Internal communication is a critical component of any successful business. It’s how you keep employees informed, engaged, and motivated, which in turn drives business outcomes. But how do you plan your internal communications to ensure they are effective? In this article, we’ll cover some key steps to consider when developing your internal communications plan.
 Plan your Internal Communications: The Steps
1. Identify your audience
The first step in planning your internal communications is to identify your audience. Who are you communicating with, and what are their needs and interests? This will help you to tailor your messaging and choose the most effective communication channels.
For example, if you are communicating with employees who receive hundreds of emails a day, you may need to consider alternative communication channels. This is where CLA comes in. With multiple communication modules each created to help you reach any desired audience.
 2. Set your objectives
Once you’ve identified your audience, you need to set your objectives. What do you want to achieve with your internal communications? Do you want to increase employee engagement, promote a new initiative, or improve knowledge sharing across departments?
Setting clear objectives will help you measure your internal communications’ success and adjust your strategy as needed.
 3. Choose your channels
With your audience and objectives in mind, it’s time to choose your communication channels. CLA has many different channels to consider, including pop-ups, screensavers, compliance, ticker-tape, lock screens, and more.
The key is to choose the channels that are most effective for reaching your target audience and achieving your objectives. For example, if you want to increase employee engagement, our survey module may be a good option as it allows you to gather feedback and encourages employee participation.
 4. Create your content
With your channels chosen, it’s time to create your content. This is where you bring your messaging to life and ensure it resonates with your target audience.
When creating your content, consider the tone and style of your messaging. Is it professional, friendly, or humorous? Also, consider the format of your content – is it text-heavy, image-heavy, or a combination of both? This will help you create engaging and easily consumable content for your target audience.
 5. Schedule and distribute
Once you have your content created, it’s time to schedule and distribute it. This is where you decide when and how often to communicate with your target audience.
For example, if you are promoting a new initiative, you may want to communicate with your target audience multiple times leading up to the launch. Or if you are sharing important company updates, you may want to communicate on a regular cadence such as weekly or monthly.
CLA’s scheduling feature allows you to easily schedule your content to multiple target audiences.
 6. Measure and adjust
Finally, it’s important to measure the success of your internal communications and adjust your strategy as needed. This will help you to continually improve your communication efforts and achieve your objectives.
Some key metrics to consider when measuring the success of your internal communications include engagement rates, feedback from employees, and changes in behaviour or performance. With CLA’s data insights measuring the impact of your internal communications has never been easier.
Conclusion
In conclusion, planning your internal communications is essential for driving employee engagement, improving knowledge sharing, and achieving business outcomes. By identifying your audience, setting your objectives, choosing your channels, creating your content, scheduling and distributing, and measuring and adjusting, you can develop an effective internal communications plan that resonates with your target audience and achieves your business goals.