If you have an internal communication strategy in place in your workplace, one that is transparent and open, this not only displays your sound management integrity but is a pro-active approach to building a culture of better directed, more committed and efficient employees.
Most businesses develop sound communication methodologies for talking to their customers, their stakeholders and the public. They see this strategy as a given and usually embed these processes and protocols into their business' strategic plan.
However fewer businesses address internal communication in the same way. Internal communication often occurs reactively, when there is a crisis, upheaval or major event - like an organisational restructure, downsizing, technological changes, introduction to a new CEO and the like - that management feel needs to be communicated to staff. The decision as to what should be communicated to staff, and when and how, is often made by individuals within the business when the need arises.
This ad hoc approach is uncoordinated, inconsistent and can offer the business a short term solution only.
Most successful businesses, irrespective of size, are built around their workforce understanding their organisation's mission, goals, values, processes and procedures. This enables their workplaces to operate more cohesively.
You can't expect this to happen via word of mouth or spasmodic communication. Having an internal communication strategy in place ensures that the formal two-way communication mechanisms between management and staff are clearly defined.
Your strategy must be closely aligned to your business' organisational strategy, and the ability to harness all your organisation's communication resources when required. It is also very important that all management display appropriate behaviour and verbalise what is consistent with the messages that are being conveyed via your business' communication methodologies.
The benefits of an internal communication strategy
Internal communication can:
- create a workplace where all your employees are in the loop, working towards the same goals, and by the same rules
- ensure everyone from top to bottom of the organisation hears the same consistent messages
- encourage a sense of belonging in all staff, being part of common ethos or work culture, being privy to what is going on and why and therefore sharing a common vision or understanding
- enable all staff to be able to articulate the business' goals
- ensure the most efficient use of scarce or limited resources
- prioritise between conflicting demands and gives clear direction for everyday activity
- support business objectives and helps drive change
- identify the drivers of change within your business and the best means of dealing with them
- enable a review of existing organisational activity and provides milestones against which to measure future success
- reduce the capacity for conflict or ambiguity of messages or ideas and therefore has the potential for reducing workplace conflict
- encourage and build knowledge sharing into the organisational culture
- promote a clear, shared understanding of any change process
- gain commitment to any change process
- minimise misunderstanding and misinformation about any company practice or change
- counteract unnecessary staff anxiety about change
- improve staff's understanding of and response to each other's needs
- make more effective daily decisions that are aligned with the business' goals
- motivate performance by linking individual and team efforts with the "bigger picture" and by recognising the desired behaviours and effort throughout the business
Ron Krueger, PR & Communications Manager for Australian Business Limited elaborates. "Though an internal communication strategy tends to be employed in larger organisations it is absolutely essential if your business has 5 staff or more. Open communication is the foundation for effectiveness within any business. The idea behind implementing such a strategy, particularly in larger organisations, is to alleviate the problems often associated with individuals within segments of an organisation building empires. It assists in breaking down this silo mentality that can often destroy an organisation's culture.
What a business should be endeavouring to do with such a strategy is build up a strong communication culture within their organisation. In essence it needs to be driven very much by whoever is at the helm of that organisation. For a large organisation this may be the CEO or Managing Director. For a small business it may well be the business owner or manager.
It's a case of creating a two-way flow of information so that the message(s) emanating from the CEO or business owner filters down to the staff so they get a better understanding of the purpose, goals and direction of the business. There also needs to be some sort of mechanism in place for feedback so that the individual in the organisation can have their say. It's all about improving communication across the business, elevating the profile of the CEO and enabling feedback from staff."
Key elements of a sound internal communication strategy
It is critical to ensure that your strategy is organisational driven and not communication driven. Your business' internal communication activity should never be an end in itself - it should serve and be aligned with your organisational objectives. This in itself will help to reinforce the importance and relevance of internal communication. Your staff must feel that communication in your business is a two-way process designed to take account of their views, no matter what mechanisms are used for sending out information.
A sound communication plan should:
- enable a two-way process of discussion between staff and management
- be integrated with the business' overall strategy
- have long term focus
- have clear values and goals
- be comprehensive and utilise appropriate mediums
- have consistent messages which never talk down to staff, or are veiled in what they reveal or don't reveal
- involve the management team in being committed to reinforce the perceptions conveyed by the communications strategy
Internal communication strategies - some guidelines
The most successful internal communication strategy is one that has been identified as the most appropriate for your type of business. It may take the form of a single medium, typically an intranet or email newsletter. You may choose to utilise an integrated approach, using multiple methods each with consistent messages. For example typical written communication to staff can be paper-based or electronic in the forms of intranet, online newsletter, email bulletin or a printed newsletter.
You must also recognise that communication across the business is not necessarily a tangible thing. Messages can be sent to staff in the way your business operates, how it treats its clients, the decisions it takes and so much more. Subtle messages can be perceived and interpreted in management behaviour. This is why it is so important for management to be seen to "walk the talk."
