One of the best ways to motivate people is to communicate with them.

With the constant challenges and pressures faced by managers around the world today, it can be difficult to determine where to focus time and energy. They must lead their teams, provide customers with outstanding service, increase the strength of the company’s brand and, in many cases, accomplish everything with fewer resources.

The trick is to motivate employees to go beyond collecting a salary. It is crucial to cultivate their willingness to be interested and involved in helping the organization to accomplish corporate goals.

One of the best ways to motivate people is to communicate with them. Most companies understand the value of public relations and the need to communicate to their external audiences, but they often overlook the need for internal relations despite employees being among their key stakeholders. They don’t always seem to appreciate that open communication with employees can foster company loyalty and that, in turn, trickles down to the customer.

For internal communications to operate to its full potential within a company, it is essential to have business-wide support and employee engagement. One of the biggest challenges in starting an internal relations strategy is to establish an understanding among senior management of the value that internal communications contributes to the organization.

Many companies establish internal communications practices only when they notice employees are either not engaged or actively disengaged on the job. This must be taken seriously because it can lower productivity and can have a significant impact on the bottom line. Studies have shown that billions of dollars are lost annually due to reduced productivity from actively disengaged workers alone. That’s when internal relations is seen to play a strategic role rather than an operational one.

The key to keeping employees engaged is communications. Some business leaders misinterpret communications to be the same as paperwork or bureaucracy, so they are averse to a high degree of communications, but it doesn’t need to take a lot of time or effort. Internal communications initiatives can start small and evolve over time.

Internal relations helps employees to understand the company’s vision, values and culture. It may involve staff members in issues that affect working life and keep them informed on important decisions taken by management. Additionally, internal communications, when implemented effectively, can be crucial in a time of crisis, providing employees with not only a strategy to handle a crisis, but the facts surrounding such an event.

There are many ways to effectively communicate with employees. The important thing to note is that staff react positively to human contact and want to see management, not just hear from them in an e-mail. Unless it’s a small company, not everyone can gain access to the CEO, but employees should have regular contact with their direct line manager and see their superior on occasion. Effective internal relations means communications with the employees not to them, so try to create an environment that fosters two-way dialog from time to time where possible. Here are a few strategies:

1. Vision statement – At a minimum, organizations should create a document to circulate among employees that includes the company’s mission, vision, values statement and strategic goals. Everyone in the organization, no matter what their role is, should know what the company stands for, believes in and is aiming to achieve.
2. All hands meeting – All companies should regularly hold formal and informal meetings with employees, even if there’s nothing pressing to report. Holding a meeting only when there’s something to report suggests that communications will occur only when there is something to say – communications will be one way and the organization will suffer. Regularly hold meetings to celebrate major accomplishments. This helps employees perceive what’s important, and it gives them a sense of direction and fulfillment.
3. Newsletters – Distributing a monthly or quarterly newsletter to employees with commentary from the CEO via e-mail keeps them informed and can lift spirits. The newsletter should include highlights of company developments, major achievements, customer wins, new hires or industry accolades. Employees are motivated if they are proud of the company they work for.
4. Publishing positive coverage – Companies actively pursuing media coverage through a targeted PR campaign should send noteworthy articles or excerpts to staff via e-mail as they appear or on a monthly or quarterly basis if the coverage is substantial. These articles can be content for an employee newsletter.
5. Wall of fame – Organizations that are actively seeking and securing industry awards on a regular basis should create a display or establish a Wall of Fame in a corridor or in the cafeteria so employees can see the success and public recognition their company has achieved.
6. Press releases – Companies should make it a practice to send important announcements to employees as soon as they are issued, not wait for them to find out about the news themselves. Employees often hear about company news from customers, partners or even competitors and it can put them off guard if they were unaware of it.
7. Industry analysts – Companies engaged with industry analysts often receive positive feedback from these important industry influencers on the company’s position in the marketplace or the uniqueness or revenue potential of their product or service. Employees who are not on the front line enjoy seeing what the industry thinks about the company they work for, so find ways to share this feedback with staff members.

By maintaining open lines of communication between management and employees, effective internal communications can enhance stronger relationships throughout all levels of the company, forging a sense of community, improving morale and having a positive impact on the bottom line.

Vivian Kelly is founder and CEO of Interprose Inc., a public relations firm based in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Contact her at 703-860-0577 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it