The document discusses internal communications in organizations and why it is important, especially for communicating employee benefits programs. It notes that communication only works if the intended person understands it and can provide feedback. The document then discusses trends in internal communications for 2017, including using social media at work, instant messaging to replace lengthy emails, leaders being more visible and approachable, emphasizing employee empowerment through communication, and using digital signage to communicate information visually. It concludes that successful internal communications is unique to each organization's culture and requires employee buy-in to new initiatives for long-term benefits.

1. 10 February 2017
Once a week insights, features and interviews for
HR professionals in hospitality
bites
Delivering employee benefits programmes
- why internal comms is EVERYTHING!
Bar 1086 Four Seasons Hampshire. © Peter Vitale/Four Seasons. HAM221
Accor Hotels award winning enterprise social network ­ Accor Lounge

2. Delivering employee benefits programmes
- why internal comms is EVERYTHING!
We’d love to be able to attribute that quote to ourselves, but
we didn’t say it. It’s another nugget from Richard Branson.
But we agree wholeheartedly. We assume far too much and
either communicate far too little or just really, really badly.
Communication only works when it is understood by the
intended person and brings about action, or at least thought.
You can communicate all you like, through the most fabulous,
shiniest of mediums or ‘platforms’ as we now call them, but
unless the person you’re talking to understands what you’re
saying and most importantly, wait for it…can communicate
back, then you’re probably having a big long, probably quite
draining conversation with yourself.
Organisations spend small fortunes on internal comms. Fact.
And do they always work? Nope. Internal comms has come a
long way, certainly within the past ten years and there is a lot
more ‘conversation’ in the workplace, thanks to enterprise
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
HR& HOSPITALITY
BITES
“Unless the person
you’re talking to
understands what
you’re saying and
most importantly,
wait for it…can
communicate back,
then you’re probably
having a big long,
probably quite
draining conversation
with yourself. "
INTERNAL COMMS
01
“Communication ­ the thing humans
forgot when we invented words”

3. social networking tools (think Tibbr and Yammer where you
can communicate everything you need to employees and let
them communicate back and have multi-way conversations),
the development of clever communications channels, weekly
e-blasts, Twitter and real life actual meetings and briefings.
When it comes to communicating employee benefits, many
businesses still have some way to go.
We know the following to be true – employees want to have
their say in what benefits they can choose from. So, you
already have your first step marked out clearly with
‘Consultation’ written all over it, but what happens after that.
The launch of the employee benefits programme and then of
course the uptake. Or maybe not… And what’s the point of
rolling pound coins into an employee benefits programme if
you don’t see ‘Improved Recruitment and Retention’ marching
straight back at you with loud footsteps?
There is no point. It’s a waste of money, but the key to making
sure these pounds are well spent lies entirely in the ‘C’ word.
Communication.
We like to back up everything we say with the facts (ok, the
really important stuff we say…) so we embarked upon a
research project to dig out the detail, unravel the mysteries and
line up some hard (and some not so hard) facts about the
world of employee benefits. (Have a look at our website for
details)
We were quite thorough as you would expect. We asked six
top hospitality business leaders some key questions, 439
people completed our online survey, we held focus groups
with business and finance students to get their views on
employee benefits and businesses’ responsibility to administer
them. One of the biggest headlines that came out of that
research was this:
87% ofemployeesthinkitistheemployer’sresponsibility
toexplainhowemployeescangetthemostoutoftheir
package
What’s the point of
rolling pound
coins into an
employee benefits
programme if you
don’t see
‘Improved
Recruitment and
Retention’
marching straight
back at you with
loud footsteps?
PAGE 10 HR& HOSPITALITY
BITESINTERNAL COMMS
02

4. The key part of that statement is not the percentage, it’s this… ‘explain’ And that’s not just in relation to
employee benefits.
Communication is everything and the challenges of delivering excellent internal communication
within a hotel and group can be enormous, as you know probably better than anyone. Take comfort
from the fact that even in the most organised of organisations where the majority of folk are able to
tap their technology at the stretch of their arm, communication is also a challenge. Because we’re
human. Not robots.
INTERNAL COMMS
What can you be doing more of to ensure that everyone in your organisation is on the journey with you
whether you're communicating the benefits of your employee benefits programme, announcing
company news, sharing award wins and media coverage or just sending a motivational message ?
S O , W H E R E I S I N T E R N A L C O M M S A T I N 2 0 1 7
HR& HOSPITALITY
BITES
03
- A N D W H E R E ’ S I T G O I N G ?

