valuing internal communication; management and employee perspectives
DESCRIPTION
In a review of 12 leading recent academic and consultancy studies it was found that there is no consistent approach to measuring internal communication. Underlying internal communication theory is not always applied and emerging theory is missing from many approaches to measurement. The emphasis is on process not content, reflecting a managerial not an employee perspective. There is a reliance on a quantitative research methodology and outdated survey instruments. A new conceptual model is explored as a framework for a new approach to measurement that reflects the linkages between internal communication and employee engagement. This is supplemented by consideration of how the use of internal social media impacts internal communication theory and measurement.TRANSCRIPT
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
PERSPECTIVES 1
Valuing internal communication; management and employee perspectives
Kevin Ruck and Dr. Mary Welch, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Author note
Kevin Ruck, Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire;
Dr. Mary Welch, Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire.
Correspondence about this article should be addressed to Kevin Ruck, The PR
Academy, Maidstone Studios, Vinters Park, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 5NZ.
Email: [email protected]
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
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Abstract
In a review of 12 leading recent academic and consultancy studies it was found that there is no consistent
approach to measuring internal communication. Underlying internal communication theory is not always
applied and emerging theory is missing from many approaches to measurement. The emphasis is on process not
content, reflecting a managerial not an employee perspective. There is a reliance on a quantitative research
methodology and outdated survey instruments. A new conceptual model is explored as a framework for a new
approach to measurement that reflects the linkages between internal communication and employee engagement.
This is supplemented by consideration of how the use of internal social media impacts internal communication
theory and measurement.
Introduction
The role of communication is becoming an increasingly important factor in the understanding of the value of
intangible organisational assets (Ritter, 2003 p. 50). Communication within organizations is linked to higher
levels of performance and service (Tourish & Hargie, 2009 pp. 10-15) generating communication capital
(Malmelin, 2007 p. 298) and social capital (Lee, 2009), grounded in organisational relationships. It is therefore
important for managers to be able to assess internal communication. Many well established tools developed in
the 1970s are still used, such as the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), the ICA Audit, the
Organizational Communication Development audit, and the Organizational Communication scale (P. G.
Clampitt, 2009 pp. 58-61). Though managers have long recognised the importance of internal communication, it
is often seen from the perspective of management rather than the employee. As Welch and Jackson (2007 p.
187) argue, “research into employee preferences for channel and content of internal corporate communication is
required to ensure it meets employees’ needs”. This is echoed by Uusi-Rauva and Nurkka (2010 p. 303) who
assert that “little research has focused on finding out what employees consider important in the internal “expert
communication process”“.
This paper is based on a review of twelve leading academic and consultancy studies representing 10,928
respondents. It argues that approaches to assessment are too narrowly focused on process, rather than content.
Assessment tools are outdated, rooted in a positivist research philosophy, and take little account of employee
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
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communication needs and the rise of internal social media.
Communication, organisational identification and engagement
Employee communication needs
Before examining the twelve studies, this section explores the general approach to assessment of internal
communication. Goldhaber et al., (1978 p. 82) found that an employee’s primary needs include, first, more
information about personal, job-related matters, and then, information about organizational decision making and
a greater opportunity to voice complaints and evaluate superiors. According to the consultancy, Towers Watson
(2010, p. x), “Most firms do well at communicating about the business; however…less than half of firms report
they are effective at communicating to employees regarding how their actions affect the customer or increase
productivity”. Towers Watson (2010) go on to report that internal communication messages are delivered either
centrally or locally and content differs as shown in table 1 below.
Table 1
Towers Watson 2009/2010 Communication ROI Study Report.
