Internal Corporate Communications

We are no longer in a corporate world where employees will blindly follow directions like soldiers following a general’s undisclosed plan. Every employee can be your best spokesperson if you give them the information they need to know when they need to know it. Building trust with your employees through timely, consistent communication offers them the ability to buy into your mission and support your global efforts to build a better company. 

 

Designing and writing internal communications with subtle, sophisticated messages creates better operational success and understanding throughout all levels of the organization.  (Think newsletters, memos, flyers, posters in the elevator, intranets, surveys and crisis updates.) 

“Companies that communicate well with their employees perform better in the measures that count, such as profitability, customer acquisition and retention, and reputation. Companies that don’t … Well, they don’t.”  - Shel Holtz. Corporate Conversations: A Guide to Crafting Effective and Appropriate Internal Communications.

It’s important to communicate with an entire organization considering which employees are tied to email, and who needs a stand-up supervisor talk. Share company updates succinctly and decide who needs to carry each message or reinforce a message: a CEO, department head or every supervisor in the company. 

Company newsletters, department communications and company news channels, like social media or intranets, are the primary means of sharing information with your employees, but we can create sophisticated campaigns that drive business goals forward.

Internal campaign examples include:

Design and develop private, online communication systems that can spread complex messages throughout a large or small organization. Digital newsletter can provide instant reporting.
Develop themes and materials to ensure stakeholder excitement and attendance at events, including invitations, RSVP systems and microsites. Design and develop presentations, signage, handouts, gifts and other materials to make an event successful in achieving corporate goals.
To increase employee giving and company matching, we can develop a month-long campaign to build awareness and engagement. Based on several successful internal campaigns with other clients, we can develop messaging and design materials to encourage sign-ups by employees for an automatic drafting payroll debit or a one-time gift. To capitalize on the competitive edge between departments or divisions, we can track and display participation as a percentage of employees participating to encourage even small groups to participate at 100%.
Covalent Logic can plan and execute an employee service weekend with a local organization, like Habitat for Humanity or an independent project, to build something for the community, utilizing employee labor, donated materials and your skilled craft. We’ll work to get your project highlighted in local media, as well as build strong bonds between employees, and between your team and your company. Young people want to work for a company that does good in its community. We package these videos and develop case studies to bring to on-campus recruitment events, as well as engage prospective students to get coverage on campus as well.

Covalent Logic Offers Embedded Team Member & Support Full Time or As Needed

Covalent can offer an on-site communications manager to lead the appropriate strategies and tactics on the ground with the insight and leadership oversight from Covalent’s executive staff. Our goal is to observe, identify, suggest ideas and act as needed to facilitate better internal communications on-site. This requires an entrepreneurial spirit and experienced toolbox of communications resources. 

 

Regular activities can include: 

  • Attending key meetings to stay informed of initiative progress.
  • Coordinating communications activities desired by on-site and remote staff.
  • Identifying, writing, editing and publishing features on personnel, site developments and safety for newsletters, leadership communications and your intranet.
  • Planning and implementing major events as milestones are reached on the site. 
  • Contributing with new ideas and creating plans to share with leadership.
  • Representing your company as assigned with visitors.
  • Writing, designing and publishing a monthly newsletter.
  • Developing and publishing weekly e-news via your intranet.

 

We could develop the following deliverables on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis to support your overworked communications staff or directly for a subject matter expert who leads in another operational capacity: 

  • Community Newsletter – Write, edit, design, photograph, lay out, proofread, print and distribute a bi-monthly newsletter.
  • Communications Support – Plan, manage, budget and coordinate vendors on projects.
  • Signage – Write, design, order and coordinate installation of temporary or permanent signage.
  • Event Management – Plan, manage, concept, write and design a variety of internal events, as well as capturing them through photography and videography.
  • Meetings Support – Develop meeting materials, provide technology support for conference calls meetings and coordinate agendas and material distribution. 
  • Visitor Support – Plan, manage, concept, write, develop and produce materials for special visitors. 
  • Project Communications Suite – Design logos, letterheads, PowerPoint templates and additional assets for internal project communication use.

 

Keep Your Internal Communications Legal

Make sure to review any communications with your employees through the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers also need to comply with HIPAA's Privacy Rule when handling employee health information related to healthcare benefits, workers' compensation or ADA accommodations. 

FAQs

Providing updates to employees during and after a crisis is necessary because you’ll need to recognize concerns, provide support and address potential misconceptions. Through the use of company email, intranet and virtual or in-person meetings, you can minimize the impact of the crisis while fostering trust with employees and other internal stakeholders. Each company’s internal communications protocols will be different, because each company is different. If you don’t have an up-to-date crisis communications plan for your organization, our team of experienced industry professionals can help.
When a company experiences a change to their operations or corporate structure, employees will have questions. And how you answer those questions will determine how successful the outcome of the change will be. The good news though is there is no one right way to communicate with your employees on organizational changes. Discuss and weigh the different communication avenues with your company’s leadership and then develop key messaging. Be sure to include why the changes are happening, so employees feel included and in the loop.
Even the most dedicated employees can’t know everything that goes on within the company they work for. Sometimes that’s because of confidentiality, and other times it’s because of the lack of proper communication channels. The role of internal communications is to bridge the gap between the various departments and provide all team members with access to the same information at the same time. Prioritizing internal communications has a direct impact on employee productivity and engagement, which in turn impacts the company’s overall success.
While human resources departments are often tasked with the primary responsibility of internal communications, other departments must be involved too. HR will provide regular messaging on training, performance management, and benefits. Other departments would be tasked with providing updates on company goals, projects, and initiatives. Successful internal communications require company-wide collaboration.
Implementing approval workflows within your organization ensures that all communications are reviewed and approved by the correct parties before they are distributed. The specific individuals involved in the approvals workflow is dependent on the type of message that is being communicated, as well as the organization’s structure and hierarchy. Typical approval workflows will include representatives from a company’s legal team, leadership and subject matter experts. Not sure how to set up an approval workflow for your team, let us help.

Upgrade your intranet or the content on it with Covalent Logic’s internal communications experts.