What 2015 holds for Internal Communications

WHAT 2015 HOLDS
FOR INTERNAL
COMMUNICATIONS

INTRODUCTION
Predicting trends is always difficult, but having looked back on our 2014 predictions,
we’re pleased to say, by and large, we weren’t too far from the mark. Perhaps in general
just a tad too optimistic!
We hope you find our ‘Internal Comms Guide to 2015’ interesting and useful, and we
welcome any feedback or questions which you may well have as a result of reading it.
It should come as no great surprise that ‘Collaboration’ and ‘The Digital Workplace’ are
our key trends this year and the drivers of all the other trends.
It’s why our 2015 trends share some similarities with 2014’s, albeit 2015’s are a
significant step forward, representing the year that stands between the two and the
quickening pace of change.
Thanks

CONTENTS
01 COLLABORATION
02 THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE
03 MOBILE FIRST STRATEGY
04 EMPLOYEE AMBASSADORS
05 LEADERSHIP

COLLABORATION01
Collaboration gives greater access to the full range of skills, perspectives and
thinking within an organisation. It allows work to be completed quicker, often
with new insights, so innovation and improved outcomes can occur.
Such things as video conferencing,
internal social networks*, apps, and
document management and sharing
platforms (ie SharePoint) are some
of the digital tools and technologies
making collaboration far easier.
Due to being digital natives,
and with a working approach
that favours mobility, it is no
surprise that millennials are
happiest when working in a
culture of collaboration.
THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE MILLENNIALS
*Even though building your network on social platforms and interacting with others whilst on it can be labelled as collaboration,
true collaboration is when employees actually accomplish and produce something as a result of interacting and working with others.
What is fuelling collaborations rise in prominence?

In the past, internal communicators would have been responsible for the majority of communications and messages
that employees received. A collaborative culture means no one group/department can be in sole control of the
communications within an organisation. As a result internal communicators (IC’s) need to be the one’s who:
COLLABORATION01
WHAT ROLE WILL INTERNAL COMMUNICATORS
PLAY IN COLLABORATIVE WORKPLACES?
Use collaboration platforms and digital tools to share and amplify content, taking the content to
where the employees are holding conversations and sharing information.
Identify and promote the collaborative and digital tools that are appropriate for the organisation and its
employees.
Educate, train and advise leaders on new collaborative tools. Collaboration will likely involve a large
culture change, and fundamental to a change in culture are leaders.

COLLABORATION01
THE COMMUNICATI0N TEAMS AS ONE
There’s no doubt that collaboration will also be seen between the different communication departments – It is
definitely welcomed. It has led many to believe that internal and external communications teams should merge
together to form one communications department.
The merits of an integrated approach are clear, especially due to open, always-on
communications brought about through digital. But with the importance of internal
communications, and the role of employee ambassadors ever growing, it is perhaps too early
for the complete amalgamation of the two communication disciplines. It is something we
think more organisations will investigate and try-out, so it will be interesting to keep an eye
on the results from such cases.
Here’s an example of an
integrated approach, from Aegon

THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE02
For years, many organisations have had no
real plan or strategy in place when it comes
to managing their digital workplace. A lack of
strategy combined with such things as BYOD
and the uptake and adoption of individual
digital tools and technologies, has led to
messy, fragmented digital workplaces.
It is safe to say that the majority of
organisations have not kept pace with the rate
of digital change. Moreover, given digital’s
ever increasing rate of change, companies are
at risk of falling further and further behind.
DIGITAL WORKPLACE STRATEGY
That’s why in 2015 three key trends will
emerge that focus on organisations getting to
grips with the digital workplace...

Businesses will need to change their mindset, realising that:
‘ Digital is not only an enabler to be
applied to what a business wants
to do but a source of innovation and
opportunity for what the business
could do ’Organisations will
take a deeper look
at the role digital
is playing in their
business, but more
importantly the role
it can play in the
future.
(Gartner)
1. DIGITAL MINDSET

Gaps in digital leadership need to be filled. Clearly digital strategists will be crucial higher up in an
organisation, but digital leaders also need to be placed across all business levels.
Creation of digital centres of excellence. This is where new thinking and advice is acquired to
understand and identify digital opportunities and threats, resulting in the formulation of digital strategies.
The success of a digital workplace, once up and running, is arguably down to the talent employed.
Organisations need to acquire strong digital talent and then continually develop it.
Building on from a change in mindset, organisations in 2015 will need to address the design of their digital
workplace by looking at the following:
2. DESIGNING THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE

