To mail or not to mail in internal communications
Email newsletters are often the only tool of choice in B2B marketing. But in internal communications, the role of email newsletters is different: Newsletters are the last chance to get through to the employee when all other channels have failed.
Accordingly, the internal newsletter channel should be used with caution in internal communication: the more information is distributed through this channel, the higher the chance that employees will tune out or ignore these mails.
Some companies have therefore rigorously changed their internal channel concept and limit the use of internal email newsletters to the case when active work instructions are required by the employee. Examples include security related software updates or pandemic instructions in crisis communication.
But if internal communication wants to do without newsletters, how can it still reach the desired internal target groups?
Changing internal communication landscape
Especially in internal communications, the cultural and social starting point of the working world has changed massively in the last five years. At the latest since Covid, the leap to digital internal communication has been overcome across the board. Communication options have become more diverse, more targeted, and more user-friendly.
How do we reach our internal target groups?
The old communication basics still apply to successful communication: if you want to reach the recipient, you should know their behaviours and preferences. This allows to present the message in the right format at the right place at the right time.
In internal communications, the first question therefore must be: which channels do my employees use at all?
For a classic company with Microsoft 365, the following illustration depicts some typical application scenarios:
According to the diagram, the following options arise for replacing email newsletters: Internal marketing, strategy updates, project roadshows, HR info, etc. are moved to digital publication channels such as SharePoint intranet messages, video interviews on stream channels or to social dialogue platforms like Yammer.
Will MS Teams become the new intranet?
From the chart, it is also clear the central role of Microsoft Teams in the world of work. Teams is morphing more and more as a central entry point into the M365 world. It combines direct and team communication, phone book, collaboration, business processes and task management.
If required, even the intranet can be integrated directly as the start page.
It is a fact that already today many employees no longer need to use the browser for their daily work. And it’s also a fact that in many companies, internal communications haven’t even noticed that Teams exists on the map. It therefore makes sense to take a look outside the box every now and then and simply try out the new developments.
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