1. Internal Communication and Employee Engagement Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington

2. The importance of internal communication: Employee engagement

3. Dimension
Level
Direction
Participants
Content
1. Internal line management communication
Line managers / Supervisors
Predominantly two-way
Line managers-employees
Employees' roles
Personal impact e.g. appraisal discussions, team briefings
2. Internal team peer communication
Team colleagues
Two-way
Employee-employee
Team information e.g. team task discussions
3. Internal project peer communication
Project group colleagues
Project information
e.g. project issues
4. Internal corporate communication
Strategic managers / top management
Predominantly one-way
Strategic managers-all employees
Organisational / corporate issues e.g. goals, objectives, new developments, activities and achievements
Welch and Jackson (2007)

4. Employee engagement
A lot of definitions focus either on the individual role or the work activity but they miss the impact of internal communication and organisational identification.
Wieseke et al found (2009) that found the higher the level of organisational identity of sales managers the greater the sales quota achievement.

5. Employee voice
…is a term that is often associated with unions and work councils, though it is now being seen as a right for every employee to have the opportunity to have their say. In the “Engaging for Success” report that MacLeod and Clarke produced for the UK government last year, they describe voice as “employees’ views are sought out; they are listened to and see that their opinions count and make a difference. They speak out and challenge when appropriate”.

6. What would you choose to do to engage people?
Give people a ten per cent pay rise
Take your team out to a special event
Tell people what is going on
Introduce a new suggestion scheme
Say “well done” for a good piece of work
Give people a say in what the organisation does
Give people a bonus day’s holiday if they take less
than 5 days off sick a year

7. What would you choose to do to engage people?
Give people a ten per cent pay rise
Take your team out to a special event
Tell people what is going on
Introduce a new suggestion scheme
Say “well done” for a good piece of work
Give people a say in what the organisation does
Give people a bonus day’s holiday if they take less
than 5 days off sick a year

8. CIPD survey (2006)
49 per cent of employees feel fairly well informed about important organisational issues
29 per cent said they received only a limited amount of information
13 per cent reported they received not much at all
In terms of employee engagement, there are three key factors:
1. Opportunities for upward feedback
2. Being well informed
3. Thinking that your manager is committed to the organisation.
Tourish and Hargie (2009)

9. Communication escalator
“There is a trade off to be made between the desire to be clear and the need to use communication media efficiently. The less chance of misunderstanding or misinterpretation, the leaner the media you can use.”
Awareness Newsletters
Understanding Roadshows Forums
Support Seminars Training
Degree of change
Commitment Team problem solving
Involvement Team meetings Feedback forums
Degree of involvement
Quirke (2008: 158)

10. Managerial strategies for communicating about change
Strategy
Definition
Spray and pray
Management showers employees with all kinds of information in the hope that employees will be able to sort out significant and insignificant information
Tell and sell
Management selects a limited set of messages regarding core organizational issues. Management “tells” employees about these issues and then “sells” employees on the wisdom of the chosen approach
Underscore and explore
Management focuses on fundamental issues related to change success and allows employees the creative freedom to explore various possibilities
Identify and reply
Management listens to and identifies key concerns of employees and then responds to those issues as they are brought up
Withhold and uphold
Management withholds information as much as possible. When management is confronted with questions or rumours they uphold the party line.
Adapted from Clampitt, DeKoch and Cashman, in Miller, K (2009, p186)

11. A little more conversation
Conversation is the source and soul of change
Identifify the or so employees “who can really make things happen” (or keep them from happening!)....Some of these individuals may hold sway over key resources. Others are informal leaders who are central to networks of opinion.
Pascale et al (2000: 203-5)

12. LIVE model of engagement
Leadership
Information
Voice
Empathy

13. Employees first, customers second
If you see your job not as chief strategy officer and the guy who has all the ideas, but rather the guy who is obsessed with enabling employees to create value, I think you will succeed.
My job is to make sure everybody is enabled to do what they do well.
This is part of our “Employees First” philosophy.
Vineet Nayar is the chief executive of HCL Technologies, an IT services company based in India. To help bridge the gap between CEO and the rank and file, he once danced (awkwardly) to a famous Bollywood song at an employee event.

