As another year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on how far the internal communications profession has come this year and thinking about where I’d like to see the profession at this time next year.
By the end of 2023, I’d like to see:
While we have made progress in recent years, internal communications are still not directly tied to revenue in an organization, which is unfortunate. We need to continue to push forward on finding ways to correlate internal communications to business results and continue to close this gap.
Again, we have seen incremental increases in the number of companies that have Chief Communication Officers recently and I know that not every company will require one. I’d like to see more internal communications professionals rise to leadership positions in 2023, even as we navigate through a period of economic uncertainty.
I find it surprising that in 2022, there are so many companies that still don't have internal communications platforms and rely on an intranets and email to deliver communications. I use this quote by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw often because it gets the point across, he said “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Just because you publish content on your intranet or send an email, it doesn't mean your employees read it.
It's time to start taking an omnichannel approach to internal communications, which doesn’t mean ditching your intranet and email completely. Instead, consolidate them into an omnichannel communication platform. You will be able to reach your entire workforce on the channels they actually want to use, know if and when they have read your content, free up more time to focus on the strategic side of communication, and you may even save some dollars.
At Sparrow Connected, we’re committed to helping make this vision for 2023 a reality. One of the ways we’re doing that is by sharing knowledge and insights with the internal communications community. Here are some of the resources I encourage internal communications professionals to take advantage of to gain a fresh perspective as we move into a new year.
Until next year…