Messages delivered centrally Messages delivered locally
Explaining and promoting new programs and
policies
Helping employees understand the business
Educating employees about organizational
culture and values
Telling employees how their actions affect the
customer
Providing information on organizational
performance and financial objectives
Integrating new employees into the
organization
Providing individuals with information about the
true value of their total compensation package
However, there is no evidence in the report to suggest that these topics are the most important ones that
employees expect managers to discuss. Furthermore, the conclusion that firms do well at communicating about
the business is challenged by Truss et al., (2006 pp. 13-14) who found that 25 per cent of employees say that
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their manager rarely or never makes them feel their work counts. And only around half of all employees say that
their manager usually or always “consults me on matters of importance” or “keeps me in touch with what is
going on”. In general, 42 per cent of employees say that they are not kept very well informed about what is
going on in their organisation (Truss et al., 2006, p. 17) and this applies to both the public and private sectors.
An effective communication climate is, according to Robertson (2005) based on the following topics; job,
personal, operational and strategic issues. Many of these are reflected in an audit of communication in a
healthcare organisation, where the following top six topics were cited for “information needed” (Hargie and
Tourish, 2009 p. 252)
How problems that I report in my job are dealt with (3.8)
How my job contributes to the organisation (3.6)
How decisions that affect my job are reached (3.6)
Things that go wrong in my organisation (3.5)
Staff development opportunities (3.5)
My performance in my job (3.5)
Scale: 1 = very little: 2 = little: 3 = some: 4 = great: 5 = very great
These results signify the importance of upward feedback and managers “closing the loop” of concerns raised.
They also highlight an interest in “things that go wrong”, something that does not sit comfortably with a
journalistic, tell or sell approach that can be perceived as organisational propaganda.
The dominance of process and the individual
The general focus of internal communication audits tends not to be on content so much as process. For example,
Tourish and Hargie (2009, p. 31) state that audits typically focus on who is communicating with whom, the
issues that receive attention, the volume of information sent and received, levels of trust and the quality of
working relationships. Valuable as these perspectives are, this highlights the general starting point for internal
communication audits and research; the managerial perspective on process rather than individual employee
expectations of content. In the review of studies conducted for this paper, little research could be found that
specifically tackled what employees would like their organisation to communicate. As Chen et al., (2006 p. 242)
argue, “A review of the research on organizational processes concluded that member satisfaction with
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organizational communication practices has been ignored”. D’Aprix (2006 p. 238) does place an emphasis on
the employee perspective in his model of the employee questions that line managers must answer (see figure 1).
This is similar to Robertson’s proposal (above) with a primary focus on the individual’s role at work. This is
indicative of work conducted in the practitioner survey field on employee engagement (for example, Gallup)
that suggests that it is an individual’s role and work that are the most important engagement
factors. This represents an individual, cognitive psychological, perspective on communication and engagement
and underplays the pivotal role that social connection to and involvement with the wider organisation has for
engagement. It is not enough only to know where the organisation is heading, that is just a starting point. As
Truss et al., (2006, p. 45) report, the three most important factors for engagement are much deeper:
1) having opportunities to feed your views upwards
2) feeling well informed about what is happening in the organisation, and
3) thinking that your manager is committed to your organization.
Figure 1. D’Aprix’s (2006) employee communication model
Furthermore, it could be argued that job responsibilities, performance feedback, and individual needs are purely
hygiene factors for engagement; if they are not satisfactory then employees will be disengaged. If they are in
place, then social identification with the organization, reinforced by informed employee voice, is what leads to
higher levels of engagement. This concept is explored in more detail in the following section.
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Content and organisational identification
Miller (2009) suggests that the content of internal communication is dependent on the approach to management
in the organisation. For example, in a classical organisation it is argued that “communication about task is very
narrowly focused” (Miller, 2009, p. 29). However, in human relations organisations “the innovation content of
communication is critical” (Miller, 2009, p. 50). Sluss et al., (2008 p. 457) point out that although a myriad of
potential exchange relationships exist within and between organizations, all employees have two seemingly
preeminent relationships at work; one with the immediate supervisor, and one with the organization.
