Estimated reading time: 3 mins
It was not that the idea was ever dead, but in the early 1980s, there was something of a resurgence of recognizing that an organization’s greatest asset is its people. All it takes is a look at popular books of the era—In Search of Excellence: Lessons From America’s Best Run Companies, Corporate Cultures: The Rises and Rituals of Corporate Life, and The Next American Frontier—to see the organizations need to pay attention to their employees.
Incumbent upon organizations that want to pay better attention to their employees is the need to ensure that employees are properly informed of what is happening at all business structure levels. There are many ways to accomplish this, with one of the most effective being podcasts, which are possible due to Private Podcast Hosting.
Getting the Word Out
Podcasts have been used for years to broadcast meetings to large audiences, but a fresh look at the abilities of podcasting gives leaders as well as communicators at all levels of business the opportunity to not only send information but to reveal a different side of their personalities and what means the most to them.
A recent survey conducted by Edison Research showed that more than 112 million Americans listened to a podcast in 2017. That’s up from 2016 by more than 11 percent. Overall, more than 40 percent of Americans age 12 and older have tuned into a podcast at some point. Not only that, but the research also found that listeners stick with a podcast instead of turning it off after a few minutes. In fact, 85 percent of listeners stay with the entire podcast.
Podcasts and Leaders
All of this goes to show that podcasts are no longer a niche option. Instead, they are going mainstream and quickly becoming a widespread tool in leaders’ efforts to communicate with their internal audiences. Perhaps best of all, podcasts only take 15 to 20 minutes of a leader’s time to record.
Time and logistical limitations are significant factors in the ability of most leaders to deliver meaningful communications with the internal public, but most important of all is that the communications methods used—long mails and speeches—don’t often allow leaders to engage their audiences. The result is employees that can’t identify with a personal side of a leader.
Podcasts serve other benefits as well. These include being easier for leaders who find it difficult to move off script when delivering a message or are uncomfortable with being videotaped.
Using Podcasts for New Purposes
Podcasts aren’t just for top leaders. Today, many companies are using them to reach workers who are busy or located in remote areas with easily digested information. A podcast is an easily accessible format to listen to in quick and easy ways. Employees can listen to a podcast while they are driving, working out, or watching their child’s soccer game. A podcast can be as short as a minute or two and as long as 30 minutes or longer, depending on the message. All that is needed to get started is private podcast hosting, and you’re in business.
Podcasts: A New Vehicle One of the most important benefits of using podcasts is that they are a new tool in a leader’s communications arsenal. Unfortunately, when it comes to communicating with employees, the tools relied on have been payroll stuffers and email, but often, in the hustle and bustle of schedules, these fall through the cracks. Only podcasts can solve these concerns, something that both leaders and employees are looking for.
