How an Internal Podcast Will Benefit Your Organization
Podcasts have reached an all-time high in popularity, with more than 100 million Americans listening to podcasts monthly. And, while you may be a podcast fan too, you might not make the leap to how podcasts can be used internally to benefit your company. However, while they’re not well-known due to their private nature, many companies have discovered how well-suited podcasts are for many internal communications needs.
Benefits of Internal Podcasts for Companies
Accessibility
Podcasts can be consumed on-demand--anywhere, anytime. Employees get content they need at their fingertips, so it’s always there when they need it and can be fit into their schedule. Therefore, podcasts can be a great fit for remote teams, whether distributed around the globe or working from home.
Podcasts were already an ideal solution for sales teams and other employees who spent a lot of time traveling, but with the growth of remote work, they’ve become a more essential tool. No matter the employee’s situation, the ability to listen on their schedule gives them the feeling the company honors their time. The medium brings the ultimate convenience and takes away a lot of hurdles that come with scheduling meetings and setting aside time for training or events.
Effectiveness
Communications are typically believed to be about 7% content/words, while about 38% is how those words are spoken–things like tone and inflection. This means that voice is a powerful tool for improving understanding and creating emotional resonance. Extrapolating from podcast advertising studies, listeners have high rates of both retention and action on what they hear in podcasts. When combining internal podcasts with other learning tools and resources, organizations really start to see improved results.
Efficiency
Podcasts are easy to consume and access again when different scenarios arise. Corporate podcasts enable employees to use time more effectively. They can help the organization share knowledge more widely, getting collaboration and contribution from throughout the organization. That supports a more prepared, efficient workforce. Podcasts also don’t need to be complicated to produce or manage.
Greater Appeal and Higher Engagement
Audio is an intimate form of communication.Stories help us learn and grasp complex ideas. Stories told in audio form have extra “stickiness” as they’re able to convey information using audio cues which help us understand and recall information.
We all know the feeling of “Zoom fatigue” and strained eyes from looking at screens all day. Listening to a corporate podcast can give our eyes a break while focusing on the message.
Since podcasts already have wide appeal, they offer potential for better engagement. Employees already tend to see podcasts as a way to learn and be entertained.
Use Cases: Companies Benefitting from Podcasts
Podcasts for Training and Sales Enablement
VMware uses podcasts for internal communications, training, and customer-facing education. But, their primary motivation originally was to get training information in the hands of their busy, traveling sales staff. Their LMS (Learning Management System) didn’t offer a good offline playback user experience and they wanted to provide a better solution for their salespeople. Not only did the employees like this medium and appreciate the convenience, but VMware is able to use Podbean’s user engagement intel with their system to credit employees for completing training podcasts.
For sales teams, podcasts can be ideal. Clearly, podcasts work well with their schedules and likelihood of being on the road many hours of the day. Second, salespeople often need updates and educational information to best serve their customers. Third, podcasts can include role-plays and modeling how to deal with different interactions and customer objections.
Making it Personal: More Engaging Communications with Podcasts
This quote sums up the main benefit St. James’s Place has found through podcasts serving their internal and external partners:
“We’re always looking for ways to make our communication more accessible and engaging. Where we started with internal podcasts was thinking about our partners and getting a sense of their needs and the kind of communication that would work best for them. Our partners are busy people. They’re often driving from one client meeting to another. They need to be on top of a lot of things at once. We were really excited for the potential role that podcasts could play in their routines. Helping them with their needs.”
While accessibility was the driver, it’s the engagement that has made their podcasts so popular. ”It’s a more intimate and personal way of hearing from leaders within the company that we really like in terms of bringing people closer to what we’re thinking and connecting with our audience in that different way,” shares Content Strategist Lauren Smith.
Better Support for Remote Employees and in Changing Times
Both Jostens and Signature Performance turned to podcasts when everything suddenly changed due to the pandemic. They needed to pivot to support remote teams. And, more importantly, they needed different communications strategies due to all the uncertainty and change.
Josten’s Mark Bussell sums it up: “ These channels are instrumental in our ability to help our team reach a completely different level and, and give them access to information, knowledge, and perspectives that we wouldn't have had.”
Additional ways companies are using podcasts internally:
Onboarding (such as Slalom is doing with customized playlists of episodes for new hires to quickly get up to speed and gain a real feel for the company culture)
Microlearning
CEO updates or leadership fireside chats
Team, product, or service updates
Employee or customer interviews
Roleplays
Leadership development
Stories from leaders or different departments, to give employees a sense of the larger organization, rationale for decisions, company direction, etc.
Just-in-time updates for fast-paced industries
Preparation for a training session, reinforcement/companion piece to an eLearning course or in-person training
Industry/subject matter knowledge: interviews with experts in the field (internal and external, partners, vendors, etc.), TED-like talks on key areas
Shannon Martin is Podbean’s Director of Communications and Corporate Podcast Specialist. Podbean’s Business and Enterprise solution enables companies to easily manage and securely deliver podcasts to their employees.