Why is it that internal comms is so often external comms’ poor relation – the place where half-baked creativity goes to die?
It makes no sense, and it seems like madness that in an age where a single employee’s behaviour can bring a company to its knees, we still seem to save the ‘good stuff’ for external audiences. There are so many things wrong with this.
Firstly, all audiences are ultimately consumers, so why do we feel they deserve less when we’re communicating to their work selves? It’s insulting to them and naive of us to think that we don’t have to work as hard to take them with us, just because they’re on the payroll.
Secondly, they’re all potential advocates. We live in a time where we all care about the businesses behind the brands, and it resonates powerfully when employees actively advocate on their company’s behalf. Multiply that by the size of your workforce, and they become a powerful channel in their own right.
Thirdly, and most importantly, these are the people who make your company what it is! Without them, you’re nothing, and no products get designed, built, marketed, or sold.
Bring Your Team With You And Benefit
The power of an activated workforce not only affects the external perception of a brand, but also its business performance. This is an obvious point, right? So I say again, why is internal communications the poor relation of external communications? Especially in today’s age of purpose.
These days, people want to work for companies that exist for a reason other than to just make money. They want to know why their employers exist, what they care about, where they’ve come from, and where they’re going. Bring them in on that, and you’ll get their best selves.
It’s not motivating to feel like you’re a cog in a machine that is making more money than it can possibly conceive. But it is motivating to feel like you work for a company that is ‘making a dent in the universe’, to quote Steve Jobs. Plus, employee surveys consistently show that employees who share the ideals behind the business they work for not only advocate on its behalf, but also give a bit more during their 9-5.
My point? Employees should be front and centre. They should be where comms start, not a passive afterthought. They should be swept up by a powerful purpose and seduced by world-class creativity, designed just for them. They should be allowed to be everything they can be – and for that to happen, they need to feel it with their hearts as well as their heads.
Internal communications isn’t the poor relation of external communications, you fools, it’s where the real value lies! And it’s the brands acting on this that will rule the post-Covid world.
Article by Margaret Oscar
