Every organization likes to believe that they are doing well as far as Internal Communications go. Large budgets are utilized and teams are deployed to achieve the goals defined and that the employees are in sync with the goals and mission of the organization.

If the above-mentioned statement is untrue, then why is it that tons of emails go unread or are deleted the instant they come in, few notices the fliers pinned to the boards or changes in the office, and why is that during meetings, employees struggle to pay attention. Why do then employees complain about company culture, but never actually participate to make a difference?

THE REALITY IS ORGANIZATIONS STRUGGLE WITH EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Time and again, reports have come forward wherein employees have shown dissatisfaction and disengagement towards their Organizations. Problem is, while genuine efforts are made to create a robust Internal Communication mechanism, one key aspect that is missed out is

STORYTELLING

Internal communication is all about how a brand is marketed to its internal customers, vis-a-vis, the employees. Research has shown that by using storytelling to improve internal communications employees are empowered to interact with each other and externally in a far more impactful and productive manner. With the right communication, education and collaboration, any organization can encourage a culture of marketing the brand to its employees to engage and drive business goals.

It’s a lot easier than it looks, though. Though many have tried yet failed. However, one company that does this really well is Virgin Atlantic.

“Companies who want to remain competitive and successful need to ensure they involve, motivate and inspire colleagues.” – Viktoria Tegard, Head of Internal Communications, Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic realized very early that the employees are their biggest opportunity and their strength at the same time. Keeping a holistic view that the lines between external and internal communication have actually blurred, in particular, due to mass social media outreach and its impact on customers, employees, partners and businesses alike. From Richard Branson’s social Media outreach, to enabling Facebook for work, promoting transparency, usage of Video blogs, and reliance on Video content has been the key strategies of Internal Communications in Virgin Atlantic is a case study on its own.

Case in Point:

What sets Virgin Atlantic apart is their cohesive & consistent storytelling across mediums, policies and platforms. Strategies that enable this storytelling have shown impressive results for not only on virgin atlantic but for the entire virgin group. This video is a glaring example of this and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

So Where Can This Be Used:

A Few Common goals that all organizations tend to aim for

Growth: Studies have shown that customers make purchase decisions based on emotions more than logic. Storytelling has the power to evoke emotions and hence impact decision making. Using a connected storytelling strategy, thus can inspire the employees and increase engagement, productivity, and lead to business’s growth! Crafting well designed Presentation decks that maintain that storyline help emotionally connect employees to your brand and inspire them for action.

Studies have shown that customers make purchase decisions based on emotions more than logic. Storytelling has the power to evoke emotions and hence impact decision making. Using a connected storytelling strategy, thus can inspire the employees and increase engagement, productivity, and lead to business’s growth! Crafting well designed Presentation decks that maintain that storyline help emotionally connect employees to your brand and inspire them for action. Environment Change: Now, this is not about Global climate change, although that’s another area where better storytelling can definitely help. This is about global business environment changes that need to be addressed rapidly. Presentation decks that are visually engaging thus are able to address these changes with a large audience across multiple time zones, cultures and geographies, which would be willing and motivated to accept the changes. Fail at this and you risk the communication falling on deaf ears, being ignored or worse remain unread leading to catastrophe for the business.

Now, this is not about Global climate change, although that’s another area where better storytelling can definitely help. This is about global business environment changes that need to be addressed rapidly. Presentation decks that are visually engaging thus are able to address these changes with a large audience across multiple time zones, cultures and geographies, which would be willing and motivated to accept the changes. Fail at this and you risk the communication falling on deaf ears, being ignored or worse remain unread leading to catastrophe for the business. Employee Engagement: Investing in employees’ combined potential is not only smart but better for the business. But random emailers, brochures would not be enough. In order to emotionally inspire and positively engage a large workforce needs new-age strategies. Employees don’t just want to be told, they now demand to be heard. Hence, by giving them a voice, accessibility to board level leaders, creating role models within peer groups, and promoting behavior that complements the organization via various mediums shows that the organization cares. Thus providing a platform for the employees to be emotionally connected with your brand

Investing in employees’ combined potential is not only smart but better for the business. But random emailers, brochures would not be enough. In order to emotionally inspire and positively engage a large workforce needs new-age strategies. Employees don’t just want to be told, they now demand to be heard. Hence, by giving them a voice, accessibility to board level leaders, creating role models within peer groups, and promoting behavior that complements the organization via various mediums shows that the organization cares. Thus providing a platform for the employees to be emotionally connected with your brand Corporate CSR: Another application worth mentioning. Corporate Social Responsibility gives greater meaning and a sense of belonging to employees. Therefore, by creating emotional connect via storytelling inspires employees will have a direct impact on a company’s CSR initiatives. With the right messaging, employee participation will show a manifold increase. Besides making an impact on the lives of others, taking part in CSR activities creates an emotional connection between your brand and the employees which inspires them to achieve more in their career resulting in higher productivity.

It’s inevitable that companies will have to start relying on Internal Communications based on stories that share personal insights, emotions, and values. While Emails have been the traditional tool for the job, well thought and designed, visually engaging presentation decks that motivate and inspire action will be the key differentiators between companies that fail to improve and others who do well in 2018…

Over the last few years, Scientity has worked with United Technologies to help maintain the organization’s leadership. Based on the Internal Communication strategy designed by Scientity, consistent messaging via videos, office space, emails, Office wiki, space designs all have driven UTC’s employees to not only help achieve the organization’s goals but also driven the employees with a sense of purpose. Overall, the newly designed Internal communication strategy and presentations designed around it not only motivated the employees, it helped convert the brand’s employees to brand ambassadors. And that in itself is a powerful statement.

We shall release a detailed case study on our work with United Technologies in the next few following days. Watch this space for more.