Internal communicators are learning lessons from marketeers when it comes to getting the message across to disengaged employees, according to Mike Tippets.

Mike’s a vice president with Hughes, a digital network provider in North America, and says he’s seen a change in pace to his business’s post-Covid communications.

Priorities have changed from health and safety measures to business alignment and employee motivation, and he’s seen three marketing principles helping deliver campaign success.

And his IC teams are using a wider variety of communications channels than before to promote the same messages. A single channel isn’t cutting it, so they’re using a combination of the company intranet, email, digital screens, MS Teams and email, as well as town halls, one-to-ones and Zoom calls.

Secondly, he says messages need to be delivered with more wit, style and personality these days.

“Tap into your company culture and history when crafting your messages,” he advises. “And give your campaigns creative and memorable names, tag lines and games to drive engagement and help the messages ‘stick’.”

And lastly, he says you need to leverage the power of ‘influencers’ in your campaigns.

“Most businesses already have an influencer community at the ready,” says Mike. “Middle managers are too often untapped resources in carrying the company message to their teams.

“When designing your next internal communications campaign, consider this management layer as your campaign influencers. Watch how they rise to the occasion when they feel empowered to help send company messages instead of just receiving them like everyone else in the organisation.”

You can read Mike’s article here.

Leading change

There are no great surprises in a new global report on internal communications from Contact Monkey.

Looking at the responses from a survey of IC professionals, the report says the modern workplace will be defined by uncertainty around trends like inflation, competition for talent, quiet quitting and varying workplace structures.

And it reckons internal communicators have more responsibility and visibility at organisations than ever before. They have to ‘lead their companies through change, enable leadership communication, empower people managers, and engage employees, while working to secure a seat among the C-suite − all this in the face of economic uncertainty, budget cuts, and resource constraints’.

You can download the full Global State of Internal Communications 2023 report here.

Pass the remote

We all love a ‘Top 10 Ways…’ post. And there’s a lively one with an IC connection from the HR Exchange Network.

Francesca Di Meglio crowdsourced her ‘10 Ways to Improve Employee Engagement for Remote Workers’.

Top tips include thinking of more creative ways to reach remote workers. For example, if there is an all-company meeting where people have lunch together in the offices, why not send dinner vouchers to remote workers? They can also order food and arrange to spend lunch with other remote team members or join the offices live on a call.

Tarun Saha, Co-founder and CEO, StallionZo says ice-breakers are worth considering. “There are endless options for virtual icebreakers, such as playing games, joining a cooking or fitness challenge, or participating in a virtual scavenger hunt,” he says.

“The aim is to create a sense of community, build relationships, and foster a positive team culture. Not only are these activities enjoyable, but they also improve productivity by leading to better communication and collaboration.”

Any thoughts on IC teams using marketing techniques, or how to keep remote workers engaged? Drop us a line or comment below, and we’ll be back with more IC news next month.