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Internal communications
 Internal
communication
examines
communications
with
a
company’s
employees.
 Good internal communications is necessary
for effective external communications.
 Internal communications is related to the
goals of the organisation and its stage of
development.
The necessity for good internal communications
While most of the issues discussed so far
concern publics external to an
organisation, one of the most important
groups of stakeholders is a company’s
employees.
 Good internal communications may not just be
about differentiating your company in terms of
consumer branding.
 According to a survey of 275 analysts and
portfolio managers by Ernst & Young in 1998
which found that investors base their decision
to buy or sell stock in a company on nonfinancial as well as financial performance.
 ‘Investors’ perceptions of improvements in
areas such as corporate strategy, innovation
and the ability to attract and retain talented
people can have a major impact on the share
price.
 A study by the Journal of Marketing stated
that 68 per cent of customers defect from an
organisation because of staff attitudes or
indifference.
 Employees
are not an homogeneous
stakeholder group, but consist of workers,
management and board, who perform
different functions within the organisation,
such as production, administration, and
services.
 Communication operates in many ways
within an organisation, flowing downwards
from senior directors and management to
workers, upwards from the shop floor, and
between groups and individuals.
The goals of employee communication
‘The goals of employee communication are to
identify, establish and maintain mutually
beneficial
relationships
between
the
organisation and the employees on whom its
success or failure depends.
Four stages of employment where effective
communication is vital:
1. The start – attracting and inducting new
employees
2 .The work – where instruction, news and job
related information should be disseminated.
3. The rewards and recognition – promotions,
special events, awards.
4. The termination – breakdown of equipment,
layoffs, dismissals.
 Communication should work towards achieving
the organisation’s objectives.
 Employee awareness of operations, problems,
goals and developments will increase their
effectiveness as ambassadors, both on and off the
job.
 Asking for input to improve how things are done
will encourage them to participate in the
organisation.
Good internal relations impacts on the bottom line.
Top management must support schemes to involve
employees and take their opinions on board.
The most common failing in employee
communication is that it is too busy selling a
management view downward.
It neglects to stimulate an equivalent upward flow.
The four eras of employee communication
1. The era of entertaining employees (likened to
press
agentry) in the 1940s, to convince them that the organisation
was a good place to work.
2 The era of informing employees (like the public
information model) in the 1950s.
3 The era of persuasion in the 1960s (two-way asymmetric).
4 The era of open communication (two-way symmetric).
The central role of employee relations
based on symmetrical communication
for a participative management culture is
essential to a democratic organization.
The best 21st century ‘learning organizations’
value and capture the intellectual and
imaginative resources often lying dormant in
their workforces.
In-house public relations specialists
need to ensure that they have enough
authority and influence to ensure that
strategic plans and policies work
through from the CEO to individuals at
all levels of the organization.
The principal strategic HR theories, models,
plans and policies are complementary to
those of public relations.
They often require senior public relations
managers to work closely with senior HR
managers, especially in areas such as
employee relations, collective bargaining
disputes and other legal affairs.
Formal and Informal Communication
 Formal communication firstly as: ‘concerned
with the flow of information through the autorised
channels in the organization’.
 This definition covers downward and upward
communication and also some of the network
patterns we cover.
 Informal communication is concerned with the
flow of information outside of the authorised
channels in the organization.
 This
definition
grapevine.
also
covers
the
so-called
Vertical Communication
 Communication in an organization can be either
vertical or horizontal.
 Vertical communication can occur either
downward or upward communication and is
usually formal.
 Vertical communication concerns the passing of
commands down the way and the flow of control
information up the way.
Vertical Communication
Downward Communication five categories:
 job instructions
 job rationale- explains why a task is being
performed
 information about procedures and practices
 feedback to subordinates
 indoctrination of goals- mission
Downward Communication
 Consider a typical organization chart that lays out
diagrammatically the authority and reporting
relationships between people in the organization.
 It is often the first thing that is given to a
newcomer upon arrival.
 Vertical communication is typically through this
hierarchy.
Vertical Communication
Downward Communication
Managing Director
Production Director
Factory
Manager ‘A’
Factory
Manager ‘B’
Sales Director
Factory
Manager ‘C’
Figure 9: Typical organization chart
Sales Department
Downward Communication
 The first thing to note is that the majority of
downward communication is one-way in
nature.
