¿Cuáles son los aspectos más importantes a tener en cuenta a la hora de gestionar un calendario de Comunicaciones Internas?

I usually take 3 actions: First, identify a key word from the organization's vision and strategy that gives employees a calling. The key word will then help shape a key message that resonates throughout the year. Second, identify what's the external macro agenda (like ESG) and internal operation cycle that are relevant to employees. Mark the calendar with key dates as engagement opportunities. Third, identify remaining touchpoint opportunities on the calendar based on employees' work-life experience, for example vacation season, holiday season, quarter-end results etc. Use the regular touchpoints to deliver key message in relevance to employees' experience. Let the key message flow, that's why we make an internal comms calendar.

One of the easiest and most important ways to develop the internal communications calendar is to ensure it is aligned with business objectives / goals. Additionally, be sure to balance formal content with informal content to ensure an engaged and informed audience.

Don't teach them to ignore you Communication should be relevant, useful and targeted. 1. Aligned - your calendar should be aligned to mission, vision, values and strategy. Think about the moments where you see values and strategy in action through programs and storytelling. 2. Trusted - create a good balance between trusted tools where messages can be sent at regular intervals (e-newsletters, town halls, intranet stories, etc...) versus stand-out communication that fall out of these regular vehicles which should be on an as-needed and rare basis in order to provide a spotlight. 3. Personalized - Use tools that help you personalize the experience based on employees needs. New consoles allow you to create multiple comms in one place.

Understanding the connecting chord and concentrating on the current and future workology of the organization is vital to achieving a seamless internal communication calendar.

For any communication campaign to be successful, identifying and understanding the 'why' and 'value to be created' is critical. In addition to this, the success of the campaign aligned to a timeline and channels of circulation are critical when developing an internal communications calendar

Make sure that you're not creating employee personas based on assumptions about your employee population. Use real, multi-dimensional data including behavioral insights from your company's team leads and talent specialists. It's important that the internal content calendar serves as a bridge between employee motivations/aspirations and the company's broader business goals. But their needs and priorities will vary based on their department, career stage, the role they play in their families and communities, and many other internal and external factors.

It's imperative to understand your audience's environment. If they work in a manufacturing facility, they are not sitting at desks reading email. However, individuals who work remotely might appreciate more detail. Know who you are speaking to and understand the best vehicles for them. That will help you determine message frequency and delivery.

Knowing your audience is vital in how you translate your message - you can say the same message to two opposite cohorts in very different ways. Literacy rate, English as a second language rate and age cohort are 3 metrics that are often forgotten in messaging but vital in how you shape your message.

Frequency and cadence is key, but the MOST important is engagement. Metrics and measurement and one of the best tools I have used is PoliteMail what I love about PM is the ability to embed video into outlook email. The metrics are the best I have seen. To have a truly robust internal comms strategy and a calendar to achieve your goals you must drill down to what is engaging your audience. Are links being accessed? Is content being shared? And if not, you need to determine why not. So why is this so important? You can then leverage those with high engagement as part of your strategy as comms brand ambassadors!

Effectively managing an internal communications calendar requires a deep understanding of your audience. Identify who you're communicating with, their needs, preferences, and how they respond to messages. Tailor your content and tone by segmenting the audience and creating personas. Choose the right channels and formats for different groups to ensure your messages are engaging and relevant. Incorporating feedback mechanisms can also help refine your approach for maximum impact.

For an effective internal communications calendar, it's important to balance content types using the 70-20-10 rule. Aim for 70% of content to be informative and relevant, 20% engaging and interactive, and 10% fun and creative. This approach prevents overwhelming or boring your audience with excessive, irrelevant, or repetitive messages.

Getting this step right early is essential The longer people receive irrelevant messages the harder it will be to correct - they see no value in what you’ve been circulating and you’ll be working far harder to come from behind. Not an exciting proposition To avoid, monitor metrics and behaviour regularly to see where you’re falling short of the mark and why so you can adjust.

Remember that at times of the year where audience will be low so messaging will be missed and conversely when messaging from other sources may be high. For instance a company or organisation in emergency services may have low content absorption during the relevant “disaster season”.

I hate internal communications calendars! They are in effect a false view of reality. Internal communications should first be based on strategy execution and education. Then specific elements impacting the business - pro or con. When I was at GM we implemented “messages from the marketplace” a monthly suite of information based on the business strategy and marketplace. It was driven by an iterative approach. As business people we must be fluid and agile each day and not be tied to a calendar!

I don't hate Internal Comms calendars. They can be extremely useful if you have regular channels that you are on the hook for producing. It's true that no calendar holds up "when it's punched in the face" (to steal from Mike Tyson). But calendars help with making sure you can stretch your evergreen content for when there's not sufficient action in the business. They can also help you pace your efforts to generate and publish additional evergreen content so that the people you collect it from will remain sweet.

A good internal communications calendar isn’t complete without knowing what else is happening in the business. Having a radar of upcoming announcements, ongoing issues, and critical company milestones ensures you’re sharing your internal communications in the right context at the right time. Ensure you regularly meet with your key business partners to capture the key milestones that might require or impact communication.

It is good thing to have an editorial calendar, but don't make set in stones, it needs to have the flexibility for when reality hits and change comes. However an organisation's milestones and regular schedules help organise and coordinate your communications efforts.

100% agree. The programming can be planned to a point - but it’s how you weave real life into the story, and pivot to do so, that elevates IC.

Make it accessible to a designated group of key stakeholders by hosting the calendar on a centralized platform. If desired, this can foster crowdsourcing of content between communication teams (internal/external & corp admin). On our internal comms calendar we also strived to capture ‘other’ key activities happening in the business and significant external programs. This helped us to balance share of mind among our audiences and prioritize which messages and activities should receive ‘priority’ treatment and which could be delayed. At the end of each month the calendar would then be used to capture data and report back to key stakeholders and program owners.

Successful management of an internal communications calendar requires collaboration and clear communication with various stakeholders. Work closely with senior leaders, managers, teams, and external partners to align your messages with their goals and expectations. Actively seek their feedback and input to refine your content and strategies. Coordinating actions and timings with these stakeholders is crucial for cohesive messaging. Additionally, transparently communicate your calendar to your audience, keeping them informed about what to expect and when, enhancing the effectiveness and engagement of your internal communications.

An IC calendar is not set in stone. Adapt, adapt, adapt. Yes, it sets a good foundation for planning the internal communications feed, but one must always be mindful that unexpected needs might pop up that need to be prioritized

Managing an internal communications calendar is a dynamic, ongoing process. It's essential to continuously monitor and evaluate your communication efforts, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data. Regularly assess what's effective and what needs adjustment, staying aware of new trends and best practices. Crucially, gather and incorporate feedback from your audience and stakeholders. This feedback is invaluable for making informed decisions and optimizing your communication strategy over time. By staying adaptive and responsive, you ensure your internal communications remain effective and aligned with your organization's evolving needs.

The hardest part to make a content calendar work is to do proper change management and execute a strong onboarding program for your contributors. You can develop the most amazing platform to organize your content, but if people don't use it, it's worthless. The best content calendar is the one that always has accurate and updated information.

Manage stakeholder expectations. Many IC pros just create calendars to tick a box. Often it has little or no relationship to what happens from an IC perspective. Make it reflect the reality of your situation in terms of resources, channels, and capabilities. It’s good to be aspirational but there’s no sense creating a calendar that’s simply pie in the sky. We’re going to be a Bentley IC team this year when in reality you’re going to be a Ford Fiesta.