Everyday, employees are flooded with information coming from multiple channels. In a common workday, they need to be aware of important news as well as be able to communicate with colleagues. It can be overwhelming to keep track of communication channels - the key is to simplify the communication down to the most relevant channels to keep your audience informed.
That's easier said than done. The first step is understanding which channels (or touchpoints) are most used and perceived as more relevant by your employees. In a recent study, management consultant Accelerom, together with HWZ and Perikom, the Professional Association for Human Resources Management and Internal Communication, have evaluated different touchpoints of internal communication with the highest reach and most relevance in a broad survey of 900 employees of major Swiss companies.
We invited Catherine Ammann and Andreas Jäggi to present their study and discuss their findings in our latest ahead x Webinar "What are the most popular touchpoints in internal communication?" on September 20.
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The touchpoints listed in the upperright quadrant play the most important role in internal communications in termsof reach and relevance. Source: see study "Relevant touchpoints for effective information transfer in internal communication", page 14 figure 4
The results were clear, in terms of reach, the intranet continues to be the main communication touchpoint used by employees to stay informed. However, the studyalso found that conversations with the line manager and colleagues, as well ascommunication from the CEO/Leadership were close behind.
Infact, in terms of relevance, i.e., how the touchpoint scored in the credibility and attractiveness of information, as well as its influence in employee behavior, conversations with the line manager were the clear winner. It's not surprising to see that human interaction and face-to-face communication have a higher value among employees. What was surprising was the finding that older employees are more inclined toward digital channels, disproving the prejudice that young equals digital.
The key takeaway for internal communicators is that while the intranet is a great communication tool and platform to reach the entire workforce, it is not enough to invoke behavioral change. To establish value-adding internal communication for all employees, communicators need to include management communication and dialog into existing internal networks.
If you've missed the webinar with Catherine Ammann and Andreas Jäggi on the most popular touchpoints in internal communication, you can watch the full recording of it with the link below. The webinar is in German.
