An internal communications strategy establishes corporate objectives for interacting with workers and outlines the tasks necessary to attain those objectives. Your internal communications strategy serves as a road map for achieving success in internal communications.

Building an IC plan takes time and effort, but it ensures that you have clearly defined actions to follow every step of the way.

Developing an internal communications strategy is one of the most effective ways for a company to boost employee engagement and, as a result, employee retention, acquisition, and productivity.

Internal communication that is improved not only enhances employee performance but also benefits the larger organizational culture, according to statistics.

A well-thought-out internal communications strategy lays out how teams and departments should communicate with one another in order to achieve the company's goals.

What Are the Benefits of Having a Good Internal Communication Plan?

It's simple: good internal communications planning ensures that your staff remains engaged at work. In comparison to less engaged companies, the engaged staff is much more productive, more creative, and thus provides greater client CSAT levels.

Employees function (and feel) better at work when they are truly involved in what they are doing, according to a ton of studies.

Let's look at some numbers and statistics.

• Employees who are more engaged generate 20% more money than those who are less interested.
• According to Harvard Business Review, employee engagement is one of the most significant aspects of a company's success, with 71% of managers of companies with 500 or more people believing it is one of the most important components for a company's success.
• According to Culture IQ research, companies with engaged employees perform 200 percent better than those without.
• If you boost your employee engagement investment by just 10%, you may increase your profitability per employee by $2,400 per year.
• By spending $500,000 on its staff, Fabick CAT saw a 600 percent return on investment.
• According to Gallup research, disengaged employees cost corporations $450-550 billion each year.
• Employees who are engaged are 87 percent less likely to depart an organization than those who are disengaged.

How Do We Develop an Internal Communication Strategy That Is Simple to Follow?

Answering These 8 Simple Questions Is Where We Begin.

Communication strategy plans are required for a variety of reasons.

They will, for example, assist staff with forthcoming changes, address major corporate or industry concerns, and provide a roadmap for putting strategy into reality.

A communication strategy should be used if you need to convey a message to a group of people or an entire company. It will teach you how to correctly transfer information and how to best communicate your idea so that it is understood.

The framework that follows can be used to develop your internal communication strategy. This method, which is based on eight questions, is a tried and true technique to begin developing your internal communications strategy.

1. What's Your Current Situation?

You should examine your current position before beginning to build a new internal communications plan.

To put it another way, assess the qualities and weaknesses of your present internal communication strategy. How near did your previous strategy get you to your objectives? Did you have one at all? Even if you don't have a plan yet, you should think about the following:

1.1 How far along are you in terms of achieving your internal communication objectives?

Make a note of your past internal communications planning's strengths and limitations. If you don't already have a strategy or plan in place, you should start by figuring out what you want to accomplish in the future.

1.2 Run an internal audit.

Before making any adjustments, examine what is currently working and what is not. Hiring a consultant to assist you with the audit would be quite beneficial because they will present you with a new and objective viewpoint.

1.3 Create and run a company survey.

Surveying your employees is a simple and efficient technique to get their feedback. AgilityPortal takes a unique approach to surveys, with a large library of questions and themes designed specifically for entertainment.

With a large collection of "just for fun" questions and themes, AgilityPortal takes a unique approach to surveys.

1.4 Sample group interviews.

In a vast corporation, it's practically hard to speak with everyone. As a result, group interviews are a good technique to get user input. You may receive a 360-degree view of your organization by speaking with a group that includes representatives from all teams and divisions.

1.5 Gather measurable data.

Do you use software to keep track of internal communications? If you don't, you'll need to look for a tool that can give you anything from social interaction analytics like views, comments, and likes to survey results reports.

1.6 Compare results based on time frames.

You'll be able to compare the results of your internal communications plans from 2018, 2019, and beyond if you have an insightful and detailed description of your current position.

2. What Are Your Internal Communication Goals?

 To improve your internal communications strategy, you'll need to know two things:

• Where do you want to be?

• Do you want to boost employee engagement so you can reap the benefits of lower absenteeism and higher-quality work? Or do you wish to improve employee motivation and modify their behavior?

 What steps must you take to make it a reality?

It's possible that you'll need to hire an outside auditor to show you what improvements you need to make to improve your outcomes. Alternatively, you might need a new communication platform that allows your company to work more like a community.

After you've answered these two questions, you may move on to the internal communications strategy itself, which is your company's vision for the following 3/6/12 months.

To accomplish so, you'll need a set of objectives and goals to work toward. They should be relevant to how your company's employees and departments communicate.

Before you start making goals, there are three things you need to know.

• 1.Having a vision is the first step toward achieving effective goals.
• 2.Make sure your objectives have a deadline.
• 3.Goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound) are the most effective.