 It assumes that all operations can be carried
out by following a systematic series of rules
and directives sent down through the
hierarchy.
Vertical Communication
Downward Communication
original message
(100%)
Layers of
Organization
Final message
Information
loss
Figure 10: Downwards information loss
Source: Adapted from Fisher, 1993, p.38
Vertical Communication
Upward Communication goes from subordinate to
superior as one of the forms:
 about him or herself, performance and problems
 about others and their problems
 about organizational practices and policies
 about what needs to be done and how it is to be
done.
Network Patterns
Decentralized networks
Circle
Figure 11: Decentralized networks
Comcon
Network Patterns
Centralized networks
Y
Wheel
Figure 11: Centralized networks
Chain
 The
chain, Y and wheel represent
centralized networks, that is, control
information flows to a central point where
decisions are made.
 These decisions are then disseminated out
from this central point to the other
members who are, in effect controlled from
the center.
 Communication is usually formal.
 The circle and comcon networks are de-
centralized.
 Communication flows between group
members for the purposes of sharing
information, achieving co-ordination and
expressing feelings.
 Control is not held by any one member;
members are free to make their own
decisions.
 Communication is often informal.
Advantages of centralized networks:
 good for simple tasks
 fast
 strong leadership can be demonstrated
Advantages of de-centralized networks:
 better for complex tasks requiring multiple inputs
from members
 involves people in decisions and gives them
ownership
Horizontal (Lateral) Communication
 This communication route involved people on the
same hierarchical level- their ‘peers’.
A
B
Gang Plank
E
C
D
F
G
Figure 12: Fayol’s gang-plank
 It has been estimated that two-thirds of
communication flow occurs informally in
this way.
 The purpose of horizontal communication
is primarily to co-ordinate work, formal
activities, goals and objectives of a particular
sub-unit or department.
Horizontal (Lateral) Communication
Direct Peer Contact
Figure 13: Informal communication
Source: Mintzberg, 1979, p.51
Horizontal (Lateral) Communication
Direct Diagonal Contact
Figure 13: Informal communication
Source: Mintzberg, 1979, p.51
Horizontal (Lateral) Communication
Override of Scalar Chain
Figure 13: Informal communication
Source: Mintzberg, 1979, p.51
Horizontal (Lateral) Communication
documents
formal 20%
documents, formal
20%
verbal, informal
80%
verbal
informal 80%
Figure 14: Documents of the formal system versus
verbal information of the informal system
Horizontal (Lateral) Communication
formal chain
55%
informal chain
45%
informal chain 45%
formal chain 55%
Figure 14: Documents of the formal system versus
verbal information of the informal system
Information
Channel
RICH
Information
Richness
Face-to-face
discussion
Highest
Telephone
conversations
High
Written letters/memos
(individually addressed)
Moderate
Formal written documents
(unaddressed bulletins or
reports)
Low
Formal numeric
documents (printouts,
budget reports)
Lowest
LEAN
Source: Adapted from Daft, Richard L., and Lengel, Robert H. “Information richness: A new approach to
managerial behavior and organization design.” In Barry M. Staw and Larry L. Cummings (eds.), Research in
Organizational Behavior, vol. 6. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1984, 191–233.
The Grapevine
 The term grapevine is often used to describe the
way in which ‘interesting’ bits of information
travel informally around an organization, for
example, what the next pay rise is going to be, who
is getting promoted or sacked, whose wife is
expecting a baby, if that important contract has
been secured, etc.
 The grapevine is an extremely fast communication
channel.
 It does not respect hierarchies or departments with
the result that within a very short space of time,
many people in the organization are aware of the
message.
 Studies have shown that the grapevine is often
highly accurate.
Four ways in which the grapevine could operate
 Single strand represents the ‘Chinese whispers’
type of chain in which information is passed oneto-one down a line, the message is liable to
distortion at each stage.
 Single strand was singled out as being the most
inaccurate because of this distortion.
 In the gossip chain, one person is actively on the
look out for messages and then tells everyone.
 The probability chain starts with someone who
has a message but only delivers it on an ad hoc
basis, depending more or less upon whom he or
she happens to be in contact with.
