{"id":2190,"date":"2019-07-03T19:41:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T19:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openhwy.com\/?p=2190"},"modified":"2019-07-03T19:52:59","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T19:52:59","slug":"7-surprising-stats-that-show-the-importance-of-internal-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openhwy.com\/internal-communication\/7-surprising-stats-that-show-the-importance-of-internal-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Surprising Stats That Show the Importance of Internal Communications"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Surprising Stats That Show the Importance of Internal Communications<\/h1>\n

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You know internal communications are important to your company\u2019s success, but do you know\u00a0how<\/strong>\u00a0important<\/strong>? You may be surprised by just how much internal communications can affect your company\u2019s morale, productivity, and even revenue.<\/p>\n

Strong communications are the lifeblood of any company\u2019s success. We\u2019ve put together some numbers to help demonstrate. We also added some takeaways and ideas that may help elevate your company\u2019s culture!<\/p>\n

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1.) Most North American employees are not engaged at work.<\/h2>\n

A poll we found by\u00a0Gallup<\/a>\u00a0showed that 70% of employees are not engaged at work. That\u2019s a startling figure. Obviously there could be catastrophic implications for companies without proper internal communication practices in place.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities for companies to bolster engagement through effective communication channels.<\/p>\n

You can begin by initiating conversations with employees one-on-one and opening up anonymous feedback channels (try surveys using\u00a0SurveyMonkey<\/a>) to see what, if anything, is making your employees feel disengaged.<\/p>\n

Try not to bombard your employees with 60-question surveys, simply ask thoughtful, open-ended questions, and ask them often. From there, you can begin to research various internal communication methods to see what might improve morale.<\/p>\n

Takeaway<\/strong>: Provide a platform for collective and individual voices to be heard.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"

2.) Employees who are connected with one another are more productive.<\/h2>\n

The McKinsey Global Institute\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees. Those numbers can\u2019t be ignored. Imagine the potential that level of increased productivity would have on your revenues each year.
\nNow would be a good time to ask,\u00a0what is helping or hindering my employees\u2019 productivity?<\/em>\u00a0It could make the difference between flat sales and skyrocketing success.<\/p>\n

Start by taking a look at your \u201cwe\u2019ve always done it this way\u201d practices. Maybe you are relying too much on email and bogging down your team\u2019s inboxes? Forced participation in an intranet that no one likes isn\u2019t getting you anywhere either. Perhaps you can look enterprise social networks like Slack<\/a> for a streamlined, efficient means of team communication.<\/p>\n

Set goals for any new methods you try. For example, use Slack to communicate simple messages and decrease the amount of unnecessary emails sent by 30%.<\/em>\u00a0That\u2019s a goal everyone can get behind. Decide as a team and measure your company\u2019s success at achieving it.<\/p>\n

Takeaway:<\/strong>\u00a0Revenue is directly linked to employee engagement, so communication tools are worth investing in.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"

3.) Intranet participation is at an all-time low.<\/h2>\n

In a\u00a0survey<\/a>\u00a0by Prescient Digital Media, only 13% of employees reported participating in their intranet daily\u201431% said they never use it.<\/p>\n

Look over your organization, if your findings yield similar results, consider whether an intranet is something your company really needs. If it is, what can you do to make it more valuable?<\/p>\n

First and foremost, an intranet should provide resources that make your employees\u2019 jobs easier. Maybe there aren\u2019t enough high-quality resources embedded, or maybe the interface is confusing and time consuming to navigate.<\/p>\n

Gathering feedback from your team may shed some light on why there\u2019s so little use. The user\u2019s perspective on this is critical. There may be some obvious alternatives.<\/p>\n

Takeaway:<\/strong>\u00a0Internal communication isn\u2019t really internal communication if no one\u2019s actually communicating. Don\u2019t push tools your employees won\u2019t use.<\/p>\n

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4.) Most communicators admit to using too much jargon.<\/h2>\n

Are you guilty of littering your emails, reports or other forms of communication with too much jargon? Or are your messages unnecessarily long?\u00a0IABC<\/a>\u00a0reports that only 21% of communicators say they keep their language simple and jargon-free.<\/p>\n

Pause before hitting send and consider the medium. Is it appropriate for the message you want to convey? If you\u2019re not sure, weigh your message against the company\u2019s core mission and values for alignment.<\/p>\n

Remember, employees\u2019 productivity is directly tied to your company\u2019s revenue. If a message isn\u2019t a good use of your time to send or your team\u2019s to read, reconsider. All good writing is the result of ruthless editing. Cut the fluff and leave the rest.<\/p>\n

Takeaway:<\/strong>\u00a0Employees will perform better when messages are concise.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \"\"

5.) Communication professionals are eager to incorporate creativity into the workplace, but don\u2019t know how.<\/h2>\n

93% of communication professionals say creativity is important in internal communication, but only 6% think it\u2019s used to its full potential; according to a study by\u00a0Alive With Ideas<\/a>. The fact that so many pros think creativity is essential to internal communications is good, but most of them, it seems, are missing the huge opportunity to actually be creative.<\/p>\n

There are simple ways to integrate creativity into your company culture, here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n