Communicating to an audience as diverse as it is globally dispersed is no mean feat. Some are desk bound, others are so remote they could be whittling spoons in the wilderness. They all have a preferred method of being communicated to and most of those methods aren’t part of your channel mix.

Everyone loves a trier

Here’s the thing, you’re trying hard, right? You and a dozen others from all different parts of the business are pushing/pulling, trying to get to common ground, giving your people what they want, need and ultimately, what you can give them. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure it’ll be far from perfect and that’s why I’m writing this – hopefully I can spread some light on what perfect could look like.

One size doesn’t fit all

There’s no point turning up to dozens of internal comms events in the vain hope you’ll come across the blueprint to success. Any examples of ‘fantastic’ digital internal comms gloss over the pain and suffering of what it took to achieve the veneer-covered results. Experience tells me, half of what was planned was shelved for this reason or that. Also, throwing a significant part of your annual budget on something flashy with no return on investment could be a real detriment both in cash and loss of trust from your people.

Your perfect?

So, let me save you the trouble of looking for the perfect solution to your digital internal comms woes. Here’s what perfect could look like, given half a chance – make a note of how many times you answer ‘yes’ to each bullet if that’s what you currently do:

  • Can you automatically publish your messages to any device based on your user’s preferences? Do you measure that engagement across segments of your audience?
  • Do you have the ability to ask your people questions and derive deep meaning using sentiment analysis? Can your audience ask you questions in return and do you act on those answers?
  • Can you profile your users based on their skillset, preferences and interactions against your organisation’s values and beliefs?
  • Can you provide them a fun, interactive environment that can deliver key messages?
  • Do you make use of interactive video or scenario-based games and quizzes?
  • Have you unlocked the potential of podcasts?
  • Can your audience create and share media-rich stories and co-create their own content freely?
  • Do you allow your people to submit, recognise and reward innovation?
  • Do you provide auto notifications to your people or other timely reminders based on platform interaction?
  • Can you control this all easily, across multiple territories / languages and deploy at the press of a button without the need for technical assistance?

Answers on a postcard

If you answered no to the above, you should probably mention it to me…

Every organisation is different and it’s imperative you know your audience inside and out. If you don’t, start asking now before you even attempt to implement anything new. We constantly talk to our clients about personalisation. You should know your audience so as to make sure they get what they want, when they want and how they want it. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. Reward them. Remind them. Let them know you care. They’re human, so it’s best talk to them like one too.