Internal Communications Deep Dive - Part 4 of 6

Section 5: Crisis communications

Key questions:

• How should internal communications help a company respond to an emergency situation like COVID-19, political unrest, or company-specific issues?

Internal communications play an important role in crisis communications – a fact that the COVID-19 pandemic made even more apparent. In a profile in Smarp, an Internal Communications Manager at a company called Commsec noted how the pandemic amplified the role of IC. “In times of crisis, opportunities can arise, and right now there is a huge one for internal communications. In this pandemic, we have a critical role to keep our people informed and not add to the uncertainty by championing clear, effective communication that gives people the information they need at the time they need it. That has always been our role, but what I've seen in this crisis is not the staging of a revolution, but an evolution for internal communications as many more leaders and companies realize even further the value of our function and what it can deliver.”[i]

At the beginning of the pandemic, internal communications became a vital source for instructions and updates, and to communicate the changes in business practices that accompanied the shift to remote working. According to a post in the Harvard Business Review, “in an ongoing crisis, clear communication is more important and more difficult than when things seem normal. Employees and customers are hungry for information, so we’re tempted to pull together presentations and communicate with urgency instead of with careful planning. But if we present without addressing our audience’s core questions of what, how, and why, we’ll sow more confusion than we bring clarity.”[ii]

In any crisis situation, whether it is a national crisis or organization-specific, employees need to be well-informed and feel like the organization is being fully transparent with them. If employees find out about a piece of impactful news about your organization from the rumor mill or an outside source, you will create the impression that you have something to hide. As described in a recent article in INC magazine, “When communicating in a crisis, you want to communicate from the inside out. Start with keeping your own people informed. I've heard employees say they heard news about their company from the news. That's bad and no way to instill loyalty […] Now is not the time to leave your employees guessing or in the dark. No news is definitely not good news. Think of what you would want to know and when. There will be hard questions on employees' minds. ‘Will there be layoffs?’ You should answer honestly. If you don't know the answer, say so. But promise to be upfront and transparent -- and then follow through on that commitment.”[iii]

During a crisis situation, a number of different communications platforms could be used depending on the urgency of the message being delivered. Powell Software, a digital workplace solution provider, describes the options. “Emergency notices may need to be issued via smartphone notification or text message. On the other hand, routine updates and less urgent information can wait for an email or an update in your corporate portal. However you choose to communicate internally during a crisis, make sure to set the standard for how frequently employees should be responsible for checking for updates. Staff should also know where they can go to look for important information and answers to questions they may have regarding an ongoing crisis, such as dedicated pages or message boards.”[iv]

The COVID-19 crisis wasn’t the only event in the past year that prompted the need for effective crisis communications. The protests for Black Lives Matter, as well as the capitol riot a few months later were both events that necessitated a strong internal response from leadership. During the Black Lives Matter protests, organizations wanted to express their support for social justice and the evolving cultural norms needed to address systemic racism. Ragan Consulting Group provided a few tips, emphasizing the need for authenticity and putting actions behind words. “Avoid empty platitudes, and lead with acknowledging the reality of the social environment and the voice of the employees […] And they don’t want bland condolences or mindless ‘thoughts and prayers’ emails. To authentically connect and resonate, the CEO must become a reassuring, relatable Chief Empathy Officer […] Of course, the key is in the doing—not in the tweeting. If you pounce on this moment to tout how much your company ‘values diversity’, you should be prepared to walk the talk and follow through.”[v]

For the more recent crisis event, the Capitol riots, leadership teams used IC to condemn unacceptable actions and calm employees after a traumatic incident. The Ragan Consulting Group noted on January 7, 2021 that, “at the very least, communicators should acknowledge internally the gravity of what happened […] What happens in the macro doesn’t happen without the micro […] But if the death of George Floyd has taught us anything, it is that employees, customers and others expect companies to have a point of view on the difficult and traumatic issues facing the nation […] A statement in support of democracy, and a call for calm, civility and decency is never a bad idea […] Those conversations can be difficult, just as they have been about race. But we are better off talking about tough issues than ignoring them, or pretending they don’t affect the people and values of an organization.”[vi]

Section 6: Multi-platform strategies

Key questions:

• What are the most effective platforms for enabling high-performing internal communications?

• What are the options for companies with a smaller internal communications budget?

IC teams have more options than ever in terms of platforms to reach employees. The longstanding all-company memo evolved into the all-company email, but the options don’t stop there. Most organizations now offer some type of intranet system accessible only to employees. These intranets serve as hubs for company materials, team-specific sites, and are particularly important for HR-related information like benefits and organizational charts.

