Much has been written in the post-pandemic years about how to keep remote workers engaged with an organisation. But a much less trodden and equally important topic is how to do the same with workers in satellite offices.

The pandemic saw numerous firms, like WPP and Barclays, decentralising their offices, as remote working became normalised and people left major cities.

If not well managed, working in a satellite office can leave staff feeling isolated or disconnected from the heart of the organisation. For internal communicators, ensuring this doesn’t happen can help to create a cohesive, unified workforce and in turn, bring a host of business benefits.

For over a decade I have worked predominantly in relatively small Manchester-based offices for London-headquartered companies and in that time have seen good and bad practice.

Though different types of organisations pose different challenges, there are some key principles that can help internal communicators keep the satellites connected:

• Ensure leadership engagement. In any organisation operating in multiple locations, there is a risk of those in satellite offices becoming disengaged if they never or rarely see and hear from the business leaders. As an internal communicator, encouraging the organisation’s most senior leaders to visit these offices in person, conduct virtual calls, and show awareness of and support for their contribution, can go a long way. It gives the company leadership an opportunity to explain the business vision and strategy and demonstrate how they fit into it, as well as connecting on a more human level.
  
  

• Encourage peer-to-peer collaboration. Satellite office teams can easily become siloed, which in time can lead to them being forgotten about, wasting valuable opportunities to use their skills. By deliberately fostering connections between colleagues across multiple offices, companies can generate much greater awareness of the skills, experience and personalities that sit in different parts of the country, resulting in much greater collaboration. Clearly platforms like Teams, Zoom or Slack can facilitate real-time collaboration across multiple locations, but also specialist internal comms platforms have multiple ways of encouraging this, through special interest groups, for example, where peers in certain roles or with shared interests can learn from each other. This greater sense of connection to colleagues can increase their loyalty to the organisation as well as encouraging more collaborative professional output.
  
  

• Get them to the HQ. Though not possible with all organisations, regularly getting colleagues from satellite offices to visit the headquarters can reap rewards. At my own employer, the monthly all-team meeting sees team mates from across the country descend on London for a range of business updates. On paper the rail fares or hotel bills may look like an unnecessary cost, but the value created by that regular face-to-face engagement with everyone in the business, the culture it creates and opportunities it spawns, go way beyond that. Contrast that with the potential cost of a disengaged, underperforming and disloyal office full of people, and there is no doubt that if the structure of an organisation allows it, expediting regular visits to the company headquarters is a must.
  
  

• Consider their differences. Satellite offices often operate in unique cultural or market contexts. Internal communicators should take care to understand these contexts and take them into account. Though ensuring all teams are aligned with the overall purpose and vision of the organisation, generic, one-size-fits-all messaging can alienate people rather than engage them, so comms should reflect a good understanding of the dynamics of each office, their challenges and achievements.
  
  

• Give them a voice. Make sure each office is able to communicate their own contributions and successes in a visible way. Whether it is through company newsletters, the intranet, all-team meetings or leadership updates, by giving these employees a platform, they will feel much more valued. To facilitate this, it can be helpful to nominate internal comms champions or liaisons in each office to be the bridge between local efforts and central employee communications.

Internal communicators hold a vital role in bridging the gap between headquarters and satellite offices. By carefully considering how they communicate with these teams, and allowing them to communicate with the wider organisation, they can contribute to a stronger culture and a more unified workforce.