Podcasts have been a popular audio medium for more than 15 years. Mainly used for entertainment or educational purposes, you can find podcasts on nearly any subject that interests you. Though they’ve been widely used as a public platform to tell stories and teach listeners, more companies are beginning to see the value of using a podcast as a way to communicate with their employees. Read on to learn about how having an internal podcast could benefit your business.
What is an Internal Podcast?
When your employees are busy doing their jobs, communication can be hard. Trying to get everyone together for a meeting on the phone or on Zoom may end up being more trouble than it’s worth, and emails aren’t always great at getting your point across. Any business needs to foster connections between team members, especially when meeting together is difficult or impossible due to remote work. Luckily, there are better ways to keep your group informed and on the path towards achieving your business’s goals.
An internal podcast is a great way to communicate with your staff, especially when some employees are following different schedules or are working remotely. Internal podcasts are exactly like the other podcasts you listen to but are not broadcast publicly. Instead, they can be shared on your company’s intranet or can be sent directly to employees via a private link. They are an effective way to keep everyone on the same page and abreast of the latest news and happenings within your operation.
What are the Benefits of an Internal Podcast?
If you’re currently engaging with your staff via text like emails or company intranet, is it working? Maybe you’ve found that your staff is missing the point of your communication or totally ignoring it. A podcast could be the solution to your communication issues. The truth is, email is ineffective when it comes to internal communications.
If you’re looking for a better way to get your message across, try a podcast. Here are a few of the biggest benefits of using an internal podcast as a communication tool:
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They are engaging. When you receive your company’s internal newsletter, do you find yourself zoning out halfway through and missing the important points? Podcasts are much more interesting and engaging than long winded emails or intranet messages, and they’re great for fostering a more personal connection.
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There’s magic in the intimacy of a podcast. Listeners enjoy on their own time and in their own way, and it’s just you and the listener – it’s almost like you are whispering in their ear.
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You can add humour and emotion. Ever try to tell a joke or amusing story via email? Chances are it fell flat. With a podcast, you can spice up your messages with humour, entertaining anecdotes, or even a little music.
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Your staff can listen when it’s convenient. When your internal news is sent via email or intranet, employees have to take time to sit down and read the content. With a podcast, they can engage when it best suits them, whether that’s while they walk the dog, eat breakfast, or relax in the evening.
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It can help cement your company culture. Text is one-dimensional and isn’t the best at detailing what you value as a company. Use branded podcasts to encourage employees, talk about your goals, and discuss what is most important to your team. After all, reiterating your company’s culture can help boost morale, share your vision, and help your team feel great about the work they’re a part of. In addition, you can use podcasts to onboard new employees and get them caught up with how you operate.
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Allows you to see who is engaging. With a podcast, you can see exactly who is engaging with what you have to say. By looking at the actions of your employees, you can use a podcast as a tool to better measure performance.
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Helps beat screen fatigue. Today’s employees spend most of their day staring at a screen. In fact, Canadians report that they get up to 11 hours of screen time on a daily basis. Do your employees a favour and give their eyes a rest with a podcast.
As you can see, podcasts add depth and dimension to your internal communications while delivering them into an entertaining and easy to consume package. Podcasts are great for keeping your team on the same page when it’s hard for everyone to get together.
What are Some Specific Use Cases?
Change Management team:
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Change Management teams report seeing value in podcasts because it can support in a culture shift. A well-produced podcast can help you sew the seeds of a larger transformation within the company by taking people on an (audio) journey.
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It’s not just about featuring your leaders. A podcast allows you to turn the story back to the people on the front lines, telling their stories and their journey through character-driven, active storytelling. This allows you to go into the field and “show don’t tell”.
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You can use the podcast to get feedback about what the frontline wants to see in future episodes, or the next phase in the project. This makes them feel like they are a part of the podcast’s evolution, while letting you take the temperature of the organization.
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Let people express their fears and doubts in the story. This authenticity and openness will help to build or shift the culture of your organization.
Internal Communications team:
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Internal Communications teams report that while they are conducting town halls and fireside chats with their CEO or GM there are challenges in delivering it widely to front line workers. These events are originally designed to be “live”, but when they were moved online, they feel the video loses the sense of intimacy. Moving from a live event to a podcast allows them to maintain the intimacy of being there in person.
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Many large organizations who produce a company magazine have evolved from a PDF, then an online format, to a video hosted on an intranet. But again, the intimacy is lost.
Health and Safety team:
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Health & Safety have rolled out COVID programming, and already have a lot of content on other topics. By either transporting that content to audio or producing fresh audio you are able to deliver what has traditionally been a dry topic in a fresh, intimate format that engages with the frontline workers and is portable.
How Your Company Can Create an Internal Podcast
Big companies around the world have seen the benefits of using an internal podcast as a tool for enhancing communication, development, and leadership. If you think an internal podcast can benefit your business, it’s easy to get started. First, think about what you want to use the podcast for. Are you looking to use it as a sort of newsletter to send out on a regular basis? Or do you see yourself using it as a teaching tool to bring employees up to speed on best practices or new industry trends? You can also use it as a way to voice employee concerns, introduce new team members, or disseminate messages directly from your CEO.
Keep in mind that you’ll probably want your podcast to have at least a loose script to follow so that when you’re recording it, you can make sure you hit all the right points. And remember that you can go back and edit the audio if you make mistakes or want to cut something out, so you don’t have to worry about recording a perfect take. Your podcast can be as long or as short as you need it to be, and you can even record a podcast remotely so that different people across your team can collaborate and contribute.
When so much work in today’s world is done remotely, it’s more important than ever to keep your team feeling connected over long distances. Podcasts are a great way to deliver a unified message. If you’re ready to get started, JAR Audio can help you quickly produce a professional-sounding podcast that will meet your team’s needs.