 The cluster chain is more selective; an individual
will only pass on messages to a select group or
‘cluster’, one of whom might then become the
message source for subsequent clusters.
 Sometimes different ways were used depending
upon the perceived importance of the information.
The Grapevine
K
D
G
D
C
B
B
A
Single Strand
E F
C
H I
A
Gossip
Figure 15: Types of grapevine chains
Source: Davis, K, 1953
The Grapevine
J
C
E
H
K
B
I
I
G
D
F
C
D
B
A
F
J
Probability
Figure 15: Types of grapevine chains
Source: Davis, K, 1953
A
Cluster
The Grapevine
Advantages
 Fast
 Informs a large number
of people
 Often highly accurate
Disadvantages
 Single strand prone to
distortion
 Can supply rumours and
incorrect information
COMMUNICATION AS A CORE COMPETENCY
It is interesting to see how few academic texts on human
resource strategy include communication as a key board-level
competency.
Strategic HR planning, policy making and practice tend to be
discussed in relation to recruitment and selection,
performance appraisal, assessment compensation, training
and development, succession and career profiling, job design
and evaluation.
An experienced public relations practitioner could
argue that this is why so many large scale change
programmes fail, including business process reengineering and total quality management
programmes.
The role of public relations in helping organizations
to change and to sustain new behaviours is nearly
always underestimated.
COMMUNICATING CHANGE
Large-scale change internal
communication
programmes must address short-term critical issues
which in turn must be faced and understood by all
managers.
At the same time, global and long-term business
communication programmes must demonstrate
sensitivity to the needs of individuals.
Nine key motivating forces at such times, in which public
relations clearly plays an important role. These are:
1. political forces;
2. economic forces;
3. cultural forces;
4. mission and strategy;
5. organization structure;
6. how human resources are managed in terms of flexibility,
quality, commitment and strategic integration;
7. stakeholders’ interests;
8. community relations;
9. union relations.
All internal communication relies on basic
principles of public relations, which include clearly
defined stakeholders’ groups, both formal and
informal, plus appropriate channels for information
delivery (one-way) and symmetrical communication
(two-way).
Three-phase communication change strategy
The corporate message must be consistent but may
have to be transmitted in different ways to these
different groups, whether they are performing inhouse or as outsourced labour, such as associates or
consultants.
A symbolic approach to decision making sees
change as a process of developing myths, metaphors,
rituals and ceremonies to cope with the uncertainty
and ambiguity that planning and control measures
cannot cope with.
Communication is the essential leverage and link for any
decision making, given that employees and managers will
have participated in the decision-making process to ensure
the change is ‘owned’ and can thus be successfully
operationalized.
Another key area familiar to public relations consultants will
be the concept of ‘commitment’, based on attitude, behaviour
and exchange, as a means of achieving flexibility and change.
There are three principal public relations processes which
involve communication expertise and organizational
behaviour:
• quality assurance through communication audits;
• expediting core values as manifested by the mission
and ethics statements; and
• managing new and more democratic systems of worker
control through strong leadership and transparent
consultation based on sound communication processes.
COMMUNICATION AS TEAM EFFORT
Strategic internal communication, as part of an overall public
relations strategy, is a dynamic operational process linked to
the business plan through some or all of the following
professional activities.
These should be carried out in conjunction with core human
resource activities, probably in the following order, and
prioritized according to circumstances:
 Establish and target formal and informal internal groups.
 Plan an integrated communication programme.
 Communicate effectively by word and deed through line
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management.
Manage strategically around size, geography and
international issues at home and overseas.
Assess the competitive environment.
Make every employee accountable through understanding
of public relations and communication know-how.
Decide the value and function of all publications.
Establish fair and just employee communication channels,
from induction to retirement or redundancy.
 Organize efficient monitoring and management of
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noticeboards and electronic messaging.
Maintain suggestion schemes through a rewarding opencommunication culture.
Incorporate crisis management techniques into headquarters
record systems, computer networks and commonsense faceto-face briefings.
Strengthen corporate identity and reputation by providing
internal and external information.
Clarify the relationship and boundaries between external and
internal communication, the dual role and the capacity of
those responsible to handle the delicate balance.
Explain policy rules and regulations and be able to talk to
people at all levels.
Monitor attitude through communication audits.
Evaluate corporate vision regularly with short-term aims.