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The importance of internal communication in business cannot be understated – it ensures that your most valuable stakeholders, your employees, are kept informed and information is presented in a way that makes them excited about and engaged with the company. Table of contents What is internal public relations? When do you need internal public relations? Why is internal public relations important? Your guide to internal public relations
Internal public relations is a sphere of internal communications. What is internal communication? On the whole, internal communications cover the way that information is delivered within a company, from top to bottom, from bottom to top and among different teams and departments. The information can be about positive initiatives or could also be about bad news. Within the internal communications spectrum, internal public relations is mostly concerned with accentuating the positive – or trying to ensure negative issues are presented in the most positive way possible.
15 message templates to use in internal communicationsDownload for free Why is internal public relations important?There are many positive reasons to incorporate an internal public relations strategy into your overall internal communications planning. Treating your internal audience as valued stakeholders can help to establish trust, and enhance employee engagement levels, while also improving knowledge sharing so that employees are better informed. A strong internal public relations program helps to enhance your external public relations efforts. If the “face” your company puts on for the public isn’t the same as the one its employees' experience, it can make employees mistrustful, cynical and affect morale. And in today’s climate where disaffected employees can expose the reality of life at the company on social media, it can actually lead to a public relations headache if you treat your internal audience differently. Internal public relations helps you to establish your internal brand and engage in authentic, meaningful communications with your employees. This will help them feel motivated, and can even assist to turn them into brand ambassadors for your company. This includes recommending your company as a great place to work, increasing loyalty and retention, and promoting the company’s products and services willingly to people that they know. When do you need internal public relations?Internal public relations should be an ongoing activity with a long-term strategy that underpins your employee communication and engagement programs. There are, however, some circumstances where you need to undertake internal public relations campaigns in order to keep employees informed. 1. When your company is implementing major changesChange can be difficult for employees, and the majority of change initiatives are doomed to fail. When you have engaged employees who are receptive to internal public relations messaging you’ll have an audience that is better able to understand the benefits of the change and be more inclined to embrace the change. 2. When you have big news to shareYour employees shouldn’t find out about major news that affects your company from media or social media first. You should always communicate major news to your staff first. When they hear it second-hand they are likely to feel resentful and neglected. 3. Sharing successes and achievementsWhatever form this takes, you should promote your company’s success stories to your employees. If you’ve done something innovative, achieved your KPIs, or reached milestones on projects, celebrate it together. Recognizing individual and team achievements is also crucial and will help to build morale. 4. To enhance your employer's brandDeveloping a strong brand identity as an employer is one of the keys to becoming an employer of choice and attracting a pool of talented candidates who want to work for your company because they’ve heard great things about it! Internal public relations work within the company to help achieve this. 5. In your general internal communicationsA lot of internal communications is made up of administrative reminders about new policies, deadlines, HR requirements, IT notifications, internal events, training, onboarding and so on. While these aren’t strictly an internal public relations responsibility, they should be approached and delivered through the lens of internal public relations. That is, the communication should be positive, employee-centric and portray the company positively. Your guide to internal public relationsUnfortunately, many organizations fail to account for internal public relations at all, even if they have excellent external public relations. The good news is, that if you don’t already have an internal public relations strategy in place, it is relatively easy to implement one. This guide can help you to deliver effective internal public relations in your organization. 1. Make sure you’ve got the communication basics rightWhen you’re communicating with the staff you should follow the golden rules for internal communications:
