Tag: internal communications

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4 tips for using technology to improve your internal communications strategy

How to use technology in your internal communications strategy

Summary

  • Strong internal communications help employees feel connected and engaged with company leadership.

  • Digital workplace communications are evolving — employees prefer strategies and platforms that help them collaborate with their coworkers and stay up-to-date with scheduling needs.

  • It’s possible to overwhelm your workers with too many pings and updates. Use technology efficiently in your internal comms plan.

An effective internal communications strategy is to your employees like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm: a beacon of light that they can follow even in the midst of unexpected obstacles and turbulence. They can stay focused on the task at hand to overcome any challenges and arrive safely back at port — or, in your company’s case, to seamlessly reach the goals you collectively set out to achieve.

But fragmented communications and radio silence from leadership can make employees feel lost and uninformed. They might not be prepared to face challenges head-on and effectively meet business needs. And, most importantly, they might lack the confidence and the desire to keep pushing forward if they feel like they’re not getting clear directions from company leadership. One study found that 85% of employees say they’re most motivated in their roles when management offers regular updates on company news.

Internal communication mistakes can also lead to low morale, reduced productivity, and increased employee turnover. If you’re using outdated communication methods or ignoring employee feedback about the way your organization communicates, you might already be suffering these consequences. 

And if you don’t have an internal communications plan at all, you’ll want to get one in place so your workers can receive regular insights from your senior management team, understand the company mission and goals, and send dynamic updates about their own availability. Because technology is the linchpin of internal comms in today’s digital-first working world, you’ll need to make sure you’re implementing these tools in your employee communication.

1. Offer a variety of communications channels

Some employees may feel comfortable asking questions over the phone or via a messaging tool, but others prefer to communicate face-to-face. The same truth holds for workplace conversations, from asking about your PTO or health care benefits to reporting harassment. Don’t assume that “young people” prefer digital communication and “older people” prefer in-person conversations. Employees don’t fit into cliched stereotypes like that, and some will need to have in-person conversations about certain topics. 

Still, digital, mobile-enabled communication is one of the key tools to keep an organization’s strategy from being outdated. For instance, in today’s hybrid, digital-first work environments, many employees prefer collaborative platforms to support their communication goals and needs. At least one-third of business users would choose Slack or Microsoft Teams over a traditional channel like email. And for hourly workers, dynamic, real-time communication is often needed to stay up-to-date on schedules and shift openings.

Give employees options, and make sure that one of the options is a communication tool that allows employees an easy, convenient way to reach out privately to their employer — and their teammates — at any time. Your communication tools should make it easy for workers to communicate with each other and their managers about shift changes, availability, task management, and other updates.

2. Consider how you will communicate in response to a crisis

Whether a natural disaster, PR mishap, or global pandemic, crises are a time when employers especially need an action plan to stay on top of internal communications. 

For example, with natural disasters like winter storms and hurricanes — which may disrupt an employee’s commute or comfort level of going into work at all — organizations can communicate with employees through corporate social media channels, mobile communication platforms, or even simple phone trees to keep everyone in the loop. For employees who have to work remotely following the aftermath of a storm or other crisis, workplace communication that keeps them updated on the facts and that shows sympathy for the struggles they’re going through will be appreciated. That’s important for managing your company culture through difficult times.

This is another situation in which internal communication tools will benefit employers and employees. Managers can give employees time-sensitive updates as soon as possible — and post them more frequently. Employees can reach out to their managers to ask about projects they’re working on and shifts they want to pick up to stay informed about quickly changing priorities and plans. 

It’s also really key to offer your workers the opportunity to give feedback about your crisis communications plan. Harvard Business Review writes, “Organizational leaders must communicate the channels available to offer feedback and should emphasize how much they care about hearing from employees at all levels.” Consider creating an anonymous channel for employees to leave their thoughts and make it clear that they can reach out to HR and their supervisor if they want to talk.

3. Keep remote teams engaged

Of course, even outside of pandemics or blizzards, it’s commonplace for employees to work remotely or hybrid. And more effort to communicate is required to help remote workers feel connected with the rest of the team. 

