Drowning in a sea of serious and uninspiring internal communications? Not communicating with your organisation at all?
It’s time to revamp your internal communications and drive a more engaged, motivated and successful team.
In this blog we’ll explore why boring internal communications are a firm no. Why making them fun can be powerful and we’ll also tell you exactly how to do it.
Serious internal communications are a firm no – here’s why
- You’ll be boring and your team will be disengaged: You won’t encourage creativity and innovation. Not everything needs to be formal, or lengthy. You have 2.7 seconds to grab someone’s attention and if your communications lack excitement and personality, people are likely to ignore it.
- You’ll miss opportunities: On the topic of employees not engaging with your communications, only 69% of people read internal emails that are addressed to a full team. This leaves huge room for important messages or critical updates to be missed. But, if you back up meeting notes, or updates with some engaging internal comms- they will get the message.
The power of fun in internal communications
Adding a little fun to your internal marketing messages can be a game-changer. Here are just a few reasons why:
- Increased engagement: Engaging messaging and different channels for delivery, will capture attention and keep employees engaged. Giving you the chance to actually communicate the message you want. You’ll build upon a culture where your team look forward to receiving the communications, rather than dismissing it as another mundane task!
- Enhanced information retention: Making your internal communications more memorable means people will retain the information a lot better. This means they’re also likely to act upon this information – fulfilling the purpose of your communications without the need to follow up!
- Boosted morale: Fun communications will contribute to a positive work atmosphere and will boost team morale. Employees will feel excited, appreciated, valued, trusted – all the good stuff.
- Strengthened team bonding: Shared laughter and enjoyment will create a stronger team. It gives people the opportunity to talk and can really foster relationships in the right way.
So, how do you revamp your internal communications?
There are so many avenues and channels you can use to communicate internally with the organisation. Today we’re focusing on some quick tips for how you can add an element of fun to your internal communications:
- Get creative with visuals: Ditch long paragraphs and opt for visual content. Think infographics, GIFs, maybe even memes! Visuals are more engaging and can also convey important, complex information in a way that is accessible for everyone at the organisation.
- Use humour (wisely): Inject a little humour into your messages but stay mindful of your audience and context. No offensive or inappropriate jokes, or your next internal communications will be one from HR and you can’t deliver that with a meme.
- Encourage two way communication: Invite your employees to participate in the fun and encourage idea sharing and ideas. Foster transparent communication with surveys – make them anonymous if you really want to encourage open communication.
- Make it interactive: Take your routine updates and turn them into interactive games or quizzes. You’ll encourage active participation and we’re positive you’ll see a higher engagement rate!
- Share success stories: Acknowledge achievements and milestones across the team! Adding a human touch to the communications will reinforce a positive culture, make employees feel valued and seen and also encourage other employees to push themselves to achieve the recognition too.
Done this already? Next steps coming at ya!
It’s time to measure the impact and adapt. Listen to the data, it’s telling you exactly what’s working and what’s possibly not.
- Monitor the engagement levels: look at the stats, the open rates, the click throughs. Did you test them at the end of the message on their knowledge – what did they score?
- Gather feedback: Ask them, what are they actually enjoying? Games – great, this is your in.
- Track results: track improvements in creativity, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction. Heard of OfficeVibe? Here at Punch we use this third party tool to share feedback on job satisfaction and share recognition.
- Use your insights: Now you’ve monitored, gathered feedback and tracked results. It’s time to learn. Use this to adapt your strategy and approach. Fine tune them to suit your teams preferences!
Don’t be boring and don’t miss opportunities! Make it fun, make it engaging and make sure you’re constantly learning.
If you’re not sure where to start, or where to take your existing communications, we can help! Get in Touch