3. Who Is Your Internal Communications Strategy's Target Audience?

Your organization has a variety of teams and departments that you need to address in your strategy, and you can't communicate to them all using the same language.

After all, your audience might consist of:

• Senior executives – An endorsement from a senior executive will validate your efforts and promote participation from other key executives.
• Key stakeholders – These are the people who are most likely to be impacted by company choices.
• Members of stakeholder' teams – colleagues of your most important stakeholders.
• Experts in the subject matter – Individuals in the HR department, for example, can tell if your internal communications plan will succeed.
• Company support – Organize meetings with people from the IT, finance, HR, and other departments to see if your project is realistic.
• Local representatives – If your organization has multiple locations, bringing in people from other regions can help you come up with new ideas and gain valuable feedback on how well your plan fits into various work settings.

4. What's the information You're Trying to Spread?

How do you make sure the tale you're trying to tell will keep your employees' attention?

Begin by developing your fundamental concept, commonly known as the elevator pitch: a concise overview of the most important points you want to convey. It's preferable if it's short. The details can then be added and built upon.

If you're having trouble coming up with a specific message, consider these three questions.

What do your employees want to know (and need to know) in order to be productive?

• What do your employees want to know (and need to know) in order to be productive?
• What exactly are you attempting to accomplish? Communication that is more rapid? Do you want further information?
• What information do you want to get out to the various departments?

You'll have a wonderful framework for crafting your message into your internal communications plan once you've answered these questions.

Internal communications planning, on the other hand, should not be viewed simply as a means of disseminating additional information to your employees.

Two-way communication should be established and encouraged. If information is solely communicated from the top down, your employees will be uninterested.

Your staff must be able to respond to information, express concerns, and share ideas without fear of being censored.

If this is a new concept for your firm, make sure that everyone understands how to communicate and that they are free to express their true feelings.

It's critical to give your employees the tools and outlets they need to feel empowered and express themselves. It's preferable to have a few well-managed forums rather than a lot of unmanaged ones.

Allow your staff to communicate in a more relaxed manner. In any organization, informal peer communication occurs on a daily basis. Make no attempt to silence it.

Instead, create a workplace culture that encourages everyone to express their true feelings. As a result, your company's morale and employee engagement will skyrocket.

Create an anonymous forum if you want to truly empower your employees to voice their opinions.

People will be less afraid to speak up if they can do so anonymously, and your corporate culture will improve dramatically. Not to mention, you'll receive a great deal of useful feedback.

5. What's your plan for internal communication?

 The specific techniques you're employing to reach your goals and objectives are known as strategies. Most communicators, on the other hand, make the error of jumping from setting goals to deploying methods without first developing a plan.

Always consider the larger picture and try to figure out which technique is best for your goals and objectives. The best way to achieve this is to test, test, then test some more. You may narrow down your objectives to the ones that are most successful for your firm after you have particular data.

You may do a few things to ensure that your plan is constantly on point:

• On a regular basis, review your internal communications strategy plan. High-performing businesses meet on a regular basis to assess and improve their strategies. It's a fantastic approach to see which aspects of your internal communications strategy are functioning and which ones need to be modified.
• Consistent planning is essential. Your strategy should be consistent across all of your organization's communication channels and tools. As a result, you won't have to adjust your communication style every time you use a new tool.
• Examine your channels of communication. It's essential to remember that there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. You should investigate which channels your target audience prefers. Most of the time, the channel that works for remote workers won't function as well for conventional office workers.
• Data on internal communications should be measured. Keep track of how successfully your organization's communications are performing. Examine e-mail open rates, click-through rates, and survey comments in particular.
• Disseminate your internal communication strategy. When designing your communication plan, you want to be as collaborative as possible and enlist the help of the proper people.
• Experiment with new channels and campaigns at your pleasure. Don't be afraid to try something new, such as establishing new communication methods.

While strategies outline the steps you'll take to reach your internal communication goals, tactics detail the precise instruments you'll use to carry out your plan.

6. What Channels and Strategies Should You Use?

Once you have a strategy in place, you should create strategies that help you achieve your objectives as quickly as possible.

When developing your strategies, keep in mind:

• Communication channels, both old and new.
• Roles for key members are among the details to consider.
• It's a good idea to go over your techniques now and again to make sure they're still working for you.

After you have established your strategies, it would be best to schedule them in a calendar. This will help you anticipate what will happen next, allowing you to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Introducing a timeline will also help you because all of your suggested strategies will work together over a period of time. When making your timeline, make sure to include all of the relevant info.

Now that you've gained a better understanding of your present internal communication scenario, you may go on to the next step. You're aware of your skills and flaws, as well as what you need to do to move forward.

