Is mobile your best internal communication option?
Surveys might indicate that employees favor the intranet or email as sources of information, but maybe you’re not asking the right questions.
Your employees don’t know what they don’t know.
In 2011, venture capitalist John Doerr quoted the late Steve Jobs, saying, “It”s not the consumer’s job to figure out what they want.” It’s a sentiment that internal communicators should take to heart.
A few weeks ago, I participated in an online conversation about the effectiveness of publishing news to an intranet. I suggested that mobile delivery of news is far more effective today, a view that got considerable pushback. In survey after survey, I was told, employees voiced their preference for news on the intranet.
Here’s the way these surveys work: Employees are asked about their current and preferred sources of various kinds of information (company strategy news, benefits news, etc.) and are given a list of options from which to choose (immediate supervisor, senior leadership, intranet, email, etc.). I was told that even when mobile text alerts are offered as a channel, they don’t rank high.
That’s where Jobs’ belief comes into play.
Social media as a news source
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