Organizational identification, based on social identity theory, is the degree of oneness with the organisation and
has been found to be associated with job satisfaction, job involvement, turnover intentions, and in role and
extra-role performance. Leiter and Bakker (2010 p. 2) suggest that “Employees’ responses to organizational
policies, practices and structures affect their potential to experience engagement”. This is illustrated in a social
identity theory approach to organisational identification adopted by Millward and Postmes (2010, p. 335) in a
study of business managers in the UK. They reported that “The fact that identification with the superordinate
grouping of “the organisation” was particularly relevant to performance is important for theoretical, empirical
and pragmatic reasons”. This reinforces research by Wieseke (2009) that found the higher the level of
organisational identity of sales managers the greater the sales quota achievement. Furthermore, a lack of
organisational identification has, according to Knight and Haslam (2010, p. 721) been associated with increased
stress and burnout, withdrawal, and sickness. These are powerful drivers for an organisation’s investment in
what Welch and Jackson term “Internal Corporate Communication” (2007, p. 186) defined as “communication
between an organisation’s strategic managers and its internal stakeholders, designed to promote commitment to
the organisation, a sense of belonging to it, awareness of its changing environment and understanding of its
evolving aims”.
Corporate vision, values, image and identity
Although D’Aprix includes organizational vision, mission and values in his communication model, the detail of
the content in these categories requires deeper consideration For example, corporate image and identity is not
prioritised in the literature on internal communication as it is often seen more as the realm of external
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communication. However, Cartwright and Holmes (2006 p. 200) suggest that it “can matter a great deal to an
employee as it represents their assessment of what characteristics others are likely to ascribe to them because
they work for a particular organization”. Holtzhausen and Fourie (2009p. 340) argue that “the non-visual
elements of the corporate identity impact on employer-employee relationships and thus need special attention
when managing employer-employee relationships”. Although employees are interested in knowing about
organisational strategy, it is how it is discussed that is critical. Daymon (1993 p. 247) suggests that the reasons
why employees give up on the communication process is the failure to connect strategy to people:
I think people didn't go . . . because the first one that [the chief executive] held was all financial. . . . It
was all money, money, money, and it meant very little to a lot of people. He wasn't talking about
realities. He was talking about fiscal policies. . . .
Sluss et al., (2008, p. 458) suggest that, in terms of values, perceived organisational support is a key factor. This
is defined as the subordinate’s perception of the extent that ‘‘their work organization values their contribution
and cares about their well-being”. It is especially important as many more people today “are seeking a greater
sense of meaning and purpose in their extending working lives” (Cartwright & Holmes, 2006 p. 200).
Review of approaches to assessment
Shortcomings in establishing theory in internal communication have often led to a predominance of the
assessment of channels used, or volume of information generated (the what); essentially process explanations
rather than the content of the communication itself, how well it is provided, or understanding. The well
established International Communication Association (ICA) survey is a comprehensive approach made up of
eight main sections. In an adapted version set out by Hargie and Tourish (2009, pp.420-437) one of the sections
explores content and another channels, four are more generally about processes and volumes of information sent
and received and two can be tailored to specific organisational issues. The range of content topics is mainly job
related; pay, performance, promotion, development, with only one question in the set related to wider
organisational goals. Respondents use a five point Likert scale to rate the topics according to the how much
information is provided. The balance of job related questions and organisational related questions is skewed
towards the individual job level and this underplays the importance of organisational identification.
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Furthermore, some important topics, such as job security and the general support provided by the organisation,
are omitted. In terms of channels, the audit provides a list of channels and asks the question, “how much
information are you receiving through these channels?” This may provide a useful snapshot of channel use in a
given organisation. However, it does not explore what content is provided through specific channels and
whether or not this is appropriate from an employee perspective. The overriding focus on the volume of
information within the ICA also suggests that internal communication can be reduced to a transmission process
and this ignores the question of how well the information was provided, including tone, clarity and
appropriateness of the medium used. It also fails to address questions of credibility of the information provided
and how far it led to two-way dialogue.
