s

y
a
w

to improve
internal
communication

Practical tips to:

 Increase employee engagement
 Improve company competitiveness
 Build stronger teams
weekdone.com

Which one mistake do companies make

the most in managing their employees?

Lack of communication between staff and management

Lack of recognition and praise
Lack of training and/or educational opportunities
Lack of flexibility in work schedules
Lack of authority given to employees
Don't know/no answer
Total

41%
28%
11%
8%
6%
6%
100%

#1 Encourage sharing, input and dialogue

Good internal communication flows in two ways.
Teach people to give feedback on information they get.
Create and reward open dialogue.

Effect of employees understanding their

overall role in business:
Dont understand
Understand

23% will work for success

91% will work for success

#2 Have managers lead by example

If you want your employees to communicate, make sure the leaders do it rst.
Tell your managers to share, comment, give feedback and answer.

Effects of highly effective communication practices

47%

19%

4.5x

20%

higher total returns to

shareholders

higher market
premium

times more likely to

have highly engaged
employees

more likely to have

less employee
turnover

#3 Get employee buy-in

Show and provide value to employees.

Excite them about the cause of sharing information.

Each year, in 100,000 employee companies surveyed:

$62
million
average cost per company

$37
billion
total cost of employee misunderstandings



































x 1,000,000,000,000









































































x 1,000,000

#4 Make objectives and goals public

Publish company, team and personal goals online and make them visible.
Research OKR - Objectives and Key Results - a successful process used by Google.

Time spent on poor communications and barriers:

Waiting for information

$5,320

Inefcient coordination

$5,328

Unwanted communications

$5,328

Customer complaints

$5,008

Barriers to collaboration

$5,003

Time for productive work

$33,426

$26, 041
cumulative cost per worker
per year due to productivity
losses resulting from
communications barriers.

#5 Use online tools instead of meetings

Meetings are often the biggest waste of time.
Reduce that time by using online team update and reporting tools.

% of average workweek
28

E-mail

19

Gathering information

14

Communicating

39

Role-specic tasks

100

Total

Improved communication and collaboration through social technologies could raise the productivity of
interaction workers by 20 to 25 percent.

48%
of companies:

"management had not effectively communicated business strategies to

employees in a way in which they could "live it in their daily jobs"."

#6 Establish regular processes

Gone are the times of big information blasts. People want granular real-time updates.
Make communication a weekly process with dened rules.

Effective at building shared employee experiences

4 in 10 - Ofce workers

2 in 10 - Remote workers

#7 Train people in the language of sharing

Writing well is a learned skill. Explain what it entails.
Most people have to be trained to write for others, not themselves.

ROI on improved organizational communications, % of

companies and expected return

0-10%

ROI in 20% companies

11-25%

ROI in 30% companies

26-40%

ROI in 20% companies

41-100%

ROI in 30% companies

#8 Use mobile tools

Most people get their information nowadays on the go. Provide tools for internal work-related sharing
on phones and tablets. Search app stores for Weekdone app.

Companies with highly effective communications are:

2x

2x

7x

likely to use
technology for internal
communication

likely to have
documented
communication
strategies

likely to use
leading-edge
communication tools

#9 Survey your employees

To get answers and know current state, run regular employee surveys.
Try out http://leadmarter.co to assess how your team feels and thinks.

Weekdone.com - be a better manager

Weekdone is a simple tool for leaders and managers to know and
understand their teams better. It's a weekly employee progress
report for managers and internal communication platform for
teams. Use Weekdone to always know what your co-workers' think
and do.

Learn more at weekdone.com

#10 Listen

Listening is often more important than publishing information.

Encourage input from all ranks.

THANKS FOR READING!

If you found this interesting, feel free to
share it!
Sources:
http://www.successfactors.com/en_us/company/press-releases/2011/global-survey-reveals-companies-still-failto-communicate-strate.html
http://www.hrcommunication.com/Main/Articles/Internal_communications_is_a_powerful_generator_of_980.aspx
http://www.towerswatson.com/en/Press/2013/05/just-over-half-of-employers-using-social-media-tools-for-inte
rnal-communication
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_social_economy
http://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/Portals/83405/pdf/fact_sheet_v.3.pdf
http://www.holmesreport.com/opinion-info/10645/The-Cost-Of-Poor-Communications.aspx
http://iprs.org.sg/sites/default/les/Internal%20communication%20effectiveness%20enhances%20bottom-line%
20results.%20Yates%202006.pdf
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertsher/2014/07/17/never-leave-internal-communications-to-chance-in-midsiz
ed-companies/
http://accountemps.rhi.mediaroom.com/management-mistake