Since I joined Sparrow Connected, I've been on a learning journey. Every day I learn more about the internal comms profession, the challenges and the opportunities. So much of what I learn on a daily basis is from the internal comms professionals I speak with.
Last week, I was speaking with an internal comms leader at a growing company of about 200 employees. She shared a link to a Small Business Guide to Internal Communications by Salesforce with me that I found really interesting. I thought I'd share four tips from the guide here to help and inspire internal comms pros at small and medium-sized companies.
1. Master Thoughtful, Balanced Messaging
One of the most challenging aspects of small business communication is deciding what to share, and what to keep private. Sharing non-essential information can be a bore to employees and cause them to undervalue your messages but sharing too much critical or sensitive information can cause unnecessary stress and distraction.
Ask the following five questions to ensure you’re considering employee needs when communicating important information:
- Is it crucial to the health, performance, and overall well-being of your employees?
- What date do they need this information by and why do they need it?
- What would happen if they didn’t receive this information?
- Is the information true and concrete, or can it change drastically in the near future?
- How can you make it simple and accessible without minimizing its meaning?
Tip: Create a habit of asking these questions anytime you plan to share the news with employees.
2. Anticipate and Prepare for Employee Responses
Next, consider how employees might feel when they receive the information you’re preparing to share. Any change, big or small, is likely to generate discussion. It’s important to anticipate what employees may feel after hearing the news, and how those emotions might prompt questions or concern.
Before announcing something, consider:
- Who at your company does this impact?
- How could it affect each person’s professional life?
- How could it affect each person’s personal life?
- If you put yourself in each of these person’s shoes, what questions would you have?
- How can you include the answers to these questions when you deliver the information?
- How can you make yourself (or another executive) available to answer these questions?
Contemplating these outcomes can ensure that you’re prepared to manage the impact your announcement may have on employees.
3. Ask for Feedback and Leverage Surveys
A strong communication plan leverages employee feedback. It’s key that companies understand the value and importance of employee feedback. Gathering a diverse range of honest feedback from across your organization ensures that you continue to create a culture that welcomes and supports all skills, backgrounds, and identities.
Get employee feedback on things like internal changes, new protocols, and communication methods. Soliciting feedback online surveys can help you drive employee engagement and make employees feel safe and comfortable giving their opinion because not everyone is comfortable sharing feedback verbally.
4. Develop a Regular Communication Cadence
After you’ve devised a plan for delivering thoughtful messaging and responding with grace, decide how you’ll deliver communication—and how often.
The way you communicate matters, from email newsletters to chat updates, you want to deliver information in a way that aligns with employee expectations. For example, small business owners may not know that 70 percent of employees wish their employers used text messages to communicate information.
Since the best form of communication for your employees depends on their specific preferences, you might send out a survey or feedback form to glean their input first.
An internal communication plan is essential for establishing a culture of openness and trust. When you’ve crafted a clear way of communicating with employees, you’ll be much more in tune with what your business needs to hear.
Meet Sparrow Connected - The IC Platform that Grows with Your Company
At Sparrow Connected, we’re laser-focused on internal communications and continuously evolving our IC platform to scale and meet the changing needs of the internal comms pros - from startups to large enterprises and every stage in between.
Learn how Sparrow Connected platform helps SMBs manage internal communications. Book a demo today.