Another well established survey, the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) takes a different
approach to the ICA and focuses on primary dimensions of communication satisfaction that include: general
organizational perspective, organizational integration, personal feedback, relation with supervisor, horizontal-
informal communication, relation with subordinates, media quality, and communication climate (Downs &
Hazen, 1977). This focuses mainly on information specific to an individual but also includes some wider
organisational aspects, such as clarity of communication and openness to ideas (Pincus, 1986 p. 399). It is
grounded more in general satisfaction than volume of information. The findings of the studies that have used the
CSQ indicate that the areas of greatest employee satisfaction are the supervisory communication and
subordinate communication, while the area of least satisfaction tends to be the personal feedback factor (P.
Clampitt & Downs, 1993). The shortcomings of the CSQ are, according to Clampitt (2009 p. 58) the omission
of top management communication and decision-making. Other surveys often explore preferences for channels
and as White et al., (2010, p. 78) explain, e-mails are appropriate for quick notices and updates, printed paper
signifies importance, and web sites are archives for retrieval-as-needed information. However, interpersonal,
dialogic communication remains important to employees at every level of the organization.
Review of twelve leading studies
An analysis of twelve recent leading academic and consultancy studies of internal communication is provided in
table 2 below. What emerges from this analysis is a disjointed picture of the assessment of internal
communication. Despite the existence of well established tools, these are not always used. Consultants and
academics use different question sets and approach the topic from different perspectives. This analysis reveals
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an overwhelming reliance on a positivist position, using questionnaires to ascertain the state of internal
communication. It is not clear what validated approach to the subject these are based on, though there is a
tendency towards a paradigm that is focused on messaging rather than dialogue and relationships. On the other
hand, some themes do emerge, such as the reliance on newsletters and email and the decrease in print channels.
In terms of content, where this is assessed, there is a focus on job related topics and wider organisational
dimensions are often marginalised.
The techniques used in the majority of the approaches reviewed in table 2 paper are questionnaires, many based
on scales that were developed in the 1970s. The advantage of using such well developed tools is the potential
benchmarking of data on a significant scale. The disadvantages are that the tools do not reflect a broad, current,
range of theories. They also reflect a narrow, positivist, worldview approach to the complex field of human
communication and do not take account of the changing world of work that is resulting from the introduction of
social media. It would be more meaningful to work towards assessments that reflect a combination of positivist
and interpretivist approaches in the future.
Table 2
Review of approaches to internal communication and engagement assessment
Source Content Channels
Towers Watson
(2010)
328 organizations that
collectively represent
5 million employees
in various regions
around the world.
Understanding the business
60% effectiveness
Organisational performance and
financial objectives
56% effectiveness
Rewards (health care, bonus, pension,
pay) 45% effectiveness
Actions affecting customer
45% effectiveness
Job security
24% provide no information on this topic
Social media – less than half of
respondents are using this channel
Electronic communication – substantial
increase in use
Face to face communication – significant
increase in use
Print – increase in use in some areas but
significant decline in other areas
IABC Research
Foundation
and Buck
Formal list of values or description of
the desired culture published – 74%
Involve senior leadership in orientation
Frequently used channels, ranked in
order
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Consultants
Employee
Engagement Survey
IABC
(2010)
877 respondents from
various regions
around the world.
programs to transmit vision, values,
and culture – 54%
Consistency between a manager’s
behavior and the cultural values of the
organization checked – 30%
Emails (83%)
Intranet (75%)
Face-to-face meetings (54%)
Website (47%)
Print employee newsletters or newspapers
(32%)
Posters/flyers (28%)
Town hall meetings (27%)
Virtual meetings (21%)
Videos (19%)
Social media (12%)
Business television (8%)
Home mailings (5%)
Podcasts (4%)
White et al., (2010)
147 interviews
conducted in a large,
multicampus,
geographically
dispersed university
in US.
