Internal communication strategies to enhance corporate wellness initiatives
For years, internal communication in the company has been underestimated: a function sometimes associated with marketing, other times associated with HR, other times (in the worst case) left to chance and not supervised in a appropriate.
Communicating clearly and effectively increases the likelihood that corporate initiatives are understood and followed up and helps to increase adoption both in the case of new tools and in the case of new behaviors aimed at, for example, new ways of working or to healthy and sustainable habits.
Having a clear internal communication strategy increases the sense of belonging, has a positive impact on the corporate climate and is essential for any change management initiative.
Creating a culture of well-being means first of all changing people's behavior so that they are, in the case of workers, able to take care of their own state of psycho- physical, in the case of managers, capable of creating the business conditions so that well-being is real and not a mere buzzword.
Internal communication therefore plays a fundamental role in ensuring that corporate wellbeing initiatives are successful. In this interview we have the pleasure of knowing the perspective of Laura Colantuono, Group Head of Internal Communication of Fremantle and Board Member of the Institute of Internal Communication and the point of view of Maria Reale, Sales & Customer Success of Trainect.
What is the strategic role of internal communication on wellbeing initiatives?
Internal communication has the role of connecting employees to wellbeing initiatives through a clear, empathic and engaging narrative. This is why yours is a strategic role, because by knowing your internal audience you are able to create effective communication campaigns that clearly explain the purpose of the initiatives, involving people. At the same time they create a bridge between the wellbeing strategy and the broader corporate vision and strategy, with the ultimate aim of encouraging participation, strengthening engagement and helping to create a more inclusive workplace. This last aspect is particularly important. Indeed, one of the roles of internal communication is to create and strengthen corporate culture and this is particularly true when we have to communicate wellbeing initiatives that have a positive impact on culture and can help strengthen it.
What is the synergy between internal communication and HR?
This strategic approach sees us involved in every phase of the design. In partnership with the HR team, we define the key messages, plan communications in the right time and in the most suitable ways and forms for the various channels available, so as to be able to reach our people in the most engaging and effective way possible. Often we are also directly involved in the execution phases to evaluate the success of the initiatives.
What are the steps to effectively communicate a delicate topic such as well-being in the company?
First of all, we need to define what the objective of the communication is and who the audience to reach is.
Do we just want to create awareness or do we ask for active participation? Who is the communication aimed at and how can we attract our audience?
Once the objectives and audience have been clarified, a targeted strategy is defined, the main steps of which are:
Building the narrative and identifying key messages
Choose the communication style
Create the campaign visual and all creative assets
Plan communications and insert them into a channel strategy based on the different audiences and the company tools at their disposal
Launch the campaign
Analyze and evaluate the campaign
What are the actions that Trainect implements to accompany its customers in the wellness communication strategy?
First of all it is important to understand the needs of the company and of the worker and to know the activities that have been carried out in the past and what results they have obtained. Another necessary point is to understand how the company is structured and how its divisions and departments work: it is important to understand how company employees usually pass information to exploit existing channels and tools. All this is useful for us to understand the culture and "educate" the company to the concept of wellbeing. Subsequently, we move on to a co-design phase to create, together with the HR function, an internal communication strategy suited to the specific needs of the organisation. Thanks also to the analytics provided by our platform, we identify the topics of greatest interest to people and together we develop a multi-channel strategy that can involve everyone and keep the level of engagement high strong>.
What are the drivers of Trainect's internal communication strategy?
The main driver is to make workers perceive the value of the project for themselves, for their colleagues and for the company as a whole. In fact, Trainect's values are responsibility, sharing and circularity so it is important for us to convey the concept that the responsibility for well-being starts from individual behavior and can trigger a virtuous circle on the team, the company as a whole and have also a positive impact on the world. We believe it is vital that every employee understands that their company cares about their well-being during working hours, but also outside. For this reason, we are committed to conveying this message through various communication channels, from emails to face-to-face events to online webinars.
Another fundamental driver is involvement.
We are committed to making people participate in the decision-making process and make them feel involved in wellness initiatives. For this reason, we try to create an open and collaborative environment, where employees can express their opinions and needs through feedback or interviews, helping us to develop wellness programs that truly meet their needs.
In summary, our drivers focus on transmitting a clear and coherent message that underlines the importance that the company attaches to the well-being of its employees and on creating a participatory work environment, where every voice is heard and where employees feel involved and valued.
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