According to previous Workforce coverage, people are most engaged when their jobs provide them with a sense of autonomy, purpose, and mastery. Autonomy means they are able to work according to their own schedule and the way they like to work. There’s no micromanagement, provided deadlines and key performance indicators (KPIs) are met. Purpose means feeling that the work they do matters and that they’re aligned with the values of the organization. Mastery means performing high-quality work and improving every day.

This is a good thing for managers. They don’t need to overdo their digital communication with remote workers, lest they micromanage. Rather, what managers can do to engage remote workers is let them know what is expected and provide them with clear initiatives and timelines so they know what success looks like. Clear, direct communication is appreciated in this case, and an easy-to-use digital solution is an effective way to keep these conversations with remote workers going. 

4. Watch out for digital overload 

Employees must manage a steady stream of virtual messages, from emails to instant messages and pings from project management and shift scheduling apps. It’s easy to get bogged down by this never-ending flood of information. As helpful as technology can be in a good internal communications strategy, the possibility of overdoing it to the point where employees can’t check all their messages in a timely manner is very real.

Employees can work on their time management skills. That might mean shutting down their email or messaging apps while they work on time-consuming tasks to avoid getting distracted by a deluge of notifications. You could also create some type of request system so that people know when to come to them with tasks (or when notifications are muted for deep work), how much notice they need, and a timeframe to complete it. Your internal communication processes should be designed to inspire deeper collaboration and clear up basic questions instead of creating more.

Employers, meanwhile, can address this information overload by being strategic about how they share information and company announcements. Coordinating schedules and plans, sending out announcements, and receiving automatic updates on shift tasks can all be done through one workforce management platform. 

Keep messages brief by finding a digital tool that eliminates manual scheduling via phone calls and texts. Most importantly, listen to employee feedback if communication processes are getting overwhelming.

Take a collaborative approach to your corporate communications

It might seem natural to take a top-down approach to your internal communications strategy, dishing out company-wide news to employees in a weekly newsletter and soliciting feedback only in a quarterly survey. But true communication is a two-way street. As much as your employees need to hear from leadership about business goals, direction, and updates, company leaders should keep up to date with employees. 

What are their career aspirations? Are individuals and departments on track to reach business objectives? An effective IC strategy, powered by collaborative tools and practices, will enable you to listen to employees on key issues and measure their feedback. Together, you can work towards company goals, improve processes, and raise productivity.

Whether you have a mostly remote workforce or a storefront full of shift workers, Workforce.com can help. Its employee communications feature allows managers to share company or team announcements, send important documents, and give feedback to employees — all with the convenience of using your own mobile device.

Book a call today to find out more about how you can boost your workforce’s internal communication strategy.

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Keys to effectively managing a remote workforce

employee communication

Today’s growing remote workforce has transformed our way of working and created a new normal that’s far from ordinary. This shift in how we work has created the need for new strategies and tactics for effectively reaching and engaging employees remotely. 

As some companies claim remote working is here to stay, workforce leaders and business managers must develop and hone remote workforce management skills, identifying and refining ways to ensure employees feel supported and can continue working effectively outside the office. 

Understand your employee base and communicate accordingly

coronavirus, COVID-19, remote workforceRemote working isn’t a new concept, but the broader shift to remote working caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is unique. Employees who are accustomed to working from home or enjoy remote working will thrive during this time. Others will struggle to successfully navigate their new work environment. 

Show grace to employees and colleagues who you know are struggling to adapt. As a workforce leader, it’s your job to ensure employees feel supported and are poised for success, regardless of their unique situation. Avoid taking a one-size-fits-all approach to communication.  

Regardless of communication style and preferences, schedule regular video and/or phone check-ins with your team and employees. Face-to-face communication is more important now than ever before. Video conversations with employees you might not see face-to-face, whether that’s because you sit in different offices or your workstreams don’t frequently overlap, can help you forge strong relationships across your entire organization. 

Provide resources to meet employee needs

Understand your team’s needs and put resources in place to help meet them. Host virtual town halls, consultation sessions and webinars on important issues impacting both your organization and the world. Whether that’s celebrating diversity to promote unity or offering support for working parents, do your best to provide the right resources for employees.

