15 Best Practices for Internal Communication and Employee Engagement

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive shifts in workplace culture and flexibility. Communication among employees in highly adaptable work environments is a challenge for leaders and HR professionals.

A McKinsey survey shows that employees deeply involved in workplace communication report five times more productivity, regardless of where they work. Also, those who felt anxious about a lack of communication in the workplace were likely to feel burned out.

Internal communication and employee engagement go hand in hand. Employers must have formal and informal channels for communicating with their employees to unite them toward their company’s goals.

Let's learn the importance of effective communication in improving employee engagement and some internal communication strategies for achieving the same.

What is Internal Communication and Employee Engagement?

Internal communication refers to the several channels a company uses to convey information to employees. Such information includes company performance, future outlook, new or updated policies, opportunities within the company, engagement ideas, and much more. Internal communications are a great way to ensure employees are always informed and updated and to connect better with their work and goals.

Employee engagement, on the other hand, refers to the level of commitment and connection employees have with their work and workplace. It’s driven by how valued and supported they feel in their roles and their relationships with leadership and colleagues.

While internal communication and employee engagement are distinct concepts, strong communication plays a crucial role in fostering a more engaged and motivated workforce.

How Internal Communication Impacts Employee Engagement

When employees are well-informed, they feel more connected and comfortable and are reassured that their work has a purpose. This purpose is a driving factor to keep employees actively engaged with their work goals and commitments, pushing them to do better every day.

In contrast, employees' opinions not being valued in important company decisions, policy frameworks, and work culture can cause them to dissociate from their work goals. Such actions slowly lead to disengagement and lower employee productivity.

Internal communication is a crucial part of a company’s work culture for the following reasons:

1. Reduces Disengagement: When companies give employees partial or no information that is of serious concern, they remain confused and anxious about their future in the workplace. Sharing the required information fairly with all employees is essential to maintain active engagement.
2. Increases Trust: Companies that share information openly with their employees show that they value them. In return, employees trust the company and believe the company won’t hide decisions from them.
3. Drives Innovation: Open communication encourages employees to share ideas and feedback, leading to creative solutions for existing challenges. When employees actively participate in discussions, their insights can spark innovations that drive growth and even lead to valuable business opportunities.
4. Boosts Team Morale: Internal company communications are often topics of discussion for a company’s team members and peer employees. Such discussions help like-minded members engage better and share their views as feedback to the company, leading to active participation from all employees.

Internal communication is a vital part of a company’s culture, regardless of employee diversity, work arrangements, or job roles.

15 Internal Communication Best Practices to Boost Employee Engagement

Companies must constantly adapt and improve internal communication with their employees to retain their trust in the organization. However, effective internal communication can be challenging with flexible working options and increasing employee diversity.

Here are some of the latest strategies to boost employee engagement through internal communication in a company.

1. Set Clear Internal Communication Goals and Roadmap

Every company has different goals and business objectives to fulfill. It can have employees working in different modes—some full-time, some on a contractual basis, some working remotely, and some working regularly in the office.

Companies should share general information with all employees while ensuring that sensitive or group-specific details are communicated only to the relevant teams to protect privacy and interests. These complexities highlight the need for a well-structured internal communication plan and strategy.

Having clear goals for internal communications allows the company to be prepared with the information that must be communicated. Companies can also decide how the information should be promulgated, whether through emails, intranet posts, posters, pamphlets, direct communication via leaders, and many more.

• Involve employee representatives in internal communication strategies to get more employee feedback and engagement.
• Planning internal communication strategies helps to budget for offline internal communications through posters, pamphlets, and more.
• Create a schedule to ensure timely communication.

2. Prioritize Transparency and Honesty

Employees rely on internal communication to stay informed about company developments and gain transparency into business operations. To ensure accuracy and prevent misinformation, companies should share official updates through multiple communication channels.

Messages conveyed internally should be crisp and transparent to avoid further confusion. Moreover, it signals the company’s commitment to honesty and transparency.

For instance, if a company introduces a policy of working from home, the information must be communicated with all the necessary details. Suppose this news comes through a broadcast channel, but only to a few teams. If they are included in the work-from-home policy, it could create unnecessary tension among others.

• Transparent communication prevents gossip and rumor-mongering, which can cause employee disengagement.
• Unclear or partial information can increase anxiety among employees and reduce their productivity.
• Dishonest and inconsistent communication on any topic can confuse employees, leading to confusion within the organization.

3. Encourage Two-Way Communication

While internal communication primarily comes from company leaders and the HR team, it is most effective when employees actively share their feedback.

