Internal Communications that Bridge the Deskless Divide
TLDR: Top 3 Takeaways from this Post:
Internal communications empower employees to be the face of the brand.
80% of workers worldwide do not work at a desk. They are in the field, working in wide ranging fields like healthcare, retail, transportation, and construction.
Tailor your internal communications to ensure that your field employees are included, engaged, and supported.
Let’s get into it - How Internal Communications Connects with Field Employees:
As a baseline, internal communications inform employees about issues like benefits, health & safety, and company news. Internal communication has the power to do much more, though, including expanding the company culture, empowering productivity, building trust, motivating employees, and creating strategic alignment between people and goals.
When you think of a modern worker, do you imagine a knowledge worker juggling a laptop and phone with back-to-back zoom calls and constant emails? Well guess what? You might be surprised to learn that 80% of the world’s workforce is actually “deskless.” Today’s workers are likely on their feet and in the field in industries like healthcare, construction, retail, manufacturing, and transportation.
Whether they are a dock worker, barista, or nurse, employees in the field are the face of your brand, and they face unique communications challenges. Deskless workers have limited time to read content, inconsistent internet access, technology challenges, and more. If communication strategies don’t meet the needs of field teams, our deskless employees may be left feeling uninformed and isolated. In fact, inefficient communication costs businesses nearly $10,000 per employee per year.
So how should a communications team that relies on digital media engage a global workforce that isn’t attached to a desk or device? How does 80% of the global workforce experience all the benefits that internal comms promises?
Know Your Audience
If we understand the day-to-day experience of our deskless workforce and get feedback about preferred communication channels, we can tailor the communications program to workers’ needs. If you want to achieve high adoption and reap all the amazing benefits of a strong internal communications program, don’t ask your workers to take on additional tasks like going through a buggy login process to access content.
Find out how field employees get information today and how they like receiving information. Create personas for your deskless employees and tailor content to them. A study from 2015 stated that the average age of union workers is 42.3 years old compared to 39.2 years for nonunion workers. Does all this tech industry emphasis on millennial and Gen Z workers apply as clearly to deskless workers?
Here are techniques that have worked for companies with large populations of field workers:
Mobile-Friendly Communication Platforms
86% of the world’s population owns a smartphone, with that number jumping to 92% in the United States. Company updates can be provided via mobile applications, platforms, SMS, and mobile-friendly intranets. Understanding your audience so you can design a user experience that achieves high adoption is critical. Just like commercial social media apps, you may notice that activity on the app will decline if the content isn’t fresh and engaging. Consider assigning Comms Captains in each location who will be responsible for taking pictures and recording video so the content has a local perspective. Rashmi Rao, an executive leader at Philips, also suggests using incentives and gamification to increase engagement on these platforms. Above all, make it easy to use.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging is, well, instant. Employees receive notifications on the desktop or their phone in real time. Platforms like Teams and Slack have become ubiquitous in the desk-based office environment, but the immediacy of instant messaging applications may not be a fit with workers who need to work without unscheduled interruptions. Suzanne Block, Co-founder at Shape & Scale, suggests Slack for quick huddles to connect and answer questions informally. Suzanne claims it takes the pressure off of scheduling formal meetings, and can save time going back and forth with instant messages that distract employees from their task at hand.
Email has gotten a rap for being outdated or old school, but actually email is still the most preferred and trusted channel to receive brand communication across all demographics. Email is especially popular because of its personalization features. Email allows recipients to manage their own time and schedule, can be personalized by role, location, or audience feature, and can link to additional resources for deeper reading. Don’t give up on email.
Team Meetings
Look, I’m the last person to suggest that we hold more meetings. That said, regular team meetings (in person or virtual) can create a sense of connection and ensure that employees are informed about company news. For better or worse, meetings are culture-building opportunities – so from an internal comms perspective, using them to build the intended culture is the way to go!
Events
If you’ve got a big announcement, an event is a great way to generate excitement and draw attention. You can create small on-site events that build up toward a larger announcement, and incorporate live music, video on big screens, and on-brand food. Events also present the perfect opportunity to capture photos that show the company culture in action.
Supervisor Communication Training
While communications strategies may be directed by the comms leader, every manager, supervisor, and executive in the organization needs to be an effective storyteller who understands the mission and message. Training supervisors and team leads in effective communication techniques builds a stronger internal comms program and helps to ensure that field workers hear the right information in the right way.
Communication is a two-way street, and training company leaders to receive, process, document, and act on feedback is a huge part of the culture/communications connection.
How about print?
Posters, pamphlets, and printed newsletters may be another viable channel for your field workers. The marketing industry has favored digital content for decades, but it might be exactly what your team needs. A bulletin board and posters in the breakroom, perhaps? Clare Carr, VP of Marketing for Gable, shared a story about a hospital system that placed the internal newsletter on the shuttle buses used to transport team members, and it made a huge impact on readership.
Ultimately, you’ll need a multi-channel approach to internal comms. This list isn’t going to provide you with the single answer to engage field workers. These tools will work together, ideally in a coordinated and well architected framework, so employees get what they need when they need it.
Empower Deskless Workers: Reinvent Internal Comms for the Field
Internal communications, often focused on relaying essential updates, holds untapped potential to shape culture, enhance productivity, and foster trust among employees.
Internal communications can transform a business when targeted to the needs of the entire workforce, engaging both those at their desks and those in the field. Through innovative strategies, companies can amplify their communication impact, fostering a connected and motivated workforce.
