Six tips and three Golden Rules for internal communications in 2021 

What a rollercoaster of a year for internal communications. Unfortunately, there is no ‘how-to guide’ to navigate the challenges COVID-19 has thrown at businesses and their people. Consequently, operating in a pandemic has meant living alongside ongoing uncertainty. As a result, we look to leadership to make decisions, communicate them effectively and provide reassurance. From Government briefings to Team calls and Family quizzes, the need to feel safe and belong has never been clearer. And now our business leaders have a key part to play in the psyche of the UK workforce.

Great leaders have empathy

Exceptional leaders know that going through hard times make people stronger. They encourage and support those people to push on. By recognising their role and responsibilities beyond business, they turned to their values to drive authentic communication and build trust.

Consistent and clear

For Business Leaders, being forced to make fast and impactful choices based on limited information has been extremely stressful. As a result, leadership was tasked with landing the three key business priorities:

1. Business Continuity – being honest about where things stood, not afraid to show vulnerability, and maintaining transparency.
2. Public Health Information – kept things clear, simple and frequent. Focussing on safety then repeat, repeat, repeat.
3. Driving positivity in uncertain times – sharing positive stories and creating uplifting moments to reignite a weary workforce.

The communication axis will shift again as we move into recovery. Financial insecurity, instilling resilience, sharing reasons to be optimistic, and hope will all play their part to build momentum. Importantly, authenticity will be key to unlocking the levels or engagement required to kick start 2021.

Why Does Authenticity Matter?

Because it's far easier to be yourself than it is to be the person you think others want to see!

Of course, there are many benefits to being authentic. First and foremost, research has shown that authentic leaders are more trusted and believable. As a result, that trust builds up the leader’s credibility and breeds confidence in their capability and intentions – this, in turn, motivates greater engagement. The Institute of Internal Communication (IOIC) found that 76% of respondents reported that the pandemic has positively impacted trust in leaders.   

 

Internal communications have changed rapidly.

What can we learn from 2020 to improve communication and maintain trust in 2021?

Six things to consider

1. First of all, consider different formats to convey your messaging. HR staff have reported that video updates and webinars have been more effective than emails.
   
   
2. Secondly, encourage and listen to employees' views through many channels. This could be through managers, internal social media, surveys, and polls.
   
   
3. Consider a “Remote Workers Response Team”. They will be focused on asking staff about their concerns/questions and communicate the answers, transparently, throughout the organisation.
   
   
4. In order to avoid online weariness, try picking up the phone.
   
   
5. Additionally, encourage virtual social activities! For example: lunch and learns, coffee breaks, online exercise classes, and happy hours. As a result, employees are helped to overcome social isolation.
   
   
6. Finally, support employees to maintain their work-life balance while working remotely. It’s widely reported that remote workers can be logged on for two or three hours more per day. Conduct research and offer flexibility to fit around your employees' lives!

Three Golden Rules

1. Communicate frequently and well.
2. Ask for input from employees.
3. Above all, be transparent.

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… The future is where you apply it. 

Survival of the fittest 

161 years on and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution feels very poignant. The need to embrace change or face possible extinction is perhaps too black and white in business. However, words like ‘adapting’ or ‘evolving’ to meet the needs of a changing environment do ring true. And as we head into 2021 and beyond, “survival of the fittest” holds more weight than ever before. Ambitious businesses don’t want to ‘survive’ it but rather create environments where their people and business can ‘thrive’.  

The digital acceleration in 2021 has been eye-watering for many.  In a recent survey, Mckinsey reported that businesses once mapped digital strategy in one-to-three-year phases now they must scale their initiatives in a matter of days or weeks. Notably, this puts increasing pressure on Leadership teams to learn quickly what is/is not working and why.   

What is the people impact of change? 

