4 Companies with Good Internal Communications That Businesses Should Learn From
Internal communications are vital for the survival and prosperity of any business. As a McKinsey report notes, companies with good internal communication using technology will potentially experience a 20-25% increase in productivity.
The scary bit is that 69% of managers report they are uncomfortable communicating with workers. Meanwhile, 57% of employees report not receiving clear instructions. Considering what’s at stake, every business owner should be working out initiatives to encourage two-way communication.
These are some of the ways four companies successfully implemented great internal communication strategies.
1. Buffer
As a fully remote employer, it’s not a stretch to say communication is the company’s lifeblood. Since employees can’t meet face-to-face, they had to either develop an intranet or other communication channels to streamline teamwork.
To enable staff communication, Buffer settled on Slack, a communication software remote workers typically use to enable their workflows. Buffer employed ‘The 10 Slack Commandments’ to assist the transmission of messages on the communication software app. What that contained was guidelines on:
- Etiquette when using the employee app
- Best practices when using the notifications tools
- What and when to communicate
Since Buffer relies wholly on digital communication, it was vital to embed the rules to enable good internal communication. The great thing about the Slack internal communication tool is you can utilize it for real-time communication across time zones.
2. Google
Great internal communication is always challenging for giant companies, so Google took it upon itself to get things right. Despite having over 150,000 employees, they ensure every worker is abreast of the latest development and requirements.
It first starts with human resources (HR), who drill into employees the notion that everyone is inherently good. That way, they shouldn’t fear sharing information. Towards that end, new employees get access to almost everything on day one. Even new software engineers can access Google’s core algorithms and code right off the bat.
The co-founders host the entire workforce in person or through video calls during the weekly meeting. Employees will share weekly updates, conduct product demonstrations, and welcome new hires as per company culture. After that, the owners will field questions for 30 minutes straight on any topic.
3. Royal London
The company holds more than £130 billion in management funds, so it’s a given that effective internal communication is crucial. Royal London struggled with customer feedback and communication between employees and management.
They settled on surveys, but they rethought the entire process of collecting surveys. While most companies insist on stating employee names and positions when submitting surveys, Royal London did away with this requirement.
Emboldened by this, everyone had a free reign to give their feedback without fear of retribution. This encourages employee feedback, improving engagement across the entire organization.
Since employees feel management heard their plight, it will improve engagement in the entire organization. Having engaged employees is essential since a Salesforce report notes workers are 4.6 times more likely to perform to their best if they feel the senior managers heard their voices.
4. Bridgewater Associates
It may only have 1,500 employees, but Bridgewater Associates are the world’s largest hedge fund, managing over $150 billion. The standout corporate culture the owner introduced was “Radical Transparency.” It is a communication method empowering honest employee communication, allowing the best ideas to rise to the top.
In addition, Bridgewater Associates records all company meetings among the leadership team and avails them to the entire team. A great way to display the videos would be digital signage, which you can use to show vivid content. Besides internal comms, the communications team can use it for displaying metrics, company news, and social media feed company-wide.
By availing of all the meeting footage, team members learn what was decided by the management. Moreover, workers will understand the management’s train of thought and the company’s communication culture, which is vital for implementing policies.
Bridgewater Associates’ owner has created an open-door policy that enables employees to tell him what they really think and be free to do so without facing backlash. That allows workers and senior management to share and explore mistakes and personal weaknesses, helping the company improve.
How Companies With Good Internal Communication Benefit
Considering well-informed workers outbested the less informed by 77%, according to TeamStage, there are benefits of ensuring good internal communication. Most of the above companies embraced and implemented good internal communication habits and reaped handsome rewards.
Some of the benefits companies with good internal communication enjoy include enhanced employee trust, morale, engagement, and job satisfaction. Further, it mitigates conflict, creates cohesion, and eliminates confusion.
In return, the employer will realize improved employee experience, increased innovation, productivity, adaptability, retention, and an improved bottom line. Moreover, an employer can count on faster problem solving, enhanced public relations, and a heightened brand image.
