2022 turned out to be quite a year. From the war in Ukraine, a scorching UK summer, the Queen’s death, three prime ministers, and now recession, communicating in these turbulent times was a challenge.
One of the most used words in business this year surely has to be ‘uncertainty’.
While internal communicators have lots of superpowers, being able to predict the future isn’t one of them.
But in 2022 we demonstrated that we had plenty of other talents including agility (all those changed priorities and moving deadlines), tenacity (championing clarity and transparency), and empathy (that precious mix of IQ and EQ).
And we’ll need to continue to draw on those skills and strengths in the coming 12 months.
I believe we’re at an internal comms inflection point. The continuing uncertainty means that many of us will need to hit the ‘reset’ button for our internal comms.
The big contributor is the economic uncertainty which is making employers and employees jittery about what the year ahead will bring, what it means for business, our own personal finances and for job security.
And post-pandemic, the relationship between employer and employee is changed, with many people evaluating how much they love their job, how much they feel valued by managers, and if they are experiencing a strong ‘connection/purpose’ to the firm.
While IC can’t control external factors, we can rethink and reshape the value that internal comms brings to our organisations.
Yes, we may have some budget restraints and constantly changing priorities but the need and desire for effective comms will continue to be huge.
As communicators, we’re going to have to be so, so flexible.
Right now, focusing on the first part of the year should be the key – what are the priorities that will help audiences to feel connected and our organisations to be resilient?
How can we help to cut through the noise so that the important is understood and memorable?
During the pandemic we discovered a lot out about the ‘mechanics’ of comms - the who, what, why, where and when of our audiences and channels, about how people preferred to consume information, about what engaged best and landed well.
Let’s use what we’ve learned to meet the headwinds of 2023 face on.
Continuing uncertainty is a great opportunity for IC to adapt and fine tune comms, to be agile, tenacious and empathetic, and to prove our value.
I wish you a peaceful holiday and an interesting, yet rewarding, 2023.
