How to Engage Employee’s With an Internal Podcast
As an employer, the last thing you want to do is bore your employees with irrelevant information. In fact, that’s one of the top reasons why internal podcasts are prevalent today. An internal podcast gives employers a unique opportunity to develop authentic relationships with their team and learn who they are as people outside of your brand.
Here are some key things to keep in mind before starting a podcast as part of your companies internal communication strategy
How an internal podcast differs from a traditional podcast?
In a traditional podcast, the host is typically alone in a room talking into a microphone. They can talk about any topic that they want and there are no limitations. An internal podcast works much the same way, although it’s usually centered around a topic your employees would be interested to know more about. For example, if you own a restaurant that has opened its doors at night recently, an internal podcast could cover interesting facts about the food industry as well as how many hours your employees put in on average each week.
When should employers use internal podcasts?
One of the benefits of internal podcasts is that it gives them permission to learn more about their team as people. As long as you’re not sharing personal information or gossip, internal podcasts are a great way to learn more about your employees and what they care about.
What types of internal podcasts should employers create?
To ensure that your team will engage with the internal podcast, it’s important to consider them when creating the content. Along with being relevant to them, internal podcasts can be as simple or as complex as you want to make them. For example, an internal podcast studying employee retention could involve interviewing several different members from various departments during different points in their careers at your company. The goal is simply for the internal podcast to be interesting and informative for your employees. By leveraging internal podcasts, employers have a unique opportunity to create authentic relationships with their staff and improve brand loyalty among other things.
To create a successful internal podcast for your company here are 7 tips:
Relevance is key
Make sure the topic will resonate with everyone on staff. This way you can be assured that each episode has a certain mass appeal that should attract more eyes and ears.
Be consistent
This is the most important part of internal podcasting. Consistency breeds familiarity and that’s one factor that employees look for when exploring a new internal podcast to engage with.
Keep it professional
Since you’re creating an internal podcast, it should be treated as any other form of internal communication. Limit off-topic conversations and keep your podcasts on point with company business.
Keep Your Episodes Short
A great internal podcast is concise. Every internal podcast episode should be less than 10 minutes long so your employees can easily complete what they are listening to during their commutes, workouts, or while grabbing a cup of coffee at the office break room.
Fun is Key
It's always more fun when you're engaging in something that you enjoy doing, whether it's playing a sport or working out. Take yourself out of the equation and consider what you would want to listen to if you were just an average Joe with no affiliation to your company. With this mindset, ensure that each internal podcast has a certain level of humor or inspiration (but not too much!) so it doesn't feel like a time-waster.
Employee Interviews
If you have access to an internal communication platform, such as Slack, use it for internal podcast interviews! This will allow employees to feel more at ease and provide natural dialogue around your brand and the product.
Consider getting a host and production team
Hire a professional podcast host and production team to help you with your internal podcasts. This way, your podcast can become a company tradition. You can also have interns or fresh college graduates create internal podcasts for practice before they get the job!
Having an internal podcast can spark creativity in employees. Encourage employees to give feedback and comments on podcast episodes. Having a company internal podcast will engage employees and create a greater connection between the company brand and the internal brand.
