Our natural stress response to the pandemic and circumstances around working from home has caused peaks and slumps in concentration or motivation, leaving many staff questioning themselves and their abilities.

The global impact also means many organizations are facing financial pressures, decreased demand, reduced productivity and output. We may be working as hard as before, but the results aren’t coming.

While the future is still uncertain – and seemingly changing from one day to the next – with the re-opening of schools and workplaces, there’s the sense of a shift to a new state. Now is the time to be investing in, and supporting, those who will carry us through: our employees.

Now is the time for growing our individual – and collective – confidence.

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The post How to build employee confidence appeared first on Interact software.

When countries around the world began to roll out lockdown measures, very few could fully appreciate the scale – and length – of the crisis we faced.

With normal business patterns and protocols completely disrupted, many of us naturally responded using our ‘surge capacity’ to weather the emergency phase.

Surge capacity is a collection of adaptive systems – mental and physical – that humans draw on for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters.

Ann Masten, psychologist

We may have been operating on adrenaline, seeing a temporary boost in our motivation or productivity, or perhaps a growth in empathy or creativity. Lockdown projects took off; community initiatives were devised; parents juggled work and homeschooling; organizations innovatively and creatively adapted to keep their doors open.

But unlike natural disasters – which are typically short in terms of their emergency phase, even if recovery takes a while – a pandemic is different. With an ‘end date’ a far-off reality, we’ve existed in a state of indefinite uncertainty. And that surge capacity depleted. We ran out of motivation and drive: we plateaued.

The good news is that as some aspects of life make a cautious return, we have an opportunity to look forward and pick up the reins again.

Schools, colleges, and universities are opening once more; workers are being nudged back towards office working. As leaders and communicators, it’s time to embrace this ‘new term’ for our organizations: and help staff find renewed purpose in their work.

The value of purpose

The benefits of operating a purpose-driven organization are significant.

Research has proven those companies make more money, have more engaged employees and loyal customers, and are even better at innovation and transformational change. They grow faster, adapt quicker, attract better talent.

But it’s not only companies who need purpose.

[Employees] are now driven more than ever by company mission and purpose and require a workplace culture that delivers it.

State of the Global Workforce Report, Gallup

Employees are increasingly driven by purpose: the idea of being a ‘part of something bigger’ or motivated by the intrinsic value above and beyond their paycheck.

With this sense of direction, employees are more productive, demonstrate greater pride in their organization and work, and serve as authentic brand ambassadors. They’re also more likely to be retained by the organization.

In fact, a LinkedIn survey found 49% of employees would trade a portion of their salary to continue in their current role with an added sense of purpose.

After months of lockdown, many employees report feeling fatigued, directionless, and lacking motivation. Rallying them behind a sense of purpose in their work may be the crucial push needed to get everyone back on track: and ride on the ‘new term’ mentality to drive up engagement.

So, how do we give our employees a renewed sense of purpose and direction?

#1. (Re)define and share your mission

Your mission statement should set out your purpose for existing as an organization. However, for many organizations, this can be a box-ticking exercise that doesn’t truly reflect what they are or what they’re setting out to do.

Take time to (re)evaluate your existing mission (or undertake a project to define one, if you don’t already have one in place.) It’s vital to go beyond the fundamentals of business objectives such as revenue, growth, or market share: and instead, consider broader impact.

Why do you do what you do? How does it benefit, change, or contribute to society? Does your mission inspire, motivate, give a sense of contributing to something bigger?

Consider the difference between, “Our mission is to create the world’s leading video call app,” and “Our mission is to connect people around the world and bring them closer together, no matter where they are.”

In the wake of COVID-19, we have a unique opportunity to align our efforts with broader social impact and value. Throughout the pandemic, organizations and individuals have demonstrated increased awareness of how their contributions and objectives can make a difference.

If your staff feel they’re contributing to a greater good – not just driving profits – they’ll have added purpose when they turn up every Monday morning.

#2. Connect the dots

One of the biggest challenges in instilling purpose is connecting what individual employees do to the end result or bigger picture.

This is especially challenging when it comes to your frontline, production line, or non-HQ-based employees. The shop floor worker on the cash register may (understandably) have difficulty appreciating how their day-to-day responsibilities can possibly have an impact on your overall mission.

So, connect the dots. Map out all those individual contributions and the role they play in getting your product or service in front of the customer, and the impact that has.

One of the most in-depth (but eye-opening) examples of this was the effort of author A.J. Jacobs, who set out to personally thank every person who helped make his morning cup of coffee. From the barista to those who grew and harvested the coffee beans and more, he ended up thanking over 1,000 individuals – who would never otherwise have sight of those enjoying the fruits of their labors.

An end-to-end ‘exposé’ of how the work and efforts of individuals feed into the big picture will help every employee understand the role they have to play: and give them an enhanced sense of purpose.

#3. Share the stories

We talk about the value of storytelling a LOT: but for a good reason.

Stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone and are proven to achieve higher impact, engagement, and emotional connection.

Organizations are increasingly using stories from customers and consumers for marketing purposes, showing the real-life impact of the product or services they provide for brand and reputational endorsement. It’s time to bring those same stories internally.

Use your internal communications platforms to really bring the work you do to life. Interview your customers, facilitate a ‘day in the life of’ series that follows customers on the ground, share stories of their work, and how your organization helps. Do employees visit customer sites or offices and can feed back? Could you do a ‘humans of New York’-style interview of those visiting your stores? What about the testimonials consumers leave on your external platforms?

Putting these front-and-center in your organization gives context to the work of your employees, helping them to understand the real-life impact of what they do day-to-day.

#4. Get staff to focus on what comes next

In crisis mode, we’ve focused on survival: dealing with what’s immediately in front of us.

The coronavirus pandemic shortened the view for the majority of employees, who have naturally focused on the basics such as retaining their jobs, adjusting to new protocols or ways of operating, or the day-to-day balancing act of parenting and working from home simultaneously.

But now we have a new term, new focus. It’s time to get staff thinking about what comes next and expanding beyond crisis management to the longer-term.

This can come in different forms. For example, leadership communications about future direction, objectives, or goals for the coming twelve months can not only provide reassurance but also instill renewed purpose. Or consider a short-term initiative or campaign, something staff call rally behind and focus on.

It’s also a chance to encourage staff to think about their long-term goals and place within your organization. When your employees feel their organization’s sole interest lies in how they can improve the bottom-line, they quickly lose motivation.

L&D may not be top of the priority list when budgets are tight. However, providing these opportunities is proven to deliver a return: staff who feel invested in will go above and beyond for their employer, show higher levels of engagement, and will be more productive.

Inspire employees with formal or informal coaching, training, and learning opportunities to reignite their sense of purpose beyond turning up and clocking in.

#5. Go beyond the job.

Much as we may try, there are some roles – or some employees – who will struggle to find meaningful purpose in the roles that they perform.

If the what or why doesn’t inspire, it’s time to focus on the how.

For some organizations, their commitment to corporate social responsibility or the ethics, morals, and values of the culture can be a powerful and compelling differentiator that may also inspire employees.

Whether it’s your commitment to become carbon neutral, your support of particular causes, or the strong ethical ethos that shapes your supply chain, consider those parts of how your organization operates that have specific meaning or significance.

Encourage staff to be active participants: whether through internal charity events, offering them community days, or listening to their ideas to contribute or shape those elements.

Those organizations that have played a role in the pandemic recovery efforts or went above and beyond to support their communities, employees, or industry during challenging times have a unique opportunity to align employees behind this.

When staff understand they can have a social impact – whether through their roles or as part of an organization that contributes to something bigger – they’ll find renewed purpose.

Purpose must be communicated

Perhaps most fundamental to each of these ways of inspiring purpose in employees is the act of communication.

We must communicate our mission, tell employees where they fit in the bigger picture, and share stories that will inspire them. We need to shout about what makes us different and align them behind our business goals.

Internal communication is central to our organizational and wider economic recovery. If we can foster cultures that will connect our employees to something above and beyond the fundamentals of their day-to-day roles, we can transform their engagement with our organizations.

With that added focus, we’ll tap into an amazing power: and drive long-term business success.

The post Staff feeling lost? Five ways to give them purpose in work appeared first on Interact software.

Language and communication are some of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal. However, even the most subtle changes in how we use them can have a huge impact.

We now understand that diversity and inclusion in the workplace are critical to the success of an organization. Creating cultures of respect and community where every individual is valued is proven to deliver a multitude of benefits: and getting your internal communications right is crucial.  

However, hitting the right tone and developing internal communications that will speak to our staff as individuals is no small task. It’s possible to exclude or imply inferiority without even realizing it: the accidental use of a pronoun, an unintentional stereotype. A single word can change the meaning or evoke a reaction we hadn’t anticipated.

It’s about creating that all-important environment of respect in which every individual is welcomed, valued, and empowered to be their authentic selves.

If you’re committed to delivering on your diversity and inclusion strategy, understanding the role of language in your internal communication is critical. We explore the best practices to bring a more mindful approach to how you speak with your employees.

Why do we need to craft inclusive internal communication?

Although the two terms are often grouped or used interchangeably, there’s a distinct difference between diversity and inclusion. Each is individually important: but it’s also possible to have a diverse workplace that isn’t inclusive, and vice-versa.

Diversity is the state of being diverse: those aspects that make us different or unique.

These characteristics and experiences will include (but are not limited to) race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religious and cultural background, familial status, age, socio-economic status, political beliefs, and more. These shape how we define our identities as individuals, and how we experience the world around us.

Inclusion, on the other hand, is the act of including someone or something.

In the context of the organization, it’s about creating that all-important environment of respect in which every individual is welcomed, valued, and empowered to be their authentic selves. It’s those practices and approaches made by the organization to ensure everyone is treated equally, regardless of their unique differences: which, in turn, will nurture a sense of belonging.

Arguably, inclusion is even more important than diversity because it creates a culture and environment in which every individual feels welcome and able to flourish. Without that inclusive culture, employees who join your organization but don’t feel comfortable or a part of it will quickly leave.

So, how do we know we’re using the right terminology or phrasing to help create and promote that positive environment? How do we create communications that recognize and treat people as individuals… who are equal?

Communication that isn’t inclusive can trigger a range of responses, making people feel:

• Stereotyped
• Excluded
• Abnormal or negatively different
• Offended, patronized, or trivialized
• Unvalued or less important than others
• Biased against or judged
• As though they have fewer rights or opportunities

While there are best practices to follow, inclusive internal communication is not about simply creating a checklist to follow. It’s a continual act of empathy and taking a mindful approach to the language, visuals, and approach you use. Connecting with your audience means listening and thinking about those different attributes that make them unique, and how that shapes their experiences.

It’s also something we have to continually revisit and often, challenge ourselves about. Many assumptions, prejudices and stereotypes are perpetuated over time and formed by our own experiences, social groups and interactions: they can be deeply ingrained and even subconscious.

General principles for inclusive internal communication

Although there are practical tips to promote more inclusive language in your internal communications, some governing principles and best practices can help forage positive connects and build trust with users.

#1. Don’t make assumptions: ask staff how they identify themselves

Your employees are individuals. There are many complexities and parts that make up our identity, and not everyone is comfortable being sorted into a defined category or group. Open, honest and non-judgmental conversations about diversity and inclusion will show you’re listening and help you tailor communication accordingly.

#2. Diversify your team and empower employee voices

If those responsible for developing your internal communications overwhelmingly fall into a particular group, no amount of best practice will make your comms inclusive. Empower your employees by giving them a voice and a place in your corporate comms.

Whether it’s ensuring you have representation on your team or developing an employee-generated content initiative, tapping into the experiences, ideas, and stories of those different communities will give them visibility, and your comms authenticity.

#3. Be mindful of using your own reference group

We tend to default to our own experiences and identity, especially when trying to understand or process experiences that are unfamiliar. This instinct to compare can then appear in our writing and speech.

Using your own group as a reference group or implying that those in a certain group are abnormal compared to a ‘general population’ will infer normality and superiority – for example, when comparing people with a disability with people who do not have a disability, use the term ‘non-disabled’ or ‘people without a disability’, rather than ‘normal’.

#4. Recognize the need for inclusivity beyond the written word

Representing diverse communities in our organizations is about more than using the right terminology: it comes down to the entire big picture our communication creates and how that reflects on our organizational culture.

