Technological advances made over the past ten years have changed the way we communicate significantly. Technology has transformed how organisations around the world manage their public relations and marketing, including how they interact with the media, consumers, and other external audiences. But how well has the internal communication discipline kept up with developments in technology? And what challenges are we facing now and into the future?
Ask any internal communication professional what communication channels they use most in their organisations and I guarantee email and the intranet tops the list. How many use mobile apps, live or user-generated videos or social networking tools as primary communication channels? Some, but not many. Finding the right way to communicate internally is challenging enough. Throw in an ever-changing digital landscape, and a collision of generations, each with different communication preferences, and the task just got even more complicated.
Coping with the digital evolution is a key challenge for internal communication professionals. According to the 2017 European Communication Monitor, a survey of over 3,387 communication professionals based in 50 countries, coping with the digital evolution and the social web, rates as the most important strategic issue for communication management until 2020, and the perceived importance of mobile communication in addressing stakeholders, gatekeepers and audiences is steadily rising.
So, what should internal communication professionals consider when it comes to implementing technology for the betterment of internal communication?
1. The smart phone and mobile apps reign supreme
Smartphone penetration continues to rise. In November 2017, the Ericsson Mobility Report estimated that 70% of the world’s population will have a smartphone by 2020 and at the end of 2023, 7.3 billion subscriptions associated with smartphones are anticipated.
In Australia, where I live and work, 88% of people have a smart phone, according to Deloitte’s 2017 Mobile Consumer Survey. Collectively we look at our smartphones a massive 560 million times a day – that’s an 80 million increase since last year. Individually, that’s more than 35 times a day on average. Just over a third of the Australian population checks their device within five minutes of waking, around 70% admit to using their phone during mealtimes with family and friends and the number of us streaming TV and video and watching live TV on our smartphones has tripled since last year. The research also tells us that smartphones are growing in importance as workplace tools and there is an opportunity for workers and businesses to take advantage of devices across a wide range of uses.
Yahoo Flurry estimates that around 90% of people’s mobile time is spent in apps as opposed to mobile sites. They also estimate that app usage grows by about 11% year after year. As they put it: It’s an app world. The web just lives in it.
This is a key insight for internal communication professionals as we decide whether to introduce mobile apps for internal communication, which offer a more personalised experience, greater collaboration, better design, and the metrics we need to prove our value to the business or restrict ourselves to mobile optimised sites and channels.
2. We work any time, any place
The workplace is no longer a physical space occupied by employees during office hours. The ability to work from anywhere, and at any time, has changed the way we do business, as well as the way we communicate in and outside the organisation. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the US mobile worker population is expected to account for nearly three-quarters of the total US workforce by 2020, and manufacturing, construction, retail and healthcare workers are inherently more mobile. The same industries are expected to see faster growth in their mobile worker population than other markets.
This means one thing: go mobile or go home.
The imperative to go mobile becomes even more important when communicating with hard-to-reach employees like those who work on the factory floor, are on the road or work in remote areas, and allows them to consume communication and have a voice in the organisation. It also supports an organisation’s drive for productivity and efficiency.
3. Convergence of internal and external communication practices and preferences
This convergence is driven by the changing environment and expectations of employees as consumers, and the fact that communication professionals have moved away from controlling communication to facilitating communication. Internally, organisations are increasingly focusing on creating a communication experience for their employees that mimics personal experience. After all, employees are consumers and like consumers, they use mobile devices to stay connected.
Employees want to access corporate and business information when they want it, on a device they use the most, and organisations around the world are looking for cost-effective ways to do exactly that. At the same time, internal communication professionals are looking to stretch every dollar in their already meagre budgets and measure ROI, which then leads to conversations with senior leaders on spend. And access to accurate and insightful data isn’t easy to come by.
Where to from here?
Technology can be a blessing and a curse for employees and organisations. While it improves productivity, can enhance social cohesion, and integrates work and personal communication experiences and preferences, it can also complicate communication within an organisation.
Trying to cope with the digital evolution often sees internal communication professionals agonising about how to keep up with the pace of change, choose the best option, introduce mobile into their workplaces, and debate whether their employees would even bring their own device. The answer lies in treating this dilemma in the same way you would any other communication channel. Align it with your audience and stakeholder characteristics and preferences to drive purposeful and targeted communication.
This article was originally published in IC Kollectif’s eBook Disrupting the Function of IC: A global Perspective.
