How do you reach your employees?

The list of discontinued employee magazines reads like a Who's Who of the Swiss economy. Companies from the banking and insurance business such as Swiss Re, Swiss Life, Julius Bär CS and Raiffeisen have dispensed with printed employee magazines. Tamedia and NZZ are the most prominent representatives from the press sector that no longer send their employees a magazine.Print, online, both or all in combination?Of the 100 largest Swiss companies, 60 percent still publish a printed employee publication. (Source: Perikom Fact Check 2017). Often, the print version is additionally made available as a PDF file. Rarely are specially prepared online versions created that contain interactive and audiovisual content.MK asked communications experts how companies can best reach their employees today, which channels are chosen, and which content is preferably conveyed.Internal communication must become mobile-compatibleIK goes mobile, Cordula Rieger, a member of the management team at Farner Consulting AG, Zurich, is convinced. For internal communications (IC), the intranet is currently the leading medium at most large Swiss companies. However, this internal communication channel is increasingly being replaced by mobile dialog platforms and "corporate chats". This is the only way to reach employees in the field or those without a PC workstation with their private devices. Example: Globus has completely switched its internal communication in the stores to the internal chat app Beekeeper.Offline renaissance?Despite or perhaps because of increasing digitization, we are experiencing a kind of "renaissance of offline communication". Town hall meetings, management conferences, and even the good old employee party remain important components of the ICT mix. However, the tendency is for people to meet physically less often. But when they do, they do it right: for high-quality events, genuine interactions and emotional experiences. And as always, there's life in the old dog yet again. Printed employee publications are still highly valued by recipients, or are being valued again.Who should communicate what?The question points to a central dilemma of internal communications: Communications departments naturally communicate what management cares about, i.e., "big issues" such as visions and strategies. Employees are looking for two things above all: clear orientation on the direction of the company and concrete information on the "small, close" issues. One customer, for example, conducted a detailed study of the use of the various intranet contents to determine which should be available on mobile devices. The current menu of the cafeteria and the occupancy schedule of the meeting rooms came out on top.Content is also about the right mix - and the art of implementing a wide variety of content attractively and packaging it in relevant "stories" for employees.The industry determines the communication channelHow and what do employees currently use to obtain information? For Jana Leonhard, a consultant at Prime Communications in Zurich, these are the first questions to ask in order to determine the current state of affairs.Experience shows that the right channel for reaching employees is highly dependent on the industry. For example, the fastest way for a service company to reach its employees today is via the digital channel. In industrial companies, on the other hand, with many production workers, a printed employee magazine will reach more employees than digital channels.Questions that demand an answer:- Content: Can the content be clearly conveyed via the selected channel?- Speed: How quickly can or must the target group be reached?- Acceptance: Are the selected channels actually used and accepted?- Dialog and feedback capability: Does the channel enable the exchange of ideas and opinions?- Emotionality: Can emotions be conveyed via the channel?Whether digital or print, experience in internal communications shows: A balanced mix of topics is and remains the be-all and end-all for the success of internal communications - provided that employees are addressed via the right channels.Digital or face-to-face contact, which comes first?Digital channels have the advantage that information can be made available quickly and globally, provided the Internet is available. "Depending on the message, different formats are available, from short texts to videos, which have a more authentic effect than a printed magazine," says Dr. Cornelia Bachmann, owner of P-Art. It is also easier to initiate a dialog with digital platforms, for example with enterprise messaging tools that work in a similar way to the popular WhatsApp. "In addition to print, good old face-to-face communication should not be underestimated, as it is still recommended for building trust and discussing complex, emotional topics," says Bachmann.How do you guard against mistakes?"Don't just shoot off, but create a concept," Bachmann advises. "Involve the HR department, employee representatives and employees in the concept and, if necessary, in a test. Ask what content is important to employees, let them participate." Internal communication can only be successful if it is accepted by the employees.The communication channels can be chosen differently depending on the size of the company. Which ones are ultimately used is usually a question of resources. "In my view, regular, open and transparent communication is central," says Andreas Schneider, Managing Director and owner of F+W Communications. "Cross-media use of content makes sense, as you can play several channels with one message."Regularity conveys securityFor example, it can be useful to discuss topics touched on on the intranet or via e-newsletters in greater depth in a monthly or quarterly employee magazine. "SMEs with different locations should also consider the possibility of holding lunch meetings every two months," says Schneider. "This gives management the opportunity to comment on current events at each location." This could make sense, he says, especially for companies where employees often work off-site. In this way, the bond with the company can be strengthened.What content is well received?Comprehensive coverage across different channels is very important to Tanja Hollenstein, a member of the management team at cR Kommunikation. Employees should have easy access to information, using the tools they are familiar with. Even employees without computer access should have access to information via cell phone.complex business topics should be communicated in a playful way via different channels so that the facts can be understood. A dialog should be stimulated, set in motion and conducted at various levels in a personal exchange. In addition, topics are often favored which are also of interest to employees in their private lives and can still have a connection to the company. In addition, topics such as sports, leisure or mobility strengthen employee loyalty.