2. Start from the very beginning with employeesYour internal public relations activities should influence the employee onboarding experience (including online onboarding) so that new recruits are exposed to this aspect of your brand from their very first day with the organization. 3. Create customized in-house learning and development opportunitiesWhen you’re providing training opportunities to your staff you can deliver tailored educational solutions that reflect your brand and help to build morale. This might be having your CEO or other senior executives join in the training, or even addressing the audience at the beginning. 4. Create visual content for internal audiences and reinforce your internal brandingUse different visual methods to reinforce your internal public relations campaigns and messaging to your employees in the workplace. These internal public relations activities examples include designing posters, digital signage displays, infographics, flyers, corporate wallpapers and screensavers and other branded material. It helps to solidify your external branding internally. Your internal branding campaign isn’t just the colors, logos and graphic design that you use in your internal public relations efforts: it's also about being true to your company values, vision, mission and goals. Your internal public relations should always aim to reflect these things. 5. Help build internal relationshipsWhen you’re responsible for internal public relations, you’re uniquely placed to develop relationships with key people across your organization. When you establish buy-in from the executive team you can also get support for internal public relations initiatives. Providing your employees with opportunities to get to know one another better in an informal setting can help to build and strengthen positive working relationships. This isn’t just for peer-to-peer relationships: it can also help management and employees get to know one another better in a less intimidating environment. 6. Ensure that there is two-way communicationIt’s important that employees have a voice and can be heard by management. They are at the coal face of operations in your business, and management can sometimes be detached from the reality of day-to-day business. By listening to employees you are showing that you value their opinions. 7. Develop a long-term strategy and goalsInternal public relations shouldn’t be a quick fix to any company issues: you need to play the long game. This means it is important to develop an appropriate internal public relations strategy and long-term goals that align with the company’s overall goals. 8. Measure your actionsIt’s important to define what the criteria will be for measuring your successes and how to evaluate the results against these criteria. This will help you to determine where you can improve on an ongoing basis. 9. Use internal communications software like DeskAlertsDeskAlerts is an internal communications software system that is perfect for use in internal public relations activities. The system is installed on company computers, digital screens and employee mobile devices and allows you to quickly communicate with everyone at once, no matter where they are or what they are doing. DeskAlerts features different communication channels that can boost the effectiveness of internal communication activities:
*** Internal public relations is important for successful businesses to communicate with their employees, keeping them well-informed and engaged. Frequently Asked QuestionsWhy are good public relations (PR) so important?Public relations is important to build on your company’s marketing strategies and to ensure that you send the right messages, to the right people at the right time. It helps to strengthen the reputation of your brand and contributes heavily to the overall success of the organization. Why is internal public relations important?Internal public relations has an important role to play in the success of a company. When communication is ineffective, employees are not unified and working well together to achieve goals. Mistakes can be made, productivity and profitability lowered, and it can also result in employees who are disengaged, unmotivated and unhappy. What is internal public relations?Internal public relations refers to the promotional communication that takes place within an organization. It is designed to ensure that your employees love working for your company, and are happy and engaged. What are the top three benefits of having an internal communications department?The top three benefits of having an internal communications department in your organization are:
What is internal public in public relations?The internal public in public relations refers to the internal audience: this is generally employees and contractors and anyone else who has a significant role to play in delivering goods and services on behalf of your company. What is the main objective of internal PR?The main internal PR purpose is to present your company in a positive way to employees so that they are loyal to your brand. Topics: Internal Communication Strategy- Internal marketing communications- Strategy-Internal Communication Tools What is the role of PR when it comes to CSR?Corporate social responsibility (CSR) lends itself to good news stories and is a source of positive public relations (PR). Make the most of your CSR activities by publicising them. Ensure that customers, suppliers and the local community know about the good that you are doing.
What is the main objective of PR activities during mergers and acquisitions?A public relations and communications firm experienced with mergers and acquisitions can help you identify key communications issues, explain the strategic role of different forms of communications, develop the necessary messaging and presentations, and develop a time line for distribution. Create Process.
Which of the following reflects a true statement referring to corporate social responsibility CSR?Answer and Explanation: The establishment of a CSR strategy is a collaboration of various stakeholders to ensure the creation of a shared value. CSR is not a compliance-based activity but rather a measure of what the company is voluntarily willing to do beyond mere compliance with the law.
Which of the following is a core function of corporate communications?Corporate communication is a management function that is committed to the dissemination of information to key constituencies, execution of corporate strategy and the development of messages for internal and external circulation.
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