A dedicated Internal Communications Agency – Need of the hour
Ganesh Gadakh, Founder Director & Creative Head, Elixir Integrated Brandcomm Pvt. Ltd talks about how the communication market and brands in India are looking for dedicated Internal Communications agencies. He says that today, it is a bit difficult to find such specialized internal communication agencies that rightly understand the requirements of internal communications. The result, organizations have to work with either a full-service agency or the one that offers a host of services whose expertise to understand how companies communicate internally is questionable.
Most companies, preferably the progressive ones, agree that internal communication is a key to employee engagement, productivity and eventually, their bottom line. A dedicated communications team can help achieve the objectives of communication and employee engagement.
And this effort can be amplified by inputs from specialized internal communications agencies that understand how companies work, know key factors that influence productivity, manage insights, opinions, and thus help companies strengthen these areas.
Today, it is a bit difficult to find such specialized internal communication agencies that rightly understand the requirements of internal communications. The result, organizations have to work with either a full-service agency or the one that offers a host of services whose expertise to understand how companies communicate internally is questionable.
Although, we cannot overlook the assets of an external communication agency like a holistic understanding of the market, consumer psyche, knowledge of medium of communication that is best understood by consumers and building the brand. But, there are times when organizations seek agencies that understand internal communications better.
The role of an external communications agency is comparatively simpler as they have identified a certain target audience to promote a particular product/service. However, things are completely different when the target audience is employees as they are not only consumers. They are brand ambassadors, influencers, recruiters, impact creators, idea generators and drivers of the company. In case of a multinational company, employees are a group of people that belong to diverse cultures. And getting the message across to a diverse set of audience is fairly challenging. This is where a specialized internal communication agency plays a vital role.
Today most organizations are facing two alarming issues – talent wars and disengaged employees. It’s time to take internal communications a lot more seriously. Because the only thing that assures growth in business is a bunch of productive employees. And who knows employee engagement better than a specialized internal communication agency.
So what are the ingredients of a good internal communications agency? Read on to know more.
- An in-depth understanding of culture, employee lifecycle and roadmap to employee engagement
- Ability to identify the need of an organization – internal communication, engagement, leadership communication, EVP – Employer Value Proposition or best practices, and thereby devising a strategy
- Enable conversations, between leadership and staff, communication and other teams
- Understanding employee experience journey, value and culture frameworks, internal communication narratives, brand guidelines and policies
- The expertise of offering comprehensive solutions
- Choosing the right internal communication channels keeping in mind the need
- Implementing and managing projects/events in limited budget
- Measuring the effectiveness and impact of the initiatives
A specialized internal communications agency must offer services right from consulting, strategy, content, creativity, designing, tactical implementation to on-ground activation. As far as timelines are concerned, the agency must be prompt in responding and delivery with zero compromises on quality. In a nutshell, organizations seek an agency that can work more like a partner.