Internal Communication Channels Lucy Sycamore
What is a channel? A communications channel is the medium used to convey information from sender to receiver. Each organisation will have formal channels managed by the communications team and informal channels such as word of mouth. 2
Choosing your channel Channel Email Pros Quick Reach large numbers of people directly Cons Email overload Email standards reply to all Team meetings Personal 2 way, can ask questions/feedback How good is the line manager at delivering the messages? Time away from the job Staff magazine Engaging, good use of photography, staff focused Can be read in breaks Distribution get to everyone Can be expensive Intranet Consistent Fast Can be creative, photo galleries Making time to look at the intranet Size and navigation of the intranet (1 million pages on DWP!) 3
Choosing your channel Channel Teleconferencing/ Video conferencing Posters/notice boards Pros Cost effective Good for a geographically dispersed company Visual and eye-catching Creative Cons Is the technology available? Does the technology work? Will everyone take part? Short messages Competition for space Out of date posters Site visits/road shows Demonstrates leader visibility Shows leaders want to see what is happening on the ground Will they see the real world? Time of senior leaders to carry out this activity Events Consistent messages Opportunity to ask questions Expensive Logistics, resource heavy * More include: web casts, text messages, video, recorded messages, desk drops, consultation forums. 4
Channel objectives (Synopsis 2004) Degree of change Awareness Newsletter Intranet Understanding Roadshows Video conferencing Support Training Involvement Team meetings Feedback forums Commitment Further team meetings Problem solving sessions Ongoing feedback 5 Degree of involvement
Quick question. You have just been appointed Head of Internal Comms for a new chain of fast food restaurants..you re thinking about the sorts of communication channels you are going to develop. What things do you need to consider? 6
7 Some examples of DWP channels
DWP Intranet homepage Headline News 8
Objectives of Headline News Headline News is the shop window to the intranet; it showcases latest news and information for staff The overall purpose is to: Inform staff of major initiatives/policies Celebrate the achievements of the Department, individual businesses and staff Create a sense of community Promote the values and aims of DWP Provide practical information to support working practices Encourage feedback and interaction Provide navigation and signposting to other areas of the intranet. 9
10 Headline News - staff stories
It s all about you - staff interaction 11
12 Staff feedback Have Your Say
New features audio slides 13
Staff magazine - DWPeople The objectives of the DWPeople are: To build a sense of community between staff via the articles in the magazine To develop two-way communications with staff; generate feedback and contributions to the magazine To inform staff in an easy to understand, informal and concise way To produce a magazine that staff read and that makes them proud to work for the Department. 14
How do we select the right channel for the right audience? DWP has 120,000 staff, how do we target our audience? Attitudinal segmentation to shape tone and message: What does this audience think about this subject? What does it matter to them? What will draw them in? Demographic segmentation to target through channels: Where is the audience? What channels do they use? How can we reach them? 15
Building the messages Practicalities Rationale and context What it means for you Single, memorable point 16
How do you get your messages read? Make sure it relates to the audience someone like me No more than 4 key messages Examples to bring it to life Plain English, banned words at DWP! Best Practice best way Bottom-Up listening to people Core Message main point Cross-cutting everyone working together Engaging users getting people Involved Facilitate help 17
How much time do people put into understanding a message? Fruh (1980) said that people are only prepared to put in a certain amount of energy into understanding and remembering a message. Too simple So what? Apathy Lost interest Too complex Too much effort Lost interest Connection with personal experience Helps understanding, generates interest will tip the balance 18
Effectiveness of your channels Are the objectives of your channel clear? Ensure the method of measuring is the best one for your audience formal v informal Make sure your audience understands their opportunity to share their views and how it connects with what they do Be clear about how you will use the feedback and who you will share it with once you have it In order to secure a high response rate, think of innovative ways to create energy and engagement around your chosen method of delivery Does the channel meet the needs of your intended audience? How much does this channel cost? Can it be valued per employee? 19
DWP quarterly wavelength survey At DWP we have a quarterly survey it asking specific channel questions each quarter: Are relevant to the job I do? Are easily understood? Provide accurate information? Provide the right depth of information? Provide useful information? Are effective in helping me do my job? Are received at the right time? Use a suitable tone? Use suitable language? Ask for my feedback where appropriate? Keep me informed about important issues? Are open and honest? 20
Ways to get feedback Email voting buttons Suggestion box Paper-based feedback form Survey Monkey online surveys Staff surveys localised, pulse checks Action planning sessions opportunity for more feedback Regular team meetings Face to face adhoc events, e.g. brown bag lunches, back to the floor sessions for senior managers Online polling 21
How often do you read Headline News? 6% 2% 4% 88% read Headline News at least once a week 19% 69% Daily A couple of times a week Once a week Once a fortnight Less often Base: 4,234 22