This includes your use of imagery and video, any reference or influencer mentions (for example, do you only quote or promote the works of a particular group or demographic?) and those who represent your organization both internally and externally.

Are a diverse range of communities given the opportunity to share their experiences? To act as champions for the organization?

#5. Remember that inclusive communication is just one piece of the puzzle

Communication alone doesn’t foster inclusion. It’s an important part, but inclusive cultures are nurtured through many elements including leadership, recruitment and development practices, your organization’s approach to discrimination, harassment, and grievance reporting, and even your employees themselves.

Internal communication can, however, play a role in shaping these through the power of awareness and education. Inclusive language is one thing: using the platforms and channels at your disposal to share stories, insights, and learning opportunities across your organization is another.

Breaking down the specifics: practical guidance for inclusive internal communication

These practical tips aren’t exhaustive: there are many other diverse groups that need considering when crafting your internal comms.

However, considering the impact and options in these specific areas can bring self-awareness to the topic of inclusivity: and how we use language as a whole.

“Language is power, life and the instrument of culture, the instruction of domination and liberation.”

Angela Carter

Sex, gender and gender identity

Gendered language is a legacy approach that continues to perpetuate communication around the world.

In many cultures, this is in the form of defaulting to masculine nouns and pronouns to refer to groups whose gender is unclear or variable – think, ‘policemen’, ‘freshman’, ‘man-made’, or ‘mankind’.

Writers may also modify nouns relating to jobs or positions to indicate the sex of the person, particularly when the sex goes against stereotypical expectations. For example, “the female doctor gave a diagnosis” or “the male nurse checked the notes”, which shows a – perhaps unconscious – assumption that doctors are men and nurses are women.

This can also extend to assumptions about behaviors, interests, physical, mental, or emotional attributes, or day-to-day responsibilities: “At the event, we’d ask the men to help with carrying the boxes, and the women to help with the catering.”

There are also individuals who prefer not to be assigned a specific gender or referred to as a man or woman. With any piece of communication, the best test is to imagine a diverse group reading it and ask yourself: would each individual feel included and respected?

Adopting gender inclusive or neutral terms can break down these barriers.

Race, ethnicity, and religion

Today’s workplaces are rich in racial and cultural diversity, with individuals representing the broadest range of backgrounds and experiences in human history.

Just as it’s important not to assume that a person’s appearance or beliefs define their nationality or cultural background, the language we use must recognize difference without excluding.

The governing principle must be to only use a people’s ethnic heritage, nationality, or religion to identify or describe them if it’s required or directly relevant to the content: for example, if you need demographic data to assess diversity in your annual employee survey, or if you’re sharing content relating to a specific community, event, or holiday.

Unnecessarily identifying groups or individuals according to race, ethnicity, or religion can isolate, stigmatize, and create divisions.

Other best practices:

• When referring to a person’s race or ethnicity, use adjectives, not nouns: for example, an Asian person, not an Asian.
• Don’t make assumptions based on ethnic heritage or nationality: there are many complexities and differences within racial, ethnic, and religious identities. For example, not all people from Pakistan follow Islamic traditions; there are also a number of branches of Islam with varying traditions and practices.
• Where race or ethnicity needs indicating, be specific: use the recommended classification groups for your country (for the UK, see here; for the US, visit here) and always leave the option for your audience to indicate ‘other’ or specify how they identify, along with a ‘prefer not to say’ option.
• Do not use terms that treat whiteness as a default, such as ‘non-white.’
• Don’t use stereotypes – whether positive or negative – that make a generalization about members of a particular racial, ethnic, or national group.
• Remain up to date on terminology to use as best practice. Terms evolve over time, changing with demographic trends, political or social change, and popular use may vary according to geographical location. For example, use of ‘minority’ in the US no longer reflects the four primary racial/ethnic groups; the terms ‘emerging majority’ and ‘people of color’ have become popular and widely accepted substitutes (Racial Equity Tools). In the UK, use of the word ‘colour’ is considered outdated practice and may be found offensive. Use of ‘Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic’ or ‘BAME’ are preferred.

It’s important to recognize that almost all terms have their limitations (Advance HE Guidance) and when deciding on terminology to adopt internally, it’s best to involve staff in steering the conversation and guidance. Inclusive internal communication calls for asking those directly affected.

This not only gives voice to those individuals but will highlight the complexities and challenges – and help shape a rationale for choosing the terms you decide on.

Ability and disability

Historically, the portrayal of people with disabilities used language that emphasized the disability, rather than the person. The result can be depersonalization/enforcing the perception that a person is defined by their disability, or stereotyping people with a disability as being victims or suffering.

As with the other categories we’ve discussed, the overriding principle is to remember that in the majority of circumstances, there is no need to refer to a person’s ability or disability. Employees are people first, no matter how they interact with others or the world around them. Use people-centered language.

Only refer to a person’s medical condition, illness, injury, disability or situation where it is specifically relevant to the communication or content. Where it is necessary, consider these best practices:

• Avoid terms which reduce the person to their ability or disability – use “individual with epilepsy” rather than “epileptic” or “person with autism” rather than “autistic”.
• Don’t use blanket terms such as “the disabled, the handicapped” – try “person with a disability/people with disabilities” – or, where possible, be as specific as possible.
• Consider the language you use around disability and remove negativity that reinforces stigma/stereotypes; for example, “wheelchair-bound/confined to a wheelchair” is “person who uses a wheelchair” and those living with cancer or dementia are not “sufferers/victims.”
• Don’t use terms that imply normalcy or being healthy when referring to people without disabilities, such as ‘normal’, ‘healthy’, ‘able-bodied’. Instead, use ‘people without a disability’ – if it’s necessary to make the distinction at all.
• Don’t use euphemisms, such as ‘challenged/special’ or derogatory, outdated terms such as ‘deaf and dumb,’ ‘nuts/psycho/mad.’
• Be mindful of terms or phrases that contribute to stigmas, such as ‘tone deaf’ or ‘blindsighted’.

For further guidance to ensure fully inclusive internal communication, refer to the Disability Language Style Guide.

Sexual orientation

Sexuality – a person’s physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to other individuals – can be an important and integral part of identity.

But when organizations shy from speaking about sexuality, it can reinforce the idea that those individuals need to conceal this part of themselves. Careless use of language that regards a particular group as the default also excludes and makes for an environment where those individuals don’t feel safe being their authentic selves.

While the choice to disclose the more personal parts of our identity must always be that of the individual, ensuring your employees feel comfortable to do so if they wish – and that they don’t feel compelled to switch pronouns or leave a partner out of events or conversation – is something the organization can, and should, foster.

Remember: although the acronym LGBTQ+ is used for both, there is a difference between sexuality – who we’re attracted to – and gender/gender identity – who we are. Consider the following best practices:

• Don’t use terms that imply voluntary choice, such as ‘sexual preference’ or ‘lifestyle choice’. Instead, use ‘sexual orientation’.
• Don’t assume heterosexuality and ensure you recognize diverse family formations when writing: instead of ‘invite your boyfriend/husband’ or ‘your mother and father’, try ‘invite your spouse/partner’ and ‘parents/caregivers/family members’
• Recognize the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity: don’t use ‘LGBTQ+’ if only talking about sexual orientation.
• Include all legal relationship status groups if requesting on official documentation: for example recognizing civil partnerships/civil unions, common law marriage, cohabitants. Always check government/state guidance as this varies depending on the jurisdiction.
• Use person-centered language: lesbian, gay, bisexual people, rather than ‘lesbians, gays. bisexuals’.
• Always make disclosure a choice entirely in the hands of the individual. In writing, this includes the option of ‘prefer not to disclose’.

One of the most powerful tools for nurturing a safe space where all groups feel welcome is to recognize and celebrate them. Ensure inclusive internal communication by including a celebration of Pride, for example, or create employee networks and advocates to provide a voice and representation within your organization.

Driving inclusivity and diversity in internal communications

Language can be used to deliberately and mindfully engage diverse groups and communities in your organization. It can also potentially divide or isolate them.

Guidance can help steer best practice for inclusive internal communication, but it’s important to remember that the words people use to discuss any difference can hold different meanings for different people.

Being inclusive calls first for including those different communities in your internal communications strategy: so, engage with them. Understand their preferences, stories, and experiences to ensure you’re bringing them into the wider corporate conversation. Leverage the power of internal communication to educate, raise awareness, elevate their voices, and break down barriers.

It’s also important to remember that while we’ve covered some of the different elements that make up an individual’s identity, there are many, many more: spanning age and sexual orientation to educational background or political affiliation.

Breaking down the dos and don’ts for every possibility isn’t realistic: but once we start being more mindful of our language choices, we begin challenging our own unconscious bias and prejudices.  

Ultimately, the language we use can make our audiences feel accepted and welcomed, build connections, and forge positive long-term relationships. Whatever communication you produce to speak to your employees, it should always reflect your commitment to an inclusive culture.

The post How to make your internal communications inclusive appeared first on Interact software.

Communicating redundancies is never an easy task. The impact isn’t isolated to those leaving the business and the way we manage and communicate the process has a huge impact on individuals and the organization as a whole. A considered redundancy communications plan that looks to the broader impact on your business and all its stakeholders will safeguard your brand, reputation, and human capital.

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What is the impact of redundancy on an organization?

While the largest impact and consequences will be for those individuals leaving the business, research and experience consistently show that there can be a devastating impact on those left behind also.

The consequences may be practical such as a restructuring of roles and responsibilities, need for training or upskilling of remaining staff, or increased workload. There’s also a significant risk of emotional fallout including loss of professional relationships or friendships, fear, insecurity or uncertainty about the future, or potential resentment or disengagement directed at management.

“Research has shown that after people in a company have witnessed redundancy happening around them, the overall performance and efficiency of the company plummet, ultimately leading to a drop in the organization’s productivity. In many cases, redundancy can severely undermine a business’s human capital.”

(HR News)

If the process is poorly handled, these risks rise exponentially.

News headlines regularly pick up horror stories of employees finding out about forthcoming redundancies from social media, the press, a colleague. The resulting backlash on morale, management being labelled as untrustworthy or accused of not communicating with their staff, or even suspected of pursuing an alternative agenda, is far-reaching and significant.

Aside from avoiding any legal claims, organizations must safeguard their brand and reputation; a badly handled process will often go public and can trigger strong reactions from customers, consumers, investors, shareholders, unions, and more.

Internally, it can cause the employer brand to shift and trigger further staff losses or disengagement.

A considered redundancy communications plan that looks to the broader impact on your business and all its stakeholders will safeguard your brand, reputation, and human capital.

Handled sensitively and initiated for the right reasons, however, a redundancy program doesn’t need to be all doom and gloom. It can present an opportunity for fresh direction, growth, or much-needed adaptation and change to changing circumstances or demands on the business.

If staff feel empowered with the understanding of why it’s happening and what comes next, they’ll be more perceptive and open to change.

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Communicating change in your business

The only thing that is certain is change. How you choose to communicate change internally to staff plays a huge role in determining its success. Are you prepared?

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Managing the redundancy process: company-wide

While management of individual employees facing the redundancy process will often come down to HR and line managers, there’s a clear case for taking a 365-degree approach and drafting a business-wide change management and communications plan.

Step one: bring Comms in early

A redundancy program is understandably a sensitive organizational change: and, therefore, likely to be privileged information in the early days.

However, bringing in internal communications early on in the process can help shape messaging or positioning and develop a comprehensive comms plan that will reach all the necessary stakeholders involved.

Setting up a collaboration between Comms, HR, and PR will ensure all messaging is aligned – and no-one is missed.

Step two: Clearly and simply define the business rationale

It will be the question on everyone’s lips, so it’s critical to get it right.

Have a clear, consistent and simple message from leadership that explains the ‘why’ behind the decision to roll-out a redundancy program.

Clarity and honesty are vital.

While it’s tempting to try and explain, don’t let it become a ramble of justifications or excuses; anything overly complicated or long will dilute the message and may even spark distrust or resentment in staff. Clarity and honesty are vital. Map out the main point or points you want to address upfront.

