Focus on Marketing:
Internal communication is a key tool for success
by Josh Sommers
Posted: October 16, 2009
While seeking new customers through marketing and publicity campaigns, companies, large and small, should also develop strategies for good internal communication.
Companies that engage their employees with solid internal communication create an atmosphere of “buy-in.” This leads to good morale, enhanced staff productivity and better interaction between front-line employees and customers.
Weekly team meetings work well for smaller companies. It goes a long way when company leadership takes the time to meet with employees on a regular basis. Ongoing communication creates an informed staff and a forum for interaction and feedback from employees. Your staff members are oftentimes more plugged in to what’s happening at the customer level than company management.
In the case of larger companies, CEOs traditionally meet regularly with department heads to communicate company needs and plans. Although this is an important strategy, depending on this top-down tactic alone often leads to poor internal communication.
A monthly company newsletter is an outstanding vehicle to bridge the communication gaps in medium and large companies. Promoting company successes like new clients and industry recognition are often topics. It is also a chance for the CEO to communicate with staff with an open letter. If your company has an employee of the month or wants to recognize staff achievements, a photo and story will go a long way in rewarding your star employees. Newsletters also enable management to better explain change like providing greater detail on the new benefits package or change at the corporate level and what it means. They are also a great place to solicit ideas from all staff, not just the directors that usually get face time with the CEO.
In a crisis, a common breakdown of communication and trust occurs when employees learn of company troubles through customers or the news media, without a word from management. Companies with good internal communication programs find being open with employees during challenging times builds trust. Sometimes, it even opens a forum for fresh ideas — ways to help the company come out of the crisis. This type of internal communication is much better than allowing outside forces to do it for you.
Marketing doesn’t just include advertising your company to potential customers, it starts at home. Your staff is an integral part of your product. If your product isn’t good, your company will go nowhere. Smart companies are the ones that don’t forget to create effective internal communication.
Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears in the Times Herald-Record Fridays.
