 
A LinkedIn group invitation pops up to discuss “5 ways Internal Communication matters,” a blog post sends a prompt about the “All things IC” to my inbox and the Ragan Summit on Employee Communications is a reminder on my RSS feed. There is a deafening buzz about internal communications on the Marketing and Communications (M&C) landscape and its essential role in organizational effectiveness, employee engagement and Communications management. Undoubtedly, there is great demand for discussion and analysis in the area; the reality however, as David Cowan says in his book on Strategic Internal Communications (2014), “If communications is regarded as the organization’s Cinderella, then the Internal communications unit is the department’s Cinderella.” He suggests that while Internal Communications (IC) is not yet as sexy as Social Media and Search Engine Optimization, it is a maturing function. Organizations and communicators continue to grapple for resources, as well as establishing priority and measuring value.
The broad-brush approach to IC of sending an email to all staff and ticking the box for good internal communications is the norm among organizations. Here’s the thing about using emails to reach your audience: they’re quick, easy and with one click you have the ability to target as many as you like. You’ll snag some in the process, but will the message be opened and more so read, and understood? Will it cause the intended action?
This was one of the harsh realities that prompted the UWI study on its internal communications channels undertaken by the M&C Office earlier this year. With over 74 trillion emails per day being sent globally, it’s no secret that we suffer from information overload and message saturation. So how then do you ensure that that your messages are being heard? Add to that, the well-quoted global stat that “70 % of employees are not engaged,” the Campus’ strategic focus on employee engagement; the need to put people first, as well as building a culture of engagement with IC at its core – it was clear we needed to do the research and establish a baseline before we could do anything that would encourage our community to check every ‘very satisfied’ box.
Our study aimed at gauging the success of the existing communication methods to help us identify the best way to communicate with staff – and in essence, learn their preferences when it comes to volume and type of information.
This communications audit gleaned robust data in the areas of channel preference, timing, content and layout by the various employee groupings our findings were quite instructive for future IC planning.
Mirroring global data, our Campus study found that the top three channels for IC included emails, intranet and the website. Staff members articulated a sense of being well informed of campus happenings due, in large part, to daily and weekly emails from the Marketing and Communications Office.
Emails sent are well received. Staff members were largely satisfied with the content and layout of the email bulletins but also looked to their managers, staff meeting and word of mouth for information. Information on training and development opportunities for staff and events were of particular interest to all staff with this factor arising in different categories of the survey.
For future improvements, there was a call for greater use of technology, including mobile apps, feedback loops, more information of University issues and layout enhancement to current communication channels.
Overall, nine in 10 staff members, in all categories, shared the view that they were well informed as a result of internal campus communication, and while the satisfaction levels are high, our aim is to do further exploration. A deep dive into the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ that comes with a mixed method approach is the next step to ensuring that we can draw conclusions and set direction for IC strategy at the St. Augustine Campus. This user-driven approach to IC planning will allow us to understand our employees, their nuances, their preferences and tailor our messages to have an impact. As Communicators, our role as content creators and content curators, demands that we are constantly listening and responding to our audiences.
The findings of the study prompted a series of further research exercises involving other audiences – communication surveys that targeted current students and prospective ones – enabling us to develop more holistic insights into the campus community’s preferences.
Wynell Gregorio’s presentation at the 2nd Biennial Human Communication Studies International Conference was “Channel Surfing – A study of the efficacy of communication modes and channels used to engage employees.” |