In addition to identifying specific needs, remaining cognizant of the work/life balance is crucial. Share what you’re doing to maintain a healthy work/life balance. Suggest outlets for your team to relieve stress and disconnect, whether that’s through exercising, meditating, reading, cooking, painting or volunteering. 

Knowing they have your support in maintaining a definitive work/life balance  — even if that means taking a break during working hours  — is key to positively impacting your employees’ mental and emotional well-being. Although more employees are working from home and many travel restrictions are in place, you should also encourage your team to fully sign off by using their vacation days (as available and in line with company policy). 

Maintain open lines of direct communication

When working remotely, it’s important for employees and colleagues to know that you’re available even though they can’t come to your office or meet in a conference room. Communicate the times of day you’re typically available and your preferred methods of virtual communication.

 I’ve developed a system with my supervisor: If my boss sends me a text message, the ask needs to be addressed immediately, while an instant message is less urgent. If I want to schedule an ad-hoc meeting, it should be scheduled for early morning. Communicate to employees the best time and ways to reach you, and be virtually available when you say you will be.

This goes both ways. At a time when homes have become home offices, developing an understanding of your employees’ schedules and demonstrating your support will go a long way. Is there a window of time when their child is napping and that’s when they prefer to schedule meetings? Do they like to unplug in the afternoon, perhaps to take a walk with their dog? 

Work to understand your employees’ schedules, and do your best to support them.

Employee management through effective communication

Managing a remote workforce effectively comes from truly knowing your employees and working hard to meet them where they are. During this tumultuous time, when possible, keep it light. Share a piece of good news, a poem, story or quote that’s meaningful to you. Look on the bright side and encourage employees and colleagues to do the same.

Being a constant in your employees’ lives, communicating with them, listening to them and building real connections is key to successful leadership today and every day. 

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The Past, Present and Future of Internal Communication

engaged at work, employee engagement

Effective communication with internal staff ensures that all parties are on the same page. Without alignment on company goals, mission and values, confusion can easily ensue. That’s where Robyn Hannah steps in. As senior director of global communication at Dynamic Signal, an employee communication and engagement platform based in San Bruno, California, she leads the communication strategy both internally and externally, ensuring that employees know how to complete items as fundamental as signing up for health insurance to as complex as delivering business goals.

In an interview with Talent Economy [Workforce‘s sister publication], Hannah shared her observations of internal communication practices, what she sees for the future and suggestions for how to start a strong internal communication strategy on a dime. Edited excerpts follow.

TALENT ECONOMY: What exactly is internal communication and why is it important?

ROBYN HANNAH: Communication is the vehicle through which we disseminate corporate goals, business objectives and company culture. These things that make up the fabric of our organization disseminate to our employees, and from our employees to our customers, through communication. I think it is fundamentally how we create alignment within our company; it’s how we allow employees to know who we are as a company and what our values are; it’s how they understand our company goals, whether that’s for the year or quarter; it’s how employees can prioritize.

If you’re dealing with a difficult customer and maybe they are operating outside of your business values, maybe you have to retire a customer. Some of those tough business decisions can be bounced against the framework of who you are as an organization, what your vision and mission and values are, and the only way for employees to know those things, to make those decisions and to have that criteria is by having some vehicle for delivery, which is truly internal communication.

“Someone has to create alignment. Your employees are your most-valued asset. You do not have a company without your employees.”

— Robyn Hannah, senior director of global communication at Dynamic Signal

TE: Historically, how has this role changed?

HANNAH: For different companies of different communication maturity levels, internal communication can mean different things. For some, it’s very tactical. It’s blocking and tackling. It’s here’s your information. For a long time, the intranet or maybe posters in a breakroom have been internal communication for a lot of organizations. But that doesn’t work anymore.

Technology has fundamentally changed the way that we communicate in our everyday lives. We live in this app economy where news and information and content push to us. No longer do we have this destination model. I don’t go to the New York Times on my browser, right? I get a push notification, and that information that is being pushed to me is based on topics that I’ve self selected are relevant to me.

