This is a question that has been preoccupying the internal communications departments of global groups, as well as internationally operating SMEs, for the last few years. Growth, internationalisation and digitisation are giving rise to clearly defined targets: “one company, one voice”. The developments in the concept of interdisciplinary work are seeing collaboration platforms and the cross-media use of all internal channels constantly gaining in importance and cost-efficiency is also coming more into decision-makers’ focus as a result of new technical opportunities.
But the exciting questions are: “What else can a staff magazine achieve?”, “What opportunities lie in the need for open communication and participation?” and “Does the medium really have to be a purely internal channel or can it also help build the company’s image?”
Let’s forget about the print-related advantages like touch, look and engagement for a moment and look at the benefits associated with a purely online version for internal communications:
Staff magazine 2.0 – Integration into the Intranet
- All information on one channel/under one roof
- Increased reach at no extra cost
- Flexible information flow and needs-based frequency
- Engagement opportunities and dialogue through comments and interactive elements
- Staff encouraged to identify with the company through emotionalisation (employer branding)
- Multiple language versions help the internationalisation and thus integration processes
- A modern, responsive design on all end devices, available worldwide
- Cost-efficiency through one-off CMS implementation
- Uncomplicated updating and adjustment
- Incorporation of modern multimedia content (e.g. video, audio, animations)
- Highly flexible text and multimedia content
- Easy to measure using analysis tools
Internal communications 3.0 – Opening outwards
Digitising a staff magazine and publishing it on Intranet is only a small step away from publishing it on a company website or as a stand-alone solution on the Internet. And yet this variant is still quite uncommon. There are too many concerns about confidential internal information leaking into the outside world. But these concerns are generally unfounded:
- Very few staff magazines contain truly confidential information.
- All topics covered by the magazine have generally already been published elsewhere, e.g. through press releases.
- Printed staff magazines do not always just remain within company walls (they are left lying around in reception areas or are taken home to be read).
Publishing your staff magazine instead provides a great opportunity, because the free access creates a powerful channel to proactively address central stakeholders, such as customers, partners, shareholders and of course (potential) employees.
We’ll be glad to help you digitise your staff communications to increase your attractiveness as a modern employer (and perhaps even as a business partner), and activate dormant potential in your communications infrastructure.
