INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

How to communicate with their employees is important for every company. A well formulate and managed internal communication provide better access to employees. Internal communication is a collaborative effort between the corporate communication and human resources departments, as it covers topics from employee benefit packages to the company’s strategic objectives. More and more, companies are making sure their employees understand the new marketing initiatives they are communicating externally, and are uniting workforce behind the common goals and corporate strategies. This type of communication requires the expertise of strong corporate communicators who are also well-connected to senior management and the corporate strategy process.

Manager need to recognize that, if they provide information to employees and also listen to them, those employees will be excited about their work, connected to the company’s vision, and able to further the goals of the organization.

Internal communication is considered a vital tool for binding an organization, enhancing employee morale, promoting transparency and reducing attrition.

Deloitte and Touche Human Capital conducted a survey among American CEOs who were asked which HR issues are very important to the success of the organisation, 95 percent of them said “effective internal communication.” Simultaneously, only 22 percent agreed that they thought it was being delivered effectively. “I agree with the conclusions. In most organisations the quality of communication is either not effective or is absent. In the IT industry, human issues are even more important because people are an asset to the organization; their skill-sets are the capital, their mindset is the driver,” says Sanjay Mandlik, corporate champion-HR & TQM, Emerson Network Power (India). He strongly believes that the HR person should be highly qualified in understanding the communication process, and should champion it with full ownership.
Internal communication is the via media that links an organization. It is the foundation that holds the work culture, policy and processes, goals and vision together

The effort is not without its share of challenges. Reading habits of employees, the ability to understand and capture internal and external events timely, building formal and informal communication channels, and their own credibility are some of the challenges internal communication team faces.

Example: Both Starbucks Coffee Co. and Kinko’s Inc. hired outside consultants to conduct internal communication audits to identify strengths and weakness in those companies existing communication practices. Detailed questionnaires uncovered precisely how employees viewed internal communications and helped management develop possible solutions to communication problems. In addition, Kinko’s used in-person interviews and videoconferencing facilities to conduct nationwide focus groups and uncover the sentiments of employees from region to region. In addition to conducting an overarching communication audit, regular “temperature checks” of employee opinions can be valuable in ensuring that communication channels and approaches continue to meet employees’ evolving needs.

IMPORTANCE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

• It provides information and encourages sharing by driving and supporting the organization’s short-term and long-term goals and objectives.
• It ensures that these initiatives are implemented and followed at a local level.
• It ensures that knowledge-sharing and communication processes are part of the daily workflow across all functions of the business.
• It helps drive ownership and shared engagement.

Internal communication should take place as a series of steps and not as an isolated event. Well-planned and delivered internal communication can drive the culture in an organization. The most important thing is the credibility of an information source. To get the desired result from the audience, the trust factor must be strong.

While formulating internal communication strategy, the following factors should be taken care of:

• The purpose should be clear.


• The timing and medium are important.


• Language must be used carefully.


• The tools of communication should be effective.


• When people are vulnerable, their tolerance for ambiguity decreases, so they need to be told clearly to feel secure.
• Communication has to be supported by action.

The fallout of bad internal communication

Short-term impact
· Spread of misinformation.
· Erosion of employee trust and confidence.
· Conflicts between employees and management.
· Misinformed employees can make wrong decisions.
· Internal brand image suffers.

Long-term impact
· Dissatisfaction among employees leads to higher attrition.
· Lack of coherent and shared vision.
· Low employee morale results in lower productivity.
· Impact on company's stocks.
· Organisation's external brand value suffers.

Effective internal communication brings ownership, a sense of belonging, respect as well as accountability. “Insufficient communication is something like solitary confinement wherein you don’t know what is happening outside and how you are linked to those developments. This can be an extremely no-win situation for any organization,

Internal communication is much more than posting newsletters and holding pizza parties, the strategy has to be formulated by the top management in coordination with the executing team.



A SOUND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY TO INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS CAN SERVE TO:

• Optimize internal information-flow and communication across the organization.


• Augment, improve and develop existing communications through segmentation, customization and 24/7 Community access (e.g. online)


• Align employee efforts with corporate direction.


• Allow employees to make faster, cheaper and more informed decisions.


• Increase employee motivation and satisfaction.


