Internal communications

Is this the responsibility of PR or HR?

Often, internal communications sits somewhere between the HR department and the communications function in an organisation. While HR tends to be more visible as it deals with employees in terms of compensation, benefits, policies, and other HR-centric issues, internal communications is a far more intricate and permeating function.

Internal communications is gaining importance as organisations struggle to find ways to differentiate themselves. Communicating effectively within an organisation ensures that the strategic direction of an organisation is known, understood and, above all, acted on. Get it right and the result is increased engagement, productivity, higher staff retention and morale.

Why not HR? 

While HR deals with employees exclusively, effective employee communications may not necessarily be the forte of this department. HR focuses mainly on the recruitment and retention of a superior workforce based on a matrix of sound employment practices, promotion and termination policies, remuneration plans, and training and career development. The ability to tailor messages to an internal audience in order to gain buy-in is critical to effective internal communications, a skill-set typically held by professionals in the PR field. While PR professionals are largely externally focused, corporate communicators are best placed to lead the charge in internal communications, leveraging their skills and unique exposure working at a corporate level to best effect.

It is important to note that while corporate communications takes the lead in driving internal communications, it cannot work independently from HR. The partnership between HR and internal communications is essential in ensuring that messages are successfully crafted and delivered to employees in a manner that will influence and shape their beliefs, aligning them with corporate goals and objectives and molding each employee to become an ambassador for the company. The HR-communicator relationship is both intricate and symbiotic.

Taking a “ground up, top down” approach ensures that communication between management and staff goes both ways. The role of HR is key in providing guidance on how the challenges and issues facing the organisation are affecting staff. As the “pulse of the people”, HR should be leveraged by internal communications to create the context for change and its reasons. With this framework, the internal communicator develops a set of clear messages that define the reason for change, and delivers it in a language that staff can relate to and understand. The outcome of this partnership is gaining buy-in from employees; creating, engaging and involving them in a belief; and finally empowering them to act upon it.

Engaging and retaining your harshest critics

Internal communications has evolved in importance within the organisation. It should not be stereotyped as a function existing to produce employee newsletters. There is not a “one size fits all” solution due to a myriad of issues that an organisation faces, differences in corporate culture and the type of message to be communicated.  Its scope of influence in business has widened, particularly when change or crisis management is on the cards. For this reason, savvy CEOs create a seat at the management table for internal communications.

At this level, internal communications becomes an even more permeating and complex form given that the internal target audience is often the harshest critics. When an internal communications strategy is executed well, the result is not only increased engagement and productivity, but also higher staff retention and morale.

With strong economic conditions and availability of career choices in the market, employees are in a vulnerable position to be distracted by such “noise” outside of the organisation. Organisations are using various means that will entice potential candidates, be it inflated salaries, great benefits packages, fast track to management, international opportunities to name a few.  By developing a robust internal communications strategy that focuses employees on business objectives and a clear direction of the future, this “noise” can be mitigated. Engaged employees with a strong sense of belonging and clarity of their value within the organisation will be motivated to work towards achieving corporate goals.

Internal communications can make a significant difference in staff retention and morale-building, and when done well, it can be the trump card that an organisation needs to finally win the war for talent.

Karen Kwan
Director
Hudson, Singapore
www.hudson.com.sg