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Internal Podcasts organisation

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

Andrew Carnegie. 

We've been talking about the benefits of internal podcasts for organisations since 2016 - way before the technology for private podcasts even existed!

Why? Because they can be a powerful tool for increasing employee engagement.

Whether you’re in charge of a large, medium or a smaller organisation, every CEO by now (having battled through the turbulent times of COVID) knows the importance of employee engagement as a metric and the carryover it has in terms of the final product output and performance. 

It is a positive correlation with a multitude of evidence(1) that organisations whose employees are engaged outperform their competitors on a wide variety of performance measures, even reaching a staggering 202% difference according to Carnegie research(2). 

Engaged employees are highly involved in their job and have great enthusiasm for the success of their employer precisely because of that emotional commitment to the organisation and its goals. They are also more likely to go the extra mile beyond their job description

Well, that sounds stellar! But how do we actually create that leadership-employee bridge and engagement that is genuine, authentic and meaningful for all the parties involved?

Internal newsletters are boring and are becoming a thing of the past. At the same time, in the last few years, a lot of people have come to know, and/or experienced “Zoom fatigue” - the general feeling of exhaustion and tiredness from overuse of video conferencing software.

So, what’s the answer?

A business needs to engage the hearts of its employees and podcasts are a powerful way to do just that.

Studies from LinkedIn(3) show that 42% of people between the ages of 18-34 listen to podcasts at least once a week. We’re also seeing Millennials and Gen Z-ers demanding more accessible leadership, and podcasts provide a medium for executives to reach all employees efficiently. 

Having an internal podcast at a company would therefore be one of the most engaging and convenient ways to communicate with your employees.

Benefits of internal podcasts for organisations:

1. Informative:

  1. Keeping the CEO and employees connected - It’s easy for employees to feel completely disconnected from the higher ups in the company. Having the CEO host (or be a guest) on a private podcast can help break through some of the mystery around them. And your employees will feel more valued if you keep them feeling involved and connected even to those at the very top of the company.
  2. Keeping your team up to date - Use a regular podcast to keep your employees updated on the latest industry trends and developments.
  3. Managing changes in your company - A podcast can keep employees in the loop about any changes happening within the company. Make sure everyone’s on the same page about what’s going on and whether they need to take any actions.

2. Educational:

  1. Training and development - Create educational podcasts so employees can learn new skills.
  2. Onboarding - Make an evergreen podcast you can make available to every new employee you hire from now on. You can also use the podcast to give new hires an idea of the company culture they’re joining.
  3. Internal podcasts centred on HR health aspects and issues - 
    - Talking about issues/questions the employees might be too scared to ask directly. 
    - Makes the company feel like a family - ensures longevity. 

3. Celebratory:

  1. Podcasts are great for building company culture - Having a good company culture is vital for making your employees feel connected and valued. A podcast can help strengthen the connections between people in your company. For example, the CEO can talk directly to employees, the intimate nature of listening to a podcast can build trust and a sense of connection between listeners and those higher up in the company.
  2. Podcasts are also a good medium to have tough conversations - It’s easier to convey tone and nuance in a podcast than over text, so you can dig deep into the important issues.
  3. Put your people in the spotlight - This can provide role modeling and support retention. It’s also a surefire way to attract an audience; feature employees and employees will listen!

When it comes to building commitment and engagement in an organisation, there’s no better way to facilitate it than through a genuine conversation. And a podcast is the perfect tool that makes everyone’s voices heard, a catalyst of game-changing ideas, creation and strengthening of ever-so-important inter-employee connections and possible building or even (re)building of company culture that is so pivotal to long-term success. 

If you're interested to learn more about the benefits of podcasts for organisations - in particular your organisation - or if you have a podcast idea you'd like to bring into fruition, reach out! We're happy to have a chat and explore if we can help.  

Related posts:
References:
  1. https://pavestep.com/post/20-must-know-employee-engagement-statistics/
  2. http://www.dalecarnegie.ca/wp-content/files/remote/Building_a_Culture-_The_Importance_of_Senior_Leadership.pdf
  3. https://www.linkedin.com/business/marketing/blog/linkedin-ads/who-listens-to-podcasts-and-why-they-matter-to-marketers
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