COVID-19 has changed Internal Communications forever

As the R rate creeps menacingly towards 1.5, we all face an uncertain near future.

Many employers continue to face a raft of fresh challenges, potential issues and pressure points. But, from a comms and engagement perspective, the situation could also offer opportunities for employers who are in a position to adapt and roll with the required changes.

Perhaps the only certainty in these uncertain times is that internal comms is going to be more important than ever before.

Key messages need to reach everyone, regardless of working hours and location. With social distancing remaining for the foreseeable future, and most workplaces unable to magically expand their square footage to accommodate this, some tech’ savvy creativity and forward-thinking may be required.

And, to compound this, Covid-19 has often rendered messages outdated within only hours of publishing them. For this reason, group e-mails are no longer your best friend. In this case, a news story pinned to the top of your internal social feed that is updated as and when required will give you a more engaging and up-to-date point of reference for employees.

Simply offering dial-in or video conferencing for meetings is not enough anymore.

If staff have struggled over the past few months and are now feeling insecure about the future sustainability of their roles, are they really going to feel able to be honest about their concerns or misgivings?

That’s where an Audience Engagement solution is key. An MS Teams meeting with a bolt-on like Vevox comes in, facilitating anonymous contributions from the audience and the ability for colleagues to “like” (or vote for) each other’s questions and comments for an employer to more accurately gauge the mood of their workforce and respond to the issues that are actually burning across their teams. Having recently implemented such solutions at a global employer with a displaced workforce, we can personally vouch for its effectiveness in boosting engagement and reinforcing that sense of belonging in remote workers.

Covid has, without doubt, permanently changed internal comms. If necessity is the mother of invention, then the necessity now is to reinvent your internal comms and revisit your Internal Comms Strategy to ensure it is fit for purpose in this new world.