For instance, if a company shares any information through a non-responsive broadcast e-mail address, the message must contain the details of the person in charge of the concerned initiative, policy, or information update. Employees with confusion or concerns can connect with the relevant teams and leaders.

Similarly, employees can engage through discussion threads on the company’s intranet, where several others can share their views and feedback. Employees can also discuss their collective opinions with their leaders and group heads to convey them to policymakers and leaders.

• Any internal communication channel must have a feedback source attached to it.
• Two-way communication is crucial for employee engagement. One-way internal communication becomes more like formal announcements.
• Employee feedback and majority opinions are crucial to effective internal communication.

4. Personalize Internal Communication

A lot of broadcast messages coming from the company’s internal communication channels can overwhelm employees. Sometimes, these messages can distract employees from their primary work, leading to negative effects.

Companies must design their broadcast messages so that important messages do not go unnoticed. Messages sent to employees must also have a personal feel so that employees feel special and connected to the company.

Seeing an email with a catchy title compels employees to open and read it. Moreover, any high-priority communication can be notified directly through managers and group heads in addition to circulating emails and broadcast messages. Such methods ensure employees feel valued and never remain anxious or miss any information.

• Personalized broadcast email campaigns help employees follow internal communications better.
• One-to-one communication and immediate feedback through team leaders or special PoCs help improve effective communication.
• Plan and select the right information to personalize and reach all employees. Some low-priority decisions and information can be shared as generic broadcast messages, which may not be significant to all employees.

5. Leverage Multiple Communication Channels

Just as employees align with different motivational factors at work, they can prefer different channels to receive information on the happenings in the company. Such channels include:

1. Personalized or generic broadcast emails or text messages.
2. Communications through team or group leaders.
3. Sessions with their HR partner.
4. Announcements or broadcast messages on the company’s intranet portal.
5. AI chatbots to answer queries and concerns.
6. Offline posters, pamphlets distributed across the office, and much more.

Companies must decide on the priority of a piece of information and then choose the communication channel through which they circulate it. For instance, completing mandatory compliance training must reach all employees on time and ensure they complete it without repeated reminders.

Similarly, a message about adding a new food vendor to the company’s cafeteria can be shared as a discussion thread on the company’s intranet portal. This thread can facilitate employees' engagement and share their views and suggestions, which can further help leaders finalize a vendor.

6. Use Visuals and Interactive Content

While planning internal communication strategies and their appropriate channels, it’s equally important to plan how to convey the messages to employees. Not all employees can spend time scrolling through the intranet portals or discussion threads to get the latest information.

Critical information can always be brought to the attention of all, regardless of their job roles and how busy they are. Some classic examples of such internal communications include circulating company performance reviews, revised employee benefits, compliance training information, and so on.

To prevent such critical data from going unnoticed or just getting skimmed, the communications team must develop eye-grabbing visuals, catchy headlines, and crisp content to ensure employees do not miss out on anything.

• Ensure your internal communications broadcast emails do not have titles similar to spam emails. Make them crisp by adding the right labels to identify their priority level.
• Use images and infographics to summarize information such as policy introductions and updates, performance analysis, comparisons of business growth over the quarters, and more.
• Provide interactive feedback channels through surveys and polls to obtain instant reviews and opinions for broadcast messages.

7. Promote Employee Recognition and Appreciation

One of the important benefits of engaging and retaining employees is to appreciate and reward them for their significant contributions to the company. Appreciation and recognition achieve their purpose multifold when they come through internal communication channels.

When employee achievements are shared on the company’s intranet or announced to the entire organization or a specific team, it fosters a sense of recognition and pride, making employees feel valued and appreciated by their colleagues.

Similarly, seeing others’ achievements on the company’s broadcast portals motivates others to work hard so they can be featured as well. You can use HRIS systems that help integrate the awards systems with the internal communication channel.

• Enable select or all employees to appreciate peers on the company’s intranet platform.
• Use the internal communications broadcast mail to announce the winners of quarterly or annual awards.
• Include a feedback channel to record congratulatory wishes from other employees upon announcing the recognition.

8. Improve Remote Team Communication

When employees work remotely, they hardly get time to connect with their colleagues and peers like in a physical office. However, we found that employees meeting with one another to discuss company communications can be a great source of engagement.

Companies must ensure that the working environment does not affect the zeal and enthusiasm of remote employees. Facilitating discussions within and between teams and departments by involving remote employees ensures they are aware of all necessary information and share their views.

