Discover your workplace Soundtrack
Each floor of my three-story house has a Sonos speaker, with music carefully curated (by me) via the app on my phone. Fortunately, there are only two of us in my household and we both like the same music.
But imagine this scenario with multiple generations - your multi-room speaker system is streaming across all floors, blasting out your favourite tunes. It’s unlikely everyone will want to hear the same playlist.
Whoever’s in the kitchen may be cooking up a feast and following a recipe after a hard day at work. They may want some gentle background music, nothing too distracting.
Those in the living room are trying to watch a movie and calling for you to tune the volume down.
And your teenager(s) upstairs? They’ll have their own playlist!
The workplace mirrors the hugely diverse society we live in, and multiple generational communication needs is just one of the many differences that needs to be considered.
This is where carefully planned, audience-first, internal communication can help.
Know your people
Key insights from the IC Index Channels Report, published by the Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) in partnership with Ipsos Karian and Box, says around two thirds of employees (74%) feel they are getting the right amount of information from their employer.
65% say email is their channel of choice for general news and updates.
19% of Gen Z rely on SMS or WhatsApp for updates, compared to 5% of Baby Boomers.
Over half of employees prefer to get written information about their employer’s plans and priorities
More than a third want more information about pay, benefits, and career opportunities.
Taking the time to understand your people - how they want to receive and share information and what they want to know more about - will help you to connect with them in the right way, at the right time, via a channel that works for them, with content that resonates and helps them to do their job.
Manage the noise
Sending out the same message to everyone, assuming it’s relevant to all and that they’re going to be interested, is generally not a smart move.
When employees think the information isn’t relevant to them, they often end up tuning out.
With the right plan, channels, and targeted content in place, messages stop being noise and make it easier for people to tune in what matters.
Here's how to make it work:
Getting in tune
Just like every room in your house has a purpose, so does every function, team, and individual in your organisation.
💡What do different employee groups need to know?
💡What motivates them?
Tip👉: Get under the skin of your business. Listen to what really matters to people. Use real data - polls, surveys, feedback, and analytics to get a clearer picture.
Right on track
You wouldn't play nursery rhymes at a teen’s birthday party, so we shouldn't send the same updates to frontline workers and senior leaders.
Craft messages that matter to each group.
Tip👉: Before sending important messages, test the clarity and sentiment of your message, and how it might land with different employee groups. If you don’t have real humans on hand for this, try AI tools like Acronlinx.
Pick the right stage
Some updates are best-delivered face-to-face – who doesn't love a live performance? Other messages may be better suited to email, or quick message on your social channel.
Tip👉: Choose the channels your employees tune in to.
Develop the right rhythm
Forward planning and being connected to the rhythm of your organisation are key. Even great messages lose impact if there are too many of them.
Tip👉: Be mindful of timing and frequency. Less is more. Use Microsoft tools like Excel or Project, or Comms Planner or IC Plan to get a helicoptor view of what’s happening in your business.
Tune your systems
Just like the playlist and volume on your speaker system, your content and channel strategy will need reviewing and adjusting from time-to-time.
Keep an eye on engagement, stay tuned to data, and listen to feedback.
Tip👉: Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT can help to analyse your data. If something's not working, switch it up…or down!
Create a harmonised workplace
Knowing your audience is everything.
When you tailor your comms, everyone wins.
Employees feel supported, not overwhelmed. They get the information they need to do their jobs well, without unnecessary distractions.
For the business, it means better engagement and increased productivity.
Maximise your budget with the top 5 internal comms channels
Recent research through the CIPR revealed that email, intranet and town hall meetings provide the backbone of many internal communication channel frameworks. But, organisations with less than 500 employees often have limited access to many digital channels due to budget constraints.
These top five most popular channels in the IC Index Channels Report are proof that you don’t need a big budget to communicate effectively:
Email
1-2-1s with my line manager
Company newsletters
Team meetings
My colleagues (word of mouth)
Need help connecting with your teams?
With a lifetime career in internal communication, I’ve worked with organisations of all shapes, sizes and cultures.
Using my own insights, and the latest research and best practice, I can help you communicate what really matters in your business, to create a soundtrack people want to tune into.