Step three: Map out your wider audience

At the center of your redundancy program will, of course, be those facing the prospect of losing their roles. Directly impacted by their loss are their immediate teams, line managers, colleagues they work closely with on a day-to-day basis.

However, the ripple caused by redundancies expands far wider than this. One of the best ways to prepare is to understand the wider network and communicate layoffs strategically.

This includes those responsible for your external or customer-facing comms, including Customer Support, Marketing, and those responsible for social media channels, website, or media relations. If news about redundancies breaks externally, these are first in line when it comes to fielding questions and they need to understand your company position.

You also need to consider those further along your supply chain and involved in distribution, or third-party businesses that provide services or support such as consultancy, cleaning, facilities management, or catering. If your organization is restructuring or losing a significant number of employees, or simply losing their main point of contact, they need to be kept in the loop.

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Step four: Consider and prepare for individual reactions

Not all staff respond to news in the same way.

Just as those individuals directly impacted by the prospect of redundancy will have unique circumstances, those remaining with the business will have their own concerns, fears, and considerations. Knowing your audience means you can tailor the message and support available.

As part of your redundancy communications plan, take the time to consider the potential FAQs and where staff will need signposting after an announcement. Information about next steps, who to consult if they have questions, and additional support information such as your EAP are all be beneficial to have on hand.  

Step five: Create a support brief for ALL line managers

Those managers whose team members are directly affected will naturally need unique support. However, this is no reason to leave other line managers out of the loop altogether.

Employees at every level and in every area will have questions, concerns, or simply need reassurance. Empower your manager cascade to answer accordingly, even if the original communication is coming from higher up.

Alongside the business rationale, line managers need to understand essential information, and where or how to signpost staff who have concerns or experience stress in response to the news.

Remind managers that their visibility, listening, and support is paramount, and staff grievances or strong reactions are to be expected. It’s also OK to admit if they don’t have all the answers available immediately. Simply encouraging an open-door policy can go a long way.

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Step six: Look at the when

You know what you need to say and who you need to say it to. Now, it’s time to orchestrate those comms into a calendar of events: ensuring the right people know at the right time.

Timing is everything.

It should go without saying that those likely to be directly impacted must know first before the rest of the world. Tell your staff as soon as it’s realistic, rather than holding out until you have a polished or finalized plan. Don’t be the company crisis managing a social media backlash when staff wake to news that jobs may be laid off from their daily Twitter update. Doing line manager briefings at the same time can ensure they’re prepared, before going to the wider business.

Tell your staff as soon as it’s realistic, rather than holding out until you have a polished or finalized plan.

Laws in the UK that mean organizations must enter a period of consultation if planning to make 20 or more redundancies in a 90-day period; there’s a risk that media will get wind of the news and it begins to leak with inaccuracies or misreporting. Developing a holding statement for release until internal information is finalized can help weather this storm while negotiations and discussion continue internally.

Be sensitive of when you choose to make announcements, mindful of external events or other news where possible. Ensure you don’t announce a redundancy program the day after publishing company profit figures!

It’s likely the process will be spread out, so give timescales and next steps to prepare everyone for what will happen when.

Step seven: Look at the how

Time to think channels. While individuals facing redundancy should be spoken to directly, you need to consider how to inform other stakeholders impacted by the news.

For employees, hearing from senior leadership is typically the best route and offers reassurance, direction, and transparency. If you’re telling the wider workforce, a townhall or video-ed announcement with opportunity for Q&A is typical: face-to-face is the most effective and trusted means of delivering tough news.

Remember that shock or surprise can hinder the ability to take messages in fully; follow up with written, centralized comms to provide clarity and answer common questions. Ensure there are follow-up meetings, chats, or consultations available for ALL staff, not just those facing redundancy.

For external comms, be aware that there is a danger of leaks and misinformation.

Choose your official channels carefully and ensure your internal and external channels – and messaging – line up before pressing ‘publish.’ Determine who should hold responsibility for managing third-party relations and informing those potentially impacted, and whether this news can come face-to-face, over the phone, or perhaps as a video call.  

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Communicating change in your business

The only thing that is certain is change. How you choose to communicate change internally to staff plays a huge role in determining its success. Are you prepared?

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Step eight: Use compassion, not corporate speak

Managing the process of rolling out redundancies can be stressful, fraught, and potentially ridden with legal implications and red tape. It’s understandable that as managers, we shy from the danger of saying the ‘wrong thing’ and stick to the party line.

However, there’s a fine line between staying professional… and coming off as cold, impersonal, or indifferent. Remember that your employees are at the heart of this process and speak to them as human beings, not company assets.

Use compassion and understanding in your communications to speak to your employees and reassure them that this isn’t a decision that’s been made in haste. Don’t resort to figures, graphs, projections at this point. Approaching your comms people-first reflects better on both business and management, and will help harbour understanding and trust.

Step nine: Acknowledge the losses and allow a grieving period

It’s understandable that when facing a potentially negative backlash to business change, we want to ‘put a positive spin’ on it.

However, when announcing a program of redundancies, we have to demonstrate empathy and understanding that this is about the loss of our people.

Attempting to ‘bury the lead’ in a presentation about a new vision or direction for the business is insensitive and will be poorly received. Remember, staff may be losing friends or close colleagues they’ve worked alongside for a long time, feeling anxious about their own job security, or what this means for the future of the business.

With any period of redundancy, there needs to be a grieving period.

With any period of redundancy, there needs to be a grieving period. Acknowledge that this is news that has some potentially upsetting or negative consequences, give staff time to digest, and postpone the motivational speeches until after it’s sunk in.

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Communicating change in your business

The only thing that is certain is change. How you choose to communicate change internally to staff plays a huge role in determining its success. Are you prepared?

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Step ten: Move forward

Respecting the time needed for the initial shock to wear off is important. However, your remaining staff will be looking to leadership and the business as a whole, trying to understand what this news means for both the long-term health of the business and their roles.

It’s important to show those staff that they continue to play an important role and start focusing on the future direction of the business.

Put the message out that these changes are to ensure a healthy future for the organization: their organization.

Celebrating successes or great pieces of work can help improve morale; regular updates from senior management on plans, objectives, and positive company performance can help reassure staff.

Keep looping back to that all-important ‘why,’ but build on it. Putting the message out that these changes are to ensure a healthy future for the organization – one they will continue to be a part of – can keep focus and momentum.

Moving on as a business after redundancy

Managing the change and uncertainty that comes as part of a redundancy program is just the beginning of the process. No matter the reason or circumstances surrounding the change, there are likely to be long-term implications for both your organization and the people with in it.

Moving on as an organization may take time, and it’s important that comms around the process don’t stop the day those staff walk out the door.

Gauge staff sentiment and reactions with regular check-ins: whether pulse surveys, employee forums, an employee engagement survey, or manager check-in meetings. Listen to your employees and address any remaining concerns upfront.

It may take time, but providing the right support and showing employees you’ve listened and understood will make for a smoother path. Just keep the conversation going.

Guide

Communicating change in your business

The only thing that is certain is change. How you choose to communicate change internally to staff plays a huge role in determining its success. Are you prepared?

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The post Communicating redundancies: a ten-step guide to managing impact on the wider business appeared first on Interact software.

Today’s digital workplaces are inundated by tools designed to support how we work, but the intranet shouldn’t be ‘just another on the list.’ Here’s why it deserves a unique spot in your lineup.

Our organizations now have tailored digital toolkits designed to answer just about every employee – or business – need.

We’ve long evolved past the days of Microsoft ’97 as the core foundation of our workplace productivity needs: estimates now put the number of applications in the average enterprise at anything from 129 (Okta Inc) to 464 (Cloud Security Alliance). Some larger organizations are battling as many as 10,000 different tools, applications, and digital services.

While some may still juggle a few balls, most apps are designed to answer a bespoke, niche business need or challenge: whether that’s your HR platform, learning management system, or Microsoft Teams for in-company communication.

The intranet is often historically designated as the ‘company news platform,’ or perhaps the ‘place to find HR policies’: risking its dismissal as just ‘another on the list.’

The truth is, it’s value and role go far beyond a single benefit: it’s a tool deserving of a unique place in your digital workplace. There’s a real business case for internal communicators and management alike for prioritizing the intranet and investing in making it more than just one of many.

Divided attention: the battle of digital workplace apps

The sheer volume and scale of today’s digital workplaces is eye-watering.

This presents an undeniable challenge for our employees: app-hopping from one tool to the next, with each individual application there to serve a defined purpose on our work checklist.

Book paid time off on Workday – check. Give feedback on the quarterly report on Microsoft Word – check. Book a meeting in the diary on Outlook – check.

We’re subconsciously scheduling in pockets of our time for each of these different applications while fielding the multitude of various notifications, alerts, reminders, or pop-ups they push to us. This is before we even factor in the attention-stealers residing on our cellphones or personal applications.

As a result, multi-tasking and divided or alternating attention is now the norm, both in work and in our day-to-day lives. We’re continually switching focus, even if those switches are infinitesimally small and multiple times a second.

Many internal and external factors shape the time we can – and choose – to dedicate to each individual application or task. That could be preference, a defined business need or deadline, the ease of use/user experience offered by the app, or perhaps the presence within it (for example, we may spend time within the company instant messaging tool, even though we hate how it works, simply because all our colleagues are using it.)

It may be the perceived value we get from it: do we get new or inspiring content from it, such as Instagram? Does it help instill a sense of connection with others, such as Facebook?

When introducing an intranet to employees, we’re effectively adding to this list of potential distractions and digital business noise.

Staff may download or bookmark it as another digital destination to schedule time for when needed, often assigning a mental note against it – depending on what’s stuck as a USP during the launch process. For example, I go to ZenDesk when I need to raise an IT support ticket; I go to the intranet to read the company updates.

However, if we can build its value proposition for employees beyond a task-led purpose, it will deliver returns across many business areas: including some we may not have initially expected.

Connecting with employees: beyond work

Naturally, there are times when it is essential we communicate effectively with our staff and hold their attention: whether that’s to deliver critical updates, roll out compliance or policies, or train up on new procedures, services, or products. We also need to ensure we’re safeguarding employee time and retaining their focus to perform their roles effectively. Their time is our money, after all. 

However, the business case for competing for staff time and cutting through that digital noise goes far beyond this.

The key lies in connection. The more touchpoints our employees have with their organization – and the greater the sense of connection those touchpoints create – the more significant the impact in terms of their loyalty and attachment to the brand, culture, and company overall. 

The experience we shape for our employees is now a significant differentiator that can impact our ability to both attract and retain employees.

Every interaction with a colleague, a line manager, or with the organization as a whole, is an opportunity to build on that bond: in the same way that leading consumer brands create affinity with audiences through multiple small engagements as part of the buying cycle. Each is a small piece of a much bigger picture.

In the continued war for talent, that experience we shape for our employees is now a significant differentiator that can impact our ability to both attract and retain employees.

It can impact business KPIs, ranging from improved productivity and output to higher engagement, brand advocacy, customer service, etc. Today’s most successful organizations nurture a sense of belonging, camaraderie, purpose, and personal satisfaction in their employees: making work more than just a job.

However, today’s organizations are increasingly dispersed, remote, digitalized. Social and in-person interactions are increasingly being replaced by virtual ones: particularly in the wake of the recent coronavirus pandemic, where workforces made the move en-masse to remote working.

The question is, how do we nurture this sense of connection among employees – particularly among hard-to-reach, remote, or dispersed staff who don’t have the benefit of experiencing the culture or connection created by physical office spaces?

The answer: through a virtual space dedicated to nurturing our culture, internal brand, personable connections, sense of belonging, and purpose. Our intranets.

The intranet: much more than an app

Unlike most tools in your digital kit, the intranet has a unique value-add: it can play a critical role in shaping the employee experience. This particular superpower makes it worthy of the top spot and, arguably, a priority when it comes to choosing where to place investment in pulling employee time.

Where other digital workplace tools are typically designed to serve a defined end goal or purpose, the intranet is the only purpose-developed platform that seeks to answer the more intangible elements of the overall employee experience.

The intranet has a unique value-add: it can play a critical role in shaping the employee experience.

It does so in several ways:

• Connection to the organization: how do your employees understand who you are and what you stand for as a business? Through leadership updates, company news, celebrating success or achievements, recognition, and more.
  