I think internal communication at companies is starting to reflect more the way that we communicate in our everyday lives. The enterprise has been a little behind. There are still a lot of companies that are using intranets and posters. Part of the evolution is that we’re moving to proactively providing employees news and information that’s relevant for them to do their job, and we’re now able to deliver it in a way that’s convenient for them.

Also read: Make Benefits and Internal Communications Inseparable

At Dynamic Signal, our employee communication and engagement platform is designed to meet employees where they’re at with targeted, relevant, timely content and information delivered to them on the channel that is most convenient for the way that they work. If you are in finance and you sit behind a computer all day, maybe getting internal communication about your open enrollment period or a new leadership appointment via email makes sense for you. Maybe you’ll read your email. But if you are a sales executive, when you’re looking in your inbox, you’re only looking for customers and trying to close business. You’ll mentally ignore those internal emails as, “I can get back to that later.” But what if they’re really important?

If the goal of internal communication is to align employees to business objectives and goals, disseminate culture and values, help employees prioritize their day and make sure that they’re getting the information they need as efficiently as possible, we need to find ways to get it to them in a way that makes sense for them. That’s a big part of the evolution.

Beyond that, what’s been really interesting is we’re seeing more and more appointments of chief communication officers. The CCO is a relatively new C-suite position, but it seems like every week we’re seeing more large companies appoint somebody as CCO. They’re really consolidating communication under one org, whereas in the past, maybe internal communication sat under HR or operations, and external communication — things like social media, public relations — sat under a marketing team.

The problem is that today, the speed of communication, the fact that everybody is on mobile and everyone is getting news and information at their fingertips all the time via news apps and Twitter, there’s no longer a sense of internal communication and external communication. It’s really confidential communication and everything else.

The other really important and I think notable advance in internal communication is around measurement. So many other parts of the organization, especially marketing, have become very data driven. And historically, internal comms has been seen as this soft, cushy part of the business. We put an email out there and said, “Open enrollment starts now. Please read. Action required!” We didn’t have any measurement. We didn’t know what was happening with penetration; we didn’t know what employee sentiment was; we didn’t know what employee engagement was; we didn’t know how employees were feeling or receiving the information. It was this sort of spray and pray mentality. Communication now looks at things beyond just open rates but engagement, time on page, are employees taking action on some of the information they’re given?

I think measurement is how communications will continue to earn a seat at the table. It’s hard to get budget or authority when you don’t have data. Communicators I think have always known that internal communication is critical when it comes to things like alignment, understanding business goals and objectives, driving culture throughout the organization. But if you have no way of measuring that, you can’t prove that. You can’t get resources or budget or headcount to support those efforts.

TE: In your position at Dynamic Signal, what do you communicate internally and externally?

HANNAH: There’s so much! We want to make sure our employees know how to enroll in the 401(k) or go see the doctor. We want them to have those sort of basic, HR communication functions, but it can also be the lunch menu for the week or our holiday schedule.

We have things like Women of DySi and Pets of DySi and DySi Cares, which is our CSR group. So we have these employee affinity groups that people can choose to join and connect with other employees around issues that are important to them. We have this whole internal channel of people who submit photos of their pets. It’s been fun to see these other sides of your colleagues’ lives that you wouldn’t normally see.

We also want our employees to be very well-informed about what our company goals are. Our CEO sends video messages saying, “Great Q1! Here’s what happened and what we’re looking to accomplish in Q2.” We also host all-hands meetings with an AMA [Ask Me Anything] session. We’ll send out that notification to all of our employees through different channels — whichever channel works best for them — and we let them know that this is coming up and they can submit questions that they want to ask the CEO. I think our objectives are always ensuring that employees feel celebrated, connected, aligned, know what our goals and objectives are and that they feel valued as people.

On the external side of things, we’re sharing what we’re doing in the industry, our thought leadership and some of our research externally, but it’s not enough for us to just share that from our own branded channels. In my role as far as public relations and media relations go, it’s exciting to get to go speak to communications professionals and share all of this, but it’s really important for us that our employees feel empowered to be storytellers, too.

We are very careful about who we hire because we want every employee to feel empowered to be a brand ambassador and an employee advocate. We push a lot of our news out to our employees to share across their own networks, in their own voice. And different employees share different things. That’s perfect because everyone brings a unique and diverse perspective to the company, and we use our communication tools to empower them to tell those stories externally. We believe that external storytelling success begins with internal communication.