Even when respondents said they had
sufficient information to perform
their job and sufficient information about
policies and goals of the
organization, they still wanted
information about administrative
decisions, budgets,
personnel decisions, pending changes,
goals, and future directions, etc.
Employees who were most satisfied with
internal communication were those
who received information from a variety of
sources, including interpersonal
channels. Despite the convenience of e-
mails, a high value was placed on
face-to-face communication, even though
many employees noted that meetings are
time-consuming.
Melcrum Social
Media Survey (2010)
More than 2,600
internal
communication
professional
respondents; 1,800
from organisations
Not assessed. Newsletters and emails
68.8 per cent of leaders use online
newsletters and companywide emails to get
messages out to their staff.
Online video was chosen as the most
popular "social media" tool with 52.6 per
cent, with blogs (51.9 per cent –
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with more than
500 employees.
respondents were told they could tick all the
tools that applied to their use of social
media), instant messaging (47 per cent) and
social networks, including Twitter,
Facebook and Yammer, in fourth place with
37.6 per cent.
Marques (2010)
A qualitative study
(entailing a
phenomenological
approach) with 20
subjects.
Criteria for successful communication:
timely, clear, accurate, credible, pertinent,
responsible, concise, professional, and
sincere.
Several participants listed the aspect of
execution or delivery format of the
message, stressing that communication
should be delivered in a responsible format
given its content. Not every message lends
itself for email, but not every message
requires face-to-face settings either.
CIPD (2009)
A representative
sample of more than
3,000 people in
employment in the
UK.
Employees are most likely to say their
managers rarely/never coach them on the
job (44%); this is particularly the case
with larger organisations. They are also
more likely to say their managers
rarely/never discuss their training and
development needs (35%) nor provide
them with feedback on their performance
(26%).
More than one in five (26%) are either
dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the
opportunities that exist within their
organisation to feed their views upwards.
Not assessed.
Al-Ghamdi et al.,
(2007)
187 responses from
Not specifically assessed. The eight highest rated methods used by
employees to learn about their
firm’s strategy were:
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employees in one
company based in
Riyadh and Jeddah.
(1) Plant Manager meetings
(2) Group meetings conducted by
employee’s immediate supervisor
(3) Employees’ immediate supervisor
(4) Information placed on bulletin boards,
posters, and signs in the plant
(5) E-mail
(6) video
(7) Tele/Video conference
(8) The firm’s Division management in
employee groups.
Truss et al., (2006)
Stratified sample of
2000 employees in the
UK.
Training and development
32% rarely/never discussed
Performance
30% rarely/never discussed
Vision
48% say senior managers have a clear
vision
Well informed about organisation
42% say they are not well informed
Voice
37% satisfied with opportunities for
upward feedback
Not assessed.
Byrne and LeMay
(2006)
598 fulltime
employees from the
US based offices of a
high technology
oriented organization,
using an adaptation of
Information
Satisfaction of company wide information
3.2
Satisfaction of business unit information
3.05
Satisfaction of job information
3.37
Lean/Rich media
Satisfaction with lean media 3.43
Satisfaction with rich media 3.76
Response scale of (1) strongly disagree to
(5) strongly agree
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the International
Communication
Association (ICA)
Communication Audit
Survey
Response scale of (1) strongly disagree to
(5) strongly agree
Akkirman and
Harris
(2005)
Survey in a Turkish
subsidiary of an
international company
based in Germany.
Virtual
office workers
returned 46 surveys (a
response rate of 70.7
per cent) and
traditional office
workers returned 22
surveys (a response
rate of 62.8 per cent).
Communication Satisfaction
Questionnaire (CSQ)
Communication satisfaction 3.66/3.24
Personal feedback 3.38/2.92
Organizational integration 3.57/3.12
Relationship with supervisor 4.02/3.73
Communication climate 3.69/3.26
Horizontal communication 3.66/3.17
Results are shown for virtual
workers/traditional workers
Not assessed.
