Employee misunderstandings cost companies an astonishing $37 billion a year, so it is not a surprise that one of the biggest mistakes a manager can make is simply failing to communicate with staff.
Proper internal communications can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line by both reducing money lost to poor communications and increasing company profits through engaged employees who will go the extra mile to get the job done.
The investment in internal communications is worth it, and it is not all too complicated. An infographic from Weekdone, and published by Ragan Communications, lists 10 practical tips for improving internal communications. Here are a couple of our favorites:
#3 Get employee buy in: Make employees feel valued by showing them how they impact company goals, sharing information and logic behind business decisions, and giving them constant feedback on the work they are doing.
Peltz Shoes uses Red e App to congratulate its employees publicly for the good work they are doing. When someone exceeds their sales goals, stays late to help with a brainstorming session, or achieves great customer feedback, Peltz makes sure that employees are recognized for this and as a result employee engagement is thriving.
#6 Establish regular communication processes: Phone calls are inefficient and email is crowded. Employees need small real time updates. This is how people consume information in their daily lives, and the business world should mimic this style. Make communication a daily, not weekly, process.
Hosparus is a home hospice company that used to have to communicate via telephone to communicate any personal health information about patients to field-based nurses. This was terribly inefficient, so they established hourly communication processes using Red e App. Nurses exclusively use Red e App to send HIPAA compliant messages regarding patient status, care and documentation.
Our favorite, and for selfish reasons, is #8 Use mobile tools: People are most accustomed to getting real time information from their phones. Provide tools for internal work-related sharing on phones by using an employee communications app. Our behaviors with regards to mobile usage are evolving rapidly and organizations should take advantage of their ability to communicate directly and in real-time with employees. Especially the non-desk employees that have never had a digital connection to their employer.
Ryson Walden
Marketing Coordinator
