During a downturn, so many businesses get discouraged with layoffs pending, budget cuts, hiring freezes, and cuts in benefits. As a business, as much as you are fighting to survive, you should make an effort to invest in your existing employees. Internal communications should be a big part of your PR outreach as a company. Even if you have been forced to slash your external PR and marketing budget -which you should still avoid if you can-making sure your employees are informed about how the economy is affecting their workplace is vital to productivity and morale. It’s not about cutting back on the holiday party or stopping the managers’ outings, but about maintaining a continuous flow of communication, and allowing for feedback. Tactics to reach your employees are easier than you think, by organizing assemblys, monthly company-wide meetings, writing in-house newsletters, starting a company blog, and even keeping in touch through an internal social network can motivate staff. These, and many other communication vehicles allow for a healthy business environment that can hopefully survive the economic downturn.
Investing in internal PR communications requires careful attention and will certainly be appreciated by employees in the long term. And that’s the type of employees you probably want to have.