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1 What Does Best Practice in Internal Communications Look Like?

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1 What Does Best Practice in Internal Communications Look Like? What does best practice in internal communications look like? Introductory statement I chose this topic because I would like to know what research and theory tells us best practice in internal communication looks like in 2013. In busy organisations my experience has been that internal communications can often become the poor relation to the reactive and media-driven demands of external communications. Even when a communications team is adequately resourced, there is the challenge of influencing management to adopt elements of best practice, which is constantly evolving. My managers encouraged me to choose this essay topic as there are some changes planned within our team and there may be a chance for me to take on some internal communications responsibilities. Internal communications is important to the professional practice of public relations because it is where public relations can influence the performance of an organisation, its leaders and employees. Internal communications can also evolve quickly and innovate and is often on the cutting edge of public relations practice. Paper - What does best practice in internal communication look like? This essay evaluates two alternative suggestions of a model - including some suggested strategies and tactics - that constitutes best practice in internal communications. What becomes apparent is that what is proposed as best practice is strongly shaped by how the author defines internal communications, and more particularly what they see as the overall purpose of internal communications. Some brief case studies illustrating best practice are also considered. Defining internal communications Describing best practice in internal communications requires us first of all to ask ‘What is internal communications?’ As we will see, the two models of best practice are strongly shaped by different opinions of what the purpose of internal communications is. According to Sprague and Del Brocco “internal communications encompass every interchange between human beings in an organisation and may be the single most influential factor in your organisation’s success or failure.” (Moss and De Santo 2011) This definition emphasises the important and often overlooked role internal communications plays in an organisation. However, the sheer volume of interactions and messages within an organisation every day, and the ubiquity and immediacy of social media means that attempting to manage or influence every interchange between human beings in an organisation, or even taking a gatekeeper role, would fall short of best practice if attempted. This suggests there is a strategic component required in internal communications – picking which interchanges between which human beings within an organisation you need to get involved with and at what stage. Supporting good knowledge 1 management in an organisation is an important and often overlooked role for internal communications (Mersham et al, 2009). Morris and Goldsworthy’s definition of internal communications offered by Mersham et al acknowledges the need for a strategic focus and recognises the difference between planned communications programmes and the torrent of other messages and interactions within an organisation. They say internal communications is a “focused activity which is separate from, even if it complements, normal flows of communication within an organisation (...)” (Mersham et al 2009). Some definitions acknowledge the enormous evolution that has taken place in internal communications over the last decade as it becomes a more strategic function. There are many factors behind this evolution, including the growing influence of social media, change management requirements during a time of economic turbulence, and declining trust in organisations and their leaders. In a fairly all-encompassing definition, Whysall and Benjamin say internal communications has “moved beyond management of communication output towards a “strategic function facilitating two-way conversation, creating real meaning for employees with organisational goals and supporting leaders to communicate with authenticity and impact.” (Whysall and Benjamin, 2011) Defining internal communications in this way is likely to lead to a model that supports best practice as it acknowledges the widely accepted preconditions for excellent public relations identified by Grunig and Repper –with excellent public relations defined as contributing to organisational effectiveness. Based on this theory, best practice is most likely to be seen when public relations is an integral part of an organisation’s strategic management process and when public relations is managed strategically. Public relations is managed strategically when it identifies stakeholders and resolves issues created by the interaction of organisations and publics through symmetrical communications programmes early in the development of issues.” (Grunig and Repper, 1992) Unfortunately Whysall and Benjamin do not put forward a model of best practice but we can still explore what others have to say about best practice, two proposed models and what it might look like in the light of this definition. Doorley and Garcia’s model Doorley and Garcia consider the one of the major functions of best practice internal communications can play is to help an organisation manage its reputation through aligning employees with reputational interests. This is reflected in the six best practices they suggest for in organisational communications, which are in summary: 1. Leader-driven communications – have the CEO front and centre to promote alignment 2. Highly strategic communicators driving employee alignment 3. Integrated communications from all the functions that align employees with reputational interests 2 4. Using disciplined, demand-driven communications practices to successfully compete for the attention of employees 5. Align employee behaviour with reputational interest through targeted communications around expected behaviours, boundaries and the gaps between “what we say” and “what we do”. 6. Align employee performance with reputational interests by communicating strategy via the CEO, rallying people around a common cause and rehearsing for customer encounters. (Doorley and Garcia, 2011) These suggested best practices appear to hark back to a time when a top-down message was the norm and overlook changes and possibilities driven by new technology. Evidence shows employees most prefer to hear messages from their immediate supervisors. (Mersham et al 2009) Doorley and Garcia’s list with its top-down focus also overlooks the significant evidence that effective internal communication is two way and symmetrical. As Moss and De Santo say “Internal communication is all too often a top-down message, composed by executives and management in an effort to inform the ranks about an issue they may not even care about.” This definition also overlooks social media and this influence of this on the closing gap between external and internal communications. “The increasing visibility of insiders to outsiders means that employees are under pressure to interface with the customer as representatives of the organisation in the way they think, feel and behave. This requires they sign on to the organisational paradigm.” (Moss and Del Santo 2011) Doorley and Garcia provide a case study around the evolution of strategic internal communication at the large United States organisation Hallmark over the last 30 years that illustrates what this model could produce in a best-case scenario. “Evolution of the employee communication function occurred as Hallmark leaders witnessed the ability of well-crafted, prioritised communication not only to inform, but to motivate employees and move the business forward. It was the professional communicator’s abilities to sort through a glut of business messages and place them into meaningful order and context that helped clarify the company’s direction during the last two decades of the twentieth century.” The increasing external visibility of employees has prompted some organisations to see them as brand ambassadors. Fast food giant McDonalds has prepared guidelines to train and equip staff about what social media is so they could “ethically and positively” represent the brand through social media. This was what McDonalds US PR director Heather Oldani said: “Because at the end of the day, we absolutely want to recognise that our employees across the globe are in the digital space and communicating. And two, given our size and our reach and the number of people who work for the brand on a global basis, we believe that there is an opportunity for our employees to be a positive representation of the brand through social media.” (McLeish 2010). This is a relatively recent idea and not without possibilities, however Melcrum cautions that “despite the potential inherent to employee ambassador programs, few demonstrate financial returns. The 3 failure of most programs stems not from a dearth of training or support but rather from the inability of employees to internalize or personalize the brand.” (Melcrum 2012 a) Internal communications is rapidly evolving and Doorley and Garcia’s model already seems dated. However, it does appear that best practice seems very likely to involve communicating the business strategy to employees in a clear, consistent and compelling way to make sure employees don’t just understand the strategy, but embrace it and deliver against it. “Creating a clear line of sight between the organisational vision or strategy
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