SocialChorus describes them by saying that “intranets are predominantly used by employees to search for information, communicate across an organization, and manage workflows. An example of an intranet is a website that is exclusively used by an airline company to deliver updates and information to its workforce […] Intranets usually feature user profiles similar to your LinkedIn profile. They contain a photo, job title and description, and contact information. Any employee with access to the intranet can discover new colleagues and message them through the intranet. This facilitates increased collaboration and helps establish a workforce network.”[vii]

While intranets have been around for decades, the proliferation of software as a service (SAAS) companies in the last decade has exponentially increased the number of options that organizations have for internal communications platforms. These companies vary in terms of specific offerings, but most are accessible on both personal computers and mobile devices. Some attempt to provide a platform that employees access that helps them communicate and collaborate. Others serve as newsfeeds that give IC teams detailed analytics on measuring the effectiveness of communications. Others feature HR-centric offerings, like employee engagement measurement and reward/recognition services. There are hundreds of different options, but a few of the major providers in this space are outlined below, with a brief description of their platforms.

• SocialChorus: “Transform the way your enterprise works with the leading workforce communications platform […] The SocialChorus FirstUp platform connects all your communications channels and core systems so you can see, measure and drive change enterprise-wide.”[viii]

• Bananatag: “The employee communication tool that helps you create better employee experiences […] Make informed decisions about your communications, content, and more with detailed email engagement reporting tools […] You can also collect timely employee feedback on any topic with embedded Pulse Surveys and commenting, finally making your employee emails a two-way communication channel.”[ix]

• Dynamic Signal: “The leading platform for employee experience […] Provide every employee with the right information. Publish company news, important information, and shareable content to a personalized newsfeed. Increase productivity by making commonly used tools, resources, and documents more accessible with featured links and pages […] Create content once and reach employees everywhere.”[x]

While platforms like these are effective solutions for medium to large size organizations, especially those with a highly distributed or field-based workforce, it may not be cost effective for smaller organizations to invest in these types of platforms. Fortunately, highly available tools like Microsoft Office offer a low-cost option for IC platforms. In this case, IC teams can rely on all-company emails, internally produced recorded videos, and instant message apps like Teams or Slack.

Yammer is another low-cost Microsoft tool that functions like an internal social media site for your organization, allowing employees to share information, comment on and like employee posts, or join employee groups. Sociabble, an employee communications company, notes that “with only minimal effort, Microsoft Teams and Yammer can be augmented to link the internal world of collaborative communication with the larger online ecosystem beyond. Employees can have access to the relevant, professional information they need, and stay one step ahead of the competition. Specifically, they can become thought leaders in their field, and influential in how they engage with their online peers. Industry news, competitive analysis, third-party content, corporate feeds – it can all be curated and integrated into a single stream of valuable information, to be distributed and shared on Microsoft Teams and Yammer. And best of all, the solution is simple, quick, and painless to implement. With the right platform and methodology, the relevant information employees need is always available.”[xi]

References

[i] Smarp, Valene Jouany, “6 experts explain how COVID-19 is changing internal communications”, https://blog.smarp.com/experts-explain-how-covid-19-is-changing-internal-communications [ii] Harvard Business Review, Nancy Duarte, “Good leadership is about communicating why”, https://hbr.org/2020/05/good-leadership-is-about-communicating-why [iii] INC, Amy George, “5 essential internal communications tips during a crisis”, https://www.inc.com/amy-george/5-essential-internal-communication-tips-during-a-crisis.html [iv] Powell Software, “Crisis management: why internal crisis communications matters”, https://powell-software.com/en/crisis-management/ [v] Ragan Consulting Group, Robby Brumberg, “How to communicate during civil unrest”, https://www.ragan.com/world-on-fire/ [vi] Ragan PR Daily, Robby Brumberg, “How communicators and companies are responding—and should respond—to the Capitol riot”, https://www.prdaily.com/how-communicators-and-companies-are-responding-and-should-respond-to-the-capitol-riot/ [vii] SocialChorus, “What is an intranet and is it still relevant to your organization?, https://socialchorus.com/blog/what-is-an-intranet-and-is-it-still-relevant-to-your-organization/ [viii] SocialChorus, https://socialchorus.com/platform/ [ix] BananaTag, https://bananatag.com/features/ [x] Dynamic Signal, https://dynamicsignal.com/product/ [xi] Sociabble, Dane H. “Getting informed and influential employees on Microsoft Teams and Yammer”, https://www.sociabble.com/blog/improve-internal-communication-with-yammer-microsoft/