As a company grows internationally, engagement of employees on a global level, where different languages and cultures must be taken into account, presents a more complicated set of challenges for internal communications. John Duncan, Managing Director at design consultancy, Lighthouse, explains how they have worked with international services company Wood Group to tackle these challenges.
Done well, international internal communications helps employees to understand the organisations vision, values and culture. It may involve staff members in issues that affect working life and keep employees informed about key company developments.
John said: "We are seeing a distinct rise in the number of companies we are working with that are growing internationally and are increasingly being asked to produce, print, online and corporate videos for internal and external communications in different languages, paying special consideration to cultural differences and requirements."
Lighthouse has worked with Wood Group to develop their quarterly newsletter, Wood News, to be an online and emailed multi-language e-newsletter. Wood News is now delivered internationally, extending the traditional printed distribution of the newsletter.
"Wood Group's quarterly magazine 'Wood News' is translated into several different languages including Russian, Arabic and Spanish. Translation and distribution of the newsletter globally initially presented a new challenge for both Wood Group and Lighthouse, but has worked very successfully and is now available in 12 languages worldwide."
Carolyn Smith, Wood Group Corporate Communications Eastern Hemisphere, said: "By using online technologies we can reach a wider audience than ever before. News can be distributed quickly to our global audience both online and by email, and translation and localisation allows us to make news articles relevant and accessible to staff locally, whether they are in Scotland, Latin America or Russia.
"Wood News helps our international workforce see the scale and success of the projects Wood Group are involved with.The skilled team at Lighthouse has worked with us to develop Wood News - as well as other company literature, our website and other projects - which is a very effective platform for staff to share local experiences, as well as delivering key company messages globally.
Founded in 1992, Lighthouse has worked with Wood Group to develop the company's brand and corporate communications materials for 10 years. Based in Aberdeen, the multi-disciplinary design consultancy provides business to business communication and learning solutions for a range of UK and international clients.
