This goes further than an intranet or monthly newsletter. There’s an increasing number of people who have moved companies because of the promise of a better culture, with compensation a close second.
More and more people are shunning the big bucks to go and work for companies known for their strong culture and ethos to create a better place to work for all. If you’re lucky, you might find a place that offers both good compensation AND culture. Nowhere is perfect, but there’s a rise in people preferring “a good place to work” over “well…they pay well”.
Culture & Communications
Company culture typically includes; staff events, wellbeing, company structure, rewards and recognition, and communication. This blog is about communication, so let’s look at why communication is important for company culture. Firstly, you’ve hired people, or are working with people who have already bought into the company; what it stands for and what it does – and they want to be taken on the company’s journey. Secondly, most people spend most of their week / year / life at work and would rather invest their time working for a company that truly values them. Regular and open communication is a big part of that.
Over half of the 5,000 participants of the 2019 Glassdoor Mission and Culture Survey said they would choose culture over salary. There are many pillars involved in creating an awesome culture, but when it comes to communications, what can you do to keep everyone engaged and aligned?
Employee communications ranges from the day to day housekeeping, to business-wide updates and information e.g. starters, leavers, thank yous, department updates, operations and so on.
Typical Communication Channels include:
- Slack
- Intranet
- SharePoint
- Newsletters
- Actual letters (usually from HR)
Typical questions from leadership and / or management teams:
How do you keep employees informed without overwhelming them? – Stick to the same questions you’d ask yourself if, or when, giving a presentation e.g. who is my audience? What is the key information I want them to take away from this? Keep it short and simple.
What if there isn’t much to talk about right now? – Don’t do comms for the sake of it, give key updates and information that matters to those receiving it and if there isn’t much to update on at the moment, just say that! No news (at all) is not good news in the working world. If people are used to regular comms, don’t let it slip. Consistency is key and people appreciate the gesture, even if it isn’t the usual full update.
How do we gauge how well the information is being received? – Okay, so this isn’t actually a question asked that often, but it should be! Include a way to give feedback, do a check-in periodically and compare stats. Be open – create an open door culture by offering an option to feed back, with the choice of being anonymous too. Hopefully management, or at least your comms team are approachable enough to get face to face feedback as well. SurveyMonkey is a popular feedback platform, and you can easily set up a form and add the link to the bottom of your newsletters, emails and / or intranet.
What will we do with the feedback / survey results? – Soon into starting a new role at a company, I would send out a communications survey to staff (if one wasn’t already in place). The Marketing / Communications lead should then consider that feedback when creating their strategy for the year ahead. Post an update after 3-6 months with key insights and any new processes or initiatives implemented as a result. It’s important people see actions, or they can quickly get ‘feedback fatigue’ when they feel they’re not being heard or seeing these changes take place.
How do you keep everyone happy? – You can’t please everyone! Some prefer minimal info whilst others want great detail. It can be hard to get it completely right, but you can get pretty close by asking for feedback and trying different formats. Nothing should be set in stone, if something isn’t working, trying something new shows you are listening to feedback.
What’s the best format? – Similar to how people have preferred learning methods (visual / aural, theoretical, practical), people have preferred ways of digesting information (reading articles, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, or the old classic: face to face! I’d always recommend face to face (in person, or via video call), and following up with key points in a different format afterwards, for those who couldn’t attend, or didn’t take it all in the first time!
Mind points:
So we’ve established that communication is great for keeping people informed and aligned, but what about the mindful part? How many times have you felt confused or anxious by being in the dark about something important, or just not knowing how someone feels about you? A lot of the time, we make it a bigger problem than it is, in our own minds. This can be true both in and out of the office.
Sometimes, not knowing is worse than the outcome itself. This year has been eventful, to say the least, and now more than ever it is so important to keep people in the loop. If you’re in the leadership or management team, you’ll be privy to key business information that may affect staff.
Don’t delay information. Prioritise communications and keep people informed – I promise you that no matter what you need to communicate, people will remember timely communications, honesty and humility.
Considerations:
- Employee Engagement Survey, or;
- Internal Communications Survey (or include a section in the above)
- Include questions on internal communications in exit interviews
- Set up an internal communications group with a representative from each department
- Dedicated department news pages on your intranet
- If you don’t have an intranet and have more than 20 people at your company, it is recommend. There are lots of options to suit all budgets and will save repeating the same information.
- Review your Mission, Vision and Values and how they are being used across each department (but involve staff in setting your values, or don’t expect them to live and breathe them!).
Join The Conversation
Which companies have stood out the most from your career so far in terms of company culture and communications? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!