Clampitt and Downs
(2004)
Around 1300 people
from organisations in
different countries.
Communication Satisfaction
Questionnaire (CSQ)
Supervisor communication – 34.18
Subordinate communication – 33.43
Horizontal communication – 31.81
Organizational integration – 29.62
Media quality – 29.17
Not assessed.
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Communication climate – 26.56
Corporate information – 26.35
Personal feedback – 23.99
Scale of 0-50, (50 is max satisfaction)
Quinn and Hargie
(2004)
Interviews,
questionnaires and
critical incident
analysis in a police
force in Northern
Ireland with131
respondents to the
survey.
ICA questionnaire
Information - respondents thought they
were receiving between “little” and
“some” information, but wanted a “great”
amount of information.
The greatest shortfalls related to:
how decisions that affect my job are dealt
with;
self development opportunities;
major management decisions;
development and changes in policing;
things that go wrong in the organisation.
ICA questionnaire
Information received through various
channels - these results were the only ones
that showed a statistically non-significant
result, in that respondents did not wish to
receive any more information through the
grapevine and did not want to receive very
much more via the media.
A summary of the key findings from the data is summarised in table 3 below. This analysis suggests that
satisfaction with organisational information ranges from 53% to 64%. As a basic employee requirement, this
indicates there is still much to be done for employees to feel that they are well informed. In terms of
understanding the business strategy, values and goals, 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. At an individual level, 30% of employees do not have any discussion about performance at all,
job information satisfaction is around 67%, and personal feedback satisfaction ranges from 48% to 58%.
Satisfaction with opportunities for upward feedback varies in the two studies highlighted, nevertheless it is clear
that at best there is still a large number of employees who are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with this (26%).
Taking the three key drivers for employee engagement highlighted earlier; feeling well informed, line manager
commitment, and employee voice, it is not surprising that given the data summarised here that engagement
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levels are often stubbornly low, around 35% according to Truss et al., (2006, p. xi). In terms of new and social
media, 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. Finally, questions about satisfaction with
content are rarely asked and it is worth noting that employees do, naturally, expect channels to be used
appropriately for the information provided.
Table 3
Summary of key findings from internal communication and engagement assessment
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 26.35 (out of 50, Clampitt and Downs),
even when respondents said they had sufficient information to perform their job
and sufficient information about policies and goals of the organization, they still
wanted information about administrative decisions, budgets, personnel decisions,
pending changes, goals, and future directions, etc. (White et al.).
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 23.99 (out of 50,
Clampitt and Downs).
Content Timely, clear, accurate, credible, pertinent, responsible, concise, professional,
and sincere, but communication should be delivered in a responsible format
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
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given its content (Marques), main shortfalls are: self development opportunities;
major management decisions; development and changes in policing; things that
go wrong in the organisation (Quinn and Hargie).
Channels, new and social
media
Lean media; 3.43 out of 5, rich media; 3.76 (out of 5, Quinn and Hargie), email
83%, intranet 75%, social media 12% (IABC), email/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).
Linking assessment to theory
Hargie and Tourish (2009, pp. 235-6) highlight recurring themes in the communication literature as:
The need for adequate information flow concerning key change issues
The central importance of supervisory communication as a preferred communication source
The importance of inter-departmental communication in promoting enhanced innovation
The role of participation as a means of enhancing corporate cohesion
The notion of communication as a foundation of teamwork and positive employee attitudes, and thus
an agency for enhancing performance
The need to maintain face-to-face communication as a primary method of information transmission
The benefits obtained from conceptualising dissent as a source of useful feedback, rather than simply
as resistance to overcome.
They conclude (2009, p. 236) that there is a “…disabling gap between theory and practice”. This is reinforced
by the results in the analysis in table 2. Change issues are not specified in any of the assessments reviewed, the
overwhelming use of e-mail and newsletters dominates information transmission and the omission of facets
linked to participation and useful feedback is very apparent. However, the themes themselves may not
necessarily form a complete validated underlying theory of internal communication. For example, they do not
fully incorporate research findings that link internal communication to employee engagement (Truss et al.2006).
