How to make internal communications work for your team

ANNA BA X TER KIRK SENIOR STR ATEGIST AND PL ANNER BADER RUT TER

How to make

internal communications

work for your team

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We get it. Advocating for change is hard.

Especially when that change requires additional time and budget — and even more

so when it’s opportunity cost that is the driving force. As a marketer, you bring

your organization’s brand to life every day, and you’ve seen the research and case

studies that show the power of internal communications. Now it’s time to bring

your company’s leadership along. A quarterback can’t win alone, and you’ll need

the support of your full team to up your game. That’s why we’ve put together this

playbook with the whys and hows of co-created internal communications.

FIRST QUARTER

THE PLAYING FIELD

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The most dangerous phrase in the English language is: We’ve always done it this way.

REAR ADMIR AL GR ACE HOPPER

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It’s possible that we’ll look back at this

year and next as those that separated

the visionary companies ...

ICONS BY FREEPIK

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... from those that couldn’t

change fast enough to survive.

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vs.

Your company’s approach to internal communications

might be an indicator of which group it joins.

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Today, your company is likely in a position once again

to invest, hire, re-envision its future and change.

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Will you approach change the same way

as yesterday’s team — with a top-down

approach to define culture and push out

communications?

THE QUESTION IS

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Or will you recognize the shift in

expectations and the opportunity

to strengthen your organization by

meeting them? ?

GAME PL AN

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Define your brand, articulate your business objectives and spell out your mission, vision and values. Find your personality and your voice. Then pinpoint the actions that prove alignment.

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SECOND QUARTER

PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS

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This sea change has as much to do with the

way people communicate today

as it does with those

who are part of the conversation.

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Following the financial crisis,

is more important than ever before. tr ansparency

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&

aren’t just appreciated.

They’re expected.

openness honesty

GAME PL AN

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Plot your communications needs, draft your core team and define your communications objectives with the brand, corporate mission, vision and values in mind.

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People want to work for a company that

cares and is open. A primary reason for

this shift is the makeup of the workforce.

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m

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Millennials have become firmly entrenched

as strong voices in every organization.

m m mm

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This generation’s experiences have shaped

a new worldview, and transparent sharing

is the norm.

m m mm

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They expect this practice to extend into

the workplace and they’ll have a voice

in the dialogue.

m m mm

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But, while millennials are one catalyst for change

within organizations, other factors are at play, too.

b bm m mm

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Baby boomers remain one-third of the workforce

today, but the threat of retirement means a loss

of knowledge and value for companies.

b b

GAME PL AN

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Define and prioritize your audiences. Articulate the desired change for each. Then listen to your audience and use those insights to shape strategies and tactics.

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More and more, corporations face heightened

expectations from stakeholders. Corporate reputation

today is defined more easily by those who fall

outside of traditional stakeholder groups.

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So, a new approach to internal communications

gives you the potential to harness the power of

many to adapt and shape a strong future.

mm bm mb

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The resulting approach is more collaborative,

less hierarchical, more about open dialogue and

less about top-down, formalized messaging.

mm bm mb

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THIRD QUARTER

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS

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Co-created content is the idea

in developing and sharing content

that a larger group plays a role

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It speaks to a shift culturally as well as in

communications execution.

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Inclusion is at its heart rather than

a traditional hierarchical handoff.

vs.

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And your leadership’s actions to define how your

organization communicates become the actions,

in part, that define your culture.

GAME PL AN

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Ensure your leaders understand the personal effort it takes for them to support a successful program. Reserve their time accordingly. Identify additional resources needed throughout your organization and communicate expectations.

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This change may seem daunting.

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It requires you to cede control, to some extent.

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Frankly, in today’s communication ecosystem,

you don’t control the message.

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With so many communications channels,

the open conversation is already happening.

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But, as a result of those channels,

there is an opportunity to listen more.

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(And as a result, become more in touch

with the dialogue that’s occurring.)

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There’s also an opportunity to funnel the

conversation through newly established channels

for effective communication.

GAME PL AN

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Develop tactics that feel more human and revel in the fact that you’ve created a strong strategy, which reduces your risk of wasting resources on a failing program and increases your chances of really connecting with employees.

FOURTH QUARTER

TRUST YOUR TEAM

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Internal communications are more

important today than before.

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Done right, it provides an opportunity to involve your

employees and empower them, which contributes to

believability, trust and loyalty.

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Given these changes, the rigor often saved for external

communications is now required to create and fuel a

culture that can keep a multigenerational workforce

engaged and productive.

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Ready to get started?

Here is your checklist for internal

communications planning.

read now

RYANN GREVE CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER RGREVE@BADER-RUT TER.COM 262-938 -5466 BADER-RUT TER.COM

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