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.