Why is internal communication important?
Internal communication takes place wherever and whenever people are together. It fulfills a basic human need. In the corporate context, we understand internal communication as planned and controlled communication management. By using suitable means of communication, the needs of employees for information, communication and cooperation should be met. In this way, internal communication makes an important contribution to achieving the company's goals.
One conclusion from the guideline interviews in the ZHAW study is: "Internal communication has very limited resources." Why is that?
In our study, we spoke with communication managers from medium-sized Swiss companies. The number of employees ranged from 280 to 1070. Compared to large companies, resources are naturally much scarcer there. However, it is indeed an old complaint that too little attention is paid to internal communication. However, we are currently experiencing a turning point in this respect: the digital transformation in general and the coronavirus crisis in particular have clearly highlighted the value of internal communication.
According to the ZHAW study, many companies are still working with outdated intranet solutions. What could be the reason why many companies are still struggling to set up a digital workplace?
There are certainly various reasons for this. Many companies prefer to invest in their external communication, in a convincing Internet presence or in sales-promoting marketing communication tools. In addition, many companies have a technological patchwork. They are afraid to touch functioning systems. Ultimately, however, it is also a question of corporate culture: those who want to promote dialog and collaboration will also be more willing to invest in modern platforms.
Internal communication with ALL employees is still seen as a "nice to have" in many companies - especially in industrial companies. What is your opinion on this?
Many companies have resigned themselves for too long to the fact that not all employees can be reached using communication tools such as the intranet or email. However, I believe that a rethink is currently taking place in companies. Everyone is now aware of the necessity. There are now also good communication tools that don't require their own digital workstation. The Beekeeper employee app, for example, is being used successfully in industrial companies.
To what extent has the demand for well-functioning internal communication increased since COVID-19? Can internal communication benefit from increased working from home?
If you no longer have employees on site, you inevitably have to strengthen internal communication if you don't want to "lose" them. I think the experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive: managers and employees have realized that the basic functions of internal communication, namely information, dialogue and collaboration, can also work remotely. Tools such as MS Teams, Skype and Zoom have experienced a strong upswing and will continue to enrich the communication repertoire in the future. However, it has also become clear during this time that personal social contacts can only be replicated digitally to a limited extent.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges in internal communication for Swiss companies?
Our study provided us with some answers. The accessibility of employees remains a major challenge despite the current surge in innovation. The variety of tools and the associated flood of information are further challenges. And then it is still not easy to create consistent internal communication at the interface between the communications, HR and IT departments.
Has the Covid-19 pandemic changed the requirements for communication channels?
Not fundamentally. As employees were no longer physically present, tools with a video function have experienced a huge boom. This initially led to bandwidth problems for some companies. Most of them now seem to have this under control.
The ZHAW study points out that there is a wide range of tools and platforms for internal communication. What criteria are decisive when choosing the right tool?
The existing tools must certainly be taken into account as a starting point. Ideally, a new tool should complement the existing means of communication and not simply duplicate them. Experts sometimes recommend that the tool should fit the company and its culture. That is not wrong. But I would go one step further. The introduction of a new tool can also be a powerful instrument for working on the corporate culture. The prerequisite for this is that the company management is behind it and acts as a role model.
In your opinion, who are the most important stakeholders in an organization when introducing a new tool?
Anyone launching a new intranet today is most likely to design it as a dialog-capable intranet, i.e. a social intranet. Ideally, this combines information, communication and collaboration functions. Broad support within the company can only be achieved if every single employee is seen as an important stakeholder. In a digitalized world, every employee takes on communication functions. Communication becomes a joint task. Of course, this also applies here: Without the unconditional support of the company management, even a social intranet will have a hard time.
Profile
Markus Niederhäuser is Head of Continuing Education at the Institute for Applied Media Studies IAM at the ZHAW. He conducted the study "Internal communication in medium-sized companies" together with Katharina Krämer and Nicole Rosenberger and it can be downloaded here.
The study was made possible at the suggestion and with partial funding from the companies isolutions AG and ahead AG.
