There is no doubt about the effect that constant, consistent, clear communication has on maintaining an organisation’s reputation. Intrinsically, reputation management goes far beyond only strategies and actions. It demands empathy, validation, assurance & reassurance, transparency, and promptness. All of this is achievable through communication.
Additionally, communication in reputation management is not limited to external stakeholders only - target audience, business partners etc. One of the major facets of reputation management is internal communication.
Think about this - if a particular piece of critical information about an event/initiative/update regarding your company is to be made aware to your employees, but if it isn’t communicated on time, or in an unclear manner, won’t it be detrimental to the perception that employees have for your company?
Some of you might say that the above situation is for internal comms to handle. While that’s partially correct, the job of PR is to manage perception in communication. Theoretically, this part of PR sounds easy to execute, and it can be done once you know how internal communication affects the reputation and how to communicate properly.
The Role of PR in Internal Communication
An organisation relies heavily on its employees feeling good about working there. This is one of those areas where PR contributes to work culture and employee perception through effective communication. It is important for any organisation to understand how to build communication that will help drive engagement, increase a positive vibe within the organisation, and foster a sense of pride and loyalty.
As they say, change begins from within. For any organisation looking to maintain or upgrade its reputation, internal PR is a crucial, almost unskippable element to implement. Take for instance a brand with an upcoming IPO launch. An IPO launch is a huge event and nothing matters more than your reputation in the market before, during and after the launch. In these circumstances, internal PR initiatives can help employees become a driving force, and an influencing voice for the organisation. However, this is just one isolated, big incident.
Consider the desired outcome for the above IPO example - employees becoming a driving force, an influencing voice for the organisation. The matter to think about is how to use communication to keep this outcome consistent, irrespective of bigger events. Companies like HubSpot have started an internal podcast wherein all updates, developments, fun events and activities, and thought leadership episodes are streamed for the employees. Engagement like this will ensure that everyone in the organisation is aligned with the vision, mission and values of the organisation.
We’re not saying that only internal PR communication will help build reputation, but we’re definitely saying that it is a strong foundation upon which a company’s reputation can be built. Every organisation’s mould is different, and this is why the approach to communication needs to be different. However, there are some essentials that can be implemented across any organisation.
The Basics
Strategy: An internal PR strategy that focuses on ‘employee-first’ as an objective. Like anything else in the world, you give something, you get something. In this case, that something is goodwill. The internal PR team will need to craft compelling narratives that not only give timely information about the happenings in the organisation but also creatively instil purpose and values in the communication while engaging the employees.
Constant, Consistent, Clear Communication: Individually or collectively, people pick up on patterns subconsciously. When your internal PR communication is constant and consistent across different channels, your employees will know what to expect and when. Later, you will also find this to be a great indicator of the longevity of the employees' interest in any particular form of communication. This way you can keep evolving how you keep your employees engaged.
Make Your Employees Your Influencers: You have put in the effort with strategy and you are regularising communication. And while you expect the goodwill that you share to be returned, a little nudge is always necessary. Encourage employees to participate in more and more activities within your organisation and then ask them to share their experiences on social media. It is really a thing of magic how one employee’s glowing testimonial about an organisation’s initiative on their personal social profiles can be worth more for building a reputation than the organisation itself announcing that same initiative.
These basics make it very clear what can be done and how important is internal PR to build a brand reputation. Once done with the basics, then comes the part where you go over and above expectations and deliver outstanding campaigns for select events every once in a while. To know more about reputation management as a whole, read these blogs to find out or contact us.
Psst! This blog was made with 💕 and created after some thought by a real person.
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