So, there are gaps at both the theoretical and practice levels. If an audit or assessment is conducted to obtain an
accurate, objective, picture of the state of internal communication, then it is clearly important to understand
what an ideal state is. Downs and Adrian argue (2004, p. 245) that communication theories are still incomplete,
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and as there are many of them, “theory needs to be used judiciously”. Furthermore, Downs and Adrian suggest
that:
The state of our art is such that no umbrella theory of communication exists. Therefore, each problem
in the organisation may require auditors to use different kinds of theories, always watching for their
contradictions and inconsistencies.
If auditors need to call upon a range of theory, then emerging public relations theories such as critical theory, the
excellence theory of public relations and rhetorical theory (Toth, 2009) could be incorporated much more into
internal communication theory. As yet, these approaches are under-explored and could be a rich vein of
research. Many of these theories point to a new direction in assessment based more on bridging than buffering,
where bridging is about relationships with stakeholders, rather than a set of messaging activities designed to
buffer the organisation from them (Grunig, 2009, p. 9). As the assessments reviewed in table 2 indicate, the
focus remains on the circulation of information; type of information, timing, and load, flow; downward, upward
and horizontal and use of channels. These are all indicative of a focus on buffering.
An updated conceptual model for internal communication
This paper has explored approaches to assessing internal communication and the associated links to internal
communication theory. As theory is incomplete, it is not possible to establish a definitive conceptual model of
internal communication that can be used to guide assessment. However, it is possible to outline a new
conceptual model of internal communication (figure 2) that takes more account of the individual and the social
communication needs of employees, the cognitive and social psychological aspects of communication and
identification, bridging and buffering, and the drivers for employee engagement that are missing or marginalised
in many of the assessment instruments.
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Figure 2. Conceptual model of employee questions to be addressed through line manager and corporate internal
communication
This conceptual model aims to incorporate a balance between line manager and internal corporate
communication. It incorporates the importance of employee voice, based on being well informed together with
questions of organisational support and identification. It is grounded in the argument that employee engagement
is the outcome of strategic internal communication practice. The model shows linkages between key dimensions
where these are likely to be strongest although research is required to test connection strengths. It is
conceptually possible that some aspects, such as role, are more like hygiene factors and others, such as
identification are more powerful drivers of engagement. However, this hypothesis needs to be tested as a
potential weighting has not been explored to date. Furthermore, this conceptual model is a higher level model
only that requires a more detailed and layered approach to new assessment instruments. This extends to
assessing the use of the right medium for the message and incorporation of the full range of employee
communication needs as identified in some the research highlighted in this paper. In the next section social
media and internal communication is briefly reviewed, as this will have a profound impact on theory and the
development of new approaches to assessment.
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Medium theory and internal social media
Information richness and new media ages
Much of the research and assessment of internal communication includes the use and preferences of channels.
According to Daft and Lengel (1986 p. 560) this is linked to the concept of information richness and in order of
decreasing richness, media classifications are (1) face-to-face, (2) telephone, (3) personal documents such as
letters or memos, (4) impersonal written documents, and (5) numeric documents. Rich media are personal and
involve face-to-face contact between managers, while media of lower richness are impersonal and rely on rules,
forms, procedures, or data bases. Downs and Adrian (2004, p. 57) argue that communicators need to match
communication that is high in ambiguity with rich media and communication that is low in ambiguity with lean
media. As highlighted earlier, this basic principle in terms of matching content to media is not often assessed. It
is worth noting that, according to some theorists, the channel itself conveys its own message. Medium theory,
developed first by Marshall McLuhan and then extended by Donald Ellis (Littlejohn & Foss, 2008, p. 290), is
based on the idea that the media, irrelevant of the content, impacts individuals and society. As media change, for
example from print to television and more recently to internet, this affects the way people think and relate to
each other. Littlejohn and Foss (2008, p. 292) conceptualise a first, broadcast, media age as a social interaction
approach, based on transmission of information and the second media age as a social integration approach
which is more interactive and personalized. This analysis can be likened to Grunig’s (2009) differentiation
between buffering and bridging. In the second age there is less emphasis on the media and information per se
and more on the way that it creates communities. However, Poster (1995 p. 22) argues that the first age may not
have been an age at all, “Until now the broadcast model has not been a first age but has been naturalized as the
only possible way of having media – few producers, many consumers”. Relating this to internal communication
today, it could be argued that its first real age has yet to arrive, with practice focused as it is on a model of
transmission of messages from senior management (the few) using email and newsletters (broadcast channels)
to employees (the many).
