The importance of internal communication in employee motivation is already recognized. However, motivating the internal audience is not the main objective of this segment of Communication. In fact, it is only one of its consequences. By not paying attention to this, companies do not always get it right when implementing internal communication plans and end up making silly mistakes.
And because these failures are still so common, we decided to list five of the main internal communication mistakes that your company should avoid. Check them out and boost communication with your employees!
Not having a specialized and dedicated communication team
It is common to find companies that believe that, since everyone communicates verbally or via email, there is no need to invest in an internal communication department. Generally, there is a makeshift corner within the Human Resources department where an HR professional is made responsible for announcements, bulletin boards, and events.
It is important to remember that each profession has specific training. Therefore, having — at least — a communications professional (journalist, advertiser, or public relations specialist) on your team will make a big difference. After all, this professional has complete training in communication to add to the company’s daily routine and understands how certain actions and strategies are important to make information circulate throughout the company. Certainly, a focused professional will know how to stimulate and formalize dialogue and the exchange of information between different hierarchical levels.
Disregarding the definition of information ambassadors
When implementing an internal communication process, companies often forget to specify who is responsible, in each area, for making the information from their sector circulate.
Even if it is not the manager, it is necessary to have a professional who will respond to the company’s Internal Communication, transmitting information to be worked on or to whom those responsible for internal communication will have easy access. Therefore, define key employees who will be called upon and will act as a bridge between their sector and the Internal Communication team.
Bonus: Learn how to improve your company’s results with internal communication
Failing to correctly define internal communication channels
Several companies use more than one communication channel and still fail to get messages to properly reach the internal audience. This happens because they have not evaluated the best channels or use them inaccurately, such as placing a bulletin board in a busy hallway.
It is necessary, besides defining which communication medium will be most assertive for your internal audience’s profile, to correctly define the locations that will be made available or how the information will be delivered to the employee.
Using unattractive communication tools
It is not enough to just have a correct and clear message. You need a medium that is attractive to your internal audience. Do some research and reflect: does your internal audience like to read? Or would they be reached more easily by messages if the information was transmitted through a digital bulletin board or corporate TV?
All these reflections are part of the daily routine of communication professionals and contribute to ensuring that information effectively reaches those interested, without noise (incorrect or inaccurate information).
Not encouraging two-way communication
With social media, society has evolved to a ‘many-to-many’ communication level. But unfortunately, some companies still insist on the ‘one-to-many’ format, where the company speaks and employees only listen. In this outdated model, there is no feedback or response from the employee.
However, it is important to listen to what your company’s professionals have to say and suggest, whether through classic methods (such as a suggestion box) or through more interactive methods (surveys) or collaborative ones (strategic alignment meetings).
Finally, it is important for your company to encourage peer-to-peer communication (people from the same team or the same hierarchical level) in a formal way, avoiding what is known as the grapevine (rumor-based communication). Likewise, there must be vertical communication, which flows both from top to bottom and from the base to the hierarchical top.
Want to know more about this subject? Check out the post “How to align internal communication with company strategy” and give an up to your company’s information exchange!
