Internal Communications

Internal Communications

Internal Communications and the Changing Environment

•The workplace today is different – tighter staffing, longer hours, greater workloads, and more emphasis on performance are the norms.
•The increasingly complex and highly competitive nature of today’s business environment puts greater pressure on employees and also calls for concerted effort in the area of internal communications.
•Today’s employees are increasingly demanding participation in the conversation that is driving the organizational change. In this light, communication should be a two-way process wherein employees’ feedback will be taken and the senior management act upon it.
•Both the long-term and short-term fallout of ineffective internal communication can be damaging for an organization. It can start from the spread of rumors to disillusionment among employees to a gradual destruction of the company’s brand image. Worse, it may also lead to the slow death of the organization.
•Strong internal communications can increase workforce loyalty and productivity and thus will playa vital role in the company’s employee retention and overall success.

Experience: I previously worked for Connoisseur Electronics Private Ltd, Bangalore in the marketing department as a marketing executive. We used to have daily meetings, weekly reviews and feedbacks from the management. Through the effective use of internal communications we had a chance to meet the CEO every weekend and discuss the problems that we face each week. The CEO’s effective feedback was very helpful for both the salespeople and the company.
http://www.connoiseur.com/connoi/index.php

Implementing an Effective Internal Communication Program

•Communicate Up and down - When implementing an internal communication program, it is important for management to take into consideration the importance of up and down communication. Effective communication cannot happen if high-level managers isolate themselves physically and psychologically from employees. Many managers do not encourage upward and downward communication. Thus, effective internal communications can generate a dialogue within the company, fostering a sense of participation in the minds of all employees. Informal discussions are a good approach for communication between employees and supervisors.
•Making Time for Face-to-Face Meetings - Holding meetings with large groups of employees is only one means of ensuring employees have access to senior management. Here, management should communicate company results, progress in key initiatives, and responsiveness to employee feedback. In these face-to-face meetings, employees have the opportunity to ask management questions in an open forum.
•Communicate Online - Online communication is increasingly important in companies. Intranets are an important way to communicate with employees; they provide a fast channel through which companies can reach their employees quickly and broadly. At IBM, employees can log on to a discussion forum online and discuss issues real-time. Management used this technology to identify and formulate IBM's new culture - to find out what employees think IBM should be and what it is. Later, management formulated the new culture, mission, and vision based on employees' feedback. Of course, communication technology can also distract people from their every-day work.
•Employee Oriented Publication - Creating employee-oriented publications means to not only focus on online methods, but also on print communications. This is particularly important if employees have no e-mail access. Organizations have to realize that they are competing with other media sources when they try to get their attention. Hence, the ideal corporate internal publication should connect employees with happenings beyond their local surroundings; it should discuss important accomplishments across the whole company, and give employees a sense of the company's direction and strategy.
•Communicate Visually – Various constituencies like the consumers, investors,etc today increasingly get their news from television and computers rather than from newspapers, employees are becoming more visually oriented in their consumption of information. As a result, many companies have developed powerful intranets as ways to communicate with employees. For example, Jet Blue holds meetings with employees and its president once a month. The meeting is broadcasted to all locations of Jet Blue via intranet-video. Thus, not only the people in the headquarters can participate, but also employees in off-site locations. Expenditures in communication technology are an investment in the firm - they make employees feel more connected to management’s decisions.
•Internal Branding - Internal branding is important to building morale and creating a workplace where employees are committed to their jobs. Management should try to sell the company to its employees in the same way as it sells its products to customers. Especially in times of organizational change (merger, acquisition), internal branding is critical. Internal branding campaigns should also be launched when internal communication audits reveal that employees are not connecting with a company's vision or when morale is low. Since marketing starts from inside out, branding should start with the employees. If they are not reflecting the brand, it could be destructive for the whole company.
•Consider the company’s grapevine - The senior management should consider the importance of company grapevine, an informal communications network including everything from private conversations between employees to the latest stories shared in the cafeteria. It is a major communication vehicle - same as official meetings. Especially if employees do not receive timely and complete information from their employers, they will have no choice than to rely on one another and on external sources. Surveys should be conducted, and the stronger the sense of trust, the less often employees will have to rely on company grapevine as source of information. Senior management should be aware it is a "culture carrier" and visionary within a company.

For example, Hewlett Packard deploys ShortCycles E-Service for Sales-Force Communications targeted for Use by 15,000 HP Worldwide Sales Personnel and Channel Partners - Company Operations. “The ShortCycles-based ESP solution allows our sales representatives and channel partners to find the exact information they need more quickly and easily," said Steve Baker, HP's worldwide sales communication manager. "We estimate the time savings alone at more than $25 million annually, but the biggest impact ShortCycles delivers is giving our reps more time to spend with customers. That time translates into improved relationships, shortened sales cycles and increased sales."
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