Working Remotely? Use Podcasts to Boost Employee Engagement

Unprecedented numbers of employees are now working remotely.

It’s a situation in which clear internal communication – always important – becomes critical. Podcasts offer a creative solution.

If you haven’t yet explored the possibilities of podcasts for your internal communications, now is the time to do so. This form of audio has distinctive features that help to facilitate certain forms of communication.

It’s a preferred means of communication for many younger workers. Plus, it’s a medium that is particularly well-suited to the needs of remote workers or for highly distributed organisations. Here’s the run down:

• The distinctive features of podcasts

• The types of internal communication that suit podcasts

• How podcasts facilitate remote working

“Podcasts are a proven and popular channel. They enable us to communicate in an effective and timely way, connect, share important updates and build a common purpose.

For us, they have brought our solutions to life, bringing clarity in the messaging in a succinct way and have summarised some key points. ”

— Mark Absolom, Head of Marketing, Cognizant

The distinctive features of podcasts

1. Connection-building: One of the greatest strengths of podcasts is that they build intimacy between speaker(s) and audience. That simple experience of hearing an individual human voice creates a sense for the audience that they ‘know’ the speaker. So, podcasts humanise your messages and – in so doing – help to build connections and community.

2. Flexibility: Podcasts are infinitely variable. They don’t have to conform to a particular length or format. That means you can use them to convey clear, top-line information or news or use them to explore an issue in depth. You can feature one speaker or many speakers. You can find a style that works for you – but you can also be creative and surprise your audience! Even recording can be done remotely. Our head of production, Sandra Ferrari, says “with new available technologies and some guidance from a professional, you can get quality sound at home.”  

3. User-friendly: When it comes to featuring guests, experts and speakers, many people find podcasts a less ‘scary’ option than video – for the simple reason that they don’t have to feel self-conscious about their appearance. That means it’s easier to find people to feature on podcasts, which boosts the value of the content. 

4. High engagement: The stats show that podcasts engage and retain their audiences. Plus, the technology allows you to track this, so you know which content keeps people listening.

5. Convenient: The other stand-out feature of podcasts is just how convenient they are. Once a podcast is published, your audience can access it at any time that works for them. They can listen while carrying out other tasks. They can take a screen break while engaging with your content. They can access them on the move. This means that podcasts can be digested in a way that just isn’t possible with other mediums.

The types of internal communications that suit podcasts

CEO / news updates: A short and sweet podcast giving key company/ industry updates. This keeps everyone in touch with the need-to-know information and helps them to feel connected and part of the business.

Explaining strategy/ corporate policies:

Podcasts are ideally suited to expressing complex messages about change or weighty company decisions. The issues can be laid out and explored in depth, with time to answer questions about why a decision was made; what the likely consequences will be and how it will affect colleagues.

Sharing colleague views:

In a longer podcast format, there’s plenty of opportunity to explore issues in-depth and to introduce a range of colleague voices. That can be done using recordists (when we’re not in lockdown!); via voice notes and memos or by utilising easy to use online recording platforms.

Sharing projects:

The podcast format allows you to think creatively and tell stories about your business and industry. Are there projects you want to celebrate? Work your colleagues would like to understand? Volunteering projects that colleagues take part in? Podcasts lend themselves to human interest tales and storytelling are around the great work being done in your organisation that may need more visibility.

On-boarding:

Either...  

• A stand-alone podcast - talking new employees through the culture and values of a company.

Or...

• Episodic content that talks through different aspects of a company and how each part fits into the greater whole.

Learning and development:

This is a form of evergreen content which can be embedded on your website or intranet to be share with employees around career miles stones or transitions. It could cover issues such as:

• Internal progression

• The value of lateral moves

• How mentoring works

• Up skilling

• Colleague career paths

• Colleague career tips

• Industry-relevant niche topics

How podcasts facilitate remote working

The accessibility of podcasts – and the intimacy of the format – bring people together and help them to feel as though they are part of something bigger: even when they are working at a distance from their colleagues. This is content that’s made for them; features them and offers them information that’s valuable and inclusive.

And that’s not all. Podcasts build relationships between different parts of your organisation. They bridge the gap between remote workers, between senior leadership and other teams, between teams that can otherwise feel siloed and out-of-touch and between colleagues who may work in different countries and time zones. They create a community around a shared listening experience.

And that’s not all. Podcasts take account of the needs of colleagues who work remotely: providing an information stream that fits into people’s days and is there to be accessed when needed. They offer the clarity of being only audio: so that people focus on what is being said, without the distraction of visual clutter.

And even that’s not all! Podcasts also allow you to explore a whole range of topics at a depth that is unappealing in other mediums, or to quickly parcel up important information and share it widely in a cost-effective way. It gives your workforce – even when working remotely - a unique content library that benefits them and your business.   

Want to know more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your business to reach its employees, wherever they are. Find out what we can do for you. Email us at contact@messageheard.com.