8 Things Every Internal Communicator Should Do To Prep for the End of the Year

The definitive list of things every end-of-year comms plan should include as 2024 closes and 2025 begins, according to our in-house experts.

It’s that time of year where you’re stuck in a liminal space between getting excited for the Holiday season and getting stressed about all the things you need to get done before the Holiday season.

We wanted to share a definitive list of things you should probably do now to save yourself the panic later.

Who better to ask than our very own experts in all things internal comms, employee engagement, and EX?

Nobody, that’s who. So here’s what they said!

1. Prep yourself

Obviously, a pretty big chunk of this list is going to be preparatory in nature. But this is a definitive list, remember, so let’s get even more granular.

A) Messaging musts

Shona recommends setting up a comms calendar specific to the remaining months of the year. It needs to be super strategic. 

“During this time, everyone tends to think their message is the most important and that everything needs to be communicated before the end of the year,” Shona says. “However, the majority of the time, these things are better communicated in the new year when people aren’t winding down, focused on hitting end-of-year goals, or preparing for end-of-year performance reviews.” 

Paul adds, “End of year usually coincides with Q4, an organization's busiest time of the year, so thinking about the messaging for these now can greatly protect a communications professional from having their messages become lost in a barrage.

“By developing a comprehensive content calendar that takes into account important deadlines, holidays, and workflows, communicators can ensure that messages are delivered clearly and on time, helping the organization stay on track during this busy period.”

B) Metrics analysis

Margaret stresses the importance of analyzing metrics. She shares, “As we approach year-end, internal communicators should prioritize a comprehensive analysis of their communication metrics. This data-driven approach is crucial for refining strategies and demonstrating value.

“Start by examining key performance indicators: open rates, engagement levels, and content performance across various channels. This analysis will reveal which strategies resonated with employees and which areas need improvement.”

Margaret adds that when presenting this information, you should tailor your approach for different audiences.

For your team:

• Provide detailed breakdowns of content performance
• Analyze channel effectiveness
• Discuss emerging trends in employee engagement

For C-level executives:

• Create a concise executive summary
• Focus on ROI and business impact
• Use clear visuals like infographics or dashboards to illustrate key points

“In your executive summary, highlight how internal communications have enhanced employee engagement, supported key business objectives, and improved operational efficiency. This analysis serves dual purposes: it reflects on the past year's performance and sets the stage for strategic planning. Use these insights to make data-backed decisions for resource allocation, refine your communication strategy for the coming year, and justify investments in new tools or approaches.

“By doing this analysis now, you're not just preparing for the end of the year - you're setting your team up for success come January. Trust me, your future self will thank you!”

2. Prep others

As we’re all painfully aware, this is one of those times of the year when internal communicators get pulled in all sorts of directions. Much like a Christmas cracker. Or the wishbone from your Thanksgiving turkey.

Horrible mental images aside… remember that you’re also managing expectations and the deadlines of others at this busy time, on top of your own.

What does Shona advise? She says, “Work with internal stakeholders to help them understand what messages need to go out before the end of the year and what would be better held until the new year. 

“Work with them to determine what colleagues need to know before the end of the year, and what’s a nice-to-know. 

“If we can push messaging out because it’s not urgent or not relevant to close out the year, then we 100% should. That message will get more air time being issued at a time that isn’t already oversaturated.”

3. End-of-year review

On the topic of ‘need to know’, pretty much all of our Expert Services team stress the importance of an end-of-year review.

For Shona, this can either be something for just the internal comms team to present back to leadership, or a company-wide project co-developed with leadership to involve every employee.

She says, “Putting together some sort of wrap-up for the year that just passed is going to be super important and lays the foundations for how we see the next year starting off. You’ll also need to think about who’s sending this, what will be included, and how you’re going to issue this message.”

4. All of the Rs

I don’t know why, but our Expert Services team loves the letter R. Maybe getting to the root of that will be my next question for them…

For now, here are all the R things they recommend. In addition to the Rs we already covered, that is.

A) Eddie’s 3 Rs

Eddie thinks you should ‘review, re-calibrate, and reward’. He says, “Plan for 2025 based on what you were able to accomplish in 2024. Use leadership meetings to provide targets and KPIs for the comms team, and ask whether the team’s current and future workloads are sustainable.”

• Review – Milestones, team performance, content engagement, leadership output, employee feedback
• Re-calibrate – Adjust your goals and priorities for 2025 based on what you find in your review
• Reward – Host employee awards for 2024, with nominations open company-wide and the winners celebrated for their achievements

B) Reflect

Similarly, Nicolette recommends that internal communicators use this time to reflect.

In addition to Eddie’s recommendations, she adds that reflecting on the purpose, performance, and relevance of your content channels and content performance is key.

