When you send communications to your employees, do they open them? Do they engage with the material? Do they even know a message went out? If you answered no or I don’t know to any of those questions, it may be time to revamp your internal communications strategy.
Reworking how you communicate with your internal teams can feel daunting. In order to discuss some of the challenges of developing and improving internal communications strategies, Granicus’ Kelda Stetson, Director of Health and Science Programs, offered a strategy roadmap at the Advanced Learning Institute’s recent Strategic Internal Communications for Government conference.
The current state of internal communications across the U.S. is lacking. “What we’re seeing, particularly in the government market, is that 70 percent of employees are not engaged at work,” Stetson said. “This is costing the U.S. $300 billion annually in productivity and output.”
As a result, it is critical that public sector organizations develop a way to better engage employees. Doing so will allow government to work smarter, engage more people and empower teams. That in turn leads to better outcomes, bigger citizen impact and better organizations decisions.
So, what’s key to an effective internal communications strategy? Stetson explained there are four elements:
- Determine outcomes. The first step to developing an internal comms strategy is determining what the goal of your internal communications are. Stetson said that the three main goals are enhancing employee awareness, improving employee involvement and promoting online services. “Once you identify why you are communicating with employees, you can determine what you want to send them,” she said. “The four main buckets of internal communications content are lifecycle messaging, employee benefits and health, agency events and activities, and urgent updates.”
- Reach your audience. This step is all about capturing the right audience with which to communicate. Stetson elaborated: “For some of you, this will come from a directory, but for others, you may have a need to gain a broader audience.” Granicus’ GovDelivery Communications Cloud can help you acquire your audience through tools like website overlays, list uploads, integration with offline channels and an active directory.
- Engage your audience. Once you build an audience, you need to drive engagement to meet the outcomes you previously determined. “We recommend looking at where your audiences are today, whether it’s in a desk, in the field or working remote, you have to identify how to engage with the right people, on the right channel and at the right time,” Stetson said. In order to do this, your communications must leverage some elements critical to engagement including, consistent branding, appealing email layout, pre-built campaigns, A/B testing and dynamic segmentation.
- Convert and measure. The last step of an effective internal communications strategy is to measure conversions and determine your results. Stetson recommended doing this by campaign and message testing, in depth metrics reporting, and surveys and feedback from your audience.
At the end of the day, you want your employees to be satisfied with your content and messaging, making them more likely to engage with it. “Really think about what your best private sector experiences are,” Stetson concluded. “Mirror those in your communications with your employees and follow the engagement funnel and strategy you will quickly start to see your outcomes achieved.”
To learn more about how Granicus’ solutions can help your organization’s internal communications, contact us here.
