Today, I’m doing both internal and external communications at a biopharma company. But back in the late 90s, I was working for a cable TV company that dove headfirst into the cable internet service business and was dipping its toe in the internet phone industry. I managed a web team creating intranet and extranet sites and produced a local news operation that blended web interaction and television. The buzzword then was the "convergence" of media.
Fast forward to the end of June 2017. I’m attending an internal communications conference, at which an agenda item is a convergence of capabilities of sorts -- specifically "the interplay of internal and external communications."
The conference laid out issues and opportunities. A veteran communicator discussed the importance of nurturing employee ambassadorship and relationships with influencers, a former news anchor shared presentation coaching secrets for all audiences, and two digital media pros demonstrated visual storytelling, which, of course, has global appeal.
What else did I learn that day?
- The interplay of internal and external communications happens all the time in organizations large and small.
- Capabilities in both areas make communicators more valuable as strategic advisors.
- Compelling storytelling (spoken, written and/or illustrated) is critical.
The Inefficient Interplay
Your internal team develops a piece on an innovation that is meant to motivate employees, runs it through internal review and publishes it. The manager of your company's external site sees it, modifies it for her audience, runs it by her internal reviewers and possibly a lawyer who reviews her material, and publishes it.
Instead, why not start with both audiences in mind? You end up with one writer, one review cycle and a story that employees and external stakeholders see at the same time.
Blended Approach ROI
Your PR team is used to developing relationships with key stakeholders, including journalists and social media influencers. Meanwhile, there's a thriving community on your company's internal social media system. Some employees have even turned into internal influencers.
Again, why not start with the end in mind? Tap into your internal resources as you shape your external outreach. You may find there's gold right there in the ground beneath your office.
Finally, Storytelling
It's a current buzzword, but also a universal and timeless one. Here's an example from a large company's approach to a town hall meeting: Senior communicators had advised their leaders about authenticity and personal anecdotes many times. So a leader stood up and described winning regulatory approval for a product and later bumping into a competitor that didn't in the lobby. The audience was transfixed by the story.
Measurement of the event revealed the spike in interest. At the next town hall, each leader told a personal story. Again, the data showed that strong storytelling reaches people.
Reaching Convergence
Some may say that only senior communicators reach the stage where they can and do blend both internal and external expertise. It also may turn out that people in your organization lean toward one type over the other. Both of these statements can be true and neither one is negative (unless someone thinks their choice is the only one that matters).
There are benefits to this so-called convergence. For one thing, leaders of communications groups can realize efficiencies by uniting teams that develop employee and public content, including stories, videos, infographics and social media pieces. For another, I bet most of the early-career communicators in your company are interested in exploring both capabilities.
Finally, when internal communications work together with external, all company stakeholders -- from employees to customers -- feel heard and respected.
That was the teaser on the agenda of the conference I attended. It speaks to an important lesson in the communications industry — organization objectives, communication team goals and even individual styles are moving toward convergence.