“External storytelling success begins with internal communication.”

— Robyn Hannah, senior director of global communication at Dynamic Signal

TE: For smaller companies that might not have the funds for an internal communication role, who typically owns this, and what advice would you have for them?

HANNAH: Internal communication is a non-negotiable. Someone has to create alignment. Your employees are your most-valued asset. You do not have a company without your employees. And employees who don’t know what your goals are as a business, don’t know who you are as a company and what your values are and what your mission is, they can’t function and you will not be successful as an organization if you ignore the fact that employees are your most-valued asset. Whether it’s an executive or HR or someone in marketing, communicating with your most-valued asset — the people who truly represent your business to the world — is a non-negotiable.

I think you just have to start, even if you have nothing in place. Someone has to say, “Our employees are important; they need to know what’s happening in the company; they need to know what we’re driving to as a company; they need to know that we value them because we recognize we don’t have a business without them.”

If all you have is email, start with email. If all you have is an open space where you can gather people together, go face time. If you’re a small company and can get everybody in one space, great. Or use Skype or Google Teams or whatever digital tool you need to get people together.

My advice is to start doing something. And sometimes asking forgiveness is better than asking permission. We all have a phone in our pocket with video and camera capability. You can start a free social media account and start to take photos and video of your employees and what their day-to-day looks like. Celebrate the people who make your company what it is. Highlight and showcase them. Create a sense of pride and loyalty. Start to empower them to tell their story on social media. That doesn’t cost any money.

This story originally appeared in Workforce‘s sister publication Talent Economy.

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Poor Internal Communication Can Be a Costly Mistake for Businesses

employee communications

Poor internal communication can have some seriously negative impacts on a company — poor morale, high employee turnover and lower employee productivity, to name a few. Worse yet, these can lead to a lasting effect on a company’s bottom line.

employee communicationsStatistics show that plenty of businesses could stand to improve in this area. According to a 2018 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. study, 60 percent of companies don’t have a long-term internal communication strategy, though about half said they wanted to make improving leadership communication a top priority.

Also read: How to use technology in your internal communications strategy

Additionally, replacing a worker can cost a company 33 percent of that worker’s annual salary. And lower morale leads to actively disengaged employees, which results in reduced productivity. Productivity loss costs the U.S. a whopping $550 billion each year, according to a Gallup report. Turnover and lower morale can also make it more difficult for a company to attract the talent it needs to move forward.

These problems should give businesses powerful incentive to improve communication with employees.

Three Internal Communication Problems to Avoid

Here are some of the most common communication problems companies face and how to avoid them:

  1. Using outdated communication methods. With many companies going paperless, email has become the primary form of communication because it’s quick and efficient. However, it can also be a source of decreased productivity, as employee inboxes can quickly get cluttered with frivolous emails that hide important messages. The constant influx of new messages can also be a distraction from completing important tasks.

Companies can try focusing on mobile-driven communication instead. Company apps such as G Suite, Asana and Slack offer a new way to communicate and engage employees via their smartphones or tablets. This is especially ideal as the workforce demographics are changing to include nontraditional employees like remote workers, contract-based workers and freelancers.

An employee app provides workers with easy access to corporate information and workplace tools while cutting out the clutter of irrelevant messages and keeping all employees on the same page. Many employees also prefer the use of apps over email. For example, our clients and even some vendors prefer communicating via Slack channels rather than email to touch base quickly and share relevant documents.

  1. Not having an internal communication strategy. Many times, companies place their focus on putting a solid strategy in place for external communications with their customers, but developing an internal communication strategy is just as important. In fact, poor internal communication, along with poor coaching of frontline workers, can result in poor communication with customers. This limits a company’s ability to build a sense of loyalty among customers. Here are some tips to help you start building an internal communication strategy that works:
  • Assess your current internal communication and where you want to be. What has worked successfully and what hasn’t?
  • Identify and track key metrics. What data points matter to you? Is it how many people access your intranet, social media shares and comments from your staff, or customer service issues? Identifying and setting goals that align with your business objectives will be important.
  • Identify and segment your internal audience. Not all communication needs to go to everyone.
  • Identify your communication tools. This can include email, face-to-face meetings, social media, an intranet, company apps and more. Pick the channel that works best for the audience and the type of message you are communicating.
  1. A lack of feedback. A lack of feedback can cause employees to feel like their voices aren’t being heard and can have a significant impact on employee turnover. HR professionals and managers often communicate with employees about policies and procedures without taking the time to listen to them. If you want to implement a comprehensive communication strategy, it should include two-way communication.

