Importance of Internal Communications in these challenging times

In a world separated by a mere six degrees of separation, one would think that communicating effectively would not be a challenge. However, despite having multiple channels of communication, we find that people seldom talk to each other or communicate effectively. This often opens gates for ambiguities and leaves room for ‘guessing games.’ For organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic has only further underscored the importance of communicating proactively and effectively. With most of the workforce working from home, the constraints on physical connectivity have only increased, putting a strain on effective internal communication and hence necessitating the need to focus on how companies communicate with their internal stakeholders.

What we do

Good internal communication can bridge the gap between various members of the organization and facilitate a two-way interaction. It involves creating and delivering key messages on behalf of the management, in addition to creating avenues for productive and value accretive dialogue, with the people who make up the organization. For us, at BCG, this entails several activities:

Internal all-staff emailers: We send frequentinternal marketing emails to employees to keep them updated about recent events that are relevant to them and the organization. This could include media articles published, MDPs participating at events, TV coverage, corporate events like TED@BCG. This keeps them updated and informed. Further, it also enables to raise the profile of the leadership internally.

Quarterly Marketing Newsletter: For communication to be effective, it is important to ensure that it is relatable and in a format that is consumable. We send all our employees a quarterly newsletter which has information on the various marketing achievements through the quarter, publications and articles released, client and industry events organized by the firm, either independently or in collaboration with other stakeholders, key media coverage and metrics, etc. This not only keeps the employees up to speed but also creates a connect between the work the employees do and the recognition that this work receives from external parties.

CRM Tool: We leverage this tool as BCG’s one source of truth for up-to-date client and alumni data and is used to track all marketing communications, event invitations, and business development activities. The benefits of such a CRM are myriad. It enables key stakeholders to:

review, update and add contacts on their own, reducing their dependency on other teams
have transparency on contact interactions globally
have access to contact data that is relevant to them wherever they are through the mobile app
easily navigate through complex, multi-office client activities

Why we do it

Good internal communication is important to create a healthy organization – a place where the employees are happy, are well aware of company’s achievements and their goals are well-aligned with organizational goals.

Key benefits include:

It keeps people informed which reduces information asymmetries
It builds the organization’s culture
It creates a more involved workplace
It helps to engage employees and drives focus, especially in times of crisis
It creates a channel for feedback, debate, and discussion

Communication forms the basis for any growth or success, which is why, proactive and effective internal communication can play a key role in improving employee productivity and accelerate a company’s journey towards its goals.

Jasmin Pithawala
India Marketing Manager, Boston Consulting Group.

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