Communication Strategies

An Employees perspective

1. Introduction
Communication is an integral part of the culture of any organization. No organization can serve isolated. It needs the support of its internal and external customers the internal customers are the employees who work for the organization where as the external customers are the customers, suppliers and stakeholders. And hence establishing communication links with internal and external customers both is extremely important. The internal customers of an organization are its employees who are the pillars of the firm and hence communicating with them, the goals and objectives of the management is essential. Organizations use different types of ways of internal communication which have further been supported with the development of technology. This paper will give insight of the employees perspective on internal communication within an organization, how internal communication has been developed and the issues that employees face with regards to internal communication.

Many people may seek to wonder how internal communication can benefit the organization and its employees. In todays corporate sector, organizations invest substantial amount of resources and time to strengthen their internal communication channels (Mounter  Smith 2008). Much focus has been on how internal communication benefits the organization itself from the managerial point of view. Hardly ever is the employee view taken into account.

2. Forms of internal communication
Internal communication is meant for employees informing them of any issuance of new policies and rules, clarification on announcements, inform employees of progress of the business appreciate employees and reward them or even to announce a new service or product launch (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). Thus to convey such information managers make use of different techniques. The basic motive is to be more and more effective in delivering the information to the employee. With the advent of IT and technology, various unique ways of communication links have been established.

2.1 Non-personal forms of communication
The oldest forms of non-personal forms of communication are the written methods used by management letters, faxes and presentations (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). These are essentially used in every organization to transfer information to employees. However, these are now becoming more time consuming for employees to analyze and draw advantage from. Also communicating through these means requires more time and costs hence a delay in the decision making process by the employee.

Organizations have recently flattened their structure and coupled with the IT facilities more non-personal ways of communication have been established the most convenient one being e-mails. The facility of wireless internet has led to the development of intranets within the organization i.e. a system which connects all employees of a certain branch working under one roof (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006.). Tasks can be assigned through emails and there rapid progress can be managed through these emails (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006) too as they facilitate quick responses between the manager and the employee. This has overcome some of the problems of other traditional means of internal communication. Reports and newsletters are also some forms of internal communication channels (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). These provide an easy access to company based information and growth facts and figures. Also, these can even be used as a means of employee recognition, appreciating his performance through these modes of communication channels. The introduction of cell phone has also facilitated internal communication between employees and management (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). These are the means which do not require face to face contact of the employees and hence a need was felt of more personal forms of communication.
Through intranets of organizations, which have become a necessity in almost all organizations (Bottazzo2005), employees and managers can stay connected easily and have a smooth two way communication process.

2.2 Personal form of communication
The more effective way of communication with the employees is said to be the personal form whereby the managers directly interact with the employee either in staff meetings, presentations or through personal interviews. It gives a warm feeling, the employee can analyze the verbal expressions and clues (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006) thus such communication has a greater impact on them and they are better able to understand what the person is trying to communicate. Another step further with the use of Internet has been communication through telephonic conversations, video conferencing and video transmission (Guffey, Rhodes  Rogin 2006). Employees globally distant can now communicate live with each other using this technique which means more facilitation in decision making, sharing of company related news and confidential information and transfer of data. As per a research conducted, face to face communication can not be replaced with e-mails without having created awareness amongst the employees or else it can lead to negative consequences (OKane  Hargie 2007).

3. Challenges in internal communication

3.1 Inconsistent message
One of the greatest challenges in internal communication is the consistency of the message being delivered. The chain of management in a company is very long. The top management shares objectives with the middle level managers. The middle level managers share relevant information related to these objectives to their sub-ordinates who then share this information with the employees who have to achieve those objectives. Thus it is essential that the information communicated is consistent so that the right objectives are achieved (Holtz 2004).

3.2 Distribution channels
The distribution channels also influence the level of communication. Different channels have different characteristics and which channels are used depends on the type of information and even employee preferences. E-mail for instance is a commonly used technique for sharing information even though each day employees have to deal with several emails at a time (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). However, an email may be suitable to distribute information common to all employees where as, complex information that is meant to influence an employees perception and convince him to a certain idea should not be transferred through e-mails. Face to face communication in this case would serve as a better way (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.).

3.3 Lack of understanding the message
It is important that all messages delivered through internal communication mediums are understood by the employees. If the employees dont understand the message, they will not be able to take the needed action (Holtz 2004). This is so because employees are representatives of the company to all its other customers and partners. It is the employees who interact with the customers and execute the plans developed by the management. If the message is not clear, the execution fails. The education level of employees are also different (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.) hence it is not necessary that information sent through a fax will be understood by all employees in a similar manner. An employee may not understand what the message says.