Coverage Do you think that the coverage that Headline News provides for each of the following is...? Future of the Department Work to help customers Staff work achievements Staff non-work achievements Benefits information Charity initiatives Development Opportunities Views of senior staff Views of staff Corporate news % Too much % Too little 81 80 70 63 68 75 64 63 62 82 % About right 11 22 14 14 24 26 16 33 36 25 11 5 6 6 14 5 9 2 2 6 Base: 4,234 23
Recall Headline News is consistently the most widely recalled channel in the internal comms mix. Posters Line manager Other 2% 15% 15% 86% of respondents have heard of the DWP Discounts Scheme, with half finding out via Headline News Business intranet 17% DWPeople magazine 23% By email 30% Headline News 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Base: 587 Q4 Through which of the following have you heard of the DWP Discounts Scheme? 24
DWPeople how staff view it DWPeople magazine is the highest rated all staff internal communications channel in DWP Overall, 72% of staff rated DWPeople as either good or very good 91% of staff believed that the printed version had improved over the last year 78% of staff agree that DWPeople celebrates both staff and Departmental successes 60% of staff agree that DWPeople articles provide useful information. 25
In your new role as DWP Head of Internal Comms which suite of channels would you establish for each of these members of staff? Think about your target audience, the objectives of the channels, how you will evaluate their effectiveness etc 26
Yasmin contact centre agent Engagement level: Disengaged Age: 28 Region: Scotland Length of service: 6 months Autonomy: Monitored (calls can be listened into for customer service checks) Motivation: To pay the rent. Doesn t see her here in 12 months time. Likes: Leaving on time. Dislikes: Any communication from senior managers (it s all spin). Not interested in aims of DWP. Yasmin wants to come in to work, get her job done and leave on time. For her the immediate work in front of her is the real stuff. She s not interested in the bigger picture or the future of the Department. She s aware of talk in the office about job losses and redundancies, which makes her feel insecure and apathetic in turn. Her most important line of communication is team meetings with the team leader. She hates jargon and project management terminology which will put her off reading an article any further. She doesn t see the point in giving feedback. I don t care a lot about hearing from the Chief Exec 27
Sally customer advisor Engagement level: On the fence under-utilised Age: 39 (two school-age children) Region: North West Length of service: 2 years, (part-time, 26 hours per week) Autonomy: Monitored Motivation: Family friendly policies, flexible working. Gets job satisfaction from helping customers into work. Likes: Talking to people Dislikes: Knowing that some customers need a lot more help than she can give. People who she thinks are deliberately cheating the system. Sally enjoys working face-to-face with customers, which is the core of her role. She has a good relationship with her line manager which makes her feel valued, although she does not feel particularly valued by the wider organisation. She is aware that lots of changes are coming, but so far she has not paid a great deal of attention to messages about the changes because they are not immediately affecting her. She would like to give feedback but is cynical about any action happening as a result. She does not feel that their team are consulted when new ways of working are introduced. As long as we ve got a job, tell us what we ve got to do, and we ll do it. 28
Joyce line manager Age: 47 (3 children, all flown the nest) Region: North East Length of service: 18 years Autonomy: Limited Engagement level: On the fence job advocate Motivation: Independence and status that full time work gives (plus income). Likes: Managing people, class room based learning, friendships she has at work, honesty from Senior Managers, supports the DWP values and IiP Dislikes: e-learning, rapid change, targets, spin. Joyce s length of service with the organisation means she has seen many change initiatives come and go she has survived all of these which tends to make her cynical about new changes and contribute to her on the fence attitude. She takes pride in her job but feels that they are often been asked to deliver flavour of the month policies and that the goal posts are constantly being shifted. She tries to hold regular meetings with her team but gets frustrated as there is no allocated time to hold these meetings so with shift workers it is hard to get everyone together. All senior managers should be communicating it s important we understand the bigger picture. 29
James senior civil servant (SCS) Engagement level: Engaged Age: 48 Region: London Length of service: 6 years Autonomy: Flexible Motivation: High levels of challenge, achievement and job satisfaction. Likes: Opportunities to learn and develop. Dislikes: the appraisal system; the way change is managed in DWP. Inability to achieve work life balance. James is highly committed to his job and is frequently to be seen working late in the office, rarely leaving before 7.30pm. He puts in lots of discretionary effort to get results and is committed to seeing the Department succeed. He takes pride in DWP and the Civil Service which offer him the career progression he wants. James tends to be knee jerk in terms of his need for information if he wants something then he wants it now. He like things to be brief and to the point and does not want to read screeds of briefing. James is tied to his blackberry and will reply to messages at all hours of the evenings and at weekends. Things need to be translated to our teams we need to know what does it mean for us? 30
Further info Synopsis - www.synopsisonline.com Melcrum - www.internalcommshub.com Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development - www.cipd.co.uk 31
32 Any questions?