Feature

Effective internal communication

Sudipta Dev writes how an organisation can find out if its internal communication programme is a success.

Internal communication is the via media that links an organisation. It is the foundation that holds the work culture, policy and processes, goals and vision together. Any blockage, wrong detour or mismanagement in this channel can be catastrophic for an organisation—from spreading false rumours and impacting employee morale to hampering organisational productivity and smearing its brand name. The success of its internal communication programme is imperative for an organisation. But the question is: how to quantify this success?

A lower rate of attrition, employee engagement and satisfaction levels (determined through surveys) are all pointers to an organisation’s successful internal communication initiative. This success can be judged in three ways, believes Raja Gopalakrishnan, SVP, Global Service Delivery & Operations, and Managing Director, India; EFD eFunds:

• Communicating a message: Top downwards in movement, this method could be used to communicate simple one-way messages from mission statements to medical benefits, from the organisation’s goals to holidays for the year.
• Assessing baseline: Bottom upwards, this method could be used to assess the current level of awareness, information and opinion among various employee groups on some key issues.
• The spiral of success: Using a combination of both bottom-up and top-down processes, this would combine feedback to establish current baseline, define and design objectives for communication, and measure effectively to achieve objectives on an ongoing basis.

How to quantify?

Quantifying internal communications is a difficult task in tangible terms as it goes beyond the obvious goals and ultimately impacts employee motivation and productivity. “Since the changes are more behavioural in nature, quantifying them is a little difficult but not immeasurable. A good internal communication programme is identified from the image of the company that its employees carry and helps in getting the right talent from the industry in form of referrals,” states Shikha Khullar, Manager-HR, MPS Technologies. The frequency of communication can determine its effectiveness.

The value of internal communication cannot be calculated in isolation. “It is like splitting hair as the overall impact of internal communication depends on various related business initiatives and their efficacy,” says Ajay Oberoi, Senior Vice-president, HR and Administration, Aptech. However, if one still wants to do it, it can be done through monetizing reduction in attrition and productivity improvement after adjusting portion for technical/process related issues.

Organisations understand the business impact of internal communications and every company proudly boasts of a range of initiatives like open house sessions, internal newsletters and portals, CEO lunches, at al. Quantifying this impact is a different issue altogether. Ravi Verma, VP & Global Head-HR, Nucleus Software, believes that the impact can be measured in various forms:

• Financial impact in terms of stability of human resource, repeat of work because of high error rate. Could even be loss of existing and new assignment because of non-availability of business related information, thereby making wrong or over commitments.
• Other quantifiable impact could be morale of its people.

The work culture of an organisation is greatly influenced by its internal communication programme. The management’s vision and goals have to be coordinated with the goal of its employees to ensure growth, for both the individual and the organisation. Gopalakrishnan recounts something that he had read as a student: “On an inspection tour during the construction of St Paul’s Cathedral, Christopher Wren is said to have asked a stonecutter “What are you doing?” “Cutting stone,” the stonecutter replied. Further along, he asked another stonecutter what he was doing. “Building a cathedral,” the man said. To me, that sums up what I expect of an effective internal communication programme. Communicating the goals, objectives, philosophy, culture and ethics of the organisation to those who will translate this into action.”

Whose responsibility?

The responsibility of disseminating the information is not limited to a select few, the corporate communications team or the HR department, every individual in the organisation should be responsible. “Every employee has a role to play in the internal communications of an organisation; some may even have multiple roles. The roles and responsibilities of every employee should be so defined that they are aware of the kind of information they should and should not communicate and to whom, when, how and why. A healthy communication would have desired outcomes,” points out Khullar.

Varma asserts that effective internal communication brings ownership, a sense of belonging, respect as well as accountability. “Insufficient communication is something like solitary confinement wherein you don’t know what is happening outside and how you are linked to those developments. This can be an extremely no-win situation for any organisation,” he adds.

Internal communication is much more than posting newsletters and holding pizza parties, the strategy has to be formulated by the top management in coordination with the executing team. The effort is not without its share of challenges. “Reading habits of employees, the ability to understand and capture internal and external events timely, building formal and informal communication channels, and their own credibility are some of the challenges internal communication team faces,” says Oberoi.

Importance of feedback

The importance of feedback cannot be overlooked in the internal communication process. Gopalakrishnan explains why, “Feedback forms the basis of all successful plans and raises expectations of change. Employees expect that things will improve as a result of their response and the organisation’s introspection. So, responding to employees, not just with results but also with a specific action plan is very important. It is imperative that the employees see first hand the value of their contribution in the seriousness with which it is taken.”

Interviews, focus group discussions and surveys are the effective feedback processes. “An effective approach could combine all three tools—interviewing executives would help define an ideal communication environment which helps them achieve business objectives, focus group discussions could identify the ideal communication environment and how they relate to their current ‘communicators’; and a survey using both employee and executive issues would help quantify the current baseline,” adds Gopalakrishnan.

Blockages in the channel of communication can lead to rumours and doubts, which have to be removed, as an organisation’s external reputation is to a large extent depended on how it is perceived by its internal customers (employees).