4. Role of management in internal communication
The management plays a fairly strong role in developing the internal communication channel as it is they who are the heads of this channel. Thus the management must know how to transfer the right information to the right person in a right manner (Holtz 2004). As mentioned in his book, Holtz (2004) says that management has the power to influence the employees perception of the organization, convey needed information, build credibility and trust and increase employee morale and efficiency through internal communication. The more successful the channel is, the more information the employee has, the more trust he develops in the organization. According to a study reported in Financial Times, the CEOs of organizations are now becoming more conversation oriented (Holtz 2004). Thus internal communication is not only left to middle level managers but the top level management is also becoming part o the process.

With the shift in technology, businesses have become more complex and hence it is the management that must keep its employees updated, trained and well informed in order to succeed. For instance lets take the example of Wal-Mart it would never have been so successful if the company would not understand customer needs. The supply chain management gathers data about customer preferences and shares it with employees so employees know what the right products o sell to which group of customers. Without this, Wal-mart would never be a huge success in the retail industry (Holtz 2004). Communication with out the support of the managers is just not possible especially in a top down communication organization (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). Managers are leaders who must ensure the work environment is error free (Veronisi 2009)

5. Role of employees in internal communication
Employees are an asset for any and every organization hence communication with them is essential for it is these people who work for an organization, they are the ones who actually achieve the objectives set forth by the management hence perspective on the importance of internal organizational communication is extremely important (Mounter  Smith 2008). Not only this but internal communication also communicates the organizational targets to the employees hence they are further motivated to perform efficiently.

5.1 Employee communication preferences
Once the management has decided which information is to be transferred to the employees, it is important to understand what the employees preferences in communication are. According to a research conducted to judge employees preferences regarding the type of channel used, fewer employees prefer completely electronic information. Most of the employees favored a combination of personal and non-personal form of communication depending on the type of information being communicated (Sinickas 2004). Thus supervisors and managers must ensure that employee preferences are taken into consideration in internal communication measures so information is transferred more effectively. Also the information should be communicated in such a way that it holds the attention of employees. What is very critical for a CEO might not make a difference to an employee hence it should be presented in such a way that all employees take interest into it. For example, a CEO reading from a prepared script, the figures of sales and profits for the year will never create interest for the employee.

5.2 Employee attitude and expectations
When sharing information with employees, the supervisors and manages also have to take into consideration the employee attitude towards information sharing and their expectations the employees trust in management is a critical factor that defines employee attitudes (Holtz 2004). If the employee believes that the management is presenting information that is credible, only then will they grasp the information. The next step is presenting relevant information (Holtz 2004). Not all information presented is relevant to every employee hence the management must ensure that the right information is transferred to the right employee for instance next years sales target figure will not be relevant for the clerk at the office of an organization.

In todays workplace, employees expect recognition and involvement thus they expect to be told that they matter (Holtz 2004). Thus if communication leads to involvement of employees, it definitely leads to a boost in their morale and improvement in their performance. Also the employees expect that through internal communication and information sharing, the management defines the employees role at his job what work he has to do and provide him with the needed information. This makes the employee more committed towards the organization and hence he is able to achieve the goals set (Holtz 2004)

6. Corporate culture
According to a Report by Human Capital Institute and Towers Perrin, some characteristics which define the corporate culture of an organization are the recruitment policies, the social links within the organization, the structure of the hierarchy, the codes of conduct and policies and the myths about the organization and management. (Argenti  Barnes 2009).  

6.1 Internal communication and organizational effectiveness
Internal communication is linked to organizational effectiveness. The level of internal communication leads to the development of a good relation between the employee, the employer and the organization and thus defines the employees willingness to contribute to the organization, his productivity and efforts which in turn affects the profitability of the organization (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). The following flowchart shows the relationship how internal communication leads to organizational effectiveness

6.1.1 Link to profitability
As evident from the flow chart above, internal communication leads to higher productivity in the employees hence more profits for the organization as employees work harder and harder. Not only this but one of the strategic advantages of the internal communication is also that employees are ambassadors of the organization hence they tend to influence customer purchase decisions (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). Based on the culture adopted by the employees customers can be influenced into buying the firms products and services if they develop a positive image.

