Are your organs healthy?
(First published in Surrey House’s customer magazine Showcase, Autumn 2005)

by Jonathan Steffen

Internal Comms expert Jonathan Steffen conducts an …

… internal examination

 

It’s as messy business. Expectations. Emotions. Hormones.

It’s a tricky business. Market dymanics. Regulatory changes. Media interest.

It’s your business. It’s full of people. Those people are full of problems. And those problems are – full of problems.

Welcome to Internal Comms. As a manager, you’re expected to inform, engage and enthuse your employees – even those looking to jump ship. In fact, especially those ones, because they are – er – your best employees. They need to be ‘empowered’ to deliver, ‘aligned’ with your strategy, and of course ‘developed’ (for your company, not its rivals). Hmn. Hopefully you’re not reading this on a Monday morning.

The wisdom of Solomon
It’s a tough patch. You need the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of a saint. You need a degree in Psychology and another in Law. You need to deliver pep talks and elevator speeches, to walk the corridors, and, of course, to listen, listen, listen. How much time do you spend at the coffee-machine? You mean you’re not taking the pulse of the organisation …? Forgive me, but where have you, like, been for the past twenty years?

It’s not a very attractive job. If you’re an MD, better delegate it to your HR Director. If you’re Head of HR, get the Head of Comms to sort it out. If you’re Head of Comms – well, you’ve probably got a trade fair to organize, a photo-shoot to cancel and a journalist to harangue. Didn’t we get an intern in the other week who seemed to understand the Intranet? Can’t she do it?

Unnerving
For years now, managers have been wondering how to communicate with this brave new world. It’s an unnerving place, because it’s full of people who understand communication technology better than the ones who are supposed to be managing them. Some have a flair for spotting trends (has your Board thought about the rights of Satanists to practice their religion during working hours?). Others have a talent for litigation (excessive consumption of deep-fried food raises cholesterol levels, ergo your canteen is a killer).

So what do you do? Get in a decent lawyer! Hang on – if your employees know that you’re consulting a lawyer before communicating with them, you’re headed for even bigger trouble. Let’s just back up …

Diagnostic questions
What do you do? You could consult an Internal Comms specialist. That specialist will probably (without the gloves; it doesn’t hurt) ask some diagnostic questions. Do you have an Internal Comms policy? An IC strategy? An IC plan? Do you know the difference between them? Do your managers have Internal Comms as a part of their job descriptions? Do your in-house Comms personnel have IC qualifications? Do you ask your employees to evaluate the effectiveness of how your managers and your Comms team communicate? Do you ask your employees to evaluate the effectiveness of your own personal communication efforts?

Aha. That last one hurt. But I think it gave us the information we need.

Next, please!

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