Human Resources and Communication: The Guide to Succeeding in Your Strategy

A recent study found that nearly half of all employees (47%) have thought about quitting because of bad communication at work (Communication Studies, 2023). 

This shows how serious communication problems are in HR. When messages aren't clear, it can make employees unhappy, trust less, and even leave their jobs.

Given these challenges, the need for HR professionals to master the art of communication has never been more urgent. Whether rolling out new policies, launching development programs, or engaging in day-to-day interactions with employees, the ability to convey messages in a clear, compelling, and accessible manner is key to building a cohesive and motivated workforce.

In this article, we delve into the essentials of aligning human resources and communication, drawing from the latest objectives, tools, trends, and best practices in HR communication. By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to foster a positive work environment, and drive organizational success through effective communications.

What is HR Communication?

HR communication refers to all messages distributed by Human Resources to two distinct audiences:

• The company's employees, via internal communication - also called "employer communication" in this specific context.

• The general public (candidates, clients, investors...), as part of external corporate communication - also called "HR marketing".

Why Must HR and Communication Go Hand-in-Hand?

Beyond managing Human Resources in administrative and social terms, Human Resources have every interest in developing a real communication plan linked to their strategy.

HR and communication go hand in hand when this department must:

• Announce key company life events to employees. Completion of inspiring projects, recruitment waves, implementation of new processes and tools in the company are all moments that need to be known internally, and possibly externally.

• Communicate about job offers and recruitment in the company. With good HR communication around these elements, the Human Resources manager receives qualified applications.

• Disseminate the company's training offer to employees, to motivate them to upskill.

• Report the company's social standing to the General Management.

• Communicate externally in case of a crisis...

Whether you are an HR manager in a small, medium-sized, or large organization, you will inevitably encounter a moment when you need to communicate about your initiatives.

What are the Challenges of HR Communication?

The HR function can pursue several objectives in its communication strategy. Here are the key challenges to remember when choosing the strategy that should guide your own communication plan.

Establish a connection between management and employees

In today's organizations, it's impossible to stick to a top-down communication, where only management addresses employees. HR communication is also bottom-up.

With your communication plan, you relay messages from the field to the leadership team, so it can improve performance and daily well-being at work for employees.

Stimulate employee engagement

Sharing the company's projects and successes through good HR communication motivates your employees.

And, employee engagement is a true performance driver for the company. It has been proven that happy employees are on average 13% more productive at work (Oxford University x BT): a good reason to make sure your team wants to show up to work every day!

Promote company culture

HR communication can also aim to spread the company's mission, vision, and values.

Internally, this ensures team cohesion around a common culture for everyone. Externally, it promotes the attraction of new talents aligned with your organization's values.

Retain employees

As a result of the previous points: the more your employees are engaged in the company's life and motivated by their work environment, the more likely they are to be loyal. When thinking of attrition rates, HR communication plays a determining role in reducing your turnover rate.

Develop the organization's employer brand

In France, the UK, Germany, and Ireland, 68% of workers prioritize companies with which they share common values (Forbes). Thus, by communicating about your company culture, you boost your talent attraction strategy and your employer brand.

Not to mention that by making your culture visible to potential new recruits outside your company, you also promote a good brand image to potential clients.

All the more reason to equip yourself now with the most suitable HR communication tools for your objectives.

10 HR Communication Tools You Need to Explore

To manage HR in your communication plan, consider equipping yourself with the following ten communication tools.

Intranet

Your Intranet is a space entirely dedicated to your company's internal communication trends, and specifically to communication emanating from Human Resources. This space can be co-managed with your internal communication manager.

You can post all the HR communication content you produce: educational articles explaining your processes or good work practices, engaging and explainer videos, announcements of upcoming events...

Corporate Social Network

A corporate social network is more or less like an Intranet. However, often, this type of platform has more advanced social, exchange, and content sharing features.

This "internal" social network allows employees to exchange among themselves, without distinction between silos, but also with you, HR, and with management.

Instant Messaging

As remote work has become democratized, professional instant messaging services such as Microsoft Teams or Slack have become essential work tools in many companies.