  Internal communication is now increasingly recognized as a critical element for success in an organization, providing staff with a sense of purpose and understanding of their place within the organization and its bigger, long-term goals. The intranet is often the go-to central point for employees to tap into their organization, particularly if they operate on the front lines or away from HQ.

• Nurture a virtual culture: it may be the buzzword of the moment, but it’s for good reason. A company’s culture is a defining factor in employee retention, happiness, and overall job satisfaction.
  
  An intranet is a virtual social space that enables organizations to nurture those values and behaviors that reflect their culture and connect employees behind a common purpose or goal. It also allows your entire workforce to share experiences, recognize teams or employees, and highlight those elements of your organization that go ‘beyond the paycheck’ such as CSR, diversity and inclusion, or sub-communities (company football team or running club, anyone?)
  
  By providing an empathic space that celebrates employees not only as company assets but as individuals with their own interests, passions, emotions, families, and more, you’ll nurture a more connected, inclusive culture.

• Connection to peers: As human beings, we need to build relationships with others. However, many of our colleagues and coworkers are being reduced to a faceless email address or a tiny avatar in today’s digitally-dominated workplaces.
  
  While communication tools are sufficient for team or small group interactions, they do little to break down barriers between those who don’t regularly interact. An intranet connects colleagues across distance, time zone, or role, with rich profiles and social interactions putting a real ‘face to the name.’ Spotlights, recognition, employee-generated content such as blogs, forums, and more, all take this sense of connection to the next level.

• Giving staff a voice: empowering employees to speak out or engage in two-way conversations with your organization is a powerful tool for shaping their overall experience.
  
  An intranet offers a safe, collaborative space for innovation and ideation, feedback, sharing experiences or insight, or contribute in ways they might not feel able in person. In-built tools including forums, pulse surveys, polls, or the simple act of commenting and contributing all create an open, creative, engaged space for employees.
  
• Transforming the digital employee experience: we’ve already noted that today’s typical technology stack is noisy and occasionally overwhelming.
  
  Today’s intranet solutions serve as a window to your digital workplace: bringing together those dispersed tools, apps, and different knowledge assets with an employee-focused interface that helps reduce noise and create a user-friendly, intuitive, easy experience.
  
  It’s a major differentiator in today’s technology-driven recruitment market, where workplace tech now ranks among the top requirements on the candidate wishlist.

Using your intranet to help build a sense of connection

Realistically, many communicators know that their people will initially visit the intranet on a ‘need to know’ basis: seeking out information for a specific need or purpose. Usage data from our own Interact customers shows that connected employees will visit their intranet an average of three times a day for just 3.2mins each time.

However, we now understand that it’s not necessarily about the length of time spent engaging, but the quality of the interaction. In a similar way to social media or screen time, the sum of our digital interactions and the collective experience those create is what sets platforms – or brands – apart. The intranet may have a tough task when we consider the sheer volume of competition, but it definitely has something unique to bring to the table.

There’s a reason why social media platforms are so powerful at stealing, capturing, and retaining our attention: they prioritize the human need for connection, or ‘limbic resonance,’ in the experiences they create. This is the value an intranet offers that no other business application or platform can.  

By understanding the importance of that empathetic system that drives our sense of connection, organizations and internal communicators can shape intranet experiences that tap into the very psychology of what makes us tick. Our intranets will then draw users in beyond a simple task: and engage them on a whole other level.

The post The intranet: not just another app appeared first on Interact software.

Time is now the currency of our digital age. More specifically, who, where, or how we choose to give that time to, through our attention.

It’s also becoming harder and harder to capture.

The competition for consumer attention is the compulsive focus of entrepreneurs, technological giants, and organizations globally. Time is money: the more we give, the more likely we are to build an affiliation for a brand, make a purchase, advocate, share, or promote their content.

This end-goal now subjects us – as consumers, as employees – to repeated interruptions from professional attention stealers throughout our day-to-day lives. And behind every push notification, auto-play video, pop-up banner, or promoted piece of content, there is a dedicated team researching and utilizing every psych trick in the book to vie for a piece of our time: and keep us hooked.

There are now between 60 and 90 apps installed on the average smartphone, and estimates put the number of applications in the average enterprise at anything from 129 (Okta Inc) to 464 (Cloud Security Alliance.) Each is designed to tap into our limited, precious time.

The result is a measurable impact on our attention spans (or so some academics argue.) Worse still, we’re actually self-interrupting on average every 3.5 minutes. It’s a wonder we get anything done.

In a world where many of us are self-confessed addicts to our smartphones, Netflix, or game consoles, or easily distracted by a Facebook notification or email pop-up, how can internal communicators compete to gain employee attention?

How do we cut through the noise and apply those same tactics to create compelling communications that will help us connect with employees?

Going into battle: the science behind attention

The challenge, as we’ve already mentioned, is not only the sheer volume of content and digital touchpoints competing for our attention. It’s the fact that these technologies are not neutral: they are purposefully designed to influence, change, persuade, or even manipulate us.

“Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on some information while ignoring other perceivable information.”

This comes down to how our brains work and the science behind how those big brands keep us scrolling, watching, and engaging.

As human beings, we’ve developed a brain system wired for connection and accounting for most of our decision-making. Our limbic system is responsible for triggering those dopamine circuit-promoted feelings of ‘empathic harmony,’ or connection.

Or put simply, this part of the brain plays a role in how we experience pleasure, reward, motivation, memory, and attention. Limbic resonance – our capacity for empathy and connection – forms the basis of our social relationships. Our brain chemistry and nervous systems are measurably affected by those closest to us.

To engage with consumers, organizations are now trying to find ways to tap into this sense of belonging and connection and create products or services that imbue limbic resonance.

To capture and keep us scrolling, those technological giants are continually evaluating ways of getting us that ‘hit’ of dopamine: because the higher the limbic resonance of a platform, the more successful it is at capturing and keeping our attention; and, in turn, at moving us to action (whether that’s to engage, share, purchase, or something else.)

This can take many forms. Platforms may show us updates from those individuals we tend to interact with more, and therefore presumably have a closer personal connection to. Sophisticated algorithms can track our behaviors and promote associated content, people, or products based on our unique preferences. We get a hit when we’re alerted that someone has like, shared, or viewed our own content.

The challenge for internal communicators, then, is two-fold. First, we’re battling with those highly focused, innovative, and experienced organizations who are experts in tapping into our employee attention.

Secondly, we need to find our own way to create that same sense of connection and build communications that create limbic resonance with employees.

So, how do we capture – and retain – employee attention with internal communication?

In this ever-optimized digital world, attention is often reduced to short-term metrics: clicks, views, read time, and eyes on content.

While these measures have their place, the emerging understanding – especially given our waning attention spans – is that it’s less about the amount of time we devote to content, and more about the quality of the interaction. Time spent doesn’t necessarily correlate with the engagement response.

The deeper the sense of connection, involvement, and perceived value our employees or users gain from interactions with the organization, the greater the impact. Those seemingly small moments all accumulate, marginal gains style, to a much bigger picture.

It’s less about the amount of time we devote to content, and more about the quality of the interaction.

Given the average employee visits their intranet three times a day for just 3.2mins each time, we need to affirm their choice and make that quality time: and draw them in further where we can.

Attracting employee attention

Many of the features or pieces of functionality utilized by leading technologies to capture attention are also available in our internal communications tools, or within the power of communicators to emulate.

Ensure you’re making the most of the opportunities available, including:

#1. Pulls: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. These are those all-too-familiar and pesky interruptions that pull our attention to a particular channel or piece of content. Think notifications, pop-ups, alerts, or broadcasts.

If you have a broadcast tool within your intranet or internal communications platform, it can capture staff notice. However, it mustn’t be over-used, or it will lose its impact (or be muted by employees if they have that power.)

Intrusive pulls can support your most essential communications: emergency or crisis announcements, for example, or notifying staff of a town hall meeting, important company-wide news, or an annual survey.

#2. Visual captures: the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, and 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual (Thermopylae Sciences + Technology.)

We are visual animals by nature, and more importantly, we can take in – and retain – far more information this way than by text alone. If you need to make an impact and get something across quickly (i.e., when your audience has the attention span of a goldfish…), it pays to lead with something that will catch the eye.

While it may seem obvious, it’s worth highlighting: keep banners, images, video, icons, and visual quick links high on your internal comms agenda.

This is also why the design and layout of intranet homepages are so important. As the first place your users land, it has the power and potential to pull your users in: and hold their attention.

#3. Relevance or connection: we’re naturally more interested in content relevant to us, or with which we feel a sense of connection. For example, we’re more likely to click on an article shared by a close friend or family member than a stranger; or read something about a topic that resonates with us or means something to us.

The subtle power of personalization or tailoring of content has a significant role to play in internal communication.

Using permissions, personas, tailored homepages, or built-in intelligence that responds to our preferences, characteristics, or previous engagements will ensure the content our staff sees strikes the right note. Your users are more likely to engage with a spotlight piece about a colleague they know than a financial report designed for leadership.

We’re naturally more interested in content relevant to us, or with which we feel a sense of connection.

Remember: creating that much-needed limbic resonance that will get them clicking.

#4. Subliminal pulls: the marketing and advertising industry is big business, and for a good reason. Our brains are highly complex and astute mechanisms, processing an incredible amount of data with every interaction we make. Seemingly small and insignificant cues can make a surprising difference when it comes to catching our attention.

For internal communicators, this includes things like your use of font, layout, signposting, color, and more. Corporate comms doesn’t need to be dry and text-heavy.

You are marketing to your employees and competing with the Big Guns of the industry: investing a little extra time into the small details may be the dividing difference between engagement and abandonment.

#5. Purpose: our own user research shows that most staff will initially visit their intranet for a defined purpose or perform a specific task, such as finding a policy, booking a leave of absence, or reading a company update from the CEO. These are the initial ‘pulls’ that bring your staff to your internal communications platform, presenting an opportunity to engage them further.

Therefore, it makes sense that the more reasons an employee has to visit their intranet, and the more ‘pulls’ there are, the more attention you can capture. Consider what common workflows, processes, or essential tasks your staff need to do regularly and centralize these on your intranet. It’s far easier to capture employee attention when they’re already there.

#6. Eliminate unnecessary workplace noise: we may not be able to control the inevitable Twitter notifications or personal WhatsApp notifications interrupting our employees (at least, not without turning full Big Brother on them), but we can exercise some mindful management of those tools or platforms we control internally.

If your digital workplace has multiple tools that satisfy the same purpose, duplicated content in different places or all notifications switched to ‘on’ for every minor update, consider how you can turn down the dial on the surplus noise by streamlining, centralizing, or reducing. Our blog on ‘11 ways to declutter the digital workplace’ has some handy tips that can get you started.

Retaining (and nurturing) that attention and connection

As the saying goes, we may be able to lead the horse to the water: but we can’t make it drink.

Catching our employees’ attention is one thing, but we also have to ensure we’re creating quality interactions and building on that limbic resonance that will nurture a sense of connection.

This comes down to a considered approach to our internal communications, including:

#1. Focus on building connections: internal communication must deal with the ‘necessary evils’ of communicating change, policy, procedures, or product updates.

However, content that will resonate most with our employees focuses on building connections between colleagues or between employees and the organization.

This means mixing our formal, corporate communication with social features, opportunities for engagement or participation such as polls, forums, or surveys, and highlighting individuals or teams to increase visibility of others.

Think also about pushing content that will help staff build an affiliation with their company: celebrating achievements or success, sharing behaviors that align with your mission or values, insights into CSR efforts, diversity and inclusion stories or experiences, local causes the organization supports, or even stories about the end-consumer impact of your products and services.

#2. Ensure the user experience is up to par: along with our dwindling attention spans, there’s a decreasing tolerance for inferior performing technology: particularly among younger generations of digital natives entering our workforce.

The digital employee experience is now an established differentiator for organizations. If you don’t offer the right tools, platforms, and interactions from your technology stack, you’ll struggle to attract and retain talent; the same goes for our communications efforts.

If you’re pulling staff to your intranet and they find it difficult to use or navigate, with poor performing search, accessibility, or loading times, they won’t stay. Worse still, they may not come back. Place user experience on your internal comms attention retention to-do list.

