Internal Communications – Braithwaite Communications

The first audience who needs to learn and love your story is your own people.

Research shows that less than 50% of employees believe in their company’s brand idea. Even less are actually equipped to deliver to on it. The rules of internal communications have changed. Attention spans are shorter, skepticism greater.

Today, employees aren’t just an audience, they’re a channel.

What they know, think and feel about their work life is everything.

Internal comms has risen to the top of the business agenda. It’s all grown up – and now deserves the same care and attention as all the other parts of the business.

We know, we’re in your culture corner. Working at the front lines of modern communications, we bring your mission, vision and values to life, not in memos but in a new living breathing dialog that happens on the human level – keeping employees in the know – and in the now.

Internal Communications Playbook

The purpose of vision and values, and any culture campaign, is to align the thinking and behaviors of your employees.

Hint: framing long paragraphs on the walls doesn’t work.

Your concepts need to be simple, clear and compelling enough for everyone to hold it in their heads and hearts every day. If your culture phrasing is too long, too generic or too corporate, then you better believe that your staff won’t remember it or share it – much less act on it.

Our approach to internal communication is inspired by humans, not spreadsheets. Our proven process crafts your key messages into compelling story-based campaigns that create real employee ownership – engaging more of the person with more of the message.

Vision

The Ultimate Impact

What it is
A concise declaration of why we exist highlighting the optimal impact of our work

What it does
Inspires: helps people see the difference they’re making through their work

Who it’s for
Internal audiences first! Then, once fully embedded, can be shared externally

Its focus
The Why – the driving importance and purpose of our work

How long it lasts
For generations – enduring and guiding through change

How it’s structured
Short – 5-10 words with compelling and repeatable phrasing

Benefit to the organization
Improves recruitment and retention. Shapes strategy, resourcing and investments

Values

The Ideal Behaviors

What it is
The best behaviors of your best employees on their best days

What it does
Guides people’s attitudes, decisions, actions and interactions

Who it’s for
Employees – helping individuals and teams do their best work better

Its focus
The How – the guiding mindset and behaviors

How long it lasts
For decades – enduring and slightly evolving with change

How it’s structured
Short – no more than 5 key words expressed in your own way, without corporate speak

Benefit to the organization
Improves alignment, productivity and quality. Boosts profitability and innovation

When your employees feel like they own information, they tend to identify with it, share it and act on it.

Our story-driven approach combines strategic insights and smart creative to craft branded stories that bring internal messages and culture to life.

Stories worth spreading are simple, compelling, memorable and naturally sharable.

Today, leadership IS communication. What senior leaders know, think and feel about their jobs, role, careers and company can mean the difference between stressful mediocrity and true committed sustainable growth.

Distilling and Communicating Your Mission, Vision and Values

Which company committed to these four corporate values:

Respect, Integrity, Communication and Excellence?

If you answered “many,” you’d be right.

They were also Enron’s values.

That’s right. The company that grew by fraud and conspiracy before imploding claimed to aspire to those lofty values.

The number one role of a company culture is to align the thinking and behaviors of your employees, period. If they don’t know it, don’t understand it, or can’t remember it, then it doesn’t exist. Creating highly engaged employees is conscious undertaking that demands smart planning and continual reinforcement.

We’ve worked with dozens of organizations at all life stages to build or strengthen their internal culture in three key areas: Foundation strategies; Communication strategies; and Integration strategies.

“Our definition of values is simple — the best behaviors of your best employees on their best days.”

Hugh Braithwaite
Founder & CEO, Braithwaite Communications

Selling Change with a Proven Approach

In times of transition and transactions, communications play a critical role in protecting and growing deal value.

When faced with change, people want more than memos. They want authenticity, sincerity and frequency. They want to see themselves in the story and messaging.

From pre-go date through close and beyond, leaders need to anticipate and address the issues of all stakeholders with a consistent and compelling narrative.

Telling Your Organization’s Story

Our Internal Comms Story model is inspired by humans, not spreadsheets. As an internal communications agency, our proven process crafts your key messages into compelling story-based campaigns that create ownership—engaging more of the person with more of the message. When people own information, they tend to identify with it, share it and act on it.

Analyze

Organize, Analyze

Articulate

Develop, Design

Activate

Launch, Engage

Assess

Measure, Improve

From creating a world-class safety culture to celebrating diversity in all its forms, we’ve used this model to help countless organizations define what makes their culture different and share it with internal and external stakeholders in a clear, compelling story.