What if you created a channel dedicated to your Human Resources communication in your instant messaging? You could then relay key information and communication content right at the heart of a space where your employees visit daily.

#people

Video

Video is THE most engaging format for your employees. An ideal format for conveying and retaining a key message, it is also versatile enough to subscribe to all your HR communication objectives.

You might consider creating:

• Interviews with employees, new recruits, teams, or your leaders, to foster team cohesion and inspirational leadership in your organization.

• Educational or onboarding videos, such as tutorials to present new HR processes and tools.

• Videos promoting your company values or CSR commitments

• Recruitment videos, to highlight interesting positions available in your organization

Internal Newsletter

Align with your company's internal communication manager if you wish to disseminate your HR communication messages in the internal newsletter.

For example, you might want to highlight:

• Your job offers or internal mobility opportunities

• Your training or onboarding plans for the coming period

• Your new employees

• The new products, services, or goals of the company

• The successes of your teams

• The surveys you wish to distribute to employees

• Invitations to upcoming internal events

Internal Posting

Posters set up in your premises, or digital screens projecting your key messages, remain perfect levers for highlighting information.

You can use them to present regulations in force in the premises, or to communicate about occasional events.

Internal Surveys and Polls

Because Human Resources communication often needs feedback from employees, launching surveys or internal polls occasionally can be interesting.

You might choose to anonymously or non-anonymously query your employees on their vision of the company's values, their perception of Quality of Work Life, or their training expectations.

And to receive their ideas daily, why not install a suggestion box in your premises?

Events

Organizing company events can be a fabulous way to disseminate your HR messages, but also to foster social dialogue in your organization.

You can choose to organize events:

• In person: meetings, seminars, team buildings…

• Remotely: internal webinars, online conferences…

Recruitment Communication Tools

All the tools you use to recruit new employees are just as many HR communication tools to use to the maximum.

To disseminate your messages, consider using:

• Your recruitment ads, on LinkedIn or job offer sites (APEC, Welcome to the Jungle…)

• Your "Career" site, or just a simple page of your website that gathers your job offers as well as content to present the company, its culture, and its recruitment processes

For example, the Disneyland Paris Careers site is particularly engaging. Filled with all the current job offers, it also reveals the behind-the-scenes of the park's professions, as well as the values and commitments of the brand. All complemented by attractive videos, to catch the visitor's eye.

Onboarding Platform

Onboarding your new recruits is a key moment to communicate with them. The goal: to welcome them properly, train them in your company's best practices, and retain them from the start.

For this, you can opt for setting up an integration platform. You then integrate the welcome booklet for new recruits, as well as training content on the culture and key processes and tools of your company.

And to make the best use of these ten tools, don't forget to always be in tune with the current HR communication trends.

The 7 Trends in Human Resources Communication

Dive into the HR communication trends of the year, and apply them to your strategy.

Employer Brand Campaigns

Also called employer branding campaigns, employer brand campaigns aim to disseminate your company culture internally and/or externally, to develop a positive image of your organization.

You can disseminate them on your company's social networks - or even on profiles entirely dedicated to recruiting talents or retaining your employees.

Employee Ambassador Programs

Also named employee advocacy programs, these programs aim to encourage employees to share content related to their experience in the company towards their own networks.

Thus, these messages reach their professional (or personal) network, and develop your brand's image among your clients but also potential candidates.

Keep in mind: an employee advocacy program requires setting up a process to help them create this content while respecting the confidentiality of certain internal company information. You must also give them enough creative freedom so that they adopt their own tone, and that the published posts are authentic.

Gamification

Gamification involves implementing game mechanics in a serious or professional context. In terms of HR communication, this technique can be applied to the events you organize.

For example, you might consider:

• Launching internal contests, in which your employees can win prizes

• Organizing prize giveaways for your employees: customer relationship prize, most efficient salesperson prize…

• Proposing team buildings based on a game mechanic: treasure hunts, olympiads…

All of which push teams towards cohesion internally.

CSR Communication

Did you know that:

• 56% of young people first look at a company's social commitments and employer branding during the recruitment phase (workplace well-being, equal opportunities, respect for diversity…)?

