Internal communications: the overlooked key to attracting and retaining talent

The war for talent in Australia is cooling in some industries but that doesn’t mean businesses or organisations can drop the ball.

Attracting good people is only half the challenge. Holding on to them, keeping them engaged and making them feel valued is just as important.

Many organisations invest heavily in external relations, but internal relations are just as important – are your internal stakeholders (your team members) as engaged as the external stakeholders you’re trying to satisfy? 
When it comes to attracting and retaining talent within any organisation, ensuring you have a strong internal PR and communications strategy is essential. 

A strong internal communications and engagement strategy can make a significant difference to how people feel about where they work, their relationship with their leaders and their willingness to stay.

So, how often do you communicate with your team?

Do you have regular work in progress meetings, town hall-style meetings, or regular team get togethers?

Do you have a staff newsletter, intranet or a message board for your team to share information or stay connected?

Do senior leaders regularly communicate directly with employees through CEO videos,company updates and briefings?

We often focus on communicating the value proposition of an organisation to the outside world without considering the value of working within an organisation. 

If your team feels informed, listened to and valued, they are more likely to feel connected to their workplace.

This builds trust when issues arise, to troubleshoot, or to solve internal and external problems collectively. And that becomes particularly important when things go pear-shaped.

It could be an error in calculating wages or data may have been breached – your team is more likely to support your leaders if they have been briefed on the situation, they’re kept up to date with actions and activities and they know you’re going that extra mile to fix the problem as quickly as possible. They’re more likely to trust their leadership team and stay the course. Employees who are left in the dark can become anxious, frustrated or distrustful.

Good internal communications build organisational resilience.

And sometimes the most effective engagement starts with something as simple as a conversation over coffee.

Are there opportunities to ask how they are feeling or how they are managing their workload? Sometimes the small things which don’t cost much – or anything at all - can have the largest impact.

People feel like they’re valued when they’re listened to, and opening communication channels online or in-person at regular work events makes a big difference when it comes to engagement. 
The focus is also moving away from the money – and recognising increasingly that workers want flexibility and higher levels of engagement. 

We also know most organisations can’t offer a pay rise every year. If you can offer good conditions, a bit of flex, regular and consistent internal communications and healthy engagement, it will mean team members are likely to be happier in their space, more supportive of their colleagues and more likely to stay your course.

So perhaps it’s time to give internal communications the same strategic attention as external communications.

Lower employee turnover means a healthier bottom line, the avoidance of recruitment costs and the retention of corporate knowledge – all essential when it comes to building your brand and communicating your value proposition to the wider world.

Because the way you communicate with your people on the inside ultimately shapes the way your organisation is experienced on the outside.
 

Verity Edwards

Hughes | Senior Consultant