“A brand is just emotion. You can't touch it, you can't feel it. It's in our head" - Martin Lindstrom
In an increasingly committed society, it is important that your company has a global strategy and clear values that your employees and customers can identify with. According to a study conducted by R. Norton and D. Kaplan, only ten percent of companies actually execute their strategy; the lack of understanding of the company's strategy by its employees is one of the major obstacles to its implementation.
Very often neglected, internal communication is nevertheless an essential lever to support your business strategy. It is also a great tool for raising awareness, uniting and mobilizing your employees.
Raising awareness and mobilizing
“The quality of our communication is determined not by how we say things, but by how they are understood.” -Andrew Grove
It is essential to make your employees aware of your strategy and to fully commit them to your objectives. Your internal communication is an excellent medium for explaining your business strategy; it should allow your employees to better understand it and facilitate their adherence to the defined objectives. By giving meaning to their work, this shared strategy can be an important marker; it will create an internal collective that can be reflected externally. When employees feel that they are fully involved in the company's value chain, in its social, economic and environmental mission, they want to get even more involved by perpetuating its values and vision. Your internal communication must therefore make it possible to establish a virtuous circle, where understood objectives will energize the work environment and the commitment of your employees, break down the silos of your organization, become an asset to constitute one of the strengths of the business.
Federate to shine
“We are not born brand, we become it gradually, we can also cease to be.” Jean-Noel Kapferer
We have just seen that it is essential to mobilize all of your company's internal staff to create a productive and dynamic work environment that will serve your strategy. In the same way, an article published on social networks or a newsletter does not constitute a corporate culture. This is carried by the main players in your company: your employees, their life within the company, their perception of the consideration you give them and the values you want to convey. The objective is to promote inclusion, the creation of a common history, found in a common language. You should not hesitate to match the desires of your employees with your brand objectives. Let’s take an example: an employee wants to create a sporting event around cycling in order to raise awareness of sport and at the same time create green electricity. Why not accompany him in his project and associate your brand with it. This will be less expensive than a 360 degree campaign around the same themes and your results will only be better: satisfied employees and sharing of values around an event that brings people together.
All these aspects will contribute to the smooth running of your company and they will support your points of differentiation with your competitors by highlighting your vision, your values and your history.
Happy employees, loyal employees
“Happy employees are 13% more productive than unhappy ones” (Study Oxford Business School and British Telecoms)
Good internal communication will also help to retain your employees: its various actions will create a link around common objectives, help establish an energizing professional climate, encourage employees to share and exchange well beyond established processes, even create solidarity and a bubble of stimulating creativity.
“Illness at work costs an average of €14,580 per year per employee. » (According to IBET 2019 (Index of Well-being at Work)
Listening, sharing and transparency relayed by good internal communication will therefore help to create a space of trust for employees and thus reduce their disengagement and the attrition rate of your employees.
In conclusion
Your internal communication must accompany your employees, who are one of the reactors of your company. It requires relying on good practices to relay your business strategy effectively to your employees, be a tool shaping their work environment and become a lever for performance, cohesion and influence. Victor Deniau Plan and Rise
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