Back in 2022, a study found that 84 per cent of UK businesses believed internal communications to be critical to employee wellbeing. As someone with over a decade of experience in the area, I can only affirm its importance, to both employees and employers.
Internal comms, often defined as the effective flow of information between an organisation’s departments and its employees, has a clear role in business strategy. It helps engage employees, align them with the business vision, mission, and values, and become aware of their role in the bigger picture.
Yet too often, leaders have misconceptions about what internal comms is, let alone what it can help them achieve. Some see it as nothing more than a channel for emails and announcements, others think it only comes into its own during times of crisis - completely overlooking its strategic function.
In actuality, those with strong internal comms get the gift of an organic means to promote and sell their brand. An engaged workforce that knows, and can communicate a brand’s ethos, is one of the most effective marketing strategies.
The relationship between internal comms and branding
The true definition of internal comms is much broader than a brief dictionary summary. It includes actions, such as incentive schemes, and information, received through HR, processes and policies. It also encompasses a more emotive side, specifically brand immersion through values, purpose and mindset.
Here, it becomes clear how deeply connected internal comms are to a company’s image and brand. Branding needs to be authentic, reflecting and projecting company culture, and any values must resonate internally before they can be conveyed externally.
Employees are the primary ambassadors of a brand, and how they perceive and engage with it internally will influence how they represent it to customers and the broader public. If, for example, a brand positions itself as eco-friendly, but employees are unaware of sustainability initiatives, they’re unlikely to communicate this value.
Making meaningful change
If your goal is to simply ‘improve internal comms’, you’re unlikely to get the results you desire. Instead, think about what you want to achieve by investing in this area. Are your organisation's departments siloed and fail to collaborate? Is your tone of voice inconsistent? Do you want to boost morale?
When thinking about this, it's important to speak to people from across the organisation to understand their perception of what the company stands for, its culture, and what it means to them - regardless of how junior or senior they are. More often than not, you’ll get insights you were unaware of, or hear a great idea on how to improve.
The changes that need to be made could be big or small. Just make sure to communicate why you’re making these. Examples which have made an impact include investing in off-site team days, internal initiative schemes, or improvements to the office infrastructure and building.
The latter is often overlooked, but is a key part of internal branding. From signage, to wall murals, it's an opportunity to physically showcase your brand and instil pride. We often talk about the importance of the customer journey, and your office is where employees typically connect with the business in a similar manner.
Of course, we’re now in an age of remote work, with a large part of the workforce working from home. Here, think about what staff first see when they first log in and if you can make improvements to your user interface.
Leaning from what works
At Warbox, we have years of experience supporting brands to transform their internal communications and branding.
Take for example, our work with Blue Light Card. After creating a new brand identity, we demonstrated how this could be activated across Blue Light Card’s new website, social media, printed materials and merchandise, whilst designing the organisation’s new office space.
This helped Blue Light Card’s employees align themselves with the business’s own wider objectives and put it in a stronger position to meet its growth plans. At the beginning of 2020 the business employed 30 staff, and by the middle of 2023, its headcount was 200 - a staggering 567 per cent increase.
When employees can understand, engage with, and embody your brand they’ll become your biggest advocates, with effective customer service and word-of-mouth marketing powerful techniques. Give them every reason to do so by paying attention to your internal comms.
Get in touch with the team at Warbox today to see how we can support your business.