5. INTERNAL COMMS
No – we don’t mean the folk walking into walls
whilst scrolling through their Facebook feed. We
mean the internal social network – the online
community of your employees, getting together in
that ‘cloud’ to collaborate, inform, receive, share
and be ‘always present’, even if they’re not at their
desk, work station or even country! Enterprise
Social Networks (ESNs) are being rolled out all
over the hospitality industry allowing non­desk
employees (and of course desk employees) to be
connected all of the time. Apps are now part of
employee engagement and internal comms culture.
3
3
HR& HOSPITALITY
BITES
04
1. Socialmediaatwork
5InternalCommstrendsfor2017
No more staring at a blank Outlook message
wondering how you can phrase ‘Can you please
just send me the info right now?’ in a slightly less
demanding way and proceeding to rattle off the
usual email niceties… We’re talking speed,
brevity and no more ‘Hope you had a lovely
weekend’… Quick and easy exchanges, saving
time, cutting down in email overload. Why
wouldn't you?
2. Socialmediaatwork
2. InanInstant

6. INTERNAL COMMS
You can find out a lot about a company’s culture by the way they run their internal comms. Does
the way you communicate as an organisation really embody your core values? ‘Open­ness’, or
words of that ilk will always be somewhere in a company’s core values but how easy is it for your
people to talk to the ‘big people’? How available, visible and approachable are your CEO,
Managing Directors, Senior Managers in the eyes of your teams? Does that open­ness really
exist in your organisation or does it just sound good? And it’s not just about being open.
Remember that people nowadays are more interested in working for a company that has a
positive impact on the world than they used to be and shares that ehtos internally. The moral code
of the Millenials is as high up there on the list as salary and rewards..
3
3
HR& HOSPITALITY
BITES
05
3. Walkthetalk
5InternalCommstrendsfor2017
2. InanInstant
Internal comms in 2017 is going to be all
about empowering your greatest assets –
your people. Empowered employees are the
ones who turn up every day and deliver the
best version of themselves to you and your
guests, acting as your internal and external
ambassadors. But don’t take it for granted.
They need to feel like they are working for
the best company they could be and need to
be reminded of that through every day
communication of why you are so great. If
they love you, they’ll stay with you. If they fall
out of love, it’s pretty hard to get that back.
Spread the love.
4. Spreadthelove

7. INTERNAL COMMS
Ok – we don’t quite mean Vegas, unless of course
you are in Vegas but we’re living in the digital age,
the dawning of virtual reality, so why would we
expect anyone to get excited by anything on a piece
of paper? 2017 is all about digital signage and
communicating your news, social media, ‘Thought
for the day’, performance and results, media
coverage, announcements, awards and images on
screens.
If it can work in Times Square… One of the easiest,
quickest and most effective ways of communicating
information in our extremely time poor world
is literally, the ‘huge flashing signs’.
3
3
HR& HOSPITALITY
BITES
06
5. Neonlights
5InternalCommstrendsfor2017
2. InanInstant
4. Spreadthelove
There is no secret formula for brilliant
internal comms and there is no 'cut
and paste' solution either. What
works for one company will not
always work for another because
every company has a different
personality and culture. Just because
something looks great on someone
else doesn't mean it's going to look
great on you. Internal comms
success is also about taking your
people on the journey with you partly
as an engagement exercise and but
more so because they need to
understand what and why.
The question that comes back from people will always be "Will this not take more of my time?" and
yes, initially there is a huge pain threshold that needs to be overcome when introducing new internal
comms initiatives, but the long term gain ­ well, it's there to be seen in several case studies where
hospitality organisations have introduced new technology to revolutionise and introduce multi­way
communication ­ Accor and Hyatt to name just two. And it works across generations, departments,
different sites, different countries. 'Piece of paper' ­ the end is nigh!