3. DIGITAL MEASUREMENT
Organisations must establish key success criteria and measurement frameworks for their digital workplace
programme (DWP), so that the DWP can demonstrate how it is supporting organisational goals and realising
value. This is crucial for the continued investment in the digital workplace and so for widespread adoption and
digital transformation of the organisation too.
IN 2015 THE
DIGITAL
WORKPLACE
WILL GET
SERIOUS

DIGITAL SKILLS GAP
The digital workplace offers great opportunities for both an organisation and it’s employees, specifically
so for improved collaboration. However, at present neither are maximising its full potential…
OR
BUT WHO IS TO BLAME?
ORGANISATIONS?
Organisations have a key role to play in ensuring employees know how to
get the most value from the tools – value that will ultimately reflect in the
organisations bottom line.
EMPLOYEES?
The truth is that many employees simply do not know how to get the most from
digital technologies.
Clearly, blame can be attributed to the employees – self-learning and development
ultimately falls upon the individual. Yet, given the rise of BYOD, it is evident that
employees are actually keen to embrace digital tools in the workplace.

Focus on continually training and educating employees on the digital tools they have at their disposal.
Demonstrate the benefits to the employees; Increased productivity, easier access to relevant information,
knowledge and skills. Employees will be far more inclined to fully engage with the tools when they know
the benefits available to them.
Place digital tools and collaboration higher up an organisations list of priorities, so that the structures and
processes are put in place to better support employees.
Engage with leaders. As with any changes in an organisation, the backing and support from leadership is
crucial.
ORGANISATIONS NEED TO:
DIGITAL SKILLS GAP

Invest in professional development. There are many great courses/qualifications now popping up in
the area of internal communications, all of which will give particular attention to digital. Whether it’s
a masters qualification, industry body qualification, or a short course, there is something to suit every
professional. For a long time internal communicators have neglected training and development - in
2015 this will change.
Use the organisations available digital channels, even introduce them if needs be. Then become the
advisor and the go-to person for all things related to digital communications and collaboration, both
internally and externally - the ever blurring of internal and external communications means that
internal communicators need to be comfortable with the digital tools that reside in both areas.
The days of internal communicators seeing new digital technologies as good to
know about but not important in their role, are well and truly over.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATORS NEED TO:
DIGITAL SKILLS GAP

BIG DATA
‘The rapid and exponential growth of data that is collected, stored, and analysed to reveal patterns, trends and
insights used to make better business decisions’ (SAS).
Scale of data
being produced
Speed of data
creation. Analysis
of real time
streaming data
Different forms
of data. Social
networks,
smartphones,
sensors etc.
Uncertainty of
data.
VOLUME VELOCITY VARIETY VERACITY
IBM is a leading authority on big data and advocates four key characteristics that define it:
Big data has been traditionally used as a marketing tool to understand very specifically what the consumer wants -
achieved through collecting and analysing data from consumers ever-increasing digital footprints.
However due to the digitisation of the workplace, big data holds the same huge potential inside an organisation as
it does outside…

BIG DATA CAN HELP TO IDENTIFY:
Whereas before traditional analytics reported in numbers (viewing
figures, engagement levels etc). Big data can give information on the
reasons behind the types of engagements, in the form of attitudes and
sentiment.
ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHANGE:
COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES
Big data analytics can be used to identify employee’s communication preferences. Both the mediums they prefer
to consume content on, and the types of content – subject nature and form. Internal communicators can use this
insight to shape communications tailored to specific audiences. Resulting in far more effective communications.
Allowing businesses and internal communicators to get a clearer understanding of how employees
ACTUALLY feel about planned business or strategy changes, before it is too late.

BIG DATA CAN HELP TO IDENTIFY:
At present employee ambassadors tend to be the employees who put themselves forward for advertised
ambassador / hero / champion roles. As a result self-selected employee ambassadors often don’t have the
influence or authority that is required to play a significant part in the campaign they have been recruited for.
Big data analytics can identify the employees that have strong influence and authority and who are showing
leadership qualities through their online behaviour and interactions, allowing internal communicators to identify
key influencers for future use.
EMPLOYEE AMBASSADORS
TALENT RETENTION:
Big data offers businesses the ability to reduce employee turnover and keep
their top talent within an organisation. Achieved by using the rich data source
(eg social conversations and interactions) to identify what people want and
are unhappy with, and then acting on this through communications and
change.

