Empathy, authenticity and the right metrics deliver impact says leading internal communications consultant
Internal communications has been under a spotlight throughout COVID-19, and organisations have seen the value of keeping employees connected and informed during these challenging times.
UK Black Comms Network Member Tennessee Watt spoke to senior internal communications consultant Annique Simpson about why successful initiatives will require an understanding of inclusion, authenticity and the right metrics for impact.
Many lessons have been learned for internal communications professionals during the past year. Perhaps the most significant, is that external factors such as lockdown rules and racial injustice can have incredible impact on employee engagement and belonging within organisations.
Annique Simpson, is an award-winning senior internal communications consultant with experience spanning property, telecommunications, banking, and healthcare. She believes that internal communications initiatives should involve all kinds of employees in order to foster inclusive cultures.
How can organisations ensure their internal communications is inclusive?
“Businesses need to move away from solely relying on senior leaders when it comes to corporate storytelling. Make sure you are engaging with employees at all levels across the organisation and uplifting voices that aren’t being heard throughout the year - not just at specific cultural moments like Ramadan and Black History Month. Being truly inclusive, Annique says, will require “bravery and time”.
She affirms a need for internal communications professionals to use their influence and power to keep leaders accountable to pledges and commitments they’ve made to D&I over the past year.
“Be a critical friend to the leadership team. Make sure that they are doing what they said they will do. “
An important factor for creating feelings of inclusion is accessibility. Many successful internal communications programmes have acknowledged that different workers feel comfortable communicating using different methods and within different contexts. According to Annique, sometimes employees might not want to be involved at all, especially when it comes to discussing sensitive topics, and this should be accepted by leaders.
“Not everyone wants to bring their whole selves to work.” Annique highlights.
A 2017 study by Coqual supports this view. The study found that 38% of Black professionals feel that it is never acceptable at their companies to speak out about their experiences of bias. Annique agrees,
“We need to keep the door open so that whenever an employee wants to fully engage, share their stories, they can. But we also need to accept that they might not want to. People should be able to fully engage if they want to.”
Annique Simpson | Senior Internal Communications Consultant
How can business leaders make sure their internal communications is authentic?
The buzzword of 2021 is humanity and we’re halfway through the year and it still holds true. Work is often quite transactional, and as a result of that, the sense of humanness of the people who do the work is sometimes lost, particularly in more traditional sectors like banking and professional services. Authenticity in internal communications means understanding that you’re communicating to humans who lead full lives outside of work. This is particularly important while we have hybrid-working.
But what does authenticity look like in practice?
“Put employees first in internal communications. Too often, leaders and other individuals are thinking about what they need to tell employees, not about what employees need to know and why. Make sure you know your audience and cater to their communication needs as much as possible.” Says Annique.
She also has some advice for for C-Suite leaders:
“Share your own true stories that reveal your human side. I’ve worked with leaders who are fantastic to talk to. They’ll talk about all sorts of things, work things, family things, football, all sorts. But as soon as they’re delivering a formal presentation, their personality goes out the window.”
How should internal communications practitioners measure success?
“Focus on outcomes, rather than outputs like numbers of articles published or campaigns run. Outputs show your internal comms teams are active, which isn’t a bad thing. But we need to push harder than that. Outcomes can include getting people to think or feel a different way about something, or to take action in some way. It’s best to establish a baseline by first measuring attitudes and behaviour before a campaign, and then after. Track changes at regular intervals. That’s one way to show that your comms activities have worked.”
Annique says that research methods which power internal communications programmes should be considered carefully. She thinks that successful approaches involve getting a numerical snapshot of employees’ views followed by a deeper dive.
“You can use surveys to understand the ‘what’ and then focus groups to understand the ‘why’. If you’re short on time, why not randomly select colleagues to call for feedback.”
What do you see as being the future trends within internal communications?
“Providing employees with choices” will be key Annique says of post-COVID-19 internal communications. She acknowledges that employees will embrace different working styles, and that organisations will need to vocally support this.
“Employees should feel comfortable to keep their cameras off on Zoom calls if it’s not disruptive to the meeting. Zoom meetings are a good substitute for in-person meetings but the two are not the same. We should allow people to use these tools in a way that best suits them and the task at hand."
Annique also predicts an increased focus on hybrid events.
“Maybe part of the event is in person, to an in-person audience, and then it’s broadcast to people at home or in other offices.”
What are your thoughts? Does this resonate with your thoughts on internal communications? Let us know in the comments below.
