The missing ingredients in internal company communications

Human Resource teams are tasked with creating exceptional employee experiences for their companies. It’s a simple focus with a complex execution, including when it comes to internal company communications. What an employee needs on day one is different than on day 100. What an employee in one office needs is different from another who works from home. What managers need differs from their direct reports. The list goes on and employees in newly remote environments are feeling overwhelmed, even in the best of situations.

According to a January 2021 study of almost 2,000 office workers, about 39% of employees report experiencing frequent digital communication anxiety. It’s worse for managers, about 48% feel this anxiety.

This is why internal communication strategies need to be thoughtful and supportive for all employees. Finding the right balance between synchronous communication (occuring at the same time, like a meeting) and asynchronous communication (not happening at the same time, like an employee reading an email) can help you support your team.

We’ll review what’s been missing from synchronous and asynchronous communication as we’ve made the switch to remote work. Then, we’ll show you how you can combine these two communication types to best support your employees.

Synchronous communication’s missing ingredient: Engagement

In many organizations, synchronous communication is most often a meeting or a group training. Whether in small groups, as an intact team, or as an entire organization, trainings and meetings can happen synchronously, either in person or virtually.

As companies have transitioned to remote working, what’s been missing from remote synchronous communication are ways to keep people engaged.

So, how can we create more engaging synchronous communication? We asked our friends at LifeLabs Learning, the premier training company for leaders, managers and executives offering training courses on topics like Strategic Thinking, Feedback Skills, and Effective one-on-one meetings.

Vanessa Tanicien, Director of Product Strategy & Operations at LifeLabs, says that more engaging meetings and trainings all have this in common - they let folks know the “4Ps” at the beginning of a meeting.

“The 4Ps opener is a meeting tactic that we teach in our Meetings Mastery workshop. The 4Ps goes over the purpose, product, personal benefit, and process of that meeting. The 4Ps opener is so important because it helps you prepare well and think strategically about the meeting,” says Vanessa.

To be able to say the 4Ps, you are forced to think through and prevent things that often cause meeting problems.

Vanessa explains:

• If there are too many purposes – maybe it should be separate meetings.
• If there is no product – maybe it shouldn't be a meeting at all but rather just an email
• If you can’t think of the personal benefit for one or two of the people you are about to invite (or if it is weak), maybe you should remove them from the invite list.
• And, when you think through the process, it means you can send a better meeting invite that includes an agenda. Sending the agenda in advance allows participants to prepare better and flag any items they need to add to that agenda. And it also lets people understand how you want them to participate.

Asynchronous communication’s missing ingredient: Timeliness

Asynchronous communications are those that are not happening at the same time. We mentioned the example of an employee reading an internal email; they can read the email at any time. Other examples include Slack messages, corporate intranets, or Asana boards.

What’s been missing when it comes to asynchronous communication is matching the message with the moment. This is also known as point of need communication, where a communication is sent to an employee at the moment they need it.

Picture these scenarios for a manager who is getting a new team member:

Asynchronous communication

• When HR has time, they email the hiring manager that the new hire has accepted the offer
• HR sends the manager information in bulk about running their first 1:1 and how to introduce their new team member at their first team meeting

Timely asynchronous communication

• As soon as the new hire signs their paperwork, the manager is notified that they will be joining the team, and are asked to share the news with their team that it is official
• One week before the manager and new hire’s first 1:1, both are sent a guide about what to expect, and asked to prepare questions
• Three days before the manager introduces the new team member at their first team meeting, they receive communication on what to discuss

Timely asynchronous communication makes the information more applicable and therefore actionable. Pyn automatically sends employees timely communication by using data in a company's HRIS to trigger messages. Our HRIS data tells us when important changes are happening in an employee’s journey - from their first time becoming a manager, to taking parental leave, and more. These transition moments in an employee’s journey are often when employees ask for support.

The benefits of timely asynchronous communication:

• Information is more applicable and therefore actionable
• Employees are not searching for information during a time of transition, they are sent it proactively
• With automation, you’re less likely to miss an important moment on an employee’s journey

Leveraging synchronous and asynchronous communication for better internal comms

Throughout your employee’s journeys, you’re going to have moments of both synchronous and asynchronous communication. How do you know if it's worthwhile to pull people together into a training or send them a piece of communication? Follow the motto - Pull together, push apart.

If you’re sending information to help people engage and connect with each other, like manager training, that’s time to pull people together for synchronous communication.

If you’re sending information for employees to comply with or be informed by, like new policies, you can push out that information asynchronously.

Here are two examples on how to combine synchronous and asynchronous communication for best results:

Example: A training on feedback skills followed up by timed communication before a performance review

A manager takes feedback skills training in February, and is set to deliver an important performance review in June. While the training took place farther away from their moment of need (the performance review conversation) they learned with their peers and built their confidence. Then, a week or so before the review, they were sent timely asynchronous communication: a recap from the training on what to say and do in a performance review.

Repetition is key to adult learning - this immediate application and relevancy helps ensure they can apply what was learned and also helps the employee feel supported.

Example: A new hire’s orientation followed up by timed communication before their first 30 day check-in

A new hire joins your team and attends a virtual new hire orientation. They’re presented with a lot of new information about the company at once, and they get to meet other team members who have joined and build a sense of belonging. After three weeks, they get a message letting them know that their 30 day check-in is coming up with their manager, with information they need to prepare. New hires learn about the 30 day check-in process during orientation, but are often busy in their first few weeks and might forget! Sending a timely reminder takes some of the stress off of new hires when it comes to being prepared.