Clearly the most important part of big data analytics is working out what the data is actually saying.
And so data scientists are crucial in identifying patterns and translating it into actionable insight.
Just as important will be the experts in the domains that big data analytics is taking place within. So
internal communicators will be needed to ask the questions for big data analytics to provide the answers to.
Another key ingredient is leaders who are capable of acting on the data driven insight by: “articulating a
compelling vision, persuading people to embrace it and working hard to realise it” (Harvard Business Review).
BIG DATA CONSIDERATIONS
THE SIMPLE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT DATA-
DRIVEN DECISIONS TEND TO BE BETTER DECISIONS.
Without question, privacy is a key concern, and must be built in to big data
analytics. Which brings us nicely into the next trend – ‘Data Security’…

DATA SECURITY
This is a trend we gave significant attention to in last years guide. And it would appear rightly so, given that
the 2014 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis, revealed that the average cost to a company of a data
breach was 15 percent more than last year.
While 2014 may have been about organisations increasing their awareness of a need to improve information
risk management - particularly so by creating a security conscious culture – 2015 looks set to be when they
will act on it.
Already in 2015 we’ve been approached by many organisations who are now seeking to implement internal
communication campaigns to take the first steps in building a security conscious culture. So we can say from
experience that it is looking like information risk management will be an even stronger trend in 2015.
You can read more about the methodology we have used in previous information
risk management campaigns, here.

WEARABLES
...1. A sensor
2. The transmission of
the data being recorded
by the sensor.
3. Presentation of the
data, which should
inform actions.
In the simplest sense wearables are small electronic devices that users wear, either directly on their body, in
their clothing, or on top of their clothing. A wearable is made up of three key components...
Unlike a smartphone where
users have to stop what
they are doing to interact
with it, wearables do not
require the user to change
their behavior, as they can
continually interact with it
without necessarily knowing.
The 6 main categories of
wearables are: Glasses,
Clothing, Smart Bands,
Jewellery, Smart Headgear,
and Watches - Within each of
these, there are further sub
categories.

WEARABLES USE CASE: EMPLOYEE WELLBEING & TRAINING
A popular way businesses are currently making
use of wearables, is by providing their employees
with tracking devices in order to monitor their
health levels. BP is a good example of this. They
offered their employees the use of FitBit, which
is used to measure a range of personal health
metrics. BP gamified the wearables experience
by creating the ‘One-Million Steps Challenge’.
It led to employees changing their behaviour
in order to maximise the amount of walking
they were doing (to amass points), ultimately
benefitting their health – Which for BP is great,
as amongst other things, it helps to lower
healthcare premiums.
A report conducted by Virgin
Pulse and Human Capital
Media Advisory Group,
identified why companies
are paying more attention to
employee well-being in 2015.
The employee well-being
trend is closely linked to the
uptake of wearables in the
workplace.
View Here

Smart glasses allow employees to undertake
training in an interactive, involved way -
‘Learning as you do’ is very effective. Plus it
gives managers the ability to view and measure
how employees are doing during their training
program.
EMPLOYEE TRAINING &
PROGRESS
There are now also smartwatch apps that allow
managers to track the progress of emloyee set
goals and objectives, at all times. You can read
more about this here.

FURTHER POTENTIAL USES OF WEARABLES
Now is the time to reconsider how work could be improved through the use of a wearable
device. It’s important to always remember that wearables are a completely new technology,
and not just an extension of the smartphone - So you must think beyond the capabilities of
a smartphone.
Logistics is another area where wearables are a great fit. For example, warehouse pickers can be directed
straight to a product, or the tracking of machinery and operations can be analysed to look for advancements
in efficiency.
Employees who have customer-facing roles can be much better equipped for communication. They can
immediately understand all of the customer’s vitals, and access requested information immediately. A great
example of this can be seen here, from Virgin, who equipped some of their cabin crew with Google Glass.
Employees working in manufacturing or engineering roles can have information displayed to them on a
wearable. This offers huge benefits for the safety and productivity of the employee. An example of this
can be seen here.