• Provide valuable employee feedback/insight.


• Foster trust in senior management.


• Identify and tackle problems at an early stage.


• Reduce the ‘grapevine’ impact.


• Build upon the capacities of individual employees and internal teams.


• Promote access to and the effective usage of existing research resources.


• Facilitate two-way communications.

Examples of online Communication tools include:

• Corporate blogs


• Employee to senior management’ question/comment systems (usually via email)
  Forums/chat rooms, organised by topic/senior manager


• Dedicated senior management homepages on the intranet


• Web conferencing


• Video streaming of senior management presentations via the Intranet

Taking the typical example of corporate blogging, companies such as IBM, Daimler Chrysler and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein use blogs to encourage internal communication between peers. Moreover, General Motors, Boeing, SAP, Wiley and Sun Microsystems, are examples of companies that employ blogs as a means for senior level executives to express their opinions internally on topics such as business, recent company news/rumors, the operating market, competitor developments, or industry trends.


Example: JetBlue airline, it is common for employees to be on a first-name basis with senior executives. Each employees spends his or her first day at an orientation, including an hour with president and COO Dave Barger, CEO Dave Neelman, and vice president of people Vincent Stabile to talk about JetBlue brand, airline economics, how to interact with customers, as well as the fundamentals of company’s culuture and values. Many credit highly personal training and management style with JetBlue’s low annualized employee turnover rate of between 10 to 12 percent versus the industry average of approximately 20 to 24 percent.

JetBlue holds meetings on the last Friday of each month, when the president spends two hours discussing industry happenings and hosting a live Q&A session. While 200 employees typically attend in person, the video is also posted and broadcast on the intranet, generating thousands of hits from those not able to attend.

With all sophisticated technology available to communicate with employees today, such as e-mail, intranets, blogs, and satellite meetings connecting distant offices, the most important factor in internal communication begins with the manager who has a basic responsibility to his or her employees. That the responsibility to listen to what they have to say and get to know who they really are as individuals.

Successful companies recognise that their employees are the ambassadors of the firm and their brands. Here are some ideas for improving internal communication.

Ten Things You Should Do

1. Develop an open and transparent culture: - Have a system of regular briefings and consultation to keep employees informed of market trends, trading performance, business developments, emerging issues and changes.
2. Encourage and value feedback. This may include questions and suggestions that will be passed up the management chain for an assured response if they cannot be answered on the spot.
3. Use all relevant channels. Communication can embrace briefings, notice boards, internal e-mail, intranet, employee annual reports, newsletters, even corporate video and business TV.
4. Explain change. Where significant changes are under consideration, take time to explain the background and why this is important to the business and to those affected. The issues must be understood and ownership and responsibility shared.
5. Engage and involve. Your employees are also consumers and often so are shareholders. Ask them what they think of your new products, advertising campaign and new corporate identity.
6. Project and protect the brand. Corporate clothing is a good way to project the brand, but make sure this is of good quality and cleaned and replaced at regular intervals.
7. Be consistent. Ensure that internal briefings and public communication are consistent. Mixed messages make all stakeholders nervous.
8. Create role models. Acknowledge and reward the exceptional performer, winning teams and individuals who make worthwhile suggestions.
9. Live the message. Ensure that planned programmes and agreed changes roll out to schedule and that everyone, even the chairman, participates.
10. Train and train some more. Training builds skills and confidence, it can reinforce good practice. It is an investment that shows your employees they are valued.
    

Five Things You Should Not Do

1. Don’t keep people in the dark. This will only allow rumour to spread and issues to become exaggerated.
2. Don’t spin. People appreciate plain speaking and honesty. If there is a feeling that you are only telling part of the story, confidence will be undermined.
3. Don’t forget the isolated. Many companies have sales or service people in the field, branch operations and even part time workers who all need to be included in the communication loop.
4. Don’t neglect feedback. This is often the most valuable part of the communication process - it shows concern, involvement and shared ownership of issues. It can often provide insights that are not available from management ivory towers.
5. Don't panic. Public speaking can unnerve some people. Develop a training programme if this is an issue.

Reference: -

Argenti, Paul A. (2007). Corporate communication (4th ed.), McGraw-Hill Irwin, ISBN: 0072990546