Internal communication, how to improve it?

How to improve internal communication

Whoever masters internal communication will lead the future of work: internal communication has a direct impact on your company's results.

On the contrary, mismanaging this element has a ripple effect that involves frustration and lower productivity.

What does all this lead to? In a higher employee turnover that causes higher costs and lower benefits. Although all of this is “common sense” and anyone can understand the cause-effect relationship, 72% of employees don't understand their company's strategy and 44% believe that their supervisors don't give them clear information about the company's vision.

What is Internal Communication?

Internal communication is any type of work-related communication that occurs within an organization, meetings, announcements, talks between colleagues,...

So the most accurate definition would be:

“communication is often the foundation of any healthy relationship, including that between employees and superiors”

Constant communication, whatever channel, is linked to greater commitment, therefore, a good internal communication strategy ensures that all members of a team are aligned with the purpose of the organization.

Benefits

Innovation and Employee Experience:

In a proactive team, new initiatives emerge and work efficiency and quality are improved. Often, the lack of innovation happens because people who do not occupy leadership positions, that is, at the bottom, are not listened to.

People who can communicate in an open way are more at ease. Communication helps to maintain employee commitment and it also sends out a very positive message of active listening.

Coordinated team:

To achieve objectives, coordination between people and departments is essential. There is no company in the world that works without coordination.

More trust:

What is needed to combat rumors and facilitate clear and honest communications. By increasing transparency, the trust that employees feel for the company, for their colleagues and for their leaders increases.

Job Satisfaction:

With strong communication, employees feel good and job satisfaction is maintained. And we know that one plus one equals two, meaning that when an employee is satisfied, there is better performance. That's right: we talk about happiness at work, sounds good right?

Adequate monitoring:

Only if information flows in all directions, also from bottom to top, will a leader have the necessary information to know how to coordinate. Internal communication provides situational awareness, empathy, and understanding of employees' strengths and weaknesses.

Examples of poor internal communication

- Talk only to give negative feedback

Do you think that addressing someone just to give negative feedback is good for someone?

Motivation, productivity and commitment drop very quickly. Recovering them is much more difficult than the little it cost us to carry them.

- Speak with capital letters and an authoritative tone

As a leader or as a partner, addressing someone from an authoritarian perspective creates communication barriers. In addition, using an inquisitive tone translates into a lack of self-criticism, little active listening and no transparency.

- Before asking someone to do something: 1. Question, 2. Listen, 3. Orient.

❌ That'S NOT OK.

✅ Look at this, do you think it would be possible to do it this other way? It looks like it would look better.

- Confusing critical with constructive

❌ You're missing deadlines and it's affecting the rest of the team and the project.

✅ I've noticed that time management is a challenge for you. What do you think is the problem? How can I help you?

- Give negative feedback in public

Highlighting something that someone has done wrong in a group will not only negatively affect that person but the entire team. Embarrassing someone in front of their peers translates into discomfort and even fear for others. Nobody learns anything.

- Prejudge

Don't prejudge or presuppose without having had a chance to talk to the person involved. Talk and listen to understand if he actually did or said that and why.

What is the purpose of internal communication?

Employees must feel connected to the company: its decisions, initiatives, programs and executive messages. These connections are vital in helping employees understand why leaders make decisions and implement changes.

Internal communications also promote transparency within an organization, and help create a calm environment in crisis situations.

Because things don't always work out, and consolidated internal communication helps create a good environment for these difficult conversations.

“The art of communication is the language of leadership”

James C. Humes.

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