Not only does listening to employee issues and concerns improve productivity and build loyalty, but it’s also an opportunity to learn about issues or concerns before they escalate into a formal complaint.

Start a feedback loop process through authentic and consistent communication between managers and employees. Providing feedback benefits a company by increasing engagement and helping to move the company forward. Up to 80 percent of an organization’s opportunity for improvement comes from frontline employees.

Now that you understand what’s at stake when a company has poor internal communication, you can begin taking the necessary steps to avoid these pitfalls. If you don’t take the time to develop a solid strategy, you’re putting your company at risk of losing touch with employees in addition to losing money.

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How Business Leaders Should Respond During Crises

crisis communication

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017, HR consulting company ADP jumped into action to support its 36 employees living in the U.S. territory.crisis communication

In the event of a major emergency that impacts its employees, ADP conducts associate safety and welfare checks, which involve an emergency notification system that reaches out to workers via call, text and email to ask if they need assistance, said Zona Walton, senior director of global business resiliency at ADP. Her team achieves 100 percent response in these instances, no matter what it takes. In the event of Hurricane Maria, though, ongoing power outages made these safety checks more challenging and involved search and rescue efforts.

“It can take us hours, it can take us days, and it can take us weeks,” she said. In Puerto Rico, it took several days to locate all employees around the island. “We’re continuing to support Puerto Rico, and we probably will for quite some time, just because of the devastation on the island and the needs of our associates we have there,” Walton said at the time of publication.

ADP provides whatever the workers need, particularly MREs (meals ready to eat), water, flashlights and batteries, but they can also support employees financially. Through its ADP Cares fund, its employees make donations, which are then matched by the company. These funds are available as donations to workers in crisis. Financial support and outreach from employees — particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria — have been incredibly heartwarming, Walton said.

“We see that from one event to the next,” she said.

Balance a corporate statement between acknowledging the tragedy but not panicking.

Walton said her team has activated crisis management for 12 events between Aug. 1 and Nov. 2 of 2017. These events have included hurricanes, wildfires and terrorist attacks that could affect the safety of their employees. Her team had to account for about 8,800 ADP workers.

Walton has seen an uptick in crisis management, partly due to an increase in terrorist attacks and extreme weather events, and partly due to an increased emphasis on employee safety and security, both at ADP and at companies as a whole.

“This is an evolving space,” said Trusha Palkhiwala, vice president of global HR services at ADP. “I think companies are trying to figure out where their right role fits.”

Sharing Sympathy

Although the humanitarian efforts in Puerto Rico have largely been about the physical safety of workers, other tragedies can call for emotional support, Palkhiwala said, leading ADP to communicate their employee assistance programs or even bring counselors to offices.

ADP CEO Carlos Rodriguez also reaches out in some cases. Without sharing political views, it’s normal for him to express sympathy for victims, Palkhiwala said.

Another CEO advised to take a similar approach to corporate communications. If it’s the CEO’s personality to contact employees or the company as a whole in the aftermath of tragedies, then they should, said Adam Ochstein, founder and CEO of StratEx, a Chicago-based human resources software company. However, if they don’t usually make a statement, doing so could come across as panicked.

And communication doesn’t have to be from the CEO, necessarily. “Whoever is kind of like that culture cop for the company should be the one that’s writing or driving the message on it,” he said. At a large enterprise, this could be a supervisor for a department or region who then accesses corporate resources such as EAPs. Also, it’s crucial to communicate these services in common areas, such as the company break room or portal.

