The IoIC has surveyed 3,000 UK workers to get a true snapshot of the state of internal communications. Here are 4 key findings from the IC Index Report and how you can adjust your strategy to better engage your organisation.

1. Two-way conversations are key

UK employees are more likely to recommend their organisation as a great place to work if they engage in two-way communication. 83% of people who said their employer welcomes feedback and acts on it would recommend them as a great place to work, compared to just 59% of those whose employer doesn’t act on feedback.

However, the IC Index Report also found that around half of people don’t feel their employer listens to them.

Our advice

• Use “you said, we did” updates to show your employees the impact they’re having on the business.
• Don’t forget to thank people for giving their feedback or suggestions, even if they aren’t implemented.
• Read how IoIC Festival speaker Gatehouse Bank enabled two-way communication within their Microsoft 365 digital workplace to connect hybrid employees with their culture. As a result, 90% of the company are actively taking part in two-way conversations through online communities.

2. You have 15 minutes to engage employees

According to the IC Index Report, 43% of UK workers spend up to 15 minutes per day reading updates from their employers, whilst a further 25% dedicate “hardly any time”.

As for when to contact them, the most popular times to consume company news are as part of team meetings, between meetings and before starting work. 45% of people surveyed also put dedicated time in their diary for keeping up to date with company news.

Our advice

• Keep your updates short and to the point, so no important information is missed.
• If you have a bigger piece of information to share, such as the results of a survey, break it down into chunks.
• Using AddIn365’s Viva Connections Dashboard Tiles enables you to personalise the information and tasks you send to employees, as well as adding dynamic images to grab their attention. So, they only spend those 15 minutes viewing the most important and actionable content.

3. Employees prefer to read

Over 55% of employees prefer to read information from their company, compared to 20% who want to talk about it, and 12% who want to listen to audio or watch a video. And, the smaller the organisation, the more likely they are to want multimedia updates, such as videos.

The study also found that 18-24 year-olds are more likely to prefer non-traditional methods of communication, such as social media (including enterprise social media platforms). With this in mind, the IC Index Report (page 36) stated: “how this changes as we see an increasing number of Gen Z in the workforce is yet to be seen.”

Our advice

• No matter which tools you use, the most important thing is to communicate with your employees clearly.
• Use a conversational tone and simple language, to make your updates more accessible.
• Use AddIn365’s AI-powered Content Confidence Kit to help keep your intranet content up to date, so you can be confident it’s proving employees with the right information.

4. Put your CEO on show

The IC Index Report found that people engage more with communication from their CEO if it’s regular. Leaders who communicated every few days received 20% more engagement than those who reached out every few months. This becomes even more effective if they mix up the methods of communication.

Why is this important? The report also highlighted that people who hear about their organisation’s strategy from the CEO are more likely to believe in it. In turn, people who believe in their company’s direction are more likely to recommend it as a great place to work. However, a staggering 1 in 4 employees neither understand nor believe in their company’s strategy, so there’s plenty of work to be done.

Our advice

• Monthly virtual town halls or all-hands meetings are a great way to connect employees with their senior leadership team, especially if there’s a Q&A section.
• Use Microsoft’s Viva Connections “boost” feature to highlight high-priority SharePoint content – perfect for drawing attention to messages from the top.

Develop your internal communications strategy on Microsoft 365

Are you finding it challenging to make sure your employees get the content they need, when they need it? Learn how to build your channel strategy from Microsoft MVPs at a free half-day virtual course, taking place on 16th August.

If you’re planning to update your Microsoft 365 digital employee experience, register your interest here.