Engagement Technique: Internal Podcast
Every organisation is full of interesting stories.
The person who changed careers to join the business.
The apprentice with a fresh perspective.
The manager who has been there for twenty years.
The team quietly delivering an exciting project that nobody else knows about.
An internal podcast gives those stories a voice. Whether you publish it exclusively for employees or occasionally share selected episodes externally, it’s a simple way to build connection, celebrate your people and help colleagues learn more about each other.
How it works
Create a regular podcast featuring conversations with people from across the organisation.
Episodes don’t need to be long. Fifteen to thirty minutes is often enough.
Invite employees from every level of the business, including: New starters, Long-serving colleagues, Leaders, Apprentices and graduates, Subject matter experts, Teams working on interesting projects
Topics could include: Career journeys, Lessons learned, A day in their role, What they’re working on, Advice they’d give to someone starting out, Hobbies and interests outside work, Customer success stories
The podcast can remain completely internal, or you can choose to release selected episodes publicly if they reflect your employer brand.
Why it works
People engage with people. It’s easy to know someone’s job title without really knowing the person behind it. Hearing colleagues tell their own stories builds familiarity, creates empathy and helps break down barriers between departments and seniority levels.
It also gives people a platform they may never have had before. Someone who would never volunteer to stand on stage may happily chat for twenty minutes about a project they’re proud of.
An internal podcast also creates a valuable knowledge library. New starters can listen back to previous episodes to understand the organisation, its people and its culture.
On top of this it can be a development opportunity – for team members to practice interviewing, researching guests (i.e. each other!), audio editing, production, artwork, and marketing the episodes!
What to watch out for
Keep it authentic –People want genuine conversations, not scripted corporate interviews.
Include everyone – Don’t just interview senior leaders. Some of the most engaging stories come from people who are rarely in the spotlight. Although be aware not everyone wants to be in these.
Keep episodes focused – A concise, interesting conversation is far more likely to be listened to than an hour-long discussion with no direction.
Get permission for external use – If you’re planning to share episodes publicly, make sure guests are comfortable with this before recording.
Get help for building a podcast / video content for your business
Although the engagement comes from employees working on this together, you don’t have to do this alone:
The Podcast Guys: Typically for external content, but worth a conversation about how they might support you
Loving Work: Not strictly podcast, but experts in employer brand video content
Podcast too much work? How about a magazine/newsletter? The Magazine
This post is part of our Engagement Techniques series of practical, low-cost ideas to bring more connection and meaning into work. Find the rest here
👉 Want to explore techniques like this in more depth? I run interactive employee engagement workshops where we bring these ideas to life.