How to build internal communication?
PART FOUR
Practical advice on how to coordinate and involve your team, and also motivate ambassadors.
Team coordination
1. Rotate employees' updates in meetings - give all your employees an opportunity to share their most important news.
2. Initiate informal joint lunches (even if they are virtual now) to listen more deeply to your employees and find out what's happening and what is changing.
3. Introduce tools or programs for knowledge exchange (for example, special internal direct e-mailing, intranet, video conferences, etc.).
4. Create a monthly official mail-out from the management about key updates and developments that the entire team receive.
2. Initiate informal joint lunches (even if they are virtual now) to listen more deeply to your employees and find out what's happening and what is changing.
3. Introduce tools or programs for knowledge exchange (for example, special internal direct e-mailing, intranet, video conferences, etc.).
4. Create a monthly official mail-out from the management about key updates and developments that the entire team receive.
Team involvement
1. Arrange question and answer sessions with both new and experienced employees to build stronger personal connections.
2. Start the meeting by focusing on the positive characteristics of the organization, for example, with the phrase "Do you know why I like working here?"
3. Introduce the new employees and give the others an opportunity to meet them and empathize with them, for example, you could make short intro videos.
4. Encourage your employees and reward them for good work. This can be done by expressing gratitude at the end of team meetings or awarding special badges of honour which can pass from one employee of the organization to another.
2. Start the meeting by focusing on the positive characteristics of the organization, for example, with the phrase "Do you know why I like working here?"
3. Introduce the new employees and give the others an opportunity to meet them and empathize with them, for example, you could make short intro videos.
4. Encourage your employees and reward them for good work. This can be done by expressing gratitude at the end of team meetings or awarding special badges of honour which can pass from one employee of the organization to another.
Incentivising your ambassadors
1. Clearly formulate key answers to questions about the mission, purpose, and objectives of your organization so that employees can talk about them freely and with pleasure.
2. Analyze your organization's procedures for hiring staff and terminating contracts: how to open a dialogue: what is offered and what can people expect? Besides that, think about how you can improve these procedures.
3. Conduct ongoing training of employees, including how to use social networks, because a public presentation of your team members is also a presentation of yourself.
4. Collect interesting news of your organization's developments weekly for inter-office e-mailing to the whole team. It is important to present the news in an interesting way so that the employees would like to share them outside their work contacts.
Source:
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS: Strategies for an Overlooked—But Critical—Communications Channel.
2. Analyze your organization's procedures for hiring staff and terminating contracts: how to open a dialogue: what is offered and what can people expect? Besides that, think about how you can improve these procedures.
3. Conduct ongoing training of employees, including how to use social networks, because a public presentation of your team members is also a presentation of yourself.
4. Collect interesting news of your organization's developments weekly for inter-office e-mailing to the whole team. It is important to present the news in an interesting way so that the employees would like to share them outside their work contacts.
Source:
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS: Strategies for an Overlooked—But Critical—Communications Channel.
How to be an effective leader
Over the years, Google has managed to develop a universal checklist for what makes a good manager. We suggest that you check your own management against these points and do not forget that even leader skills should be constantly developed.
The best manager:
1. Is a good coach.
2. Delegates work to the team and is not engaged in micromanagement.
3. Expresses interest and concern for the success of the team members and their personal well-being.
4. Is productive and goal-driven.
5. Is a good communicator and listener, sharing information.
6. Helps employees' career development.
7. Has a clear team vision and strategy.
8. Has key technical skills that help him/ her to advise the team in various areas of work.
Source: Garvin, D.A. (2013), "How Google sold its engineers on management".
The best manager:
1. Is a good coach.
2. Delegates work to the team and is not engaged in micromanagement.
3. Expresses interest and concern for the success of the team members and their personal well-being.
4. Is productive and goal-driven.
5. Is a good communicator and listener, sharing information.
6. Helps employees' career development.
7. Has a clear team vision and strategy.
8. Has key technical skills that help him/ her to advise the team in various areas of work.
Source: Garvin, D.A. (2013), "How Google sold its engineers on management".
Useful sources
- INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS: Strategies for an Overlooked—But Critical—Communications Channel.
- Strategy and internal communications, UK Government Communication Service.
- Internal Communication Toolkit, CIVICUS.
- The Building Blocks of Internal Communication.
- Daniel Shephard, Applying behavioural insights to organisations: Global case studies.
The Practice Guide was developed by
M.Sc., Ph.D.
Communication expert for social and behaviour change
Communication expert for social and behaviour change
Media manager and behaviour sciences researcher and co-founder of the Creative Lab and Platfor.ma online magazine