14. The value of internal communication: Satisfaction levels

15. Measuring internal communication
Satisfaction/Channel use
Data
Information
74% values published (IABC)
42% not well informed (Truss et al.)
Satisfaction of company wide information is 3.2 out of 5 (Byrne and LeMay),
Communication satisfaction 3.66/3.24
Communication climate 3.69/3.26 (out of 5, virtual worker/traditional worker, Akkirman)
Media quality 29.17
Communication climate 26.56,
Corporate information (out of 50, Clampitt and Downs).
Satisfaction with organisational information ranges from 53% to 64%.

16. Measuring internal communication
Satisfaction/Channel use
Data
Understanding and living the business strategy, values, goals
60% understanding (TowersWatson)
54% senior manager involvement in communication 30% consistency in behaviour (IABC)
48% senior managers have a clear vision (Truss et al.).
Satisfaction with upward feedback
26% dissatisfied or very dissatisfied (CIPD)
37% satisfied (Truss et al.),
Satisfaction with feedback on performance
30% performance not discussed (Truss et al.)
44% of managers rarely/never coach employees (CIPD)
Satisfaction of job information, 3.37 (out of 5, Byrne and LeMay)
Personal feedback 3.38/2.92 (out of 5, virtual worker/traditional worker) (Akkirman)
Personal feedback (out of 50, Clampitt and Downs).
Around 60% of employees understand where the organisation is headed, though this is undermined by senior manager clarity (48%) and minimal senior management involvement in telling the story (54%). Most concerning is the very low (30%) level of consistency in behaviour to match values.

17. Measuring internal communication
Satisfaction/Channel use
Data
Channels, new and social media
Lean media; 3.43 out of 5, rich media; 3.76 (out of 5, Quinn and Hargie)
83%, intranet 75%, social media 12% (IABC), /online news 68.8%, online video most popular social media tool (Melcrum)
General increase in use of electronic channels, though less than 50% using social media tools (TowersWatson).
It is clear that electronic communication is replacing print, though use of social media is still at an embryonic stage with less than half of organisations using it at best.

18. Strategy, goals and values
I am well informed about what is going on and what is planned and my line manager is committed to the organisation.
Engagement
Strategy, goals and values
Support
Identification
Role
Performance
Voice
My organisation provides plenty of support for people.
I have regular opportunities to have a say and what I say is treated seriously.
I identify with the organisation’s values and am an advocate of what it does.
I know how I am doing and have good development opportunities.
I know what my job responsibilities are and how they contribute to the team and organisation.

19. Gaining buy in: Five ways to get buy in from senior leaders

20. Five ways to gain buy from leaders
Number 1
De-personalise it. Ask: “What would a community nurse think” or John in accounts....
Use imaginary members of staff to get them thinking about how it feels for others.

21. Five ways to gain buy from leaders
Number 2
The business case. Why engaged employees make a difference. At the same time tap into what keeps them awake at night.

22. Five ways to gain buy from leaders
Number 3
Set proper objectives and plan against them. Move away from the idea that communication can’t be measured or planned. Its a hard skill, not a soft one – we’re not the corporate postman!

23. Five ways to gain buy from leaders
Number 4
Pick your battles. And remember that it isn’t going to happen over night.

24. Five ways to gain buy from leaders
Number 5
Why aren’t your senior managers engaging? Is it fear? Think about your role as one of coach.

25. Roles and skills Extent of solution Extent of need
Adapted from Quirke (2008: 304-6)
Distributor and craftsman Select channels Write, design and event plan
Technical advisor
Use and manage technology Target audiences, channels and messages Work with feedback
Consultant and coach Facilitate thinking Prioritise and plan Co-ordinate Develop communication objectives from strategies Consult with clients
Extent of
solution
Extent of need

26. Gaining buy in: What about line/middle managers?

28. Bringing it to life - The role of the middle manager
Many middle managers view their roles as tactical, and not strategic.
There is often a communications block between middle managers and their people
CURRENT ROLE
Operational:
Tactical project management
Business targets
Logistics
People Management:
Performance
KPIs
Recruitment
80%
20%
EXPECTED ROLE
Operational:
Tactical project management
Business targets
Logistics
People Management:
Communication
Engagement
Performance
KPIs
Recruitment
Morale
50%
50%

29. What does it feel like for managers?
Do we support or by pass managers?

30. More information
@pracademy
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