internal communications

The importance of internal communications

Rae Hostetler · May 1, 2018 ·

I was recently researching information for a client to derive recommendations for an internal employee communications program surrounding culture and wellness. I stumbled on a great Gallup research study with the title Why Your Workplace Wellness Program Isn’t Working. It reminded me of the importance of employee communications for business leaders. Here’s the study summary:

A RAND Corporation study found that 85% of U.S. companies with 1,000 or more people offer some kind of wellness program.
Gallup’s study shows only 60% of employees are aware of their company program.
With just 40% of those people saying they are aware of it and are participating.

The study doesn’t dive into the reasons for these numbers. Instead it talks about employee engagement and internal cultures as a driver for participation. An underlying tone in the document cites communications from management as a key driver for employee satisfaction. Often company leaders (including myself) forget that the more we share with our team members, the more satisfied and engaged they feel in our companies. This takes time and focus—consistently.

Ask yourself, as a leader in my organization…

Where do I focus my communications—internally/externally?

A lot of leaders I work with want to see their name in the paper, their ad on TV or a cool website. Do you employees know about these external marketing tactics and why your doing it before it appears?

Are my employees cheerleaders for my organization?

The more employees know, the more they’ll share your news and information. It’s that simple. This doesn’t mean you have to give them financials of your privately held company. I simply suggest sharing your vision and direction so they know where you’re going to get onboard. And every communications plan should consider employees as the audience to know first (or as soon as possible if you’re in a publically held company).

Is your business culture open and honest?

Often business leaders are tentative to share information because it may change. Why? What in life doesn’t change with twists and turns? Just because a business initiative changes it doesn’t make you a bad leader. Be open and honest. Your staff will appreciate being trusted to hear the information.

Public Relations isn’t just about talking to reporters…

Rae Hostetler · Apr 24, 2011 ·

I posted this blog several months ago. This week I heard several people working outside the field of public relations refer to the profession as a job that simply scores press for clients. If it were only so simple! I thought I’d pull this blog out… dust it off and hopefully change a few perceptions.

I’ve worked in the public relations business for more than 15 years providing local, regional and national services. Before that I was a journalist working in radio/television news. When I made the leap to pr, I came to learn that too many business professionals think the profession is only about working with reporters. They think the “P” stand for press. Truth is that’s just a small part of what we do.

The “P” in pr is for public, or audiences you need to talk to about your business, non-profit or brand. Like others in my business, we work enhance the reputation and image of a company’s brand through word and deed. How? We create a strategic plan that outlines business goals and then addresses audiences. This list is often long and should be inclusive. Reporters are just one audience on that list.

So who else is included in a public relations plan? Here’s one list recently created for client:

Employees
Sub contractors as preferred partners
Vendors
Clients
Past clients
Prospect clients
Reporters

A great public relations strategy creates a company story and communication tools that start from inside any company. That means employees should always be the first to know. They are, after all, first on this list. How many times do you hear people talking about how they read about what’s happening at their company from the Internet or newspaper—the press?

Does that create good-will among employees? Heck no!

The press should be the last to know… your publics come first… your employees, customers and anyone closest to your brand, business and revenue should always be first on your line of communication.

Make sure you can fulfill your marketing…

Rae Hostetler · Nov 18, 2010 ·

I’ve seen it happen too many times. Companies and business owners want more business. So they embark on a marketing/communications program BUT they aren’t prepared for what happens next. Customers!

Hopefully by now you’ve heard of Groupon. It’s a simple social media marketing idea that’s taken off. Business owners partner with Groupon. Groupon sends out a daily email with the business offer specific to your region. If so many people buy, “the deal is on!” Last week a local restaurant was featured on Groupon. A group of friends bought and went to dinner. The restaurant wasn’t ready. Bottom line, after sitting for an hour and a half… one of four couples got their dinner. The rest were left to their own hunger watching two people eat. Bad news for the restaurant because this group came to a party of about 50 to 60 people. They were hungry and frustrated. They shared the experience with everyone, including me. Now I’m sharing it with you. I will leave out the name of the restaurant hoping they fix the err of their ways.

Conversely, we worked with a client for about two years to market and brand his company. We used a host of tactics for his marketing campaign: internal communications, media relations, website, email marketing, direct communications for referral groups and more. The client business boomed once systems were in place and chugging along. We could see further growth and expansion. The client said “uncle.” We basically worked ourselves out of a job. Good and bad news for us. Bottom line … this client knew when and how he could fulfill customers generated by his marketing. He knew if we kept going customer satisfaction could become at risk.

If you’re thinking about a public relations or marketing/communications campaign, whether it’s through our firm or another, I encourage you to think about results and would-if scenarios. Would if you generate too many calls and appointments? There’s nothing worse than putting yourself out there, generating business traffic and then not being able to fulfill the customer’s expectation.