Internal communication is a significant part of the success of any organization. As long as an organization embraces healthy internal communication practices, it can maintain its productivity at a high level. It also becomes easier to keep employees engaged and ensure alignment in service delivery within the workforce. With 2020 being the rollercoaster it is, it has changed many aspects of business that organizations used to consider the norm.
Take internal communication practices, for example. Success can only be achieved if companies manage to adapt to the changes required. Here are some of the ways internal communication has changed in 2020, and how your business can successfully adapt.
Internal Communication Has Undergone a Digital Transformation
With COVID-19 still a significant threat to workforce health, most businesses have been forced to embrace remote work. For businesses that were reliant on paper-based internal communication systems, this brought about some considerable complications. They needed to reach out to dispersed employees quickly and simultaneously, and needed paperless solutions to help do this.
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For instance, employees working remotely no longer have access to a physical fax machine, making it challenging to send paper-based documents securely. Instead, the experts at eFax note that organizations have had to invest in more convenient and effective corporate communication systems such as cloud faxing. Such solutions ensure staff members can receive communications from anywhere and at any time, without the need to be at the office.
Remote work might be here to stay, even long after the pandemic is over. If you can ensure your organization has the tools in place to support remote work, you will prop it up for success.
Instant and Accurate Information Is Highly Valued
Business practices keep changing in 2020, with the pandemic taking center-stage in many of a businesses’ operations. That means the directives, policies, and news you share with your employees will also change regularly. Once a change occurs, employees must know about it as soon as possible. Otherwise, they risk proceeding with daily operations as usual and could end up endangering others’ health or breaking government regulations.
Also, if there is no news from leadership, rumors, conspiracies, and misinformation might spread throughout the organization. For instance, COVID-19 related scams were on the rise during the early months of the pandemic. Threat actors would approach employees in the façade of a trusted leader to gain access to sensitive data. Therefore, it is essential to provide your workforce with instant and factual data to keep them informed.
Employee Well-Being Is Important
It is no secret that the well-being of employees is an essential part of a business’s success. If employees are healthy, both physically and mentally, they will be highly productive. This knowledge has made business leaders embrace strategies that improve the well-being of employees. From offering employees paid leaves to taking their feedback seriously, these leaders have been successful in keeping employees happy.
However, working remotely is a different animal. Some employees are isolated, and others have to deal with stress from the dynamic nature of a world plagued with a pandemic. The mental health of employees has been a priority for most successful organizations. While some have focused on assessing employees’ well-being, others have linked employees with wellness programs to improve their mental health during these difficult times.
You need to ensure all your internal communications are supporting your employees’ well-being, rather than adding more stress. That will require you to watch the tone in your communications, conduct surveys on your workforce’s well-being, and allow 360-degree feedback. If employees feel appreciated, they will show up for work with fewer distractions.
The New Norm Is Here
Most of the ways COVID-19 has shifted internal communication might be here to stay for a while. Beyond the pandemic, embracing most of these changes will lead to better efficiency and productivity for your organization overall. Be sure to keep updating your internal communication practices to stay ahead of the competition.