• Have monthly online team or group meetings especially dedicated to discussing the company’s progress with remote employees.
• Ensure employees share their work tasks and contributions regularly so they do not go unnoticed during performance reviews.
• Personalize emails for remote employees so that they are noticed. However, do not bombard them with broadcast emails since most of their communications can be email-based.

9. Integrate Internal Communication tools with Employee Engagement Portals

Internal communication is an important HR task, and a special team is dedicated to composing and sending the required information to employees. Most of the best HRIS systems have dedicated tools to facilitate organization-wide communication and announcements.

Such HRIS systems ensure that most HR tasks, like attendance tracking, payroll management, rewards and recognition, and many others, are linked with the internal communications portal. For instance, any delay in payments of salaries or bonuses must be automatically issued as a broadcast email or announcement to all employees.

Any policy updates and changes to existing HRIS systems must be triggered as emails to the necessary stakeholders. Therefore, companies must ensure the smooth integration and functioning of internal communications along with other employee engagement and management tasks.

• Integration with rewards and recognition portals helps employees learn about peer achievements and facilitates well-wishes.
• Integrating internal communications with crucial HR portals, such as payroll and attendance, helps employees stay informed about any changes or announcements.
• Several HRIS systems provide automated tools that simplify the communication process.

10. Share Industry or Market Information through Internal Communication

Internal communication is meant to share information about what is happening in the company. However, these channels can also be used to inform employees about the latest happenings in their industry.

Being updated on the company’s competitors, their latest innovations, and where they stand in the market can motivate employees to work harder and make an impact on their organization’s growth and success.

Sharing quarterly and mid-year performance reports through emails and company-wide announcements keeps employees informed about key financial figures, including profits and losses. This transparency not only enhances engagement but also empowers employees to contribute more strategically, fostering innovation and excellence at every level.

• Regular industry updates make employees aware of market competition.
• Internal communication feeds prevent employee distractions from other news and social media platforms.
• Sharing statistical information about the company’s business compared to market numbers seeds new ideas and innovations.

11. Promote Work-Life Balance Through Communication

Internal communication channels can be a great way for employees to take a break from their work while remaining engaged with the company and their colleagues. For instance, employees can browse the discussions portal on the intranet and scroll through the latest happenings while taking a coffee break.

Similarly, surveys and polls on internal communication channels can help actively collect employee feedback when they encounter the news. Surveys on recreational ideas, new innovations, additional engagement activities, and so on can make employees feel involved beyond their work goals.

• Initiate discussion threads to promote active engagement.
• Encourage discussions on topics beyond work, uniting people with common interests.
• Facilitate non-work-related surveys and polls to know the employee's pulse and satisfaction with their life as a whole.

12. Have Mandatory Offline Meetings and Discussions

While most internal communication channels involve a separate medium for sharing information with employees, nothing can beat direct communication. Of course, it is impossible to share all company information through word of mouth, as there is a chance it can be altered during communication.

However, certain data that may be critical to specific teams or all employees can be communicated through training sessions and meetings with HR partners and team leaders. For instance, while overall company performance reviews can be communicated through emails, each team’s performance can be closely analyzed through group or small-group meetings with leaders and HR partners.

Such meetings are successful when all employees participate and learn the details directly from those in charge of performance analysis. For deeper insights, work culture survey results are best communicated through both online channels and offline meetings.

• Offline internal communication works best for covering information in detail.
• Mandate communication of critical survey results directly through employees with authority.
• Encourage periodical meetings and discussions to engage on topics shared as broadcasts through other internal communication channels.

13. Monitor Employee Well-Being Through Internal Communications

Did you know that employee response and feedback to internal communication can be a great way to monitor their engagement and motivation levels?

Employees who are up-to-date on internal communications show greater alignment with the company and its goals. Similarly, if they are not satisfied with any new update, they must be able to voice their concerns through several channels.

In contrast, employees who do not read any internal communications emails, participate in surveys and polls, or register their opinions in discussion threads, can be less engaged with the company and its policies. Such employees may require additional channels or offline discussions to voice their views and opinions.

• Monitor employee response and participation in all internal communication channels.
• Earmark employees who are the least responsive or ignore internal communications to plan for better engagement initiatives.
• Focus on direct communication with disengaged employees and explain the importance of following internal communications.

14. Encourage Leaders to Share Experiences and Expertise

Active employee engagement involves employees having meetings and discussions with their immediate leaders and their superiors. Grassroots-level employees rarely get to interact with C-Suite executives.

For such reasons, Directors and company leaders often write articles or letters that the company publishes for internal circulation. Such articles can be published in the company’s intranet portals and discussion threads for employees to share feedback.

