June 16, 2023 • 9 mins
Join host Chellie Phillips in this episode of Culture Secrets as she explores the pivotal role of internal communications in fostering a thriving workplace culture. Discover the significance of transparent leadership, psychological safety, employee engagement, and effective collaboration. Gain valuable insights into creating a value culture through a multifaceted approach to internal communications. Don't miss this episode to uncover actionable strategies that will help you build a strong and successful organizational culture. Subscribe, rate, and share the podcast to spread the secrets of culture transformation. Visit www.chelliephillips.com for more information.
Thanks for listening. Grab the book the podcast is based on at https://mybook.to/culturesecrets . Check out my website www.chelliephillips.com for more great content. Follow me on LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Chellie Phillips (00:06):
If workplace culture is your jam, you're in
the right place. Check out thisepisode of culture secrets, the
podcast dedicated to creatingworkplaces where both employees
and the companies thrive.
Building a strong companyculture isn't easy, but it can
be accomplished if you make surethe message is the same across
(00:26):
the whole organization. Welcometo the culture secret podcast.
I'm your host Chellie Phillipsand this is where we share ideas
and conversations about what ittakes to create human centered
workplace cultures where boththe business and the employee
thrives. Today we're talkingabout the role internal
communications plays in growingculture inside an organization.
I just recently got back fromspeaking at a conference in
(00:49):
Portland, Maine. And it becamevery clear to me that this was a
topic that we needed to reallydiscuss and it's near and dear
to my heart. I'm sure I'm biasedwhen I say communications is key
to making so many things in thebusiness world work and function
at a higher level for fulltransparency. I'm currently the
VP of Communications and PR foran Electric Co Op located 45
(01:09):
minutes south of Atlanta.
However, I've worked for morethan 30 years in the
communications world. To build astrong company culture, you need
an effective internalcommunication strategy. In fact,
that needs to be one of your toppriorities. It's key to
developing an environment wherelistening, sharing trust and
feedback are encouraged. Infact, I think now as we have
more remote or hybrid workschedules, it's even more
(01:32):
critical. Before I go further,let's make sure we're all on the
same page. What is companyculture, I like to think of a
company's culture as its uniqueinternal brand. It involves a
unique set of values,communication styles, company
structures, and behaviors. Ibelieve in creating a value
culture. In fact, so much so Iwrote a whole book on it called
(01:54):
culture secrets. When you createa value culture, you're setting
both the company and employeesup for success, it changes
everyone's perception on howthey feel about coming to work.
Internal Communications isreally any kind of work related
communication that happensinside an organization. That
means everything from an eventannouncement to a CEO strategy
(02:14):
brief to a conversation thattakes place in the break room.
It includes producing anddelivering messages on behalf of
management and enabling dialoguebetween everyone in the
organization. It's announcingnew policies talking about
upcoming events or managing anemployee engagement survey. For
some businesses, it's an HRfunction for others, the PR and
marketing department areinvolved. For it to be done
(02:37):
effectively, I think both areasneed to work together. Now that
we have a starting point, let'slook at how internal
communications can affect acompany culture. First, when you
have a strong culture, employeesfeel a greater sense of
engagement in gallops recent2023 state of the global
workplace report, they report upto 85% of employees are
(02:58):
disengaged in the workplace atsome level, that means they know
are no longer committed to thecompany's vision or goals. They
aren't coming in with themindset of putting their best
foot forward, they're also lesslikely to believe in the company
leadership and the futuresuccess of that organization.
Internal Communications can helpwith that. You need a
multifaceted approach toreaching your employees, you
(03:20):
need to use a wide variety offormats and platforms to include
the now common multigenerational workforce we all
have. psychological safety isalso a cornerstone of strong
cultures in the workplace. Aninternal communications plan
that takes into accountemployees and the safeguards
that are in place should acrisis occur can help foster an
(03:40):
environment where employees feelcared for and build the trust
necessary between them and theleadership. Internal
Communications can keep peoplecalm during a crisis.
announcements of change need tobe treated extra carefully,
because the morale of theorganization can be at stake.
Internal comms can help you withemployee retention as well. It
can cost a company as much as1/3 of an employee's salary to
(04:03):
hire a replacement and get themup to speed. By keeping your
employees informed andreinforcing the shared values
and behaviors. You need to keepyour employees aligned with the
vision of the company. So if youwork in communications, how can
you help create a value cultureusing effective internal
communications, one, encourageleadership to be transparent. It
(04:24):
helps everyone know where youare coming from and where you're
going. When people are aware ofwhy they're usually more willing
to help achieve the goal. It'simportant that leadership helps
employees understand how theirjobs connect with the goals and
when employees believe theirwork matters. It creates
accountability and a feeling ofownership. Use recognition when
possible. Recognition is morethan just dollars in your
(04:47):
paycheck. Expressing orhighlighting positive things
happening in the workplace cango a long way to building a
thriving culture. Make this aregular part of your newsletter
or internal comms platform.
