Good morning I'm John," the new team membergreets his new Division Head. The manager scowls and retorts: "I don't know what sort of namby-pamby section you've been transferred from, but I don't refer to anyone by their first name. It breeds familiarity and leads to a breakdown in authority. What's your family name?" "Darling, John Darling." The Division Head pauses. "OK, John, welcome aboard ..."
Shakespeare's Juliet may have asked "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet", but there is more than just a whiff of misrepresentation when it comes to the term Internal Communications.
The ubiquitous staff newsletter, bulletin board and edicts from the CEO or Human Resources are collectively known as internal communication tools. They are valid vehicles in a strategy, but it's often the strategic foundation that is flawed.
Internal communications is the generic expression for all formal and informal communication an organisation undertakes with its internal stakeholders - the board, management, staff or members. Internal communications practice was built on the principles of other disciplines such as human resources, marketing and project management, so it has different labels in different organisations: employee communications, employee engagement, internal marketing, company communications and staff communication are some.
Whatever the name, the underlying ethos and greater goal of internal communications is how it contributes to enhancing the culture within an organisation.
This foundation is often missing in internal communication strategies.
Would You Like Fries With That?
Let's work backwards. Consider this internal communication by a Citrix Corporation senior executive: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say." Whether in jest or all seriousness, what does it say about the organisational culture of Citrix?
What was the unintended message about organisational culture when management at Microsoft's Redmond complex issued this memo? "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks."
So what is 'organisational culture' if it is the platform on which internal communications should be built? Academics Davide Ravasi and Majken Schultz describe it as the "specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organisation and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organisation". Simply put, it is the internal manifestation of the organisation's brand. Just as the brand must be communicated expertly externally, so too all communications internally should be 'brand-congruent' and draw from the organisation's corporate values.
In relation to corporate values, while many organisations proudly display them in their entrance foyers, these values are often not comprehensively translated into the set of behaviours they expect staff to exhibit. A number of organisations in Qatar would probably admit that the organisational culture around their corporate values is not well defined. One only needs to read anecdotes from the social media site Qatar Living to suggest that the values exhibited externally by some local organisations could be translated internally as 'irrational, inefficient and careless'.
Right tool for the right job
So what are appropriate culture-enhancing internal communication tools? The question is somewhat redundant as the tools will become evident if grown from a strategic base. A better approach is to consider the process that could be implemented to build an aligned strategy:
1. Cultural Audit: Undertake a survey or study to assess whether the reality on the ground is in line with the corporate values and desired organisational culture, and evaluate the existing and preferred internal communication channels and tools. Once the organisation has baseline data, the audit should be conducted annually.
2. Gap Analysis: Consider the gap between actual and desired culture. Organisations can also measure themselves against industry, country, regional and international norms in terms of the cultural attributes inherent in a healthy or optimum culture.
3. Internal Communication Strategy: Develop a strategy with the appropriate communication tactics required to bridge the gap, selecting the right tool for the right job, e.g. newsletter, intranet, town hall meetings, leadership sessions, e-mail, posters etc. The challenge is how to make the communication relevant and engaging.
4. Measure and Monitor: Build in measurement and monitoring mechanisms to ensure the strategy is having the desired impact, e.g. feedback, focus groups, etc.
By way of example, here are two local case studies of innovative brand-aligned internal communication tools: At The Ritz-Carlton Doha all employees have a copy of the Ritz-Carlton creed, and each day teams, including management, recite the creed together: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instils well beingand fulfils even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests. Staff are actively empowered to enhance the guest experience.
The Ritz-Carlton back up their cultural intent by rewarding staff who have demonstrated exemplary examples of fulfilling the creed, and a one-page newsletter is circulated internationally on a daily basis, acknowledging employees from different hotels who have demonstrated exceptional service.
Qatar Foundation (QF) is well known for innovation and forward thinking, so its internal communication solutions must be equally inventive and culturally enhancing. The establishment of a corporate radio station as an internal communication tool that the 4,000-plus staff and students at Education City can access is innovative and culturally enriching. As a web-based radio station initially, it is timely (newsletters take time to produce but serve another purpose), current and available in real time to home campuses of the QF universities, and supports the development of an audio historical library for the organisation.
These organisations have clearly bridged the potential disconnect between corporate values, internal stakeholder behaviour and organisational culture, seizing the dynamic opportunity that internal communications has to inform and transform.
So should internal communications be renamed organisational culture communications?
Indeed, our fictitious team manager may have muttered "what's in a name" when he insisted on using John Darling's surname. More importantly, he made the connection between communication and behaviour, realising that changing his modus operandi wasn't necessarily going to result in the collapse of his division's command and control culture. Perhaps John is hoping it will
By Samson Samasoni, Managing Director, Grow
Founded in 2005, Grow is a creative multiple award-winning brand communications and PR agency based in Doha. Grow PR specialises in strategic communications, public relations and change communications.
© Qatar Today 2012