6.1.2 Link to job satisfaction and employee retention
Job satisfaction is another benefit that develops from internal communication. An employee is satisfied with his job if his supervisor clearly translates to him what is expected from him (Holtz 2004). The more explicit the supervisor is in conveying information and objectives, the more satisfied the employee will be from his job. The employee is better able to understand the business and his job and also share his views and ideas with the managers and supervisors with the development of better communication links (Holtz 2004). This results in higher commitment and hence greater job satisfaction as the employee feels he is an integral part of the organization. Many researches have proved that internal communication and the level of information employees have to job satisfaction and the performance of the employees (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.).

6.2 Two way communication and internal branding
The corporate culture of an organization serves as an internal brand i.e. it does for employees what a brand does for customers. The stronger the corporate culture is the more it will influence an employee and the more positive an image it will create of the organization. The corporate culture builds certain images of the organization which lead to the employee forming a perceptions regarding the organization and developing strong internal communication is an effective way of displaying the corporate culture of a firm (Argenti  Barnes 2009). Employees are the greatest influencers outside an organization. Like the name and performance of a brand leads to customers forming perceptions about how the product will be, the attitudes of employees moulds the perceptions of people regarding a certain organization hence internal communication leads to internal branding (Argenti  Barnes 2009).

7. Influences of internal corporate communication

7.1 External influences, including media and technology
Different forms of media influence the level of satisfaction for employees. A survey by Bynre (2006) showed that personal form of communication i.e. facet to face usually influences employees if the information is related to their job, non-personal means satisfied employees of the information was from top management and e-mails were found to be satisfactory or urgent news.  With the impact of media, employees have become more and more media literate and informed through the internet. Thus many a times the traditional means of internal communication used by organization fails to satisfy the employees. Alternately, a lot of information is being shared between employees through other forms such as social media such as face book, blogs and discussions. These help in building employee relations, sharing of feed back etc. which enhances communication between employees (Perry 2008). Another influence to media is technology as discussed in detail below. The advancements in technology have led to the development of more convenient and cost-saving means of communications which are rapidly adopted by todays technology orient society of employees.

7.2 Internal influences, including employee surveys and company grapevine
There are many influences within the organization that affect the level of internal communication in an organization. One very important form of this influence is employee surveys which are conducted in every organization. The basic purpose o employee surveys are to get employee feedback related to a certain aspect of the organization and to assess employee attitude towards the organization, its structure, its culture policies etc (Edmonson 2006). However with the need of internal communication, these surveys serve as a two way communication between the employee and the management to take their feedback and hence make changes and improvement based on the survey results (Admonson 2006). Another influence is the organizational grapevine which affects communication. These are the rumors that flow in the organization. Grapevine may not be beneficial in all cases but in some cases it serves a positive benefit for managers example it can warn the managers of an expected change that is about to take place the organization. (Crampton, Hodge  Mishra 1998).

8. Future of internal communication

8.1 Changing business environment
The business environments of organizations are now changing. Most organizations follow a top down communication system hence role of internal communication is becoming even more important (Van Nostran, 2004 in White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.) as the top level managers are the people who are the most informed and they must transfer this knowledge to their subordinates.

In todays changing business environment, organizations are becoming geographically dispersed and hence internal communication becoming even more important (Yates 1993) Also the work place environment of todays business organizations are becoming flatter which means even greater communication is required between the employees and the management to give the workplace environment a humanized (Yates 1993) atmosphere. The employees are required to work in teams together and hence it is important for them to communicate with each other even it means speaking to a co-worker sitting in a different continent.

8.2 Technological advances
The development in technology has made communication even easier. It has caused the structure of organizations to become more flat i.e. sharing of information with all employees at the same time is possible (White, Stafford  Vanc, n.d.). Instead of the CEO sending email to his manager and the manager sending it to the employee, which means there are chances that the message has been altered or censored, information ca now directly be sent to employees from the CEO. A simple e-mail from the CEO can be sent to recognize a certain effort of an employee. Thus, with the developments in the technological sector, internal communication has grown and become even easier (Yates 1993). The managements of organization must adapt themselves to the latest methods being introduced. Without the development of these new technologies, the internal communication procedures through written means would have turned out to be costly for the management (Yates 1993).

9. Conclusion
The importance of internal communication is now felt in every organization with the changes in organizational structures. Employees have an important role to play in the development of internal communication and managers must take their perception into consideration for internal communication is a two way process which needs the support of the management and the trust of the employees. The fact that the organization is communicating with the employees acts as a support factor and the employee trusts that the organization will recognize his efforts (Jo  Shim 2005).