#3. Promote relevant, associated, or priority content: if your employees come to read one message, there’s a valuable opportunity to signpost or draw them further into your internal comms. Built-in tools such as ‘Suggested content,’ ‘Recommended,’ or ‘Most Read/Most Popular’ can promote associated content, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

However, it’s not just about driving staff to read multiple pieces. If they’re there for a matter of minutes, there are still subtle, yet powerful, ways to tap into their attention.

Academics argue the ‘low involvement processing model’ of advertising is just as effective: that is, that our brains subconsciously consume content or subliminal messaging without the need to give it conscious attention.

Think about the prime real estate around your comms. Without overcrowding, is there an opportunity for a side banner, a button, a pop-up? Something in the eye line of employees that will be seen?

It may be as simple as including your values to the side of news articles, or a calendar event for the next employee forum at the top of each HR document. Subconsciously, they’ll take it in.

#4. Quality and trust: In its study on capturing attention across media types, PwC identified key factors that determined what drove individuals to devote attention to content. Among the top determinants included:

• Personal connection
• Exclusive content
• Putting time aside
• Fresh perspective
• Content worth talking about
• Makes my life better / inspires me
• Trust in content  

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, research also shows that employees rated their employer as ‘most trusted’ as a source of information around the crisis.

Ensuring that we deliver quality content is vital to nurture those connections and build trust among employees. Simple governance to ensure our communication is relevant, in date, well-presented, and in a language or tone our staff understands is a core foundation.

Consider formats that will grab employees’ attention and engage them, drawing on tried-and-tested types such as video, storytelling, or utilizing employee-generated content for an additional layer of connection and resonance.

All eyes on us

It’s clear that in today’s noisy, content-dominated world with its continuous interruptions and distractions, internal communicators have a challenging task on their hands. It’s not just enough to have the content available: we have to be deliberate and considered in how we catch our employees’ attention.

We’re up against some fierce competition. However, many leading solutions providers now recognize this growing challenge and offer consumer-grade experiences with built-in functionality to improve the overall digital employee experience and provide a competitive pull for staff attention.

When we couple this with an understanding of how to focus on and build empathetic, meaningful connections through the deliberate choices we make in our communications, we can cut through the noise: and get our messages heard.  

The post How to compete for – and retain – our employees’ attention appeared first on Interact software.

Getting feedback from all areas of your organization is fundamental in today’s workplaces.

Capturing feedback enables us to understand what our employees want and need. It can throw up red flags before they develop into more serious problems and provides much-needed insight into what’s happening at grassroots level.

It isn’t only for the benefit of employees, however. In a culture where staff can speak freely about the issues they care about, or simply vocalize when things aren’t right, organizations will see higher levels of motivation, engagement, innovation, growth: and more. Put simply, feedback may be the allusive silver bullet with the power to impact many of your business KPIs.

Feedback takes many forms: whether it’s an informal chat between manager and employee or the formal annual employee satisfaction survey. However, giving staff a platform and voice comes with its own challenges. How often should you request feedback? Who should you ask? Who should do the asking? What do you do with the responses?

Perhaps one of the biggest and most contentious questions, however, is that of anonymity.

Going under the radar

The case for going anonymous is strong. There are many mental blocks for employees when it comes to speaking out; particularly when what they need to say isn’t necessarily positive.

While the possibility of getting fired because of the feedback we give is next to null, an innate sense of self-preservation prevents us from saying things that could be perceived as wrong to someone in authority. We may fear judgment, or lack confidence in our own assessments. By nature, most people hold back.

With the protection of anonymity, then, managers can gain more honest information and insights from employees. With the freedom to express themselves, staff can put forward valuable insights and shed light on issues that may otherwise be unsaid or not noticed higher up. Often, putting in place anonymous feedback channels means important issues are brought forward quicker: and can be addressed before they become a greater source of unhappiness or conflict.

Protecting anonymity can address the pandemic of ‘wilful blindness’ that personifies many of our workplaces: where there is information we can, should, or do know, but choose not to.

Anonymity also levels the playing field. Those who are naturally less willing to speak out are more likely to engage, making the process more inclusive. With higher levels of participation, it’s easier to identify common trends or widespread issues.

With no identifying information, managers also remove potential for prejudice or bias: a risk when the opinions of participants with more seniority, length of service, or experience may otherwise be afforded more gravitas. Even in the most inclusive of workplaces, there are subtle power structures that can make it difficult to gather and implement suggestions; anonymity removes this barrier.

The argument against anonymity

Despite the potential gains, many managers shy away from the idea of removing names against feedback.

By discouraging transparency, there’s an argument that we can’t spark true, two-way communication. If we don’t understand where specific issues have come from, we’re not able to address them directly: the result can become a cloak-and-dagger hunt for the source or underlying distrust or suspicion around ‘whodunnit.’

Anonymity grants people freedom to speak their minds. However, there’s a danger it will escalate into something we see on the internet regularly: mean spiritedness.

Behind the safety of a keyboard, there’s a risk that employees will use it as an opportunity to gripe, complain, or vent. While valid negative feedback is an important part of the process, overly critical comments – particularly when offered without any solution or workaround – aren’t productive.

In fact, the lack of accountability offered by anonymous feedback can actually lead to less accurate feedback, according to research. Without the need or motivation to answer “thoughtfully and precisely,” accuracy is reduced – and “socially undesirable attitudes” also increase.

Removing identifying factors can also make it more difficult to pinpoint issues. If, for example, there’s an issue or concern impacting a particular department, office, or location, but these attributes have been stripped from feedback, it becomes near-impossible to pinpoint. It makes no sense to address a critique that doesn’t apply to an entire group: leaving management in a troubling situation.

We also have to ask ourselves whether anonymous feedback will, in fact, be truly anonymous. It’s the first doubt every member of staff will cast as they speculate about who’s reading the data and whether they’ll be able to tell who has written specific comments. The act of making something anonymous can also reinforce the idea that it’s risky to speak out: breeding distrust or skepticism.

So, should you go anonymous or not?

The answer isn’t actually black and white. Before designing your feedback processes, it’s worth asking a few vital questions:

• What is it that you’re looking to find out, or what is the goal of this exercise?
• Do you have the tools and means to capture, process, and safeguard anonymity?
• Are there feedback loops already in place in your organization, and do they work?
• If you choose to keep feedback anonymous, will you be able to act on it?
• Does your approach align with your culture and values as a business?
• Is anonymity realistically achievable, given the size and structure of your organization?

Based on the benefits and challenges, there’s a case to be made for a hybrid model: combining anonymous and non-anonymous feedback to cover all bases and offer sufficient opportunity for every voice to be heard.

Getting anonymous feedback loops right

Regardless of how we set out to obtain feedback, the entire exercise is wasted if you aren’t asking the right questions, evaluating the findings, and acting on the results.

When establishing your process, define the boundaries of anonymity for your employees. Will any identifiable characteristics be collected, such as gender, department, or location? If the results throw up issues or concerns, would the organization consider bringing in third-parties to help resolve it? Will the structure include free-form text answers, where staff identities may be more obvious? Be clear upfront with the extent and limitations of the process.

Define your objective up front and don’t be overly ambitious: trying to collect feedback or thoughts on a wide range of issues can be overwhelming to staff, and lose them in the process. It may be more effective to focus on a specific theme or topic, conducting shorter but more frequent surveys to measure sentiment over time.

Ensure you have the right tools and means to analyze the data you collect. This will dictate the format of your questions: choosing to go with an anonymous format may mean you use more quantitative, rather than qualitiative data formats, for example.

Consider the sensitivity of certain topics before electing for anonymous or non-anonymous feedback. If you’re looking to investigate potentially contentious or difficult issues, the additional protection of anonymity may encourage staff to speak out.

Will you share the results or findings with employees – and can this be done without compromising anonymity?

How will you communicate the actions you’ll be taking off the back of the findings – or the feedback you’re currently not able to act on, and why?

Remember that for staff, there is nothing more demoralizing than taking the time to provide frank feedback, only to feel it’s been effectively ignored by management who take no further action. Even the simple courtesy of acknowledging feedback and explaining why you’re unable to act will go a long way.

There’s no denying that anonymous feedback can present some additional challenges – however, it doesn’t deserve the bad rep many managers assign it. Managed considerately and with best practices followed, anonymous feedback can be a hugely empowering tool: for staff and management alike.

The post Should employee feedback be anonymous? appeared first on Interact software.

It’s the medium of the moment and shows no signs of stopping.

Video has been building momentum over the past decade in all its forms: from consumer marketing to social media and streaming through to corporate updates. Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year and more than 1 billion hours’ worth is consumed every day on YouTube.

It’s undeniably a winning content format.

It’s consumable, accessible, easily retained (viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, vs 10% when reading it in text) and thanks to the wonders of modern tech, it’s pretty also pretty easy to create.

Gone are the days of requiring a skilled videographer and in-house editing suite to pull together your internal business update. Grab a cellphone, and you’re good to go.

However, getting your message across and keeping your audience captivated still requires some creative thinking. How do you avoid your important content getting buried in the sea of digital noise?

How do you hack your videos and get them noticed?

Tip #1: Keep them succinct

The beauty of video is its ability to communicate a lot of content in a very short space of time. Couple that with today’s short attention spans (an average of just eight seconds, according to a Microsoft study. Ouch.) and it really does pay to keep things brief.

This is the approach and ethos of charity network Home-Start, which supports families with young children.

With over 13,500 home-visiting volunteers operating on its frontlines, the organization has a challenge when it comes to delivering corporate updates in a consumable format for non-desk-based and dispersed workers.

The non-profit devised a ’60 seconds on…’ video series. Leadership deliver key updates, messages, and information to the frontlines in the space of just 60 seconds, complete with a countdown clock. Workers know exactly how much time they need to commit, and complex messages are delivered in an engaging and personable way.

In this example, CEO Rob Parkinson talks about an important agreement review that affects the whole network:

The result? Important news gets noticed, knowledge and understanding increases – and leadership have the chance to get creative when it comes to getting their point across.

Tip #2: Need to go longer? Use timestamps to signpost

OK, so we started by saying keep it short: but sometimes, that’s not practical or feasible.

When you need to delve into the details or simply have a lot to say, make it easy for staff to get to get to the ‘good bits:’ that is, signposting them to the sections, points, or updates that they’re most interested in.

By picking out the time stamps for particular parts of a video and providing a brief description, employees can easily scan through to tune into the parts most interesting to them.

While this approach may go against some of our base instincts (we’ve invested time into creating this great content – we want staff to enjoy it ALL!) it’s proven to deliver higher levels of engagement.

This is the creative brainchild of this year’s ‘Best Use of Video’ winners of the Interact Excellence Awards, International Rescue Committee, who hold a 30-minute “HQ Huddle” each quarter. Updates from President and CEO, David Miliband, along with other stakeholders, are streamlined and recorded to video.

Timestamps then break up the updates into defined sections, enabling staff to skip forward to the organizational updates, stories, reports from the field, discussions, or Q&A elements they’re interested in:

With an average 94% satisfaction rate from watchers, it’s clearly a winning approach.

Tip #3: Caption or ‘letterbox’ your videos

A staggering 92% of US consumers view videos with the sound off on mobile.

While we’d hope our staff are taking the time to plug in their headphones and listen to our carefully crafted updates, you can ensure the message hits home by adding text to your videos.

Overlaying captions on your video not only adds wording for those electing to listen with sound off, but ensures accessibility across more diverse employee demographics. Even for those with sound on, it helps hammer home key points or fill in potential gaps when concentration wanes or watchers get some noise interference.

This is Travelex’s spin on captioning, used on a video about it’s changing brand and uniform:

To really make the message stand out, the social media video ‘hack’ of the moment is to letterbox: transferring a widescreen aspect ratio video or footage to a video format with a standard width, without cropping or changing the aspect ratio of the original footage. Or, simply put, changing the aspect to give you two black bars above and below the video.

The effect is having your video framed in a cinematic fashion, as though it’s in a letterbox. The resulting space above and below the video can then serve as your caption space. It’s eye-catching, cleaner, and text doesn’t get lost in the visual or detract from the video.

Tip #4: Get global reach with translation

With today’s dispersed and global workforces, it’s an added challenge if you have a single message that you need to present to multi-lingual audiences.

