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Your 2009 Internal Communications Game Plan
In the current economy, most employees show up to work every day knowing there is no guarantee that their efforts will secure their jobs or that things will not get worse before they get better.
In this environment, how do you effectively motivate your team, map out the priorities for the coming year and prepare for the challenges ahead?
A common denominator across every successful family, school, team, community, organization or company is a set of shared goals. Whether the priority is a bigger house, a winning season, a safer neighborhood, a product launch or higher revenue numbers, people have to agree on the priority and then work together to make it happen. An internal communications plan can help get everyone on the same page.
Internal communications becomes even more critical in uncertain times, so start now to develop an innovative and branded 2009 communications plan that clearly illustrates your organization’s goals. The result will be a unified workforce ready to work on January 1.
Kick off 2009
Every football game starts the same way, with the kick off. The players know it’s the beginning of four quarters of hard work and coordinated effort. They know what to expect and they know what comes next. Their coach has set expectations and the team will communicate with each other continuously to keep each other informed and adjust the game plan when necessary. Your employees should approach the new year in the same way, with a common goal and a game plan to get there. This is where the Internal Communications function can add the most value.
Choose Your Battle Cry
Create a fun, innovative theme for the year that your employees will respond to. Then, reinforce that theme with strategic communication vehicles such as the intranet, microsites, videos, podcasts, blogs, email campaigns and print materials. Have fun with it but be sure to make it motivational and not hokey. You want something short and catchy that employees will relate to and rally behind. Examples range from pop culture to inspirational themes. One ISP chose the theme “Right Now†to highlight that their customers wanted quality service with a sense of urgency. Another company chose “Creating Answers Together†after a merger. Employees knew the goal for the year was to come together as a stronger organization, ready to work together to find solutions for their new team and for their customers. An enhanced intranet, online posting boards, Q&A sessions, feedback features and up-to-the minute company news created a sense of community and shared priorities for their globally-dispersed employee base.
Execute Your Game Plan
As internal communicators, you will set the stage by communicating the 2009 strategic priorities with your annual roadmap and then breaking the deliverables down into quarterly goals. Work with your executive leadership to identify the markers of success. Map out known milestones and events and list the accompanying communication outlets. Start developing this plan in early December so you can get the necessary buy in from executives and stakeholders and then publish it on your intranet so all employees know where to find it. Work with your managers to cascade the plan into actionable monthly or even weekly deliverables so that different work streams can remain focused on the most pressing action items.
Lead by Example
Remember to serve as the ambassador of the internal brand that you helped create. Repeat your battle cry, reinforce it in your communications, infuse your established culture with the new mantra and watch as your employee base catches on. The excitement will build and your company’s priorities will be front and center on your employees’ minds.
Measure (and Boast About) Your Success
Need proof for your executives that your communications strategy has worked? Circulate a survey at the beginning and end of the year that asks the same questions about clarity of mission, vision and priorities and then compare at year's end. Ask open-ended questions on your intranet, ensuring anonymous answers for honest feedback. Post monthly quick polls to gauge awareness on latest news and corporate milestones. You’ll have more than enough information at the end of fourth quarter to showcase the value of an integrated communications game plan that started in the first quarter the way it should – with a fantastic kick off.
