Have we got our eyes on the right prize?
Business today is all about change. The strongest organisations are staying ahead of the competition through strategic acquisitions and divestments and on-going internal work to cut costs and boost profitability. The consequence is that the status quo enjoyed by previous generations of employees has gone, probably forever.
Internal communicators should be among the groups most highly in demand to facilitate such change. Working with all levels of the organisation, we have the greatest opportunity to influence the pace and direction of change to ensure our organisations develop new cultures that employees can be proud to be a part of.
That means an evolving role that balances a strong strategic business understanding with championing the cause of employees. It’s our role to challenge the decisions being made if we can see that the likely outcome will be harmful to the relationships that exist within the organisation and with all its stakeholders.
Traditionally we’ve probably had more time with CEOs, COOs and CFOs than any other employees at the level at which we operate (given that almost no-one directly responsible for internal communication has a place on the board). Yet too often we lose the opportunity to use our influence by merely agreeing to be reporters of change.
As a result, we’re recognised for, and too often put too much store by, the media we deliver.
Great internal communication should be about building a culture that makes your organisation the place where everyone wants to work: it’s about creating real bridges between the mighty brains envisioning change, and the rest of us who actually have to live and deliver it on the ground – while maintaining the mythical ‘business-as-usual’: it’s about involving by getting everyone to understand what they can do to make the business even better – and by measuring the results of their efforts.
Yet through organisations such as CiB, the IPR and IABC we get hung up on beautiful magazines and sexy intranets – and are rewarded for our focus on the tactical rather than our part in shaping the business strategy.
Of course such organisations will point to their awards for communications strategies – but do such things exist, or should we simply be working to embed communication into the heart of business strategies?
Organisations like CiB are driven by the need to generate income and do so primarily through award schemes for tactical endeavour and craft skills. As a consequence, internal communication will never gain the respect it should command and will continue to be a niche function where editorial and design specialists can operate within their comfort zone.
I don’t want to be there. It’s boring. It’s much more fun to get higher up the business food chain and to have constructive input into management thinking.
That means a new breed of communicators – neither the old-style reporters of the company line, nor the MBAs with no feel for people and the impact of change.
The new communicator must be:
- Confident in understanding business strategy
- Conscious of the needs of the business
- An advocate for the employees’ voice
- Outside but attuned to the needs of finance, HR and marketing
- Pragmatic
- Measurable and accountable.
The traditional communication skills must be a given – but they’re merely a start point for an internal communicator’s role today – far from the be-all-and-end-all.
We must be at the heart of change – from the beginning, not at the end of the process. We are the people who must define the impact of change, and ensure it’s the right impact for the business.
Mark Shanahan
