Are your external and internal communications aligned? Top tips for SMEs

The pandemic caused one of the biggest workplace transformations in the past century: normalising working from home. With the ‘Great Return’ to work on every employer’s mind, many employees are less than eager to get back into the office, preferring a more flexible, hybrid model of working.

But with employees in and out of the office, small and medium sized businesses have to place greater focus on ensuring that their external and internal communications are aligned.

When SMEs have an aligned, integrated external and internal communications strategy it can lead to business growth, building trust with employees, attracting the right talent and better strategic alignment. A smart communications strategy will help staff feel more engaged, connected and heard.

Here are some top tips for SMEs to ensure external communications and internal communications are aligned.

Be consistent and constant with your messaging

Creating a culture within your SME that unifies your business for both the workforce, customers, clients and even suppliers is vital. Employers should be clear and consistent in their internal messaging, so employees are able to externally communicate the correct messages.

For SMEs, your team is the first line for outreach to new customers, and to look after the ones you have. Being constant and consistent in your messaging allows you to grow the business from the inside out.

Value employee input

One of the most valuable resources of your business is your employees — they are able to tell you which channels and what messaging is most effective for an internal communications strategy. And communication is not a one way street. Feedback is a gift and should be encouraged in a space of psychological safety, so it’s vital to have a two way open channel of communication with them.

Employers can set up an internal feedback process to better communicate with staff. Valuing employee input leads to increasing your team’s feelings of being heard, creates a sense of belonging in the workplace and will ultimately improve your approach to internal communications and retain those valuable employees.

Tools for success

SMEs must set up their employees for success by providing them with the essential tools and knowledge for effective communications. From a documented onboarding process that clearly outlines the organisation’s strategic direction including brand, sustainability and values, to ongoing training and strategic planning days that involve the team.

Using social media for business is a great way to start. Facebook (now Meta) Workplace is the business version of Facebook and uses a similar format to the platform employees are already most familiar with in their private lives. Used well, it creates an informal space where employees can engage with each other, executive teams can talk to the organisation and provides instantaneous feedback to managers.

Giving your employees access to tools will ensure that your internal and external communications are aligned. Providing employees with tools for success will enable them not only to deliver what is expected of them, but to motivate and inspire them in their work.

Employee advocacy

Your employees are the first and best advocates of your business. It is vital that they understand the business strategy and brand story for when they communicate externally with friends, family, colleagues or the general public about where they work and what they do. Employee advocacy is a powerful tactic for an integrated communications strategy. It can lead to more customers, increased brand awareness, and attracting new talent.

Create an integrated communications strategy

Creating a strategy for how you communicate both internally and externally will increase efficiency. The strategy should include three key things:

• Channels — Which channels you communicate in, and when to use each channel according to the different types and priority of messaging;
• Content — Communications pillars and key messaging; what is it that we are going to be communicating?; and
• Audience — Who we are communicating to and who are the different employee personas. Does this workforce include any volunteers or board members?