Such opportunities allow top leaders to share their experience and expertise and announce any new policies, thereby directly understanding the pulse of employees.

• Internal communication coming from top leaders improves employee trust in the company.
• Leaders can use internal communication channels to directly engage with all employees.
• Newsletters, experience posts, gratitude posts, performance reviews, and recognition coming from leaders are noticed more by all employees.

15. Analyze and Refine Strategies for Effective Engagement

Finally, like any other HR initiative, internal communication strategies and channels require constant revisions, updates, and changing work environments and cultures.

Internal communications shouldn’t be a laborious task that burdens HR teams and leaders. Thanks to several AI tools and platforms providing data-driven insights, most internal communications are no longer time-consuming.

Most HRIS systems offer separate internal communications portals, often integrated with other portals for attendance, rewards, payroll, and more. The key task is to decide which message goes through which communication channel to ensure maximum reception among employees.

• Leverage the use of engagement tools that provide social media-style portals for engagement.
• Make legal and judicious use of AI tools to simplify information composition.
• Review and refine the priority of information and the channels of communication.

Benefits of Effective Internal Communication

Here are some of the notable after-effects of implementing a comprehensive and effective internal communication plan.

1. Higher employee engagement: Being informed about all company information relevant to employees makes them engage confidently with others. Plus, there’s no gulf between well-informed and less-informed employees.
2. Improved productivity: When employees are aware of their impact and feel trusted by the company, overall productivity improves. Reduced uncertainty fosters confidence, ensuring employees trust that important decisions will be communicated transparently.
3. Better retention: Companies that are transparent in sharing information and receiving feedback see lower employee turnover. Information sharing and being responsive to the majority's feedback do not give opportunities for employees to leave the company.
4. Stronger company culture: Transparent internal communication forms the foundation of a great workplace culture, where employees are treated as the most valuable assets.
5. Reduced conflicts: Consistent messaging through both direct and indirect official channels minimizes the spread of gossip and incomplete information, helping to reduce conflicts and misunderstandings among employees.

How R180 Helps Companies Enhance Internal Communication and Employee Engagement

Communication across teams is essential for the smooth functioning of any organization. R180 has been successful in helping small and large companies identify communication gaps and work with them to achieve their goals.

Our performance optimization programs are specifically designed to analyze human judgments and decision-making through AI and data analytics. Such programs provide accurate results to help create, plan, and strategize holistic internal communication channels.

Moreover, we work with individual teams and leaders to understand their preferred modes of communication and feedback, which can help refine communication channels to ensure higher engagement. Our tailored workshops and role-play sessions help leaders and HR professionals understand how to prioritize communication and execute it with a proper strategy.

Final Thoughts: Build a Communication-First Culture

Companies that realize the importance of internal communication and its impact on employee engagement have been able to weather several global workplace culture shifts and turbulences. Such companies have always been branded as great workplaces.

Maintaining transparent internal communication is crucial to keeping employees informed about the company's happenings and helping them understand where the company stands in the global marketplace. Such critical information reduces anxiety among employees and restores their trust that the company will always keep them informed.

If you observe rising disengagement and anxiety among your employees, your organization may be experiencing miscommunication and a lack of transparency.

Reach out to us to improve your internal communication and make it more effective to achieve better employee engagement.

FAQs

What is the role of internal communication in employee engagement?

Companies must ensure employees are informed about key events, policies, and business milestones. As the foundation of a successful business, employees need to understand the impact of their contributions. Internal communications help eliminate uncertainty by utilizing various communication channels, reassuring employees that the company values their efforts.

What is the difference between internal communications and employee engagement?

Employee engagement refers to the efforts and energy employees devote to their work goals and their workplace environment. Engagement happens through several initiatives that enable employees to get together and discuss formal and informal topics.

Internal communications are an employee engagement initiative, where employees get to learn and share opinions on whatever is happening in the company. Companies must do their best to share the information required for all employees transparently, with open feedback channels.

What are the 5 C's of employee engagement?

1. Care: Empathize with the overall employee well-being.
2. Connect: Foster a healthy relationship with team leaders.
3. Coach: Train your employees to be the best.
4. Contribute: Value employees’ contributions, ideas, and suggestions.
5. Congratulate: Appreciate and reward employees for small and big wins.

How does communication affect employee engagement?

Communication at all levels within a company is the best way to detect and measure how actively employees are engaged with their peers and their work goals. Communication between employees and the organization makes employees feel that the company values their work. Failing to share company information regularly reduces employee engagement, as they feel less valued and ignored.