I can’t stop talking about the power of internal podcasting for organizations - which you know if you listened to my last episode! I’m hoping I’ve sold you on the immense benefits and now you’re ready to dive in. If so, this is the episode for you.
Today, I’m going to share the five content areas you’ll want to focus on first when getting your internal podcast started. From onboarding to spotlights to learning and development, these easy-to-execute content ideas will have you up and running before you know it.
By the end of the episode, you’ll learn:
The five areas you must consider when starting an internal podcast.
How to utilize short episodes to eliminate siloed decision-making.
The L&D trick to ensuring employees are plugged into the right content at the right time.
The most overlooked opportunity that will completely transform your onboarding experience.
P.S. Are you just hearing about internal podcasting or aren’t sure it’s the right fit for your company? Definitely start with episode 11, where I uncover the reasons it truly is the future of internal communications. I promise you won’t regret it!
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Here's the edited transcript:
5 Content Ideas for Internal Company Podcasts
Onboarding
Founding story: the why behind what you do
Company mission
Company vision
Company values
Company strategy, including company-wide goals
How we do things around here: meetings (how they’re structured, why we have them), vacation time, current initiatives whether they are a company-wide focus or the focus of a specific team, using Slack.
Meet the team: everyone from leadership to management to coworkers and consultants. It’s like shadowing - without the actual shadowing.
Team Updates - decide on a schedule for team or project updates, then stick to it.
A replacement for water cooler talk. It’s not just personal - water cooler talk is also how many got their information around what was happening on different teams when in a physical office.
Breakdown silos - transparent communication is such a huge part of breaking down the silos between teams. When we can understand the struggles other teams are facing, we can be more empathetic to their needs and requests. It also helps us make better-informed decisions and can help create alignment in strategy.
Celebrate wins!!!
Give more airtime to employees who aren’t the team lead.
Learning & Development
Themed playlists. skill, mindset, or behavior-focused. Maybe you want the team to improve their understanding of and ability to make decisions quickly. A playlist of specific episodes would get everyone on the same page quickly without having to get everyone together at the same time.
Develop entire scalable programs. When I set out to build the management training program I wish I had when I was a director of P&C, I knew audio would be the foundation of everything. And the response has been incredible from HR and L&D leaders who have been looking for a scalable, accessible way to support their managers in building the fundamental competencies needed to be in that role! Whether you’re tapping into a program like mine or creating your own, audio is the perfect format for both cohort and individual training.
It allows your team to access the “teaching” portion of the training at their own pace, allowing you to maximize the valuable time the group has together (whether remote or in-person) to facilitate reinforcement of the themes through discussion, activities, and more. No more bringing people together on a Zoom call to listen to a PowerPoint. If that doesn’t sell you on the concept, I don’t know what will!
Meet the Team
This is one of my favorite uses of an internal podcast, and it’s one that can easily be overlooked.
Offsites and in-person meetups strengthen relationships because it helps us get to know our coworkers as people outside of their title and role. This is more scalable with a podcast!
Individual interviews. Featured questions with multiple answers. Get to know a specific role.
Storytelling
There are few methods of learning and behavior change more powerful than stories. Stories are powerful. They give us access to a universe of experiences; they allow us to see the world from other people’s perspectives; they carry and inform the cultural and behavioral narratives in which we believe and upon which we act. In a world hungry for connection, podcasts give your organization the ultimate tool for disseminating them with the least friction possible.
“How we do things around here” is better shown than told. “It’s safe to fail.” Cool - my last job said that too, and it wasn’t true. I learned the hard way. How do you reverse that thinking? Tell stories of actual failures in the company and how they were embraced.
Core Values. Example: Customer needs about all else. Story of buying clothes and going to the clients office last minute.
Not just value-specific. Thinking about things like problem-solving, decision making, and emotional intelligence in action at your company. A podcast is a perfect way to showcase these things in action through real-life examples.
Recruitment & Employer branding. People want to know “what it’s like to work here.” Repurposed content from the podcast can help you (with permission and sensitivity) do just that!