Although it’s an additional effort, it’s more than worth the investment to use a translation vendor or rope in a bi/multi-lingual speaker to ensure you’re reaching all audiences.

Whether you opt for translation captions or dub over the audio, it breaks down barriers and promotes inclusivity, ensures critical messages are understood and makes your message go just that little further.

This is another win for video gurus International Rescue Committee, who have three official languages for their organization: English, French, and Arabic. By adding translated captions to leadership updates, the organization has helped build a connected global culture.

Tip #5: Pick the right presenter

As many of us will know all-too-well, picking the right personality to front your comms can make a huge difference to how it’s received.

Ever zoned out listening to Mr. Monotone delivering a financial update packed with figures, graphs, projections? The job of an internal communicator can be challenging at times, particularly when the topic of choice isn’t the most captivating. Don’t make it harder for yourself with an underwhelming delivery.

Being selective about your speakers can transform the vibe of a video.

Yes, there are times when hearing from the Big Boss is the only option on the table; company-wide change, annual briefings, a crisis situation all call for the caption of the ship to step up. If, however, your leaders aren’t the most charismatic on camera, it’s time to look elsewhere for the ‘non-critical’ comms pieces.  

If you have more confident, outgoing, or even budding comedians among your staff, task them with taking on the role. Building a portfolio of champions to inject some life into your internal comms videos can lift them to a new level, capturing staff attention: and keeping it.

Tip #6: Embed ‘em

While videos are an easy temptation when you scroll past them in a social newsfeed, in the digital workplace, they often need some support to get them noticed and watched.

This includes ensuring they’re labeled up correctly and searchable, pushed out via an accessible platform such as your intranet, have an eye-catching title and description, and the means for staff to interact through sharing, liking, or commenting. Assigning a ‘holding’ title image that gives an indication of the content is also a quick-win that can incite intrigue and motivate your users to watch.

If you’re pushing out your videos through your intranet, why not embed them into a page or blog to benefit from the built-in page features?

Alongside vital features such as keywords, @mentioning, comments, or even simply having the video reside in a dedicated space, this also means you can add supporting content around the video. Whether that’s links, more detail, a form, a ‘call to action,’ or a simple summary to draw your viewers in.

Embedding a video that is hosted elsewhere, such as Vimeo or YouTube, also means you’re keeping users on your intranet: rather than sending them away using a link.

This increases the likelihood the video will be watched (fewer clicks or pages to go through, the greater the rate – we’re a lazy species by nature), keeps that all-important traffic on your intranet, and overcomes barriers posed by ‘restricted content,’ a challenge some IRC staff experience in regions where YouTube is restricted or banned. It’s a win-win-win.

Tip #7: Experiment with different formats such as InfoSketch, simple graphics, explainer videos, or text video

As marketing videos prove, there is a great deal more we can do beyond the standard ‘person speaking to the camera’ video.

You don’t need to be a professional videographer or animator to inject some variety into your internal communications videos. Giving your viewers some engaging content to consume can be as simple as a panning shot of your office or workers performing their roles, customers or consumers enjoying your product, or a snapshot of whatever topic you’re covering.

Or some cute cuddly animals will always go down a treat.

Some simple graphics or text videos also tend to go down well. Tools such as Canva or Animoto can help you create simple, digestible animations that simply present text, stock imagery/video, and basic graphics to help communicate your message. Take this celebratory birthday video Your Housing Group pulled together for its intranet, Youggle:

Or if you’re communicating new workflows, processes, or ‘how to’ guides, why not video the process in question on your screen, with text overlay to support with simple directions?

Some age-old classics to add to your video toolkit are the timelapse or high-speed video – for example, if you’re building or kitting out new office premises, working on a long-term project, or perhaps to showcase the end-to-end process of how your product is created.

IRC took their creativity to another level with the use of InfoSketch videos to bring updates to life for employees.

This graphics-heavy video format is user-friendly and engaging, and has proven a hugely popular way to connect with employees: resulting in higher retention and view rates.

If you have an in-house graphics wiz or artist, these can be done on a DIY basis: alternatively, there are some great third-party tools or organizations who specialize in bringing these videos to life.

Tip #8: Go ground-up

Unsurprisingly, we engage most with content, information, and people we identify with.

The key to turning up your engagement levels, then, is to mix our top-down business comms with bottom-up or employee-led content. When our colleagues or peers are in the line-up, there’s a higher level of curiosity and content is often more relatable.

Getting your staff on camera or showcasing the roles and efforts of those on the frontlines of your organization can also be a powerful tool to show appreciation, boost morale, and bring your mission, values, and brand to life.

This was the winning approach from Family Service League, who surprised grassroots staff when senior management would turn up, unprompted, to interview them as part of their ‘On the Record’ series.

It proved to be one of the most popular forms of content shared on their intranet, Hive (and shows a great use of the holding screen we talked about earlier to draw watchers in:

In this other great example from Your Housing Group, intranet champion and senior stakeholder Stephen – winner of this year’s Best Stakeholder award at the Interact Excellence Awards – facilitates a group interview with employees about what it’s like to work for the organization in its ‘Why YHG’ series.

Take your videos to the next level

Video calling, virtual quizzes, e-dates, digital conferences or events, webinar-style town halls, and more, were all forced into increased popularity as lockdown demanded creative use of video technology. We needed new ways to connect: and video was the answer.

There are some valuable takeaways for internal communicators from these innovative approaches, particularly as our workforces are set to be increasingly home-based going forward.

Video is a near-limitless medium, with fantastic potential. It can be applied to just about any messaging or audience. Accessible on almost all devices.

Don’t allow your internal communications video to become static. Revisit your approach often, look to trends and popular use in external marketing, speak to your audiences. With a little creative thinking, it can cut through much of today’s digital noise and ensure your content is seen, and understood.

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There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a shift in how organizations run their operations and manage their people.

Business continuity has only been made possible thanks to technology: those leveraging existing and new tools to meet new needs, adapt to unique and ever-changing circumstances, and connect employees during the outbreak.

With talk of the ‘new normal’ circulating and lockdown measures easing, it’s time to think seriously about what comes next.

No matter what stage your digital workplace was before the pandemic, it’s likely your organization needed to push through new tools, platforms, or processes at pace. Even those who were better prepared needed to adjust; and despite 70% of organizations either having a digital transformation strategy in place or actively working on one, it’s safe to assume the rapid turn of events probably sped up or changed those transformation initiatives from the original plan.

When we’re forced to move fast, compromises are needed. We may waiver normal governance, due diligence, or strategy, place a lower emphasis on the user experience, or need to leave gaps that can be filled when pressures lift. Many large organizations also struggled with increased network loads, security concerns, and more.

We’re also facing the reality that our ‘new normal’ may not match the environment or needs we identified before the pandemic. Workforces may continue working remotely, either full-time or in a hybrid format, for the foreseeable future. We’ll need to adapt our customer or client operations to meet new standards for service provision safely.

We’re not saying throw out the original roadmap entirely. However, it’s time to re-evaluate our priorities for the digital workplace going forward.

So, what do we need to consider?

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#1. New customer, client, and service user processes

Stark warnings from scientists over the threat of a ‘second wave’ and a lack of vaccine mean every organization has a social responsibility to minimize the risk of infection. We have to consider how to adapt operations and reduce close interactions or contaminated surfaces spreading the virus further.

Some industry sectors will have undeniable challenges even technology can’t overcome. Kurt Geiger has already stated it will quarantine its shoes for 24 hours after customers try them on, while Waterstones will put books under a 72-hour isolation period after being handled, in a bid to ‘allow the virus to die’. Some creative workarounds are going to personify the next phase.

However, technology can – and has – stepped up in areas including online shopping or service provision, virtual events, classes, or service sessions, technology-enabled self-service, and delivery or click-and-collect services as an alternative to in-store purchasing. Management of customer flow in physical spaces through pre-booking or slot allocation has also seen a sharp increase.

We’re also seeing a surge in the adoption of tools that will create socially-distanced experiences using technology; for example, the release of a new app, ‘Glug’, will support the hospitality industry by removing queues and reducing contact through cash or card exchange. More widespread use of existing technologies for takeout orders and delivery will be brought in-store; not new, but thanks to the pandemic, applied in a different context with wider adoption.

Many leaders have already broken down their customer touchpoints and crafted workaround solutions as part of business continuity planning.

Now is the time to ensure temporary solutions are made more stable for long-term provision, to identify gaps as social distancing restrictions lift, and to use technology to both inform staff of new processes or protocols and continually monitor solutions.

#2. ‘Contactless’ employee journeys

Of course, our responsibilities don’t stop with our customers. The focus on the provision of protective measures for employees has dominated headlines for some industries more than others – healthcare, care homes, and supermarkets in particular – but as more restrictions lift, there are further risks facing staff.

In particular, non-standard workers in tourism, travel, retail, and face-to-face service provision (such as hairdressing or physical therapy) face higher levels of risk due to exposure, but consistently see gaps in social protections that will be even more acute in the return to work. An inclusive, end-to-end assessment of needs to minimize risk is critical.

“In these tragic circumstances, there is a lesson for the future: the experience of [these] workers shows going digital means more than just shifting channels. It is about refitting our labour markets, social protection, and welfare systems and making sure everyone has the ability to realise the human right to social security in the post-Covid-19 digital era.”

– Dr Maria Mexi, International Labour Organization

Alongside minimizing contact points between customers and employees, we’ll need to focus on employee interactions and overhauling the traditional employee lifecycle to craft contactless employee journeys. This spans from recruitment and onboarding through to training, and from unlocking storefronts to managing break rooms or in-store cleaning and stock management.

Technology may not be the answer to all challenges, but can certainly be a supporting agent; whether that’s through effective spacing of bookings or internal rotas, ordering of protective equipment, virtual or distanced onboarding and training programs, or digital processes and workflows for day-to-day operations, such as access to premises, ordering or signing for supplies, or fulfilling HR protocols.  

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#3. Make rapid COVID-19 digital deployments more robust and sustainable

This is the big one, particularly for those organizations that brought forward deployments or made rapid decisions off-roadmap to meet an immediate, time-pressured need.

Making those new digital solutions fit for the long-term digital workplace requires some work, which is now possible as we have time to take stock.

Areas to address will include:

• Governance: solutions assembled in haste are unlikely to have defined governance, which can present challenges further down the line when content or information becomes buried. A retrospective job can still do the trick at this stage; assigning important elements including ownership, a defined information architecture, and guidelines around naming, tagging, review dates, and more.

• Security and compliance: without time for due diligence or risk assessment, there are potential risk points in newly overhauled systems and processes.
  
  If corners have been cut from necessity, or best practice ignored in the push to get new systems operational, it’s time to plug the gaps and ensure compliance.
  
  For those organizations that have shifted to device-led models to enable remote working, it’s time to establish cloud server-based solutions and roll out necessary compliance governance to get ownership of data back in the hands of organizations.

• Evaluate and streamline solutions: forced to adapt to new circumstances, many employees have experimented with new ways of connecting and collaborating, seeing a surge in the Bring Your Own App economy.
  
  Mastering this growth in shadow IT will call for an evaluation of what has worked successfully and identifying where duplicated platforms now need streamlining. There may be tools that were considered previously but not adopted large scale; one of the side benefits of the pandemic has been enforced agility which means many barriers have been overcome.
  
  If your remote teams are now using Teams, Zoom, and Slack for virtual meetings, what is the right solution for your organization going forward? What are the security concerns of shadow-IT solutions that have been rolled out?

Keeping things simple works short-term, but is there untapped potential residing in your new (or existing) digital workplace tools?

• Refine UX: making user journeys seamless, enjoyable, visually appealing, and simple to use probably didn’t rank top of the priority list when facing rapid change and resource pressures.
  
  Governance may address some shortcomings; but now is the time to look at elements that can transform the user experience such as design, accessibility, functionality, and more. If there are multiple solutions on the table for potential eviction, this needs to be one of the priorities.

• Build out features: with speed to launch the top priority for many organizations looking to kit out newly remote workforces, skeletal or basic renditions are often the default option for digital tools.
  
