With digital comms platforms becoming ever more present and important in the workplace, you could be forgiven for asking this question. My answer is a resounding yes. Almost every internal comms audit I do throws up similar results when it comes to managers and their communication accountability: ‘Team Meeting with my Manager’ is always the most preferred channel when it comes to communicating the issues that are most important to them e.g. ‘planned changes and what they mean for me’ But more often than not, the data in my audit survey tells the same story: Typically, 30 % disagree with the ..read more

“Our intranet is a joke” “Sort out the intranet: it needs a complete overhaul – start again!” “We need a modern, interactive intranet” These are actual quotes from our internal comms audits for clients. Intranets are never far from the top of the list when it comes to the aspects of internal communication employees aren’t happy with. But why are so there so many rubbish intranets out there? They have such an important role to play in connecting and engaging employees, helping them collaborate and giving them quick and easy access to the resources they need to do their job. They have become ev ..read more

We normally get asked to help a business with their internal comms when they know from employee feedback – or just instinctively feel – that communications aren’t working well, but they’re not sure how to fix it and want an independent, expert view. Sometimes it’s because they’re embarking on a new strategy or transformation programme, and they know their internal comms aren’t fit for purpose. Whatever your reason for doing it, a new strategy driven by a review can make a real difference to your organisation, helping to drive engagement and business performance. When did you or your organisati ..read more

What do you look for when recruiting internal communications talent? As an interim internal communications leader for businesses across multiple sectors, I’ve often had to build or rebuild internal comms teams. Here are the skills I look for when recruiting an internal comms professional. 1. Commerciality and Business Acumen CEOs and leadership teams want communicators who are on their wave length. That means people with strong business sense who can tap into the leadership team’s view of the organisation, its strategy and priorities and talk their language. To earn a voice at the top table, t ..read more

Digital communication platforms / enterprise social networks have come into their own in the pandemic as organisations have used them to keep people connected while they are apart. Workplace by Facebook is one of the leading platforms and one which I’ve now been involved with a number of times when working with businesses. I used it as the comms hub when interim leading internal comms for Comic Relief in 2019 and last year I led the implementation of Workplace for my local NHS Trust in Bath. I’ve also recently completed an audit for Southern Water where the platform was in use. It gets ..read more

Hats off to internal comms teams everywhere who have stepped up to the plate in the last year. We all know the challenges of connecting with a workforce who are working remotely, particularly when no 3D face to face comms is possible. In the internal comms survey I run with my internal comms audits, I’ve added a question asking respondents to rate their agreement with: ‘Communications during the Coronavirus pandemic have been effective’. The % agreeing / strongly agreeing has been high which is brilliant. With the vaccine rollout gathering pace the light at the end of the tunnel is hopefu ..read more

In our internal communications reviews survey – developed and refined over 15 years of doing these audits – we ask people to select the topics and issues most important to them in terms of being kept informed and involved, from a list of nine options. ‘Planned changes and what they mean for me and my team’ is always in the top 3. Later on in the survey we ask them to rate their agreement with the statement ‘Changes are communicated effectively in this business.’ The percentage agreeing or strongly agreeing with this statement is typically around 40% or lower. Not a great result. Why are organ ..read more

In the current crisis, millions more of us are working from home. But how can businesses keep everyone connected when they’re no longer in the office?  This is when enterprise social network platforms such as Workplace and Yammer will really come into their own, helping to maintain communication, collaboration and connectivity when everyone is working apart. If you haven’t already got one in your organisation or your intranet has no social functionality, now’s the time…. Facebook Workplace is my personal favourite and I had the pleasure of using it again when leading internal comms for Co ..read more

While I have come across Slack in recent years when working for businesses, it has usually been the tool of choice for IT Development teams and not a platform I’d actually used. That changed with my recent interim leadership assignment for Comic Relief where Slack is the tool used by everyone for instant messaging and project and team collaboration. (They also have Facebook Workplace my favourite enterprise social platform which is used as the internal comms hub.) Having used Slack for 6 months I grew to really like it. It’s simple and intuitive to use. Here’s what’s great: Conversions and ..read more

As we deliver internal communications reviews for clients across different sectors, we get to hear from hundreds of employees of businesses across the country about what is important to them when it comes to effective communications. The top three feedback themes have been consistent for the last few years: “We want to connect with the leadership team on a regular basis” This remains right at the top of peoples’ lists. They want to hear about how the business is doing, future plans etc. and what means for them, but more they also want to give feedback, share their day to day experiences with ..read more