She also recommends reflecting on your team’s satisfaction. For example, work with HR and other relevant teams to understand if surveys were delivered using the right methods to collect accurate and actionable feedback.

C) Recover

Leah wants internal communicators to prioritize recovering as we approach year-end. Not only is it crucial to maintain your wellbeing and prevent burnout, it’s also an important way of encouraging others to do the same.

She says, “Take the lead-by-example route on what deep rest looks like for your team. Unplug and take care of your parasympathetic nervous system. If this is a key to unlocking professional athletes' peak performance, we should be taking notes as business professionals.”

It may seem contradictory, Leah adds, but this recovery time is also key to re-energizing as a team. “This is a necessary piece of the high-performance puzzle. You’ve paused and reflected; now, it’s time to return to those roadmaps. Saddle up and do what you do best as an internal comms expert with better focus and a clearer vision.”

5. Ask yourself Qs

As you look ahead to 2025, get curious. Nicolette recommends asking yourself such questions as…

• What decisions will we make on channels and delivery?
• How will we excite employees to get re-engaged and energized to be one team in the new year?
• What role will leadership play in demonstrating what success and engagement look like?
• What new traditions and rituals can we carry out?
• How do we build a diverse comms schedule that includes the DEI calendar?
• What will our continued relationship with people teams look like?
• What are the goals we’re trying to achieve? How will we report back on them, and to who?

6. Say thank you, and make it meaningful

It can be all too easy to believe that highlighting achievements in a year-end review automatically counts as a thank-you to your teams, but that’s not necessarily true.

This is the perfect time of year to dedicate a big portion of your internal comms to showing clear appreciation and recognition, and one of the best ways to do that is through your leadership team.

Barbara says, “Get your leaders in front of the camera!

“In addition to being a time to celebrate, depending on the industry, year-end can be exceptionally busy, intense or stressful. It’s a great opportunity for leaders to put out genuine and authentic video content with personal, empathetic messages thanking their employees for their hard work, sharing motivational messages tying back to company values, or recapping all that’s been accomplished together throughout the year. 

“Remember those videos don’t have to be highly produced – in fact, lo-fi short clips work best. So start mapping out some meaningful year-end video content with your leaders! 

“Bonus points if those videos are shot on-site, shoulder to shoulder, with employees. Get them out to your Distribution Centers, Retail stores, and other frontline cohorts.”

If video just isn’t your thing, but you’re a stationery nerd like Nicole, she suggests designing and sending a package of branded stationery (with postage pre-paid!) to every employee with a call to action: ‘Write and send to five colleagues who helped make your 2024 a success’.

These are great examples of the different ways you can actively build a culture of recognition.

7. Motivate

Alongside your year-in-review, meaningful thank-yous, rewards, and recovery period, there are even more ways to motivate your team during this critical time.

Here’s what Nicole suggests.

Digitalize + gamify

• Build a 2024 trivia game of the company's year in facts (sales figures, employees, building square footage, number of new customers, articles, impressions, etc.) 
• Design a digital timeline of all the year's milestones – a fun, visual way to show all the work and success 
• Create a digital message wall and invite employees to post a message, photo, and more.

Host an event

• As well as a company awards ceremony, highlighting all the ‘bests’ of the year –  best company values, stats, and wins, for example – host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) with your CEO and other leaders focused on recapping 2024 and looking ahead to 2025

Nicole adds, “Making it true to your organization is the fun part! Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate all the wins of 2024.”

8. How can Workvivo help?

As their team name might suggest, our Expert Services crew is pretty knowledgeable in how and where Workvivo can help organizations with end-of-year comms.

Here’s what Nicole in particular recommends.

• Do a Workvivo takeover with all your wins! Create an asset pack to take over the platform for a big splash. Include a main banner, default profile banner, custom widget, and more
• Host diverse types of content: Deliver a podcast or video, encourage colleagues to do a ‘Say Hi’ to 2025 
• Name your 2024 Wrap Up and spin up a service account to deliver a drip campaign with daily posts about memorable moments
• Create a 2024 Album (Gallery) for all to contribute to
• Create a Workvivo global page to share memories, achievements, and more 
• Create a digital message wall (billboard and hashtag on Workvivo)
• Use the survey feature if you’re planning some gamification

For a deeper dive into all things Workvivo, schedule your free demo today!

Workvivo’s Expert Services team, the wizards behind our Boost Program, comprises Internal Comms & Engagement Consultants and Community Managers who help some of the world’s biggest organizations deliver exceptional employee experiences. So, yeah, they have loads of tips, tricks, and insights to share based on their decades of first-hand industry experience. Good thing we’ve nabbed them for this exclusive series!

Book your Boost Program demo here.