Three, keep your pay Pullinformed and help them see the
big picture. People don't likesurprises or to feel left out.
Internal communication should bea sharing of events, policies,
(05:08):
work initiatives, and overallbusiness updates involve as many
people as possible to make sureyou provide an accurate
representation of what'shappening in the organization
and where it's headed foranalytics are your friends.
Without data you don't know ifyou're investing your time on
projects that are being seen orheard. Do you track your open
rate for emails? Do you know ifvideo or written content is
(05:30):
being consumed more don't wastetime putting information in
places no one is looking. Andfinally, the fifth way, employee
feedback is a must for strongculture. The more a company
encourages open dialogue, thestronger the culture will be.
Use surveys polls, or even askedfor comments to help gather
employee feedback. Create aculture of collaboration by
(05:50):
asking each department toprovide content for your
newsletter or intranet andhighlight your unique workforce
whenever possible. Not allinternal communications come in
the form of a newsletter. Youcan even get others in the
office involved in the process.
All employees can help build aculture of transparency by
sharing information. One simpleway to do this is have team
members document decisions andprocesses and housed them in the
(06:11):
central digital space so thateveryone can access create
checklists about what has workedwell, so that others don't have
to start from scratch debrief atthe end of a project you just
completed and take time to notewhat worked, what didn't and
what could be improved for thenext time. To me, there's no
question that strong internalcommunications must be a part of
every successful workplaceculture initiative. In fact, I
(06:32):
think it's everyone's job. Youjust can't assume it's the
responsibility of HR or thecommunications department. If
your internal communicationstrategy isn't up to par, and
you need help in turning yourtop down messaging into two way
conversation. I recommend youreading culture secrets and see
what areas of your current planfit. In the value culture model,
you'll find real world examplesof what's working for other
(06:55):
businesses, as well as someguidelines for you to consider
as you build your own uniqueculture. Ultimately, creating a
strong value culture revolvesaround people sharing
information and theirwillingness to talk to one
another. Thanks for listening tothis episode of the culture
secrets podcast. I hope you'vejotted down a few ideas to try
over the next coming weeks thatwill help you grow a value
culture inside yourorganization. If you've enjoyed
(07:17):
what you heard, please likesubscribe and share this podcast
with others drop me a ratingtoo. If you have a topic you'd
like for me to discuss, feelfree to leave a comment or
connect with me on social media.
I'm on all the major platforms.
You can also find moreinformation on my website at WWW
dot Chellie phillips.com. That'sC H E L L I E P H I L L ips.com.
That's it for this episode. Andremember, building a value
(07:44):
culture is your competitiveadvantage and the backbone of
any successful organization.
If workplace culture is your jam, you're in
the right place. Check out thisepisode of culture secrets, the
podcast dedicated to creatingworkplaces where both employees
and the companies thrive.
Building a strong companyculture isn't easy, but it can
be accomplished if you make surethe message is the same across
(00:26):
the whole organization. Welcometo the culture secret podcast.
I'm your host Chellie Phillipsand this is where we share ideas
and conversations about what ittakes to create human centered
workplace cultures where boththe business and the employee
thrives. Today we're talkingabout the role internal
communications plays in growingculture inside an organization.
I just recently got back fromspeaking at a conference in
(00:49):
Portland, Maine. And it becamevery clear to me that this was a
topic that we needed to reallydiscuss and it's near and dear
to my heart. I'm sure I'm biasedwhen I say communications is key
to making so many things in thebusiness world work and function
at a higher level for fulltransparency. I'm currently the
VP of Communications and PR foran Electric Co Op located 45
(01:09):
minutes south of Atlanta.
However, I've worked for morethan 30 years in the
communications world. To build astrong company culture, you need
an effective internalcommunication strategy. In fact,
that needs to be one of your toppriorities. It's key to
developing an environment wherelistening, sharing trust and
feedback are encouraged. Infact, I think now as we have
more remote or hybrid workschedules, it's even more
(01:32):
critical. Before I go further,let's make sure we're all on the
same page. What is companyculture, I like to think of a
company's culture as its uniqueinternal brand. It involves a
unique set of values,communication styles, company
structures, and behaviors. Ibelieve in creating a value
culture. In fact, so much so Iwrote a whole book on it called
(01:54):
culture secrets. When you createa value culture, you're setting
both the company and employeesup for success, it changes
everyone's perception on howthey feel about coming to work.
Internal Communications isreally any kind of work related
communication that happensinside an organization. That
means everything from an eventannouncement to a CEO strategy
(02:14):
brief to a conversation thattakes place in the break room.
