There are certain skills that anyone working on or in internal communications or public relations should have, and they’re the key ingredients to learning, growing, and strengthening a business that achieves success. While some of the basic skills, such as writing and editing don’t even have to be mentioned, there are a number of other essential skills that can help companies deliver results through internal communications efforts.
Listening
One of the most important skills that people working on internal communications should have are active listening skills. This is what allows people to learn more from everyone around them, simply because they’re always going to be listening to other people’s options and ideas.
Listening also helps companies figure out what people at all levels inside a business need, and then meet those needs because the core element of internal communications is connecting with other people. Employees should also listen to the leaders—what they are and aren’t saying so that everyone in the company knows where people are at and connect with each other.
Storytelling
Another skill that’s important for people working in internal communications is thinking the way that journalists do because one of their tasks is finding stories inside the company. That means communicating with stakeholders to figure out what they care about, with employees to figure out what they need, and more.
The job isn’t all about being able to write well and edit texts, but it’s also about giving people outside of the company reasons to care and inspiring behaviors that will benefit the business through storytelling. That’s why communicators have to be able to think about the ways they can develop and deliver content in a way that’s going to be insightful, engaging, and worth other people’s time. As a skill, storytelling can be useful practically anywhere, from blog posts or social media content to emails and even presentations.
Relationship building
As Miami’s Marc Roberts notes, “One of the core elements of successful businesses is having people that are nice to work with, get their job done, prioritize relationships, and do all that in a way that makes employees happy to engage with each other. That’s why communicators have to be willing to have conversations with others and build positive relationships. That allows companies the ability to help people internally, and eventually, show the target audience, as well as the general public how they’re able to serve their communities.”
Communicators are supposed to be advocates for both a company and its employees, which is why it’s essential for them to build strong working relationships with employees across all levels. Creating those relationships will foster a foundation of trust in the workplace, along with credibility and communication that enables everyone to do their job well, and effectively.