Whilst there is a huge emphasis on external communications in councils, communications within a council can be forgotten.
Setting up a strategy for your council will boost employee engagement, nurture company culture and help your team perform their jobs well.
Improve accessibility
As many employees continue to work from home, it has created a barrier to accessing all council files, documentation, information and resources.
The importance of accessibility to digital information has become increasingly important with increased flexibility around where we work and when we work.
This can easily be achieved by using one secure online cloud platform for storing information, whether it be Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft Teams.
If you have multiple repositories for information and communication, then work towards consolidating them into one.
Put strategy first
Internal communications strategies within local councils are not often a priority, with many managers not knowing where to start. Creating a strategy for how you communicate internally will increase efficiency.
The strategy should include the following three key things:
- Channels – What channels you communicate in and when to use each channel according to the different types and priority of communication.
- Messaging – Communications pillars and key messaging; what is it that we are going to be communicating to the workforce?
- Audience – Who we are communicating to.
The importance of accessibility to digital information has become increasingly important with increased flexibility around where we work and when we work.
Take advantage of social media
One of the best tools for communicating internally with your staff is social media.
Many employees are already using social media in their day-to-day lives, and by observing and learning from this, councils can create new approaches that mimic these behaviours for internal communications. The name of the game is to communicate where your workforce already is.
When setting up an internal engagement strategy, it’s important to research (interview and survey) a cross section of your workforce to discover which channels they use.
People have a range of preferences for consuming content – some like email, others like their managers to let them know what’s important, others still prefer social channels like WhatsApp and Facebook Workplace.
Social media enhances interactivity and conversations amongst employees – across all departments and levels, keeping them engaged and assisting them in achieving long term goals.
Communicate broadly but be focused on what you say
Staff can often feel overloaded with information, which in turn means they are not absorbing key messages from their employers.
This can be overcome by leveraging a broad range of channels to ensure you reach everyone with key council communications.
It is equally as important to be consistent and focused on these channels. Don’t overload each piece of communication with messaging because people engage better with one or two clear messages.
Staff can often feel overloaded with information, which in turn means they are not absorbing key messages from their employers.
Input from your employees
How are councils supposed to know how their employees are feeling or thinking? Internal communications is not a one way street – it is important for employees to provide their thoughts on the communication within their departments.
Councils should encourage feedback and provide a platform or process where employees are able to share their ideas or concerns.
A workplace social media channel allows this to happen immediately and also allows conversations between people, increasing their feelings of being heard and creating a sense of belonging in the team.
Consider a business consultant
An internal communications strategy can easily become an afterthought when there are other priorities.
Consider enlisting the services of a professional to make the process smoother. Business consultants are beneficial for councils wanting to communicate more effectively as they are able to develop tailored strategies to suit your team.
Councils should consider smaller consultancies as they have a more creative and flexible approach when compared to the big consulting firms.
Phil Brown is a partner and advisor at The Growth Activists
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