Social distancing has become the new normal during the outbreak of Covid-19. Thanks to the convenience of technology, most enterprises are carrying out internal communications remotely.
While an array of collaboration tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams are great for instant messaging and meetings, creating a podcast for employees can improve employee engagement organically and conversationally. Distance learning is a key area that is facilitated by internal podcasts in corporate teams.
Internal podcasts help you exercise innovation in a world where digital technology disruption is taking over. Leadership can create engagement, showcase the company culture, and bridge the communication gap between employees and executives with podcasts created by social distancing.
Why Internal Podcasts?
With most companies currently being cost-conscious, podcasts are very cost-effective to produce and set up, requiring little equipment. They have a short production time allowing more Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to volunteer their time and share their knowledge, which we may not have had access to before.
Internal Podcasts also open doors for larger SME knowledge to be exchanged as more employees may share their expertise through this medium. Podcasts are convenient and comfortable when compared to training a larger audience in person.
Podcasts are a very intimate medium for employees that help “humanize” messages coming from management. They help clarify the HR and corporate training landscape for gamification, compliance training, and agility.
Benefits
These benefits of internal podcasts draw enterprises to integrating them into their corporate communications strategy.
Cost-effective to produce
Podcasts are quick, practical, and inexpensive to produce, with only basic communication equipment needed to be set up.
Relevant to our current state
With distance learning being at the forefront now, podcasts are an easy way to gain knowledge, connect, contribute, and sustain knowledge-building with the shortest learning curve.
Asynchronous Streaming
Users can listen to the podcasts on their time; podcasts allow users to record sessions and listen later during their commute or break. With this, the learning process becomes more flexible without needing extra supplies/equipment.
Familiarity
Many people already listen to podcasts, so they are familiar with how they work. Employees will be accustomed to the format deployed on podcasts by their company, which ensures no surprises are thrown in at the last moment. Corporates also follow standardized engagement formats like One Host Show, Co-hosted Show, or interviews.
Information Security
Podcasts are created on the company’s internal network channel that is kept secure and robust through IP security. Companies can account for a reliable hosting service that provides password-protected directories with sufficient bandwidth and storage.
Content can be protected through encryption and uploaded to the files directory using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Secure feed creation software can be used to create feeds in a secure environment. Podcasts can be uploaded in a private cloud environment or an on-premise cloud for secure access by authorized employees.
The podcast link can also be password protected during access using a browser.
Effective for Instructional Design
As day-to-day milestones consume professionals, podcasts help define goals and objectives more informally for instructional design discussions.
The sound principles of instructional design can be applied strategically to training and performance support using podcasts. They can be used in audio scripts, questions to experts, and for illustrations effectively.
Instructional designers can formally define goals and objectives for development while discussing them informally through engaging storytelling or visualization.
Before implementing instructional design using podcasts, you need to,
- Ensure that the flow and organization of ideas makes sense
- Keep the writing clear and succinct
- Define terms before using them
Engage Remote Workers
It is challenging for a global company to engage thousands of employees dispersed all over the world. Internal Podcasts update remote employees with the latest company news and information from time-to-time, thus preventing disengagement and isolation.
Some of these Go-to applications designed specifically for long-distance podcasting can quell miscommunication and promote more inclusiveness in a corporate environment.
Metrics-based Evaluation of Employee LMS
How will you make podcasts effective in maximizing employee learning? By merging podcasts and LMS, of course!
This is a proven way of taking employee training to the next level while giving the business leaders a more skilled workforce.
Podcasts complement Learning Management Systems where context and additional supplements can be added to the learning modules employees consume. You can evaluate in real-time how effectively an employee consumes information and applies it with performance metrics. You could also test their knowledge with a follow-up quiz in the LMS.
Managers can devise performance improvement plans based on these evaluated metrics.
Employees can listen to a pending lesson or explore a concept through a podcast episode played on their way back from work. This helps in productive & flexible learning with better retention of concepts at work.
Topics that Corporates can cover in podcasts
Curating the right podcast content for employees or partners can be a great way to engage them and provide important information in a consistent, easy-to-access delivery format. Topics can be designed based on a subject matter or department-wise.
Here are areas that you can focus on.
HR Communications
Everyone has access to the generic information provided by the HR department. As a business expands, departments become more segmented and siloed. New hire orientation, foreign language, and customs are some important topics of discussion in HR comms.
A more cohesive environment can be created through podcasts where policies, company goals, achievements, job-related information, and more can be shared.
Company Culture
Internal podcasts help teams become closer and unified when it comes to the company’s brand image. The synergy between departments can be improved while employees share a common platform to exchange views and create a positive environment. Podcasts also create a cross-content platform for HR, Marketing, Operations, and other departments.
Soft Skills
Soft skills help employees communicate their ideas, products, and processes succinctly and professionally. With a fun, informative, & upbeat approach, the soft skills podcast could improve employee interactions with customers or internally while showcasing their strengths.
This podcast also helps evaluate listening skills, conflict resolution capabilities, & content creation by employees. Soft Skills podcasts also focus on demonstrating specific software procedures and applying them to a wider audience. Interviews with experts are also another area that employees find useful with these podcasts.
Training
Podcasts can be used instead of formal training to continue the connection to the material. It helps extend knowledge retention as learners gain more from a series of short training sessions instead of an extensive one-time training session. They can also be used to supplement existing training models to aid quick learning and longer retention.
C-Suite Communication
The management could host a regular podcast to provide regular company updates on the organization’s state, share the corporate vision, reiterate elements of the mission statement, discuss immediate plans, and allow everyone to align with the corporate roadmap and better connect to the management team.
Radiant Digital can help craft an internal comms strategy featuring podcasts for your training & change management needs, generate innovative podcast content, or help you implement podcast tools that are best suited for your business.
Call us today to learn how we can customize podcasts for you.