Internal communications experts have to always be up to date and inform their team of essential information in a timely manner. There will, however, be times when things don’t go as expected. Common internal communication challenges will arise and it is important to know how to overcome them.
Being ready and strategic with your solutions can aid in a swift resolution of any internal communications issues that may emerge. Internal communication issues can have an impact on your bottom line because they are what keep your teams coordinated and informed.
In this article we will look at some common internal communication challenges and find ways to overcome them efficiently.
1. No communication channel
It’s important to evaluate the channels and methods used for delivery of your communications. Maybe your employee public meetings are interesting and the staff enjoys them. Yet, if they occur infrequently, it can be challenging to communicate consistently.
Without consistency, it’s simple for workers to lose interest in what’s happening within the organization and disengage. This is especially crucial if your job demands you to work well with people from other teams and departments.
The solution is to make an internal communications plan that is either annual or quarterly. You need to describe your channels, campaigns, and communication strategies in detail. After that, arrange communications using an internal communications content calendar on a regular basis.
2. Lack of transparency
When management withholds crucial information about their choices, organizational problems quickly develop. Employees frequently lose trust in management because their organization does not place a high priority on effective leadership communications.
Also, they start to feel less at ease asking questions, which limits communication within the organization.
The solution is to encourage an open culture throughout the office. Encourage staff to ask questions all the time, and give detailed explanations of your own decisions.
3. Low rate of employee recognition
Maintaining the motivation and engagement of your staff requires regular employee recognition programs. Employees are reassured that they are on the correct track and that your team values their efforts when their efforts are acknowledged.
Employee motivation begins to decline in the absence of recognition also known as acknowledgment, and performance soon follows.
The solution is to simply use your communication channels to offer regular, considerate employee recognition.
4. Not paying enough attention to remote workers
Around 16 million corporate workers in the US have gone remote since the COVID-19 shutdown. It’s crucial to remember the value of involving remote workers as some people return to the workplace and hybrid work takes over.
It’s simple to get behind on staff communications when there isn’t a face-to-face connection. But, it may cause distant workers to feel unappreciated, out of the loop, and alone.
The solution is to use the channels that remote workers prefer to engage in. Increase the visibility of written communications and online activities. Simple emails in plain text just won’t do. Use a software program for interactive employee communications that allows you to use both sight and sound.
More of our tips can be checked out in our article on Effective internal communication strategies for remote teams.
5. Not enough leadership communication
It is problematic when management doesn’t take the time to speak with employees personally and doesn’t participate actively in internal communications efforts.
In actuality, a lack of effective leadership communication causes a fundamental gap between workers and leaders. Consider this: If managers don’t care about encouraging communication, why should staff? They will be less open to receiving input from you when it is your chance to do it.
The solution is to get your internal communications department to simply outline the goals of your strategy in order to get top leaders on board and in agreement with it.
6. Poor employee engagement
As an internal communicator, you put effort into creating internal campaigns and disseminating information on fresh safety initiatives or corporate rules. Employees then claim to have no idea what you’re talking about when you follow up with them over Slack or Zoom.
You feel your efforts were ultimately a waste of time. Sadly, according to studies, only 12% of the workforce is very engaged. And less than 50% of executives are aware of how to fix the problem.
The solution is to gather data in determining whether you have an internal communication issue on your hands. You may determine just how far behind you are and where you are falling behind by conducting an internal communications audit.
7. Language barriers
Another one of the most common internal communication challenges is language barrier. Sending emails in many languages will be a significant element of your internal communications strategy if your company employs a global workforce. But, in a globalized industry, language limitations have also grown to be a significant obstacle for communications specialists.
The solution is to build your content distribution with the use of a specialized internal communications platform based on the locations and languages of your workers.
8. Bad onboarding communication
A new hire’s first three months at a company are crucial to their performance. The onboarding process will be unsuccessful if this time is spent by employees digging through documentation and rushing around confused.
The solution is to make sure that key resources are easily accessible in a clear, step-by-step onboarding strategy that is provided to new hires.
For employees to always know where to access important information, it is best to organize onboarding information on a single channel.
9. Not enough employee feedback
Professionals in HR and communications are always looking for more employee feedback. This is so because employee satisfaction and engagement are directly correlated with open and honest feedback from employees. Similarly, a lack of feedback could cause lower levels of employee engagement.
The solution is to have a variety of tools for providing feedback, that is the first step. You must conduct weekly and monthly follow-ups with employees in addition to your yearly company survey. And these need not be long, repetitive surveys.
10. Limited budget for internal communication
Supervisors of internal communications regularly struggle with a lack of personnel and gaining larger budgets. This is due to the fact that external marketing departments receive a sizable portion of budgets for internal communications in businesses. Moreover, internal communication is overlooked.
The solution is to show the return of investment (ROI) by collecting information and seeing patterns over time. Surely, good internal communication will partake in the success of your company.
In conclusion
Problems with internal communications will always exist. But, they do not always have to affect the entire business.
You can lessen the effects of communications problems so your organization can restore working normally. It can be done by having a strong internal communication strategy and following internal communications best practices.
And now you know exactly how to overcome common internal communication challenges. We hope this article was helpful!
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