• 45% look at economic commitments (ethical practices, safety and quality of products and services, local and sustainable economy…)?

• Only 18% of Gen Z and 16% of Millennials believe their employers are strongly committed to fighting climate change? (Deloitte)

Your employees and potential talents, young or more senior, are indeed interested in the CSR commitments your company makes. It's up to you to communicate with them, internally as well as externally.

For this, you might consider communicating on:

• Your CSR commitments, pushing for eco-responsibility and sustainability in your company

• Your end-of-year CSR report summarizing your ecological, social, and societal achievements for the period

• Your labels and other awards related to CSR…

The Theme of Mental Health and Well-being at Work

Since the health crisis, the theme of mental health at work has become central for many employees and talents. In short: workers are increasingly concerned about the Quality of Work Life that a company can offer them.

Therefore, enrich your HR communication plan with initiatives such as:

• Workshops on stress management

• Coaching or mentoring programs to support employees in difficulty

• Awareness days on various professional psychological diseases

• Content related to mental health (right to disconnect, good practices for comfortable telework…)

Inspiring Leadership

62% of young people want to evolve alongside inspiring people, and 61% wish their managers would care about their progress (SKEMA x EY). Hence the interest in including in the heart of Human Resources communication your leaders and managers.

You can create video interviews, and speeches during internal conferences and seminars, that will inspire your employees.

On the external communication side, implement a leader advocacy strategy. This consists of encouraging leaders to speak out on their social networks. On top of helping with developing their network, the employees who follow them are inspired, just like candidates who research leaders before a job interview.

Transparency

If there's one HR communication trend to keep in mind, it's the notion of transparency.

In each of your communication supports, make sure to be authentic about your internal processes, your company's figures, your recruitment process, your compensation policy, your working conditions...

This is where having your employees and leaders themselves intervene in your HR communication is important. They become guarantees of transparency and honesty for external targets.

Human Resources and Communication: 3 Inspiring Examples

To set up a well-crafted HR communication plan, there's nothing like taking examples from companies that have become experts in the matter! Here are four inspiring ones.

Netflix

The famous distribution platform has been running WeAreNetflix, an HR communication program, on multiple channels for several years now.

On its dedicated YouTube channel, you can find semi-long interviews with employees, as well as videos highlighting the behind-the-scenes life at Netflix. On Instagram, the company's policy of inclusivity, diversity, and gender equality is clearly visible.

WeAreNetflix is even available as a podcast, where employees are invited to talk about their vision of life in the company.

HubSpot

At HubSpot, there is the establishment of a real candidate experience, and truly inspiring Human Resources communication.

On the "Careers" site of HubSpot, you can find, among other things:

• Its Culture Code, gathering all the values and missions inherent to the brand

• Advice for preparing for interviews and tests offered by the company, in the form of articles and videos

• True transparency on the recruitment process

But the company's HR communication does not stop at its website. It is found on social networks, where it posts videos in a light tone, embodying the brand through its employees:

The company has also made sure to develop its page on Welcome to the Jungle, which includes many video interviews of leaders and employees.

TikTok 

TikTok stands out for its exemplary integration of Human Resources and communication, particularly through its @LifeAtTikTok channel. 

This platform is a vibrant showcase of the company's culture, demonstrating its commitment to creating an engaging and supportive work environment. The channel is rich with employee stories, giving a personal touch to the TikTok work experience and offering an insider's view of daily life at the company. It also features recruitment events, celebrating diversity and inclusion, and sharing insights into the innovative projects TikTok teams are passionate about. By leveraging this dedicated space, TikTok not only attracts talent but also fosters a sense of community and belonging among its employees, highlighting its dedication to quality of work-life (QWL) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

To make Human Resources and communication rhyme, you first need well-defined objectives: attracting talents, developing employee engagement, retaining your employees... Mix these objectives with appropriate tools, as well as innovative trends, and a dose of creativity: here's to a successful HR communication!

You've seen it: video is an ideal format for communicating your key messages, internally as well as externally. Need a tool to design professional videos, without technical skills? Test PlayPlay now.