Internal Communication Best Practices for 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic, incoming economic recession, and uncertainty have presented significant challenges for internal communications. With many employees working remotely, organizations must find creative ways to keep their employees informed and engaged, while also addressing their concerns.

Companies must be sensitive to the fact that employees are dealing with a wide range of personal and professional issues and that their level of engagement and productivity may be affected by these issues. It’s important to be transparent and provide clear and consistent messaging to employees, without being too overwhelming.

Here is a quick guide and outlook on internal communications best practices for 2023.

1. Restart regular check-ins.

Encourage regular check-ins. Given the fact that many employees are still reluctant to return to the office, it is important to provide frequent chances for them to stay in touch with their team and supervisors.

• First, do more in-person meetings: they allow for direct and open communication between employees and management. This encourages dialogue and feedback, allows to foster trust, and builds stronger relationships between management and employees.

• Second, do regular virtual meetings, but keep them efficient. Virtual meetings can be a great tool for communication, however, too many of them can lead to decreased productivity. When people are constantly in virtual meetings, it takes away from the amount of time they have to focus on their individual tasks. Additionally, long meetings, especially those without an agenda, can lead to unfocused conversations and a lack of productivity. To maximize productivity, the number of virtual meetings should be decreased and replaced with shorter, more organized meetings, as well as other forms of communication such as emails and text messages, or in-person meetings.

• Third, If you stopped doing All-hands or Town Hall meetings during the Covid pandemic, it's now the right time to restart them. These meetings typically involve updates from upper management, reports from various departments, and discussions related to company strategy, initiatives, and goals.

2. Revisit your company goals:

It's time to revisit your company goals and set new objectives. Redefine your Internal Communication metrics such as:

• Employee engagement rates,

• Content consumption rates,

• Employee Reach,

• Response rates,

• Message Recall,

• Employee satisfaction etc.

This can help to measure success in post covid and times of economic hardship, identify areas of growth, and make adjustments if necessary.

Revisiting these items also helps to demonstrate accountability and can provide motivation to employees and team members to remain focused and determined to reach their goals. Regularly revisiting objectives and key results are essential to the growth and success of any organization.

3. Praising hard work even more.

During difficult economic times, your key players are more important than ever, therefore hard work should be praised and encouraged even more. Hard work helps to create new opportunities and provide a sense of stability and security It is important for your key employees to continue to strive for excellence despite challenging circumstances. H Hard work is an admirable trait and should be praised and celebrated. It is an example of resilience and strength in the face of adversity. It is also a reminder that even in the most uncertain times, dedication and determination can lead to great achievements.

4. Increase transparency levels.

Be transparent and open. In the face of uncertainty and change, it is more than important to be transparent and open with employees about decisions and plans within the organization. This can help to build trust and improve morale.

5. Keep messages relevant and timely.

With so much information and news about the pandemic, it is important to ensure that the messages you share with employees are relevant and timely. Avoid overwhelming them with irrelevant or outdated information.

6. Revisit your budget, and prioritize digital tools and channels.

in times of this unprecedented uncertainty, companies must be very careful about what they budget to spend.

With many employees still working remotely, it is important to continue spending on digital tools and channels for your internal communications.

Here are some ways to be more efficient budget efficient:

• go from print to digital. If you are still using print employee magazines and newsletters go digital, save money on print and distribution costs. Here is an article on how digital transformation is important.

• get rid of tools and content that are not measurable and don't drive ROI.

• delete duplicate seats and users.

• carefully invest in better internal communications tools such as instant messaging apps (Slack, Microsoft Teams), Intranet (Sharepoint, Staffbase), employee magazines and newsletter platforms (Joomag, Poppulo).

Yes, effective communication can help your organization save money. When employees are able to communicate with each other efficiently, it can help reduce the amount of time and resources spent on miscommunications and misunderstandings.

Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented economic landscape significantly impact the way that organizations communicate with their employees. By implementing these best practices, organizations can improve their internal communications and support the success of their employees in 2023.

Joomag is a digital publishing platform that helps companies create, distribute, and measure publications for internal communications. With Joomag, businesses can easily create professional-quality digital publications, such as employee magazines and newsletters, employee guides and brochures, and digital annual reports, using a range of customizable templates and design tools. Joomag also offers a range of distribution and marketing features, such as email marketing, social media sharing, and analytics, to help businesses reach their target audience.