2 October 2017

The infallible internal communication plan

Are your employees motivated to innovate and would they dare to challenge the usual working procedures and propose new ones? Do you feel that you get enough quality feedback to make informed decisions?

If the answer to these questions has not been yes, you may need to consider the need to review your internal communication plan. In order to improve, you have to quantify first, so the first step is to do a self-assessment and find out which are the strengths of the current plan and which are the areas where changes should be made.

Keys to a good internal communication plan

To get the internal communication plan design right, you need to consider the objectives you want to achieve with it.. These goals must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).

In this plan definition process, you must find answers to questions such as:

What will this plan achieve?
How long will it be before the degree of achievement of objectives needs to be measured?
Where will progress be made after the initial goals are achieved?

In general, The internal communication plan helps keep employees informed and allows them to be involved in solving business problems.; but this is only achieved if:

It has the Senior Management Support. Without management's support, the project will not be able to be completed as expected. A lack of commitment at higher levels will result in widespread disinterest..
Available resources are known. It is important to evaluate all the tools that can be used to engage stakeholders, gauge employee opinion in a specific area, disseminate news, share plans, ensure people are ready to participate, and ultimately, guarantee meaningful, lasting two-way communication. An intranet, newsletters, company magazines, or even email and instant messaging services can be used to convey internal communication in an engaging way..
Limitations are understood. Company culture can be one of them, In that case, the change process will be slower and, during that transition, it will be necessary to define a training programme, for example, to support the company's technological maturation and the development of its employees' digital capabilities.

Internal communications plan: the tools

There will always be more popular media and less attractive channels. As the person responsible for design the internal communication plan, you need to know which avenues can help you achieve your goal of improving the fluency and effectiveness of internal communications.

Some of the tools that most organisations employ are:

Email: its versatility makes it the preferred choice for organisations of all sizes. According to Poppulo, “98% of internal communications teams use email for critical information”. Its weak point is that the inbox can become saturated if too many emails are sent, ultimately affecting engagement levels.
MeetingsDespite living in a digital age, nothing can replace direct communication. Talking to the person in front of you is essential for reaching agreements, avoiding misunderstandings, and improving trust within the company. That's why face-to-face conversations are the communication method they use in 96% of companies.
Intranetin 90% of the cases, the Internal communications plan will allude to the use of this document exchange platform which encourages participation and information sharing. However, if you are considering this option, you should know that, as of today, “menos del 13% de los empleados usan el suyo diariamente, y un tercero nunca usa su intranet” (PrescientDigital).
Social media: They are no longer only used in the private sphere, but, led by LinkedIn, have begun to permeate organisations, integrating their internal communication plan.. And so, “85%% use social networks in their internal communications” (Incite-Group).

Had you considered that LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook are part of your internal communications plan? Had you noticed that the intranet was becoming less and less appealing to your employees?