Internal Communications

Internal Communications

For a long time managers concentrated more on the company’s external communication, especially with customers. However, they have begun to realize that also internal communication is very important, recognizing, that employees have more to do with the company’s success than any other constituency.

Internal Communications and the Changing Environment

Not only has the business environment changed but also the attitude of employees. Today they are more interested in what their company is doing and like to participate in decisions, or at least to be informed about changes. With those expectations, good internal communication is a must to keep employees satisfied. Additionally, informed employees are more productive, as they know what they are working for.

Organizing the Internal Communication Effort

In order to set up an internal communications improvement program, to access effectiveness of internal communication, the first step is to find out what the employees’ opinion about the company is. For this an internal communication audit can be helpful. Firstly, goals for effective internal communication should be set up, for example to reinforce employees´ belief that they are important for the company. Furthermore one should think about where the report should go to. It might be a good idea if the report does not only go to the human research department but also to corporate communications, as both should be concerned about it. After the program is implemented regular checks on employee satisfaction can help to improve the existing program and therefore the internal communication.

Implementing an Effective Internal Communication Program

In the following, seven steps for implementing an effective internal communication program are described.
1. Communicate up and down
A company should also communicate downwards instead of only upwards, to the management, to keep the employees informed, what is going on the company. Additionally managers should tale the time to listen to employees’ thoughts and concerns.
2. Make time for face-to-face meetings
Regular meetings, of the senior management with employee groups, ensure that employees have access to the management. In these regular meetings the management can share company results with the employees and progress on key initiatives as well as demonstrate responsiveness to employee feedback.
3. Communicate online
Another way to stay in contact is over the internet. A company could for example offer an online platform to exchange thoughts, ideas, concerns, as well as information and feedback. Since the 1990´s Intranets are used in firms to communicate inside the company. However one has to be careful that employees are not overloaded by information, as they receive a lot of E-Mails every day and may not be able to decide which subject is important and which not.
4. Create employee-oriented publications
Another way of sharing information is through the print medium. Examples are monthly newsletters or magazines.
5. Communicate visually
Due to most employees’ preference of visual media, a company should consider to communicate via web casts or multimedia presentations.
6. Focus on internal branding
Internal branding builds up the morale and engages employees with their jobs.
7. Consider the company grapevine
Communication does not only occur over formal channels, in fact most of the communication is informal talking.

Management’s Role in internal communications

It is very important that CEO’s and senior leaders of companies understand the importance of internal communication. Especially because they are the “culture carriers” and visionaries within a company, they need to set a good example. Isolation of the upper management to the employees has to be avoided. A nice statement of Robert Dilenschneider explains this situation perfectly: ”They’ll need to get off their private jets and fly with everyone else.”

Conclusion

Basically it all comes down to one conclusion: managers need to get out from behind their desks and go out and get to know the people who are working for them. Even with all the technology available to communicate with employees, the most important factor of internal communication begins with the manager. He has to show responsibility for the employees and has to listen to what they say. In today’s business environment companies have to improve their internal communication, otherwise they cannot stay competitive.

Experiences:

I experienced the importance of internal communication during my apprenticeship. Sometimes, when I asked why things are done in this particular way, I got the answer because the chef told us so. Sometimes it was boring work and it was not done very productive as, nobody wanted to do it. In my opinion, if the senior had explained why this particular task is important and for what it needs to be done, the motivation to accomplish the task would have been higher, and therefore more productive.

I also experienced a good example of internal communication during one of my internships. The company Metro Group Logistics (MGL) has its own intranet with its own information for employees. Employees will be informed about what is going in the company itself, as well as in the field of commerce. Additionally the company has several bulletin boards to keep its employees informed. Those bulletin boards can also be used for communication between employees.


Links:

Basics in internal organizational communications
http://www.managementhelp.org/mrktng/org_cmm.htm#anchor466854

Internal communication strategies:
http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm

The homepage of Metro Group Logistics:
http://www.metrogroup.de/servlet/PB/menu/1000098/index.html