It includes producing anddelivering messages on behalf of
management and enabling dialoguebetween everyone in the
organization. It's announcingnew policies talking about
upcoming events or managing anemployee engagement survey. For
some businesses, it's an HRfunction for others, the PR and
marketing department areinvolved. For it to be done
(02:37):
effectively, I think both areasneed to work together. Now that
we have a starting point, let'slook at how internal
communications can affect acompany culture. First, when you
have a strong culture, employeesfeel a greater sense of
engagement in gallops recent2023 state of the global
workplace report, they report upto 85% of employees are
(02:58):
disengaged in the workplace atsome level, that means they know
are no longer committed to thecompany's vision or goals. They
aren't coming in with themindset of putting their best
foot forward, they're also lesslikely to believe in the company
leadership and the futuresuccess of that organization.
Internal Communications can helpwith that. You need a
multifaceted approach toreaching your employees, you
(03:20):
need to use a wide variety offormats and platforms to include
the now common multigenerational workforce we all
have. psychological safety isalso a cornerstone of strong
cultures in the workplace. Aninternal communications plan
that takes into accountemployees and the safeguards
that are in place should acrisis occur can help foster an
(03:40):
environment where employees feelcared for and build the trust
necessary between them and theleadership. Internal
Communications can keep peoplecalm during a crisis.
announcements of change need tobe treated extra carefully,
because the morale of theorganization can be at stake.
Internal comms can help you withemployee retention as well. It
can cost a company as much as1/3 of an employee's salary to
(04:03):
hire a replacement and get themup to speed. By keeping your
employees informed andreinforcing the shared values
and behaviors. You need to keepyour employees aligned with the
vision of the company. So if youwork in communications, how can
you help create a value cultureusing effective internal
communications, one, encourageleadership to be transparent. It
(04:24):
helps everyone know where youare coming from and where you're
going. When people are aware ofwhy they're usually more willing
to help achieve the goal. It'simportant that leadership helps
employees understand how theirjobs connect with the goals and
when employees believe theirwork matters. It creates
accountability and a feeling ofownership. Use recognition when
possible. Recognition is morethan just dollars in your
(04:47):
paycheck. Expressing orhighlighting positive things
happening in the workplace cango a long way to building a
thriving culture. Make this aregular part of your newsletter
or internal comms platform.
Three, keep your pay Pullinformed and help them see the
big picture. People don't likesurprises or to feel left out.
Internal communication should bea sharing of events, policies,
(05:08):
work initiatives, and overallbusiness updates involve as many
people as possible to make sureyou provide an accurate
representation of what'shappening in the organization
and where it's headed foranalytics are your friends.
Without data you don't know ifyou're investing your time on
projects that are being seen orheard. Do you track your open
rate for emails? Do you know ifvideo or written content is
(05:30):
being consumed more don't wastetime putting information in
places no one is looking. Andfinally, the fifth way, employee
feedback is a must for strongculture. The more a company
encourages open dialogue, thestronger the culture will be.
Use surveys polls, or even askedfor comments to help gather
employee feedback. Create aculture of collaboration by
(05:50):
asking each department toprovide content for your
newsletter or intranet andhighlight your unique workforce
whenever possible. Not allinternal communications come in
the form of a newsletter. Youcan even get others in the
office involved in the process.
All employees can help build aculture of transparency by
sharing information. One simpleway to do this is have team
members document decisions andprocesses and housed them in the
(06:11):
central digital space so thateveryone can access create
checklists about what has workedwell, so that others don't have
to start from scratch debrief atthe end of a project you just
completed and take time to notewhat worked, what didn't and
what could be improved for thenext time. To me, there's no
question that strong internalcommunications must be a part of
every successful workplaceculture initiative. In fact, I
(06:32):
think it's everyone's job. Youjust can't assume it's the
responsibility of HR or thecommunications department. If
your internal communicationstrategy isn't up to par, and
you need help in turning yourtop down messaging into two way
conversation. I recommend youreading culture secrets and see
what areas of your current planfit. In the value culture model,
you'll find real world examplesof what's working for other
(06:55):
businesses, as well as someguidelines for you to consider
as you build your own uniqueculture. Ultimately, creating a
strong value culture revolvesaround people sharing
information and theirwillingness to talk to one
another. Thanks for listening tothis episode of the culture
secrets podcast. I hope you'vejotted down a few ideas to try
over the next coming weeks thatwill help you grow a value
culture inside yourorganization. If you've enjoyed
(07:17):
what you heard, please likesubscribe and share this podcast
with others drop me a ratingtoo. If you have a topic you'd
like for me to discuss, feelfree to leave a comment or
connect with me on social media.
I'm on all the major platforms.
You can also find moreinformation on my website at WWW
dot Chellie phillips.com. That'sC H E L L I E P H I L L ips.com.
That's it for this episode. Andremember, building a value
(07:44):
culture is your competitiveadvantage and the backbone of
any successful organization.
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