MOBILE FIRST STRATEGY03
MOBILE FIRST
STRATEGY
No matter where an employee
is located, businesses can push
information and communicate
simultaneously and
instantaneously with them.
The main reason for a mobile first strategy is to
make things easier for employees. Technological/
digital advancements in the consumer world
have made peoples lives much easier in terms of
communicating, collaborating and carrying out
specific tasks. People now expect and demand a
‘consumer like’ experience in the workplace – You’ve
only got to look at the rise of BYOD as proof of that.
(IBM)

At present, organisations think they are satisfying employee demands by simply connecting BYOD devices
to the corporate network and business tasks, as more of a bolt-on to existing processes, and so very
much as an afterthought - often only making a small improvement to the lives of their employees. The
aforementioned, relates to the first of the three stages of enterprise mobility below.
MOBILE FIRST STRATEGY
Further reading: What internal communicators should be doing in each stage, can be found here.
Stage 1: Opportunistic. Simply reacting to the needs/requests of specific employees. What ensues
can be a fragmented (messy) approach to mobile, due to no set procedures/structures in place and
different teams using different suppliers.
Stage 2: Strategic Mobility. Attention is now given to satisfying the mobile needs of larger groups,
for example by designing a mobile version of the company intranet. Also, guidelines and procedures
are put in place, allowing for a more uniformed approach when creating mobile experiences.
Stage 3: Mobile first. Everything created by the company is done so for mobile first, with every other
channel coming second.

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS WILL GROW IN
IMPORTANCE
INFOGRAPHICS
VIDEOS
PHOTOS
MEMES
When designing content for
mobile first, there needs to be
a greater focus on shorter more
visual pieces of communication
– As employees will look to
consume (snack) content
quickly on mobiles.
Videos, infographics, memes/
photos, and data visualisations
are all great to use. The goal is
to provide employees with easy
to consume regular pieces of
content. They are then likely
to take in a lot more company
information over time.

EMPLOYEE AMBASSADORS04
EMPLOYEE
AMBASSADORS
Employee ambassador programs will be a key area of focus in 2015 for organisations, in two main ways:
Some organisations have much more effective employee brand
ambassador programs than others, but it can be said we
are now on the verge of all employee ambassador programs
reaching their full potential, due to a number of factors, which
include:
Social media
Demand for organisations to be transparent and authentic
Employees seen as a trusted source by both fellow employees
and customers.

1. INTERNAL EMPLOYEE AMBASSADORS
The main issue with employee ambassador programs in the past has been that often ambassadors are self-
selected and so their level of influence and ultimately use, is perhaps, at best, questionable.
In 2015, organisations need to move beyond relying solely on self selection when it comes to recruiting
ambassadors. Social media is an important tool here, and so companies that have existing and well used social
platforms in place, have an advantage.
Companies should use social media to identify the
employees who are skilled in using it, and have a degree
of social reputation (clout) and influence. Think of brands
in the consumer world who reach out to influencers. These
influencers will have built strong sizeable networks, have a
good understanding of the social platforms and what interests
and engages their audience, and so are great to use for
amplification - Those are the characteristics organisations need
to look for in employee ambassadors.

2. EXTERNAL EMPLOYEE AMBASSADORS
Given the above, in 2015, organisations will place more emphasis on employees as brand advocates. They will
do so by letting employees out into the social world (with guidance), and by involving them in more controlled
communications – marketing, advertising, recruitment etc.
The use of employee ambassadors/advocates allows an organisation:
To be seen as a more open, authentic and trusted brand.
To achieve added brand exposure, generated from employees using their own digital assets and networks.
To improve recruitment and retention.
Employees are not only seen as the most trusted source of information within a company, they are
also seen as the most trusted company representative to those outside of the organisation too.
(2014 Edelman Trust Barometer)

IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT...
EMPLOYEE
ADVOCACY CAN
NOT BE FORCED
OR FAKED.
Internal communicators will play a key role in supporting employee brand ambassadors / advocates.
One way they will do so will be to ensure employees have access to content they are able to share. This
content must be inline with the organisations brand and goals, it must be worthy of sharing, and must
provide value to the sharer and the audience they will be sharing it with.

LEADERSHIP05
Communications of old used to be about pushing messages down
from the top in a very controlled manner. Clearly this was due to
the hierarchical structure of an organisation.
LEADERSHIP
Organisations are becoming more open,
and a bottom-up approach to internal
communications is rising in prominence.
But for most organisations, an element of
hierarchy will likely always exist.
It should clearly still fall upon the IC’s to be the one’s to bridge any hierarchical levels. But,
rather than just being seen as those who help push the messages from the top to the bottom,
IC’s need to act more as advisors, connectors and facilitators of communication, it they are to
ensure future success in their role.

