 A lot of large organisations underestimate the importance of good or even great internal communications. Senior management seem to think that internal communications is the responsibility of the HR or the communications department. This is not the case. In fact, like customer service, internal communication is everyone's responsibility. "Like customer service, internal communications is everyone's responsibility" So what does internal communications look like? Is it the monthly staff newsletter, an all staff email, or the internal staff intranet? It's true that all of these things form a part of internal communications, and they are great tools to keep staff updated, but they are just tools, and done on their own they are often ineffective. 
Staff need to feel appreciated, valued and respected. They like to be acknowledged for the work they do. After all we're only human! In life in general we like to be thanked and feel loved, it's the same at work. A workplace where staff do not feel appreciated, valued or respected will create a difficult work environment, and will result in lack of productivity and motivation. "A workplace where staff do not feel appreciated, valued Internal communication is so much more than just the 'tools of the trade', it is the feeling that staff have and that is created from the top down. Staff who feel valued will want to deliver, they will want to give back to the organisation, they will be productive, creative, motivated and loyal staff. Who wouldn't want to work in a workplace like that?!
Out of the Box Consulting can work with your organisation to develop and implement an Internal Communications Strategies. However the strategy alone will not improve the internal communications in the workforce, it's the people, the management team in particular, that will have to drive the strategy to create the feeling that all employees want to feel. Until next time, Keep Smiling! :) Nicola. Director - Out of the Box Consulting  Most of us in the marketing business have heard of SMART goals, but what are SMARTER goals? SMART goals are goals that are SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ACHIEVABLE RELEVANT TIMELY So what does the E and R stand for? This is actually the most important part, it's the research component, a time to check and review to make sure you are achieving your goals. EVALUATE RE-EVALUATE It's really important when you are setting your goals for your business or marketing plan that they are specific. Make sure they are not too wordy and that they only include one goal, not three! A short precise sentence is sufficient. Make your goals measurable, include a quantity or percentage, something you can measure. For example "increase income from sales by 10%". This makes it much easier to evaluate later. Are your goals achievable or attainable? It's great to 'reach for the stars', but don't set a goal that is going to be too hard to achieve. Be realistic. It's not that it won't be achievable ever, it's more likely that it's just not achievable yet, take baby steps first and set bigger goals as your business grows. 
Make your goals relevant or realistic. If they're not relevant to your business or what you have control over then they're going to be very difficult if not impossible to achieve. Make your goal timely or time bound - when do you want to achieve this goal? For example "Increase income from sales by 10% by December 2014." Again this helps you track your progress and of course will help when you evaluate your success. 
The only way to know if your strategy has been successful is to evaluate it. Did you achieve your goals within the time you set? Were you way off, or close but not quite close enough? Or did you over achieve what you set out to do? This is the opportunity where you can adjust your goals, maybe you need to change your income from sales to 8% by February 2015, or 15% by February 2015. Make the necessary adjustments and come back and re-evaluate and adjust again in a month or so. Make your plan a working document, not a static document that sits on the shelf and you forget about it. What's the point of preparing a plan or strategy for it to collect dust?  Remember setting SMARTER goals is just one step in developing your strategy.
There is a lot more to it and if you need help or advice don't hesitate to contact us. We're more than happy to help. Until next time...I hope you're kicking goals! Take care, Nicola Director - Out of the Box Consulting. |
AuthorNicola Oldridge Archives
September 2019
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