The next stage is to evaluate all of the tools you have at your disposal and determine what you require from each.

How will you ensure that everyone is prepared to take part in your internal communication strategy? How will you involve your stakeholders and staff in your project? What tools are in place to assist in the creation of effective two-way communication?

Is it simple for your employees to communicate with you? Could you conduct surveys, polls, or pulse surveys, for example?

Is there a mechanism in place to assist employees in locating and communicating content or information to their coworkers concerning the job at hand?

Is there a mechanism for your employees to express their opinions, discuss their ideas, or voice their concerns?

Each of these modes of communication necessitates a separate set of tools. However, before you begin adding more tools to your digital workspace, think about the channels and platforms you currently utilize.

Let's take a closer look at the logistics. What internal communication tools does your organization currently have?

If you use a range of channels, you'll be far more likely to engage and capture the attention of your employees from all throughout your company. This is due to the fact that not everyone communicates in the same manner. Face-to-face meetings are preferred by some people. Others prefer online polls and chat rooms.

It's best to discuss possible tactics and channels with your team. Set up a brainstorming session so everyone can express their thoughts and ideas. You'll discover the greatest method to internal communications this way.

The following are the best practices for internal communication strategies:

Face-to-face – The most effective technique to build a personal relationship with your employees and motivate them to change.

Meetings – When you need to explain intricate ideas or receive input from your employees, this is the best option.

Notes – This is by far the best way if you need to keep track of specifics from meetings or refer to certain dates.

Emails – They're ideal for people who use their computers or phones on a regular basis. So... who's there?

Videos – When you want to appeal to the visual and auditory senses while communicating your story, short videos might help.

Internal social media – This is the most effective strategy to create a company culture that values collaboration and encourages team members to get to know one another.

You should decide how frequently you'll utilize your channels (and how you'll keep track of progress) now that you're familiar with the finest techniques to practice internal communication.

7. How Will You Evaluate Your Internal Communication Strategy's Success?

What gets measured gets managed, as the old adage goes.

What you measure will differ depending on the goals you've set for your firm. You should, however, make every effort to measure every variable and piece of data you can.

If you want to boost employee engagement in the workplace, check out these resources:

• Attention Rates

We've already discussed how poor employee engagement causes problems in the workplace. Always keep an eye on your attention rates and try to find ways to enhance them.

You should track your company's turnover, open rates, and click-through rates to measure them. You'll be able to calculate your attention (and retention) rates in this manner. Obtain a spreadsheet and update it with the most recent information obtained from the HR department.

• E-mail Open Rates

This figure depicts how well your employees are informed about major corporate announcements. A low open rate indicates that individuals aren't interested in what you're sending them. Furthermore, it implies that your subject lines are definitely ineffective.

There are numerous tools available to assist you in measuring e-mail opens and determining who opens and who does not open your e-mails.

• Link Click-through rates

The number of times a link is clicked will indicate how well you engage your audience. A poor click-through rate indicates that the content you're sending is ineffective. This means you should mix things up by identifying different audience preferences.

• Used Devices

Almost everyone checks their e-mail on their phones in today's digital workplace. Keep track of the devices on which your employees are most likely to consume material.

Whether you're using Gmail, Outlook, or Webmail, tracking link clicks, location, and which devices your employees use is simple.

• Feedback And Responses Received

You're missing out if you haven't used surveys yet. They are the most effective technique to learn what motivates your employees to participate in internal communications.

You can use AgilityPortal to build social reactions and surveys for your company's employees. You can ask your staff anything - as long as it is done in a fun and engaging manner.

You'll discover what content to develop and how to better engage your staff if you start gathering all of this data. You can segment your internal e-mails and enhance engagement levels by tracking what content works best for each instance.

8. How are you going to stick to your internal communication strategy?

More than a yearly list of methods and messages should be included in your internal communication plan. It should also assist you in setting priorities, keeping everyone in the company informed, and defining your company culture.

For tracking how far you've come, you should develop a repeatable procedure and technique.

If you're creating an internal employee survey every week, for example, you need to have mechanisms in place to assess and distribute your information. You may use survey templates to quickly create surveys that are both entertaining and interesting. You should also keep in touch with your colleagues and schedule meetings with them. This will allow you to keep on top of any issue and understand how your organization is changing.

You must also ensure that your senior executives are aware of your projects and vice versa.

Make sure your work is visible to the rest of your team. You want to know what your executives are up to, just as the rest of your staff wants to know what they're up to.

Make a commitment to revisiting your plan on a frequent basis, if not weekly. You'll be able to track your progress, make modifications, and make sure you're on pace to achieve your goals.

You should use project management tools to maintain track of your business's progress. You can start with AgilityPortal, which is one of the best internal communication platforms available.