Developing an internal communications strategy

CLIENT: SAINT FRANCIS HOSPICE

We were delighted to work with Saint Francis Hospice, one of the UK’s largest adult hospices, to review their internal communications approach. The charity has a large staff and volunteer team of over 1,000 people across multiple sites, and it was vital to gain everyone’s thoughts.

Graphic that says Saint Francis Hospice is one of the UK's largest adult hospices in the UK.

The challenge

Saint Francis Hospice, one of the largest adult hospices in the country, has a large staff and volunteer team of over 1,000, based across its hospice site, community settings, and the charity’s 15 retail shops.

The Hospice wanted to find a way to engage the large numbers of staff and volunteers who don’t have a desk-based role, and to ensure that everyone across the organisation felt they were being communicated with in a way that best met their individual needs. The hospice had already conducted research that showed pride in their teams was at an all time high.

Keeping everyone informed was particularly important as the Hospice prepared to celebrate it’s 40th year, and with a new organisational strategy in development.

An ariel photograph of Saint Francis Hospice. Really Good Things created an internal communications strategy for the charity

What we did

We conducted a comprehensive review of the charity’s internal communication processes, messaging, and channels. We were looking for ways to maximise efficiency and budget for the Hospice, as well as find ways to ensure everyone was engaged, even when they didn’t have a desk-based role or struggled to access tech such as emails.

  • We spoke to teams and department heads across the organisation to gain in-depth insights

  • Reviewed regular internal communications tools used, including newsletters

  • Developed an internal survey to give everyone the opportunity to give their thoughts

  • Spoke with the senior management team to understand the direction for the organisational strategy, and the communication needs

  • Conducted top-level research of the local charity market to understand the Hospice’s unique positioning

  • Developed a messaging framework aligned to the organisation’s strategy

  • Created a final report and recommendations to the Hospice’s Head of Communications

Services: stakeholder engagement, communication channel review, survey and interviews, narrative development, strategy creation, review and recommendations

Image of a nurse at Saint Francis Hospice, wearing a pink uniform and making a heart shape with her hands. Really Good Things is a specialist strategy and communications consultancy for charities including hospices

The difference we made

“We undertook a competitive tender for this internal communications review, and we wanted to work with a communications partner that really understood the not for profit sector. We decided to appoint Really Good Things because of their specialist knowledge, experience of the team, and the past projects they’ve completed.

We worked with Really Good Things across the first half of this year and have found the communication to be great. Around halfway through the project we decided to reframe the objective and they were open and flexible to pivot where necessary. We are very happy with the final result.” Jules Knowler, Head of Marketing and Communications.

“We decided to appoint Really Good Things because of their specialist knowledge.

We are very happy with the final result.”

SAINT FRANCIS HOSPICE


 
 

Really Good Things is a specialist impact + communications consultancy working with charities, NHS Trusts, and social care organisations. If you’re wondering how to develop your internal communications and employee engagement strategy, we can help.

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