How do you ensure that your workforce is ready to keep up the pace of change? Are you leading in ways that enable your workforce to flourish and thrive? Significantly, 50% of the UK workforce are Millennials/Generation Z (Source: Institute of Leadership and Management). These generations are tech-savvy. They’re at ease with quick and efficient procedures driven by email, social networks, and databases. Millennials and Gen Z can adapt easily to new technologies and they’re ambitious. Moreover, they are not afraid to move on if they feel there’s limited growth opportunity. In addition, their energy is infectious.  

Leadership that resonates with your workforce 

The average age in the C Suite is 56 (Source: Nasdaq survey Jan 2020) making them Generation X (give or take a few years). To this end, the pandemic has challenged everything they once took for granted. As Generation X look to lead Millennials’ and Generation Z to a better future, do they really know how their workforce is ticking? 

People Surveys 

Every business has had to communicate more frequently with their workforce during 2020.  At the very least employers have engaged with colleagues about Business Continuity and Public Health Information. However, many companies have engaged with more frequent and different ways to inform and listen to their workforce, such as:  

1. Annual Surveys – to understand the employee experience and gauge engagement and intention to stay.
2. Pulse Surveys –to get results/feedback for a project like training or culture.  Often used to focus on issues like diversity and inclusion to measure progress since the last survey.
3. Always on – used throughout the year and increasingly so this year, to get ad hoc employee feedback to spot trending issues/concerns.

But do any of these reports indicate whether your workforce has the mindset needed to share and deliver the transformation needed to thrive?  

Growth Mindset 

Businesses will be forced to evolve and transform working practices to create a better future. Therefore, nurturing growth mindset working practices will be key to the pace and scale of transformation facing business. 

To illustrate, Professor Carol Dweck’s research linked a growth mindset with many benefits in business including: 

• higher motivation.
• lower stress, anxiety, and depression.
• better work relationships.
• higher performance levels.
  
  

 

Do you have a Fixed or a Growth mindset?

Does my workforce have a Growth or Fixed Mindset? 

These are three indicators to consider:

1. Do they fear feedback or failure? Are they asking for feedback on how they and their team are doing? Do they own and share their mistakes? 
   
   
2. Does your team reward effort, not outcomes? Do they give feedback and show appreciation for the efforts and learning they can see unfolding rather than just the outcomes achieved? 
   
   
3. Does the business invest in training and development, create cultures of self-examination, and encourage open communication and teamwork? 

With only two weeks until the New Year how will you activate a growth mindset in your workforce to achieve great outcomes for all? 

Grab a mince pie and Click Here to hear Carol Dweck talk about “Developing a Growth Mindset Culture in organisations” for inspiration. 

Take a look at our Mindset Indicator Monitor.

Home | MIM (mindsetindicatormonitor.com)

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Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is another way to measure intelligence outside of merely Intellectual Quotation (IQ). It is the ability to recognise and manage your emotions, understand what they tell you, and realise how they affect others. In addition, it’s about understanding other people’s emotions. People with high emotional intelligence are usually successful in most things they do. 

Salovey and Mayer have separated EI into four different levels;

• Perceiving Emotions
  Self-awareness and paying attention to how one is feeling. This comprises three key components: emotional awareness, accurate self-assessment, and self-confidence.
   
• Reasoning with Emotions 
  Prioritise what people focus on and, therefore, react to. People skilled at this understand that some emotional states are more suited for specific situations than others.
   
• Understanding Emotions 
  High levels of empathy, the ability to understand what other people are going through. Both verbal and nonverbal cues must be read as people don’t often state how they feel. Rather, it’s implied through their actions, body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions.
   
• Managing Emotions 
  This often requires a judgment call based on the circumstances surrounding the situation. It requires a balance between staying emotionally available and not taking on emotional energy that will cause oneself harm. 

Emotional Intelligence is particularly important for leaders and managers. High EQ leaders can motivate others and foster a healthy workplace culture due to their qualities.  