  Keeping things simple works short-term, but is there untapped potential residing in your new (or existing) digital workplace tools? We’ve seen many intranet projects, for example, launching with business-critical functionality in the first phase. Additional features can now be considered for the second phase of development.
  
• Upskill and train employees: while many employees have learned during the rollout of tools essential for business continuity, few organizations have had the time or means to deliver comprehensive training on new tools or processes.
  
  By upskilling staff, you’ll ensure greater adoption and engagement of tools, adherence to governance and best practices, and address skill gaps that can trigger high volumes of tickets or potential security and compliance errors. Ensure you’re also identifying additional administrators, content authors, or support staff for effective management long-term.

While a sense of ‘making do’ is acceptable in the short-term, bringing solutions up to enterprise-grade level is paramount for long-term performance and stability.

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#4. Evolve digital workplaces for long-term hybrid working models

Initial lockdown proceedings saw many organizations roll out large-scale remote working with little understanding of how long it might last. Now we’re months into the process, research and anecdotal evidence suggest it’s here to stay: even beyond the pandemic.

It’s time to make those digital workplace models more robust.

Naturally, organizations will differ in terms of their long-term objectives for working models; some will never be the same as before.

Regardless of where on the decentralization decision framework an organization falls or will strive to return to – fully or partially remote, or a hybrid approach – the tools and platforms that support staff working from home need to work in harmony with in-house solutions, supporting both ways of working intuitively and simply.

Staff must be able to move from one state to another without jarring their overall digital employee experience: calling for considerations around accessibility, access, integrations, and authentication.

Working remotely should be as simple as working within the office, and vice-versa; centralized and cloud-based document management, easy access to information, and the ability to log into all applications regardless of location are vital.

In the same vein, creating the same spaces and ways of working that we see in the office is essential in the digital realm. Many have mastered variations of this, creating digital spaces for a variety of collaboration models or ways of working, as Sam Marshall explores in his article here.

The question is whether our organizations can progress to a hybrid variation, with in-office and virtual meetings taking place without any hindrance to productivity, engagement, or experience. Evaluating existing digital workplace tools for their effectiveness in both scenarios and addressing gaps must inform the “new normal” digital workplace strategy.

#5. Resilience and agility to futureproof against potential incidents

Even those best-prepared for crisis response couldn’t have anticipated the scale and impact of the pandemic. Some may have found themselves completely under-prepared.

The ability to respond rapidly, deploy new models, tools, or processes quickly, and empower wide-scale remote working to ensure business continuity is what will set successful organizations apart long-term.  

Although projections for the pandemic recovery vary, the possibility of future spikes or further periods of lockdown is probable. Instilling effective response models and agile digital workplace solutions with make for smoother, stable transitions between different states.

In practical terms, this means ensuring sufficient access and permissions for staff who may need to work from home, tools for rapid response communications, and digital feedback loops for employees to connect with managers, teams, and the organization as a whole.

Accessibility, for example, through the use of a communications app for frontline staff, needs to be on the radar.

Internally, digital processes and workflows for reporting, tracking, and isolating cases of COVID-19 should also be a part of your next-stage digital workplace planning.

If a staff member needs to self-isolate, can you identify potential contacts, those staff members who are considered ‘high risk,’ and ensure the necessary tasks, information, and projects can be seamlessly handed over to another member of staff?

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#6. Developing our virtual cultures

The pandemic has shown that one of the greatest gaps in our existing digital workplaces is the social, interpersonal element that connects staff both to the organization, and one another.

Although cited as one of the greatest challenges for remote workers long before the pandemic, few organizations showed the ability to translate the often intangible aspect of “culture” into a virtual space.

With lockdown measures in place across the globe, we had no choice but to get creative. Organizations and staff alike sought to build meaningful connections, re-create company spirit or team camaraderie, and find ways of bringing the social into digital workspaces.

The corresponding positive impact on productivity, morale, engagement, and more, makes the case for investing in communicating our cultures clear.

As we embrace remote working for the long term, it’s time to think about how digital workplaces can support through embedding social tools, rich content, the means to share your mission, values, and success, to recognize employees, and give greater visibility of leadership.

A centralized intranet that embodies features to connect staff to their organization will prove a crucial tool in facilitating, nurturing, and communicating those virtual cultures going forward. Further still, they can create cohesion between physical and remote cultures: breaking down the siloes that have historically characterized the centralized vs. remote workforce.

We can never go back to exactly how we were before.

It’s not intended as a message of foreboding: in fact, it presents an opportunity for many.

We’re in an enforced process of rapid digital transformation, where many of the traditional ‘blockers’ to change have been removed for us. We’ve had to change, move forward, and apply innovative workarounds in order to drive business continuity in extraordinary circumstances.

For some, the pandemic exposed some potential ‘areas for improvement’ or gaps in their digital workplaces. For others, it was a serious wake-up call.

We started with a necessity to respond to the outbreak crisis. Now, we’re applying a long-term mindset, with staff and organizations alike questioning the necessity for office work and the threat of further outbreaks on the horizon to boot. It’s clear investment in our digital roadmaps will more than deliver a return.

Simply put, the next phase for our digital workplaces is the most important yet: and we must invest.

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Times of change or crisis often see Internal Communications come into its own.

While the value of the profession has been on the upward trend over the past decade, the pandemic response has accelerated its advancement: rapidly. Never before has the demand and importance of clear, effective, and informative internal communication been so critical.

Now ranking on the management agenda for most CEOs, internal communication is being thrust into the spotlight. IC teams tasked with responding to the crisis are playing a leading role not only in delivering crucial leadership messaging but in shaping it: given a voice in critical discussions and strategic decision-making.

The first phase of the response has been intense and continually changing. It’s pushed through new methods, channels, and audience demands at pace. The messaging has changed almost daily – even several times a day. Internal Communications has had to remain quick on its feet, rising to challenges we’ve never seen outside the ‘worst-case scenario’ crisis comms plans stashed in back-office cabinets.

But as we move into the second phase – one set to span several months, and likely in a wave pattern rather than a linear one – what will happen to the role and responsibilities for internal communications?

What are the next priorities for the profession, as global economies begin to ease out of lockdown?  

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The role of internal communications during ‘phase one’

The Institute of Internal Communications (IoIC) conducted a survey to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the profession. Its results show the scale of demand and change we see anecdotally first-hand.

Unsurprisingly, 71% of respondents saw a significant increase in workload and capacity in the immediate response phase.

Among the increased responsibilities, internal communications were tasked with distributing the initial crisis and public health response in line with government recommendations, outlining changes as lockdown rolled out, and the initiation of remote working and communicating new processes to maintain business continuity.

A focus on staff wellbeing and productivity has seen a roll-out of engagement, mental health, and ‘morale boost’ communications, designed to combat isolation and connect staff to their organization and one another.

Providing that essential link saw a 49% improvement in employee engagement with comms; by combining accessible corporate messaging with digital tools for employees to connect, we’ve seen a measurable impact on morale.  

83% of internal communicators feel the crisis has positively impacted trust in communication as a result; 90% believe it will have a positive (58%) or very positive (32%) impact on the profession as a whole.

In fact, research by Edelman shows that ‘my employer’ is the most trusted institution by individuals when it comes to a source for information about the crisis, over and above government and media sources.

In eight out of 10 countries surveyed, “my employer” is seen as better prepared for the virus than “my country.” This finding is confirmed by the high trust in “my employer” to respond effectively and responsibly (62 percent) to the virus.

The added value of organizational respect for the function and a large-scale experiment in remote working now means Internal Communications has an irrefutable business case for the right technology and the function as a whole.

What happens next?

The term, ‘the new normal’ is now echoing across industries worldwide, as many nations come out the other side of the peak and begin easing lockdown restrictions. But what is the ‘new normal?’ And what does it mean for internal communications?

This second, more prolonged phase is expected to last until a vaccination is available, something many leading scientists don’t believe will come into widespread circulation until 2021.

However, it doesn’t mean we’re facing a prolonged state of lockdown. Instead, the focus is on containing and managing the spread: enabling early detection, reporting, and isolation of new cases, and reducing the risk of a ‘second wave’.

In practical terms, despite differences between countries or regions, this will be in the form of a gradual, phased reopening of public life and economies, with added measures to prevent spread.

The ‘new normal’ will naturally differ by industry, and many expect it to deliver several additional, smaller ‘waves’ of COVID-19 as social distancing measures lift. There may be further shorter or regionalized lockdowns where cases spike.

Organizations will need to redefine their working models and service provision and ensure they can continue to operate with additional safety measures in place.

While some office spaces will reopen, the return will likely be phased. Research also suggests there will continue to be widespread remote working models in place long after the crisis subsides, as many reap the benefits. It will take time to reach pre-COVID productivity or demand levels – for some industries, there may be a lasting impact that will forever change how they operate.

The ‘new normal,’ then, isn’t going to look like it was pre-COIVD-19.

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What are the priorities for Internal Communications in ‘phase two’?

It may be easy to assume that Internal Communications can ‘hang up their hats’ as the first crisis phase draws to a close, but in fact, the function will be even more critical over the coming months. We can’t lose our momentum or afford to become complacent: if anything, internal communication will be the essential foundation of how we navigate what comes next.

The ‘new normal’ will be a significant change management project for all industries, both public and private sector. Internal Communications has both a responsibility and an opportunity to make a difference in its roll-out.

As we move forward, organizations will need:

• Continued and frequent communication of the ‘return to work’ or ‘new normal’ processes and what that looks like for our organizations
• Coordination of the reopening and increase of global operations
• Change and continuing evaluation of new protocols and procedures for safe working, ensuring these are communicated to staff effectively and all issues addressed
• Establish in-house detection, reporting, and isolation protocols for new cases among employees or the supply chain
• A re-evaluation and fine-tuning of internal communications and employee lifecycle tools and processes to meet the demands of a long-term remote workforce
• To check-in and listen to employees as part of the process of change
• Sustained visibility of leadership and a focus on re-building/sustaining organizational cultures
• To demonstrate corporate citizenship as both staff and wider communities adjust; whether that’s through support and flexibility around financial health, childcare, or charitable support

Right now, we don’t necessarily have all the answers or information we need. As with phase one, organizations and Internal Communications will need to remain agile and continue to learn and evolve as they go. Staff will continue to look to their employers as a source of trust for clarity around government updates and changes.

Organizations and Internal Communications will need to remain agile and continue to learn and evolve as they go.

It’s also important that we build on those tools, processes, and channel changes rolled out during phase one. Many were deployed under intense time and resource pressures, designed to meet an immediate need. As our audience needs change and the ‘new normal’ takes hold, it’s time to identify and plug the gaps, refine the overall experience, and ‘fine-tune.’

What must internal communications functions do?

As with any significant organizational change, Internal Communications must approach the next stage with careful planning and understanding of audience needs. Outside of ‘crisis response mode,’ now is the time to invest in longer-term and strategic thinking around how best to support your organization and its employees.

If you have an existing internal communications plan, it’s time to revisit and revise it, aligning with the exceptional circumstances we can expect in the coming months. This can be broken down into the following eight focus areas:

#1. Key stakeholders

Establish who needs to be involved in defining, shaping, approving, or delivering internal communications going forward. Contingencies for absence, should senior representatives need to isolate or are unwell, should factor into this list.

Do you have an existing ‘rapid response’ team? Are the representatives in it still the right stakeholders, should a further lockdown phase or spike in cases occur?

Determine not only how stakeholder needs now differ from before, but their capacity to contribute as they respond to the new pressures of reopening or reestablishing ‘business as usual’ practices. Although this next phase will spread over several months, things will frequently change: requiring quick decision making and response cycles.  

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#2. Key activities

What activities or campaigns can you use to deliver information or change comms to your workforce? Look not only as those campaigns that have worked well in recent months but if they still have value in the newer circumstances.

Many organizations have moved from daily status updates to weekly, for example; initial FAQ or feedback channels for staff may be replaced with bi-weekly pulse surveys to gauge sentiment, while leadership updates need to step up as changes roll out.

If you have existing activities lined up in your comms plan that are considered non-critical or surplus to organizational needs, given the current circumstances, consider benching these – or re-defining how they look to make them relevant to staff.  

#3. Goals and objectives

Longer-term objectives such as driving employee advocacy or pushing up your eNPS score may need to take a backseat. Get your organizational response right at this point, and you’ll reap the rewards in other ways long-term in any case.