Ochstein suggested balancing a corporate statement between acknowledging the tragedy but not to panic. “We’re not putting our heads in the sand. At the same time, we also don’t want to get everyone panicked either, but let’s talk about this, and let’s share how we’re all respectively feeling about it.”

“It’s OK to come across as vulnerable, upset and to show your humanity.”

— Adam Ochstein, founder and CEO of StratEx

As an example of how not to respond after a tragedy, he cited New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s statement about the Oct. 31, 2017, terrorist attack in New York City, which left eight people dead and 12 more injured. “The reaction by New Yorkers, as evidenced last night, this morning, people got up, they went to work, children went to school, and that’s what makes New Yorkers special. That strength. That resilience,” Cuomo said.

Ochstein liked Cuomo’s business-as-usual attitude, but if the statement “doesn’t have an empathetic chord struck along with that tough New Yorker bravado, then it comes across as cold and insensitive and callous,” he said. “One without the other causes issues. If I’m too mushy, then no work gets done and you paralyze people. If I have too much of that bravado, then I’m seen as insensitive and callous and unkind.”

In events that impact workers the most, Ochstein suggested business leaders post a blog, have a town hall session and have opportunities for the company and its employees to give back to their communities.

Additional advice from Ochstein includes expressing that an event is impacting them. “It’s OK to come across as vulnerable, upset and to show your humanity,” he said.

Ochstein also advised business leaders to be as prepared as possible ahead of events. In instances of natural disasters that are predictable, preparation is feasible. “The unnatural tragedies, unfortunately, there’s been a lot of those over the last several years, so sadly, we’re getting good practice,” Ochstein said.

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Personal Lessons in Communicating Change

At the start of the year, I took a personal crash course in navigating organizational change. Despite consulting on issues around change management for most of my career, I learned it’s a different animal when you’re right in the middle of it yourself. Going through a big change reinforced a lot of what I know — and it gave me some new insights.

The source of all this change? My company, Benz Communications, joined forces with The Segal Group on Jan. 1. By absolutely all measures, this was — and is — an awesome step for our team, our business and our clients.

Segal is an 80-year-old privately held employee benefits and HR consulting firm that works with an amazing group of clients around the country. Our communications team doubled from 30 to 60 people, and we are so proud to be part of an organization with Segal’s history, values, people and clients. One of my favorite comments from a member of my team was “I feel like I just got an even better job — along with 30 of my best friends.”

Still, all the good stuff doesn’t mean change isn’t hard.

One of the things I learned is that it takes people a while to digest information when they are caught off guard. Fortunately, we were able to share our news in person with the Benz team during our annual end-of-year celebration in November.

But they were expecting to enjoy the time with colleagues and rejoice in all the great work we created during the year; no one was expecting me to announce a huge organizational change like this. That kind of surprise, no matter how good the news is, creates anxiety.

Also in Benefits Beat: Make Benefits and Internal Communications Inseparable

One of my team members said, “I know your lips were moving, but I didn’t absorb a thing you said.” It highlights an important lesson for corporate communicators, reinforcing why you have to give people time to absorb information and why you need to say things many times and in multiple ways.

It was also a reminder that leaders and employees experience change in entirely different ways. When I talk to clients about this, I tell them to remember that leaders have more context, more insight, more control and more notice.

It takes people a while to digest information when they are caught off guard. No matter how good the news is, surprise creates anxiety.

Those factors make it hard to put themselves in employees’ shoes. Even so, I was surprised by how big a blind spot I had in predicting my team’s concerns. Fortunately, people felt comfortable telling me exactly what they and their colleagues needed (it helps to have several communications consultants among them!). But over and over, I was disappointed in myself for not being able to anticipate their concerns on my own.

One example: Benefits changes are hard — even for a team of benefits experts. We didn’t have much time to move the Benz team onto Segal’s systems and benefits.

It’s hard getting up to speed on new programs, understanding how they compare to the old ones and making decisions — especially when you have so many other questions and concerns bubbling around. And present discomfort obscures long-term gain.

Our benefits package at Segal is far richer than what we had as a small business — we have a 401(k) match and a pension plan! But when your prescription ID card doesn’t arrive and you’re at the pharmacy with a sick kiddo, you’re not thinking about your pension plan.

