Internal Communication Challenges Facing Human Resource Professionals

Meet the next decade of human resource challenges with the right internal communication strategy.

With many companies expected to increase their number of employees over the next decade, and for those companies that already have thousands of employees, how can human resource managers personally communicate with so many people and get their employees actively engaged?

“Where do you see yourself ten years from now?” Most of us are familiar with this very common question. Perhaps your boss asked this question when you interviewed for your current job. Perhaps you’ve heard Barbara Walters or Oprah Winfrey ask it during celebrity interviews.

Or maybe, as a human resource manager, you’ve found yourself asking it of potential candidates for a position you are trying to fill. It’s a good question that can help us, and others, make goals and envision how we’d like the future to turn out.

With so many recent changes to the economic landscape, however, the tables are turning, and human resource professionals are pondering a similar version of this question for their own positions: what kind of challenges are HR professionals like me going to be dealing with over the next ten years?

Predicting the challenges for HR professionals

According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), human resource experts are predicting a number of challenges that they will be facing over the next ten years. The top three challenges are:

• Retaining and rewarding outstanding employees
• Cultivating the next generation of business leaders
• Building a corporate culture that draws the best employees to organizations

The survey also asked which abilities would be the most critical for human resource professionals ten years from now. Three of the top four answers focused on communication, including:

• Organizational leadership and navigation
• Relationship management

Recognizing the foundation of every relationship: communication

Internal communication challenges are the thread that weaves together these predictions of the HR experts. Effective communication is the foundation of every relationship, especially in the workplace. The most productive, satisfied, and loyal employees are well informed, well trained, and appreciated by their organizations.

With many companies expected to increase their number of employees over the next decade, and for those companies that already have thousands of employees, how can human resource managers personally communicate with so many people and get their employees actively engaged?

Using interactive tools to improve communication

Thanks to advances in technology, HR managers can utilize the new tool of interactive video email to create and send customized messages to employees at any time. Topics can cover everything from compliance training to health insurance information. Interactive video email is a cutting-edge technology that sends documents, videos, and questionnaires all in one message and provides immediate feedback.

What are the major advantages of interactive email messages for internal communication? Here are four:

• Easily create personal video messages. A lot of communication is non-verbal. Video messages help increase understanding and personal connection to the content.
• Create and attach questionnaires with multiple-choice questions. You can discover if recipients understood the content and then address misconceptions or problems early on.
• Reach everyone, anytime, anywhere. Companies with thousands of employees do not have the resources to meet with every employee individually or fit everyone into the same room for a staff meeting. With interactive video email, employees can read or watch the updates, training, or information at their own convenience. Even employees traveling out of town receive updates at the same speed as everyone else!
• Know when they got it and read it. How do you know whether anyone bothered to read the important new guidelines or watch the safety demonstration video? Interactive video email keeps track of when recipients opened and read or watched your message. A few people didn’t open it? No problem. Instead of sending out a mass reminder, send just those few people a message that they still need to look at the information.