Your business' goals and messages should be seen consistently in all policies and procedures. Your management team should communicate these messages consistently in staff training, performance appraisals, team or individual work in progress meetings, management and staff meetings, in slogans and on internal billboards and notice boards and via company recognition programs.
Encouraging the best flow of information and opinion in your business requires thoughtful consideration, analysis and planning. From the outset appreciate that what you plan on doing may involve cultural change and understand and plan for the ramifications of this. Be prepared to try different communication mediums until you identify the one that effectively engages your staff in better internal communication practices.
If you are developing a new communication strategy for your business these issues need to be considered:
- Is there an existing communication process? If yes, is it possible, or necessary, to integrate the new with the old? If no, then what information products/services exist and how are they currently managed and organised?
- Who currently creates and disseminates information in the business?
- What needs to be communicated? Stakeholders may have different needs - an opportunity, an issue, an announcement, and each need may require a different communication medium.
- Who does it need to be communicated to? Who are the stakeholders? Who has a vested interest in receiving or giving information?
- When does it need to be communicated?
- Who needs to communicate it?
- What is the intended result(s) of any or all communication exercise(s)?
- What culture is needed or wanted?
- What do you need to do and why?
- What internal communication tools or mediums are already available?
- How will each medium be used?
- What is the required frequency?
- Are there any factors that will impact the success or failure (e.g. people, time, budget, available tools, linguistic or cultural differences, interdependencies, etc)
- If so, have you identified strategies to respond to these appropriately?
- Who will "manage" the accountability for the communication?
- How will you determine, or measure the effectiveness of the communication strategy?
Planning the process
- Develop a story answering the questions – how have you communicated to staff in the past; how and why did that have limitations?
- Agree the "givens" up front - what happens next, how will you do it and who is responsible for what?
- Set measurable communication objectives that are aligned with your business goals.
- Have an integrated approach. Work interdependently with your marketing and PR strategies and stay across the total business' strategy.
- Identify key internal communication "holders" who can drip-feed information to the communication process in a timely manner.
- Engage senior management in the initiative and lock in their support.
- Encourage enthusiasm and commitment and engage staff across all areas of the business.
- Identify key spokespeople and ensure they are informed and supportive of the strategy and will always be accessible.
- Develop processes and schedules to support strategy.
- Ensure you have processes in place to measure processes and performance.
- Determine what mediums - online or print - are suited to which goals.
- Tailor your communication medium(s) to the level of time and human and financial resources you have available.
- Consider if new writing or verbal skills may need to be developed in line and consistent with a new desired culture.
- Develop content writing protocols to ensure there is consistency from all content providers.
- Develop a plan for building staff awareness of the importance of the new internal communication strategy.
Following implementation
- Monitor and review through staff feedback regularly.
- Be prepared to change the medium or adjust the process accordingly.
Krueger explains how Australian Business Limited identified a staff newsletter as being a suitable communication medium for the organisation.
"At Australian Business Limited we created a staff newsletter which incorporates more than just "notice board type" news. It is a medium which gives staff members at all levels across the organisation a better understanding of how Australian Business Limited operates. In our organisation we have a number of business units and it's imperative that each business unit has a clear understanding of what other units are doing.
Our weekly internal staff bulletin arrives in everyone's email inbox around the same time every Monday. Staff expect it, look forward to it and are encouraged to contribute to it. It may contain important messages or news, highlight major projects that business units are undertaking, recognise operational initiatives, celebrate wins, achievements and milestones, advise of new appointments and applaud employees' achievements. The intention is to inform, foster feelings of camaraderie, motivate action and spark initiatives. It also offers the usual "notice board" content like For Sale or For Rent, humour and competitions.
It is a great forum for conveying and receiving consistent information and encouraging two-way conversations across the business.
At the end of the day it is an effective way to enhance the culture, build and consolidate relationships and promote team building and company loyalty."
Measuring the success of your communication strategy
- Perform a communications audit with staff and management to assess the effectiveness of your strategy.
- Identify specific measurement approaches to use in different situations, including objective analysis, benchmarking, interviews, focus groups or surveys.
- Link your internal communication activities with project results and income-generating opportunities for the business.
- Translate qualitative findings into concrete reports that capture the management's attention.
Other sources and further reading
Internal Communication Strategies - The Neglected Strategic Element http://performance-appraisals.org/
Basics in Internal Organizational Communications by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD
http://www.sdcn.org/webworks/strategies/integrating.htm Integrating Internal and External Components Into a Communications Strategy
http://www.sdcn.org/webworks/strategies/catalysts.htm Catalysts for Overall Communication Strategies
http://www.actionforresults.com/internal_comm_strategy.asp Internal Communications Strategy
http://www.mapnp.org/library/mrktng/org_cmm.htm
http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm
Public Relations in Practice by Anne Gregory