In his book, “Emotional Intelligence – Why It Can Matter More Than IQ”, American psychologist Daniel Goleman developed a framework of five elements that defines emotional intelligence as: 

• Three personal competencies
  Self-awareness, emotional regulation, and motivation 
• How we Handle Relationships with Others
  Empathy and social skills 

Let’s look at these 5 characteristics of emotional intelligence.  

Self-awareness
It is said to be one of the most important parts of Emotional Intelligence. People with a high EQ understand their emotions and don’t allow their feelings to rule them. They have good intuition and are confident as a result. They know their strengths and weaknesses and work on these to improve their performance.
 

Self-Regulation
The ability to control emotions and impulses. They don’t allow themselves to lose their temper, or make impulsive careless decisions. They think before they act.
 

Motivation
Highly productive, embrace challenge, and extremely effective at what they do. This enthusiasm rubs off on others.
 

Empathy
Probably the second most important element of emotional intelligence. Identifying the thoughts, needs, and viewpoints of those around you. Being able to listen and relate to others.
 

Social skills
Those with strong social skills are typically team players. Rather than looking after their own needs, they help to develop others. They are excellent communicators and find building and maintaining relationships easy. 

Qualities such as these hold high EQ leaders in good stead and ultimately benefit everyone. 

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There are extensive benefits to high EQ leadership. Let’s look at what they are. 

1. Self-Awareness Benefits 

Self-aware people view themselves as a work in progress, continually evolving. As a result, they are open to learning ways to improve. Professional development is vital to employees, and recognising areas for improvement is part of career growth. Self-aware leaders know that recruiting people with various skills means everyone can learn from each other, regardless of title. They are also humble enough to realise they can learn something from the team. This makes for a rich and innovative environment.

71% of hiring managers value EQ over IQ when looking for employees.
social.com 

2. Self-Regulation Benefits

The art of self-regulation is a vital skill in relationship management, particularly for leaders and their direct reports. Being an effective leader requires you to keep a clear head under pressure. Taking a moment to consider the impact of your words and actions is incredibly important. It avoids conflict and contributes to effective communication. Self-regulation also helps you navigate change and remain flexible with it. It helps you remain calm and approach situations with a positive attitude and mindset.  

Workers with managers with high EQ scores are four times less likely to quit than those with low EQ.
(LinkedIn) 

3. Motivation Benefits

Motivation enhances concentration, boosting the chances of achieving your goals (even if the outcomes differ from your initial expectations. It helps you navigate the inevitable obstacles on the path to your objectives and boosts your self-esteem. This increases your self-worth. It also inspires those around you, it is infectious and has a ripple effect on the team, just as negative behaviour does. 

Employees with high EQ scores earn an additional $29,000 on average per year than those with lower EQ.
(Workforce.com) 

4. Empathy Benefits

Being empathetic helps you understand others and why they behave in a certain way. Taking the feelings of others into account facilitates close relationships. This increases morale and creates a positive work environment. Consequently, team members feel a sense of psychological safety. The trust that results from this can foster innovative ideas and contribute to a higher-performing team. When leaders are empathetic, their feedback is thoughtful, constructive, and doesn’t make the employee defensive. They feel they are being developed as professionals, contributing to job satisfaction.

Leaders with empathy perform over 40% higher in employee engagement, decision-making, and coaching.
(Harvard Business School) 

5. Social Skills Benefits 

Leaders with strong social skills prioritise others and recognise that supporting their team members leads to collective success and positive results for individuals and the entire organisation. They know how to make others feel comfortable and bring out their best. They can navigate office politics and unite people. They can connect with people at all levels and know how to adjust their message depending on the target audience, meaning their message always resonates with whoever they are speaking to. Social skills make leaders flexible in terms of dealing with a variety of situations. Even when they don’t have a solution, they know how to connect with others to find the answers.

Technical programmers with EQ scores in the top 10 percent can develop software three times faster than their low-EQ colleagues.
(IRMI) 

The benefits of high EQ leadership speak for themselves. If you want to learn more about this topic or wish to speak to one of our team members.

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