The Changing Face of Internal Communications

I work with Directors of Communications and I would say that by and large there is a rule of thumb trend that to reach the top job you must have had a stint in external communications during your earlier career. Whether this is because you have a CEO who is concerned about their own media profile or whether it is because external audiences appear to have the greatest commercial impact on a business the reason for this remains unclear, just largely accepted. Every now and again though, I will interview an individual who is a Group Director of Communications who has come through the route via an early career in internal communications. These individuals, it needs to be said, are interesting beasts (said in the most polite and complimentary respect).

An example: A Group Director of Global Communications for a high end FMCG and manufacturing firm. After taking up their post: they assessed how many of the company's employees invested in their own products. They found it be shockingly low. An epiphany moment happened at board level: If our employees learn to love and invest in our own products then they will the best commercial marketing strategy we could possibly ask for. "We" aren't marketing our product, "They" are, to their family and friends. Sales increased.

Another: A retail firm's reputation is at rock bottom. Their products are tarnished, tightening regulation is clamping down, the brand is perceived as ubiquitous and all the less appealing for it. Where did they start to turn around their own fortunes? Internally. They listened to their teams, they developed their staff and what is more, they took what they heard seriously. Ensuring that the risk attached to a disengaged team was treated with the same gravity as the risk attached to a non-existent cash-flow.

There are other examples too. Examples where internal communications is not only treated as a means to lower staff turnover, to implement new systems, to protect motivation throughout periods of restructure but to increase pride in the workforce which leads to trust of the brand which leads to a commercial increase in revenue. Internal Communications is changing.

I'm lucky to work with Lottie Gunn. She was Global Head of Internal Communications at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence before joining Ellwood Atfield - the communications and advocacy headhunter. She has researched and co-written a useful report with Olly Wright at ComRes, the research consultancy specialising in corporate reputation, public policy and communications.

It's worth a read for IC pros, comms directors, HR directors and even, dare I say, FD's and Commercial Directors.

It discusses the changing nature of how organisations communicate with their employees and customers. It highlights there is a need for IC pros to take more of an advisory role, but the findings show they don’t have the tools they need to do their job.

The report was launched in London this week.

Download the report: The Changing Face of Internal Communications

The findings in the report are from an online survey of 97 senior internal communications professionals between 20 September and 9 November 2016 to explore where internal communications is heading in 2017 and beyond, and what might be affecting industry changes. This is the only recent report to gather the views of senior IC pros.

It found as the role of internal communications continues to evolve, there is an increasing need for organisations to employ internal communication professionals who can act as a strategic internal partner.

Internal communications needs to help facilitate brand advocates from the inside out and support employees’ understanding of the organisation’s strategy, brand values and vision, and most importantly how they can play a part.

IC professionals need to play a primary role in facilitating this, and organisations need to use approaches to internal communications that place employee engagement at the centre of their corporate strategy.

The report highlights a shift away from a more transactional role, with the top three aims for IC pros being:

86% of internal communication professionals agreed that internal communications has the primary focus of aligning people with the organisation’s purpose and strategy.

But just 49% agree that they have access to the tools and resources they need to develop high-quality internal communications and only 35% say that they have access to the budget needed to develop and implement an effective internal communications strategy.

In addition 64% of senior internal communication practitioners say that barriers such as organisational hierarchies and bureaucracy strongly affect the effectiveness of internal communications.

The report findings suggest that while a strategic focus is becoming more important, IC is often falling short of delivering this in practice.

Comms channels and shiny baubles

The report asks if new forms of communication, including social media, are required. The findings show that while new tools are increasingly used, IC professionals continue to make use of tried and tested channels for delivering on strategic objectives.

Regardless of the channels used, the report highlights the focus for IC needs to be on the quality, timeliness and tone of what is being communicated. For employees to be fully engaged in the vision and strategy of an organisation the general belief is that employees need to trust the communications they receive from the top. IC has a role to play here in coaching leaders to ensure they are trusted. The report shows that only 32% of IC pros believe that employees in their organisation trust communications from the Board, to a great extent. This highlights why coaching senior leaders and developing IC strategy that addresses this trust issue is important.

I could go on pulling out the interesting parts of the report, but it's a 34 pager, and you will be better off digesting it yourself.

Download the full report : The changing face of internal communications.

I hope you find it useful. And if you've any questions feel free to post them here or get in touch with Lottie Gunn (purple jacket in photo below) [email protected]