INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

It is stupidity to think, by any company, that only external communication is important for its success. It has to realize that internal communication is equally important for it to achieve its objectives. Internal communications includes all communication within an organization. Internal communications may be oral or written, face to face or virtual, one-on-one or in a small group. Effective internal communication - which can be said to be "downward, upward, and horizontal" - is a vital means of addressing organizational concerns. Good internal communication helps to establish formal roles and responsibilities for employees. As employees are the vital part of the organization, it is important to communicate to them the objectives and goals of the organization. It is also important to involve the employees in the decision making process. Not only the goals and the objectives should be communicated but also the annual profits and change in the share prices should be told to them.
Where should the internal communications report? The information should be properly shared between corporate communication department and the human resource department.
EFFECTIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION PROGRAM:
· COMMUNICATE UP AND DOWN: there must be a proper flow of information from top management to the employees and also the information should flow from the employees to the top management about their opinion, requests, requirements etc.
· FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION: managers and members of the top management should make time to talk to the employees working under them. In person meeting will provide an access to their senior management. If the geography and size cause constrains then video conferencing, telephonic conferencing can be used.
· COMMUNICATE ONLINE: with the employees through e-mails and intranet. The advent of intranet provides a new channel through which the companies can reach its employees quickly and also personally.
· CREATE EMPLOYEE ORIENTED PUBLICATIONS: using internal newsletters. Companies can also use the memos and letters to communicate with its employees.
· COMMUNICATE VISUALLY: today’s employees are very sophisticated and want hi-tech communication network such as webcasts and multimedia presentations.
· INTERNAL BRANDING: it is not only important to sell the products to its consumers but before that a company should “sell” its products to its employees or the idea which they trying to convey to their consumers through an advertisement campaign.
An organization can obtain an effective internal system only by analyzing its employee’s attitude towards the organization. This can be done through communication audit. But it is not a good idea to employ an outside consultant to conduct internal communication audit for example the strategy adopted by the Starbucks coffee co was a bad strategy.
A positive example of internal communications is Yahoo’s competitor Google. The Internet Company has an open door policy. Employees can present their ideas to executives and top level managers engage in group discussions with lower level employees discussing new product ideas.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: My friend who is working in an consultancy firm always complaints that she is unable to reach her manager to clarify her doubts and she hardly gets to see him as he is out of town most of the time. The fact that her manager is unreachable frustrates her most of the time as it affects her job understanding and has an adverse affect on her job performance.

RELATED LINKS: http://www.managementhelp.org/mrktng/org_cmm.htm
http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm
http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20050207/technologylife01.shtml