How would you define internal communication for large companies?
I would say that internal communication in large companies is the way to build a solid, shared culture. It is not just about informing, but about creating connections and aligning teams and individuals with the company’s strategy and values.
Through good internal communication, we strengthen the sense of belonging and pride in the company, facilitate change management and improve the employee experience.
Thus, internal communication is an important factor in the well-being of employees, our best ambassadors, and is a key factor in achieving business success.
What are its main characteristics?
I would like to share some characteristics that I believe are essential in internal communication:
- Bidirectional/Collaborative: I believe this is very important. It is essential to create spaces that allow us not only to convey messages and ideas, but also to listen to people and generate collaboration. Employee experience platforms, such as Workvivo currently at Telefónica, are great places open to everyone, facilitating closeness, interaction, collaboration and listening. It is also important to have participatory events (in person and/or virtual), which allow for dialogue and close interaction with the team, as well as surveys that allow us to gather feedback.
- Strategic, with purpose: Internal communication must be aligned with the company’s values, mission and business objectives. This must be the guiding principle, and we must check from time to time to see if we are complying with it. It must also go hand in hand with external communication in order to maintain consistency and transparency and strengthen the company’s reputation both inside and outside the company.
- Cultural adaptability: In large, international companies, it is essential to respect and reflect cultural differences, languages and local contexts, without losing coherence and the overall message as a company.
- Segmented: Messages must be adapted to different internal audiences: areas, regions or functions, to be more relevant and effective.
- Multichannel: It is necessary to use different channels to reach employees in the best way, according to the context and objectives. Channels such as the global intranet and local intranets; newsletters; screens and video walls in offices and canteens; podcasts; face-to-face or virtual meetings; and the aforementioned employee experience platforms, among others.
- Measurable for continuous improvement: It is important to test whether the channels, campaigns, content, etc. are working, review impact metrics to improve and implement the necessary changes so that they continue to be effective and valuable.
What professional profiles are dedicated to these tasks?
Internal communication teams have traditionally been made up largely of communication professionals with a solid foundation for creating clear messages and connecting with people. In my experience, it is very important and enriching to have diverse profiles, for example, experts in audiovisual production, marketing, and creatives who help design attractive and original campaigns and communication pieces; people from areas such as psychology who understand the internal dynamics and culture of the company well. And it is essential to have technical profiles for the deployment of tools, technologies and platforms; especially in these times, when Artificial Intelligence offers so many opportunities in all areas.
With regard to communication profiles and organisation, I think it would be interesting to explore an approach that is somewhat different from the current one in many companies, with a team that is not so divided into internal and external communication.
Having communication experts with very open profiles who can work with a 180º vision, working less in silos and more on communication projects that consider both external (media and social networks) and internal derivatives. This would greatly promote consistency and effectiveness in many campaigns and projects.
What skills are key to performing well in internal communication?
Here are the ones I think are most important:
- Empathy and a holistic vision, which allow you to truly understand and connect with people’s interests and needs. With this in mind, it leads us to ask ourselves before any campaign or communication impact: Is what I’m going to say useful? What value does it add? What is the best channel? It is common to encounter imbalances, areas within the company that are very proactive, which, if we do not slow down from Internal Communication, would overwhelm colleagues with an excess of messages and information. On the other hand, there are others that tend to be secretive and require our proactivity. Hence the importance of looking beyond and having a global vision of the company’s priorities and the interests of its employees.
- Ability to communicate, writing/storytelling. It is very important to have the ability to communicate clearly, directly, simply and effectively, adapting to different audiences and cultures. In many cases, good and brief is twice as good. We currently live in an age of information overload, so it is necessary to assess the saturation of internal impacts. Especially in complex and technical companies, it is essential to ground messages and make the difficult easy, choosing the best way to do so. It is also important to help put storytelling into practice: both by communication experts and by managers, encouraging communication that tells stories that inspire and generate emotional connection.
- Honesty, authenticity and reliability. Internal communication must be authentic and honest in order to generate real trust among the people who make up the organisation. When messages are transparent, clear and reflect reality, an atmosphere of credibility and respect is created.
- Relevance and consistency. In large companies, especially those listed on the stock exchange, what is communicated internally can easily transcend to external audiences such as shareholders, the media and social networks, trade unions, regulators, etc. Therefore, it is key to align internal and external communication, maintaining consistency and transparency. Furthermore, I believe it is important to strike a balance between external and internal communication. In my experience, external communication can sometimes be prioritised over internal communication, which can undermine and diminish the relevance of the latter (causing employees to seek information from external sources first and distrust internal ones).
- Ability to innovate. This skill is relevant for continuous improvement: of channels, incorporating new technologies, tools, platforms, etc., and also for creating more attractive, diverse and interesting content (gamification, competitions, disruptive audiovisual pieces).
- Ability to work in a team. In internal communication, you do not work alone, you are constantly collaborating with teams from different countries and areas: Human Resources is key due to the common areas related to employees, so it is essential to work in alignment and as a team; technical areas; Finance; Operations, etc. Knowing how to coordinate, listen, build as a team and adapt to the different needs of the areas without forgetting our target audience and strategic priorities and objectives.
- Team and project management. It is also important to have this management and forecasting skill to ensure that communication plans and campaigns are delivered on time and in the right way.
What are the benefits of strong internal communication?
Well-managed internal communication has many advantages. First, it improves the commitment and motivation of teams and individuals. When we understand the company’s mission or purpose and feel listened to, we are much more likely to get involved and give our best. Strong internal communication also contributes to creating a good working environment, and in times of change and transformation, we are able to implement changes more quickly and effectively. Communicating clearly, transparently and in a timely manner helps to reduce rumours and build trust, which promotes a sense of belonging, greater productivity and business success. It is important to remember that employees are the best ambassadors for our company, our products and services, our mission…
What role do new technologies play in internal communication?
A very important one. Technologies have revolutionised how we communicate outside and inside companies. Today we have dynamic intranets, collaborative platforms with many features (live streams, real-time surveys and polls) and even chatbots that facilitate interaction.
This not only makes information reach people faster, but also allows for more personalised and participatory communication. Of course, we must not forget that technology is only a tool, a means to build that solid shared culture, the way to get relevant and interesting information across and keep it flowing.
How does internal communication in large companies differ from that in smaller ones?
The main difference is in scale and complexity. In large companies, there are many more languages, time zones, hierarchical levels, teams and cultures to manage, as well as diverse information and projects. This requires planning, coordination and clear priorities.
In smaller companies, communication is usually more direct and faster, sometimes even informal, because the team is smaller. The challenge for large companies is to make everyone, no matter where they are, feel part of the same purpose and feel that pride of belonging and that common culture that unites them.