And that was a big lesson for me. In times of change, not only do you need to communicate more, but you also need to thoughtfully engineer the small stuff.

Also in Benefits Beat: Employers Should Be Bold With Their Benefits

Go above and beyond to make sure there are no kinks in the systems or information flow. I recently caught up with a longtime friend and client who works for a large global corporation. She is immersed in M&A all year, because their business strategy relies so much on acquiring new companies. She said they have perfected almost everything about acquiring new companies — except delivering medical plan ID cards. That’s still a huge pain point for new employees and the one thing that continues to be a disconnect. It’s the small stuff.

I hope these personal anecdotes will help you navigate your next big change. While they are the lessons learned, we did plenty of things the right way, too.

Most importantly, we started from a place of trust and transparency, built from an employee-centered culture. And we joined an organization that shares our core values and also prioritizes doing the right thing for employees. Those are the best things any organization can have to help navigate the inevitable changes ahead.

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Make Benefits and Internal Communications Inseparable

Ask any HR professional what they think of their internal communications group and you’re likely to get an answer at one extreme or the other.

Either you’ll hear about an incredibly strong and strategic working relationship or you’ll get an eye roll with a story about how impossible they are to work with. When meeting your HR goals requires reaching and engaging employees — like during open enrollment — ensuring that relationship is working becomes even more critical.

While sometimes seen as a roadblock or gatekeeper, an internal communications team can be a vocal advocate for the benefits team’s goals and vision, supporting their efforts and ensuring campaigns resonate with employees. That is why making that relationship strong and successful is a key goal in our work.

With that in mind, my colleague Lindsay Kohler identified these helpful guidelines for working with internal communications teams. As part of our team, she’s designed and orchestrated global internal communications strategies. In her prior role, she was part of the benefits team at Nordstrom, managing all benefits communication and working with Nordstrom’s internal communications group.

Appreciate their role. Internal communications teams are responsible for ensuring that what every department communicates is clear, on brand, in support of business priorities, and timely. They need to make sure communications are scheduled so that employees aren’t overwhelmed by competing messages but also don’t miss key events or deadlines.

Internal communications teams have to strike a delicate balance. They are the liaison between every department within every business unit and the employee. At the same time, they’re often accountable to the marketing and PR departments, which have different objectives than HR teams.

By understanding their priorities and how they want to support HR, you can better partner with them to make your communications shine.

Understand what’s important to your executive team. Your internal communications partners will share those same organizational priorities, which should drive your benefits goals as well. Keep those strategic goals in mind as you think through what you want to communicate, and you’ll find it easier to win their support to make it happen.

internal comms and benefits Bring in your internal communications partner early. When you make sure they’re in the loop from the get-go, internal communications can prioritize resources on your behalf and be your advocate and champion. They can point out potential issues before you’re too far along to change direction. And they can even lend a hand in drafting and delivering communications.

Be open to their point of view. HR teams and communications professionals are bound to have differences of opinion at some point. These disagreements don’t need to be adversarial. By being open to their feedback, you can create a better partnership on behalf of employees.

Treat them as equals, not as gatekeepers. Often, we hear HR teams complain that “everything has to go through so-and-so in internal communications.” On the flip side, internal communications teams assume that they have to say something about every deliverable because they’re being treated as if they are gatekeepers. A slight change in the way you ask for their review can help you shift to a more strategic working relationship. “Here’s what I’m planning to send; I’d like your advice” is much more collaborative than “Can you review and approve?”

Recognize that your priorities may differ from those of your organization. Internal communications teams do their best to accommodate content from all departments. But there will be times that certain initiatives will have to be prioritized over yours. Don’t let that be discouraging. And remember that getting early buy-in will ensure you don’t get many “no’s.”

Ask your internal communications team to schedule regular summits. Communication summits are an ideal way to generate a holistic view of the communication landscape within an organization. With a deeper understanding of everything, employees are being expected to absorb and act on, you can adjust your own communication plans accordingly.

HR and benefits teams and internal communication teams play different roles within companies, but your goals align around doing what’s best for employees. You’ll find that working in collaboration with your internal communications partners will make it easier for you to achieve success.