Consider what you need to get across to employees and how you want them to respond – whether that’s through action or sentiment. Look back to those organizational priorities for phase two and set out specific goals your comms needs to achieve. How do they align with overall business objectives for the coming months? How can your efforts support this further?

#4. Resource & budget

Understandably, many organizations have pulled back non-essential budgetary spend against the economic uncertainty of COVID-19. However, survey results show us the board-level understanding of the value of internal comms is at an all-time high.

Assessing your cost structure and resource requirements to meet goals – even if this is through third-party or part-time resource – may be needed. Building a business case for additional support may seem daunting in the current climate, but given the significant role IC has to play, it’s justified.  

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#5. Key messages and stories

You’ve defined your goals and objectives, but it’s essential to break that down into the key messages you’re looking to get across to employees. This may be the details of new procedures or protocols for working, or the support on offer from your organization, for example.

Consider what message should be company-wide or tailored to specific employee groups, who owns or should be the ‘face behind’ those messages, and drill down into what falls under the ‘need to know’ and ‘useful to know’ to ensure you’re not overwhelming employees. Prioritize for each moment.

#6. Communication tools and channels

The rise of video conferencing and virtual meetings reflects our changed models of working since the outbreak. Organizations and individual employees alike are trialing new platforms and ways to connect, adapt BAU processes, or obtain and share information. Re-assessing your digital workplace and the channels used to reach employees will be a big part of your plan.

Although most communicators will likely have already adapted to new tools or methods, we must continue to evaluate their reach, success, and value as changes roll out. How will staff access information during each stage of the next phase? Which channels can be improved or utilized more effectively? Are there opportunities you’re missing?

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#7. Target personas

The circumstances, roles, and needs of your internal audience have shifted significantly in recent months. They’ll change further still as we move through the next phase.

Take the time to understand how their needs differ, their primary concerns or challenges, how they’ll consume information, and which points along the next phase will be most important to them.

Go beyond basic demographics – such as department or location – and consider those more niche persona groups we’re seeing in the wake of the crisis, such as furloughed staff, working parents, or those with high-risk or key worker family members. Even bullet-pointed ‘key considerations’ for each persona can ensure your comms hit the right spot going forwar

#8. Track and measure

The appreciation of Internal Communications may be on the up, but this doesn’t remove the need to define and track success or outcomes.

Doing so not only enables us to demonstrate value to the C-suite and back business cases for continued investment; it ensures we’re learning and adjusting our approach as we go. Metrics such as employee trust in leadership, sense of feeling informed about change, or the number of health and safety concerns will now outrank traditional benchmarks such as employee Net Promoter Scoring or engagement.

Although there are many elements to consider, keeping your new internal communications plan simple will not only help you get up and running, but mean you’re able to adapt and evolve it as the situation develops.

Most importantly, take the time to listen to those you’re looking to reach: your employees. Making assumptions about staff needs can undermine communications efforts as key messages are misinterpreted or deemed inappropriate at a particular moment.

Top takeaways for internal communicators

The strategic role and organizational value of Internal Communications is on the rise; efforts during phase one have shown its vital importance. We have our ‘seat at the table’, and the need for clear, effective, and continuing communication is clear.

Phase two will undeniably bring a new wave of demand and challenges. However, the impact goes far beyond this.

Internal Communications has helped shape the organizational response to the coronavirus pandemic. How we interact with staff directly influences our employer and external brand; how we’re perceived, our ability to continue delivering vital products and services, or operate under extraordinary conditions. Internal communication is a driving force behind productivity, morale, engagement, customer service provision, health and safety management, and much more.

Those actions we take today will have a lasting impact for many, many years to come.

In turn, informed, engaged, and loyal staff transfer those same attributes to our customers and consumers. They’ll drive and support our recovery.

In the months and years to come, both staff and consumers will reflect on how organizations responded to their employees’ needs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It will become a defining benchmark for employers and brands alike.

Those internal communicators who have risen to the challenges and opportunities offered by these circumstances will continue as strategic partners in effective employee lifecycle management long-term. We can expect a growth in roles and responsibilities continuing long after the impact of the pandemic eases.

Perhaps the most vital takeaway is to remember that those actions we take today will have a lasting impact for many, many years to come.

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The post The changing role of Internal Communications after lockdown appeared first on Interact software.

At a time when our digital workplaces are rising to the greatest test we’ve seen yet, the Interact Excellence Awards offer an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of those demonstrating pioneering approaches to connecting their staff and organizations through the power of technology.

The Excellence Awards celebrate their 10^th anniversary this year and continue the tradition of uncovering the stories from behind closed doors of organizations around the globe.  

This year’s announcement comes later than planned, as plans were postponed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s clear that while the last twelve months has brought many changes, the past few months have accelerated new approaches to agile working, crisis communication, and how organizations connect staff and information from afar. The intranet has been at the center of the response effort for many.

Although this year’s entries were submitted before the crisis, they all demonstrate a deep understanding of both business and user needs, the ability to remain agile and respond to demand, and the application of strategic thinking to meet a diverse range of challenges. In today’s climate, those are stories worth sharing.

“Every year, our customers continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible,” remarks Kris Morrison, VP of Customer Success of Interact.

“At a time when the value and role of the digital workplace have never been more critical, it’s essential we recognize the efforts of those driving change and delivering exceptional results for their organization and its employees.”

As this year’s entrants demonstrate, success comes under many guises. Featuring over 20 organizations from across nine different industries, the winners showcase the true potential of the digital workplace.

All winners were announced LIVE at our Excellence Awards night. To dig a little deeper into their entries and discover what landed these organizations in the spotlight, download the free Awards Storybook.

The Awards

Entries to this year’s awards span seven categories, with all entrants also considered for the Judges’ Award for Innovation: a category dedicated to those deserving unique recognition for innovative or creative use of the intranet to address more complex or niche challenges in the organization.

Best Launch

Success of an intranet goes beyond flicking the ‘on’ switch.

Driving adoption from day one can be a game-changer for long-term success: this award recognizes those who have taken considered and creative approaches to motivating their users to log in and embrace their new intranets.

Winner: AMC Networks

It would have been easy to overuse TV show content and lose the message of their new intranet, but AMC struck a superb balance between purpose and uniting factors to break down regional silos. 

Simon Dance – Judge

Highly Commended: AJ Bell

Highly Commended: PlayStation Europe

Best Stakeholder

They’re the ones who can make or break a project before it’s even out the starting blocks: responsible for financial backing, removing cultural blockers, assisting with planning or strategy.

What sets an award-winning stakeholder apart, however, is their role in galvanizing support and driving adoption by leading from the front.

Winner: Your Housing Group

Very impressive to see their People Plus Director be such a leading champion for Youggle, the new intranet. Can’t ask for more than asking that key leaders are consistently one of the top influencers!

Beth Gleba, Judge

Highly Commended: Home-Start

Highly Commended: International Rescue Committee

Best Offline Worker Strategy

Hardest to reach yet most important to engage, our ‘offline’ workers – those non-desk-based, on the frontlines, out on the road – present the ultimate internal communications challenge. Those excelling in this category have devised inclusive and accessible ways to connect with all their staff, regardless of role, device, or location.

Winner: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

The healthcare industry is always challenged to engage offline workers simply because the nature of their employees’ jobs requires them to be “offline” as they care for patients or perform other duties. Imperial has taken its intranet to a whole new level in providing access both in and off-network, digitizing manual forms, and also creating online community!

Elizabeth Mull – Judge

Highly Commended: Equinox

Highly Commended: SERVPRO Industries, Inc

Best Use of Video

Our lives and workplaces are dominated by digital noise. Video has risen through the ranks as the internal communications tool of choice, providing a creative, succinct, and digestible format for getting the message through when it matters. This year’s line-up show true ingenuity in the use of this medium through their intranets.

Winner: International Rescue Committee

The IRC clearly knows that video is number one in terms of content! It is great they used videos for a variety of topics to engage employees: from how-tos, to leadership forums, to even vlogs. Even better, special attention is producing the videos in a variety of formats and the structure of them is user-friendly through the scannable time-stamps and tagging.

Elizabeth Mull – Judge

Highly Commended: Home-Start

Highly Commended: Your Housing Group

Best Design

Good design has a far more profound effect than just creating great first impressions. It can be the dividing line between adoption, or abandonment: and is crucial to any intranet project.

Importantly, this year’s winners recognize that it’s not only the look and feel that defines great design, but the complete user experience: building platforms their users love to use and return to.

Winner: Equinox

The Equinox intranet ties a thoroughly modern look and feel with a good balance of news and task-oriented content on the homepage, and a thoughtful site navigation. Additionally, the intranet aligns its news layouts with its highly visual social media brand.

Ephraim Freed – Judge

Highly Commended: Honeycomb Group

Highly Commended: AMC Networks

Best Success Story

What makes the ultimate success story? Success comes in many different forms, but those leading the way in this category have gone above and beyond to achieve change, realize goals, and deliver tangible results for their organizations and staff.

Winner: PlayStation Europe

Wow! What a transformation in your site! Incredible job – and your measurement findings speak for themselves. The #1 reason why you won this category in my book is your ability to measure the success of your site, not only through metrics (which are obviously important), but you include statements on your surveys that help you measure behaviors as well. And, positively influencing behaviors should be what every communicator uses as the #1 measure of success. You’ve got the one-two punch nailed: Metrics plus behaviors/attitudes. Job well done! Congrats!

Cindy Crescenzo – Judge

Highly Commended: HIMSS

Highly Commended: Countrywide PLC

Essential Intranet

How do you make the intranet a business-critical tool, embedded into the very culture of your organization?

Entries in this category demonstrate the true value of an intranet as part of their digital workplace: utilizing it to support top-level business objectives, aid day-to-day operations, address critical challenges, and more.

Winner: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Hospital intranets with busy frontline workers are really difficult to implement and get right. I was impressed with the way the intranet was really focused on the needs of employees, including access to clinical documents that directly supports patient care.

Steve Bynghall – Judge

Highly Commended: Travelex

Highly Commended: PlayStation Europe

Judges’ Award for Innovation

Innovation and creativity are at the heart of any successful intranet. This category celebrates those ideas and executions that deserve special recognition: whether for ingenuity, effort, or application, selected by our independent panel of judges.

Queens Cross Housing Association

So impressed by this terrific intranet for 200 employees, especially the fantastic work streamlining the navigation and making the site simpler for users.

Beth Gleba – Judge

University Federal Credit Union

Crowdsource your class is an excellent example of an intranet applied in an innovative way to a very specific business case, yielding tangible results.

Sam Marshall, Judge

Voyage Care Ltd

Incredible job! Your new intranet clearly reflects the needs/culture of your diverse employees! I love the research and leader integration to help encourage adaptation of the new site. As well as the ease of accessibility. That’s key for anyone who has a high percentage of employees who are deskless/in the field.

Cindy Crescenzo – Judge

Everyday Loans

The Everyday Loans team have truly taken a staff-first approach to their intranet. The visually engaging navigation, strong brand throughout, and use of video are excellent at driving engagement. Most importantly, they show an understanding that it’s not just about what they put on their intranet, but the journey the user takes to get what they need, that truly delivers results. I love the Idea Jar forum too.

Simon Dance – Judge

Manchester Metropolitan University

MMU has launched a new intranet that is not only a source of company news and information, but one where employees can go for their overall well-being and development. Top that off with digitizing printed support materials and creating a platform for ongoing communication, MMU has an intranet that is essential to all aspects of their employees’ work lives!

Elizabeth Mull – Judge

Kris Morrison, VP of Customer Success, concludes:

“At a time of tremendous uncertainty and change, a company intranet is more than a communications tool. It’s at the heart of how an organization comes together.

“It’s a privilege to be the driving force behind these projects: and as the working landscape shifts in response to the crisis, we will be here, continuing to support our customers in rising to the challenge.

“I hope these stories provide an opportunity to not only take stock of what these organizations have achieved but also help inspire us to continue taking our digital workplaces to the next level.

“My personal congratulations to all the winners and highly commended finalists of this year’s awards.

The post Celebrating digital workplace innovation: winners of the 2020 Interact Excellence Awards appeared first on Interact software.