It is up to IC leaders to ensure business leaders are aware of the importance of communicating directly with
individual employees to acknowledge their role and achievements. To point out, given all the talk of the shift to
digital communications in the workplace, face to face communications will always remain the most effective form
of communication in terms of boosting employee engagement. A fact all leaders should remember.
LEADERSHIP05
ADVISORS & CONNECTORS
Advising employees, leaders and departments on the use of digital tools and technologies; becoming
the ‘go-to person’ for guidance on how to use the digital workplace to improve communication,
collaboration and productivity.
IC leaders need to be:
Helping to connect employees of all levels to one another. Connecting employees to company content -
so that they feel connected with the strategy and goals of the organisation. Connecting employees with
a purpose – so that they know the role they are playing in helping the organisation to achieve its goals.

LEADERSHIP05
FACILITATORS
Engage and collaborate with everyone throughout the organisation.
Build their own communities and networks around specific topics.
Create and share their own content within the organisation.
All of which will require facilitation from the IC leader, to not only ensure all activity remains in
line with the culture, strategy and goals of the organisation, but to help fuel and drive it further.
Arguably the most important part of the IC leaders role in the digital workplace, will be acting as a
facilitator. Employees will be empowered to:

CONCLUSION
We hope you found our guide to 2015’s internal communication
trends helpful.
You can keep up to date with all of our internal communications
thinking at our blog (rimadesign.com/blog) and on our social
channels:
Twitter @rima_design And LinkedIn
It would be great to know what you thought about our 2015 trends.
And of course, if you’d like any further info or help on any of the
topics covered then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
THANKS!
We’re a 27 year old
independent design agency
who specialise in corporate
and internal communications.
We work with a number
of large corporate clients
and for some we are also
responsible for their in-house
creative function.
To find out a bit more about
us then simply take a look at
our website or get in touch.
About us…
info@rimadesign.com | Tel: +44 (0) 207 902 1310

REFERENCES
• Aegon abolishes internal comms team for integrated comms approach.
http://headlines.uk.com/aegon-abolishes-internal-comms-team/
• Report: employee engagement, retention, and well-being are top priorities for executives and
HR managers in 2015
Virgin Pulse Report.
• A smartwatch app that lets your boss track you constantly.
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/ready-social-smartwatch-quantified-work-app/.
• BMW testing Google Glass eyewear for its factory technians and engineers.
http://www.examiner.com/article/bmw-testing-google-glass-eyewear-for-its-factory-technians-and-
engineers.
• Virgin Atlantic launches Google Glass pilot scheme.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/10629467/Virgin-Atlantic-launches-Google-Glass-pilot-
scheme.html
• 8 things to think about when measuring Digital Workplace performance.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-things-think-when-measuring-digital-workplace-elizabeth-marsh.
• Gartner Says the Business Consumer Requires a Digital Workplace.
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2801017.
• What Are the Required Skills for Today’s Digital Workforce?
http://dionhinchcliffe.com/2015/02/17/what-are-the-required-skills-for-todays-digital-workforce/
• The four V’s of Big Data
http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com/sites/default/files/infographic_file/4-Vs-of-big-data.jpg
• BP wellness program
http://hr.bpglobal.com/LifeBenefits/Sites/core/BP-Life-benefits/Employee-benefits-handbook/BP-
Medical-Program/How-the-BP-Medical-Program-works/Health-Savings-OOA-Option-summary-chart/
BP-Wellness-Program.aspx#Section_2
• A Three-Step Strategic Approach for CIOs.
http://resources.idgenterprise.com/original/AST-0082555_Moving_Beyond_BYOD_to_Mobile_
First_A_3_Step_Strategic_Approach_for_CIOs.pdf
• 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer
http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/2014-edelman-trust-barometer/
• Designing the digital workplace.
http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Strategyand_Designing-the-Digital-Workplace.pdf.
• What Is Collaboration in the Workplace? - Definition, Benefits & Examples.
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-collaboration-in-the-workplace-definition-benefits-examples.
html.
• Four Ways Social Employment Brand Ambassadors Can Benefit Your Company
http://www.socialprominence.co/Prominence-Blog/ArticleID/17/Four-Ways-Social-Employment-Brand-
Ambassadors-Can-Benefit-Your-Company.
• Gartner identifies six key steps to build a successful digital business.
http://www.information-age.com/it-management/strategy-and-innovation/123458018/gartner-identifies-
six-key-steps-build-successful-digital-business.
• 2014 Cost of Data Breach Study.
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/en/it-services/security-services/cost-of-data-breach/.

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