Ten ways that internal communications can boost your business
Matthew Eland, Associate Medical Editor at Alpharmaxim
Stronger employee engagement, better brand alignment, sharing expertise to solve business problems: these are all things that good internal communications can help businesses achieve. As internal and corporate communications specialists for the healthcare sector, we’ve seen the results that investment in internal communications can deliver. In the following article, we’ll highlight the ways internal communications can help your business – some you may already know, plus several you might not have considered.
The advantages of good internal communications
1. Stronger employee engagement
Having a solid internal comms strategy will help build investment in team or company objectives, ensuring that your team feels involved in their area of the business and has a stake in its overall ambitions. In the era of flexible working, with team members based in different locations, internal communications are critical in ensuring a sense of connection and maintaining a thriving company culture (as well as avoiding FOMO!).
2. Removing disconnection
Physical and geographical barriers aren’t the only boundaries across companies. Regardless of scale, there are also departmental and hierarchical borders to consider. A good internal comms strategy will transform a top-down information flow into a horizontal, interdepartmental one, while use of the right platforms will facilitate networking and break down silos.
3. Alignment on business goals
Some members of your team may be more aligned on your overall objectives than others. Some may be closer to the business and commercial side, while others could be focused on the nuts and bolts of their specialised tasks rather than seeing the bigger picture. Internal comms strategies help drive alignment around key messages that can be refined into easily digestible business goals; this can embed a sense of purpose and motivation in colleagues who’ve not considered their place in the wider ecosystem.
4. Solving business problems
Once you’ve improved engagement and removed disconnection, you’ll have a forum for spotlighting teams and sharing information. With a more holistic overview of the operation, different departments will have an insight into teams and people that wasn’t previously open to them. Now, you can start to share skills and expertise, solving business problems and improving the end-user experience.
5. Driving company culture
It’s not only business needs that a good internal comms strategy will service; it will also engender a shared vision and culture. Being aligned on values is crucial for the employee experience. Feeling that you play an active role in an organisation with values that have a positive impact on the wider community is a critical driver of staff retention.
6. Brand alignment
Sometimes, we can get bogged down in the minutia of our jobs and miss the bigger picture. This means that we take our eyes off the end users: in the pharma sector, that can mean the healthcare professionals and patients we’re trying to reach. By increasing visibility of products, brand campaigns and key messages on an internal basis, teams can build familiarity and understanding, and become better at using them externally, too. This means that all staff, regardless of level, can be conversant in brand messaging and agreed guidelines.
7. Representation
Internal comms give companies an opportunity to celebrate diversity. By focusing on employees as people and equipping them with a platform and the tools to utilise it, we can give people from under-represented sections of society a voice. We can also celebrate awareness days and begin conversations around difficult subjects.
8. Stability in times of change
Operational changes, caused by restructuring or new ways of working, can be destabilising. Any uncertainty brought about by periods of change can be smoothed out and presented in a more positive light with robust internal comms strategies. Having a focus point and reassuring messages fosters a business-as-usual mentality, allowing employees to carry on with minimal disruption. Clear and reassuring communications can provide support and direction for worried colleagues, whether it’s to manage change within a business or even just a department.
9. Recognition and reward
Internal comms channels also allow us to celebrate our achievements. Shining the spotlight on success stories, excellent feedback and new business wins is a great way to build morale and inspire colleagues. It sets the standard and provides a tide that raises all boats.
10. Bolstering external communications
It’s been said that the most expensive marketing campaign is the one that never gets used. So, while a huge amount of time, effort and money may be invested in a brand-new external marketing campaign, it could fall down if the work to educate and inspire internal teams on how to use it doesn’t happen. Toolkits, user guides, webinars and other resources are invaluable in setting your campaigns up for success before they are even launched.
These are just ten of the ways we’ve seen good internal communications benefit our clients, but there are so many more.
Across most industries – pharma included – internal communications often take a backseat to their external-facing counterpart, with greater budget ringfenced for external communications under the perception that it will generate a better return on investment (by virtue of it landing directly with target audiences). However, by prioritising external-facing communications over internal, organisations miss out on multiple benefits that boost business and lead to greater productivity and engagement.