A new age of social integration in internal communication
The dawning of a new age of social integration in internal communication raises significant questions about
theory and assessment. According to Poster (1995, p. 28) it amounts to “users having decentralized, distributed,
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
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direct control over when, what, why, and with whom they exchange information”. This leads to critical thinking,
activism, democracy, and quality. Poster’s approach is related to external communication. Could it equally
apply to the world of internal communication where there is usually more control over channels? If so,
assessment approaches need to add these dimensions as they are missing from most current instruments.
Bennett et al., (2010) claim that social networking sites provide opportunities for both formal and informal
interaction and collaboration with fellow employees and clients/customers which aids knowledge transfer and
communication. This, in turn, leads to a shift in culture from “information gathering” to “information
participation”. Lange et al., (2008 pp.4-5) argue that the benefits of social networking can be classified into
three broad categories: (1) Community. Interaciont with people who share your interests and passions; (2)
Collaboration. Connection to people, expertise and resources in search of solutions that cannot be created with
any one of those ingredients alone; (3) Contribution. Capabilities to make it easier for customers or citizens to
contribute their ideas, expertise, concerns and preferences. Fraser and Dutta (2010) highlight examples of
corporations which have started to adopt social networking sites as a business tool such as General Motors
which uses an internal blog and FastLane, which uses a corporate “focus group” that attracts around 5,000 daily
visits.
Assessing internal social media
The approach to assessment of internal social media has to date focused on basic techniques, using website data
and analysis or intranet traffic figures. A recent Melcrum survey (2010) involving more than 2,600 internal
communication professionals found that internal communication teams enjoy sticking to the basics with 61.6 per
cent suggesting they measure the success of social media initiatives by using website data and analysis or
intranet traffic figures. The survey also reinforced assessment from other research regarding the use of
newsletters and emails; 68.8 per cent of leaders were found to be using online newsletters and companywide
emails to get messages out to their staff. The use of social media technologies becomes increasingly important
as organisations offer different working styles, such as teleworking, hot-desking, and virtual offices.
Interestingly, despite concerns that virtual working provides a challenge for internal communicators, research
conducted by Akkirman and Harris (2005) found no evidence to support the idea that a virtual workplace would
have a categorically negative impact on organizational communication. In fact, they found the opposite, virtual
office workers experienced higher levels of communication satisfaction than office workers on all measured
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
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factors. Currently, internal communication theory and assessment has not caught up with the impact of social
networks and media within organizations. This is an example of what Poster (1995, p. 74) refers to as
contingency in communication theory, “Communication theory begins with a recognition of necessary self-
reflexivity, of the dependence of knowledge on its context”. He goes on to argue that “The first principle of
communication theory in the age of electronic technology, then, is that there is no first principle, only a
recognition of an outside of theory, an other to theory, a world that motivates theory”. Poster warns against the
temptation, at an epistemological level, to try to secure a firm knowledge of communication theory. This is a
steer towards research and assessment of internal communication that is more grounded in a relativist or
interpretivist worldview, based on understanding more than explaining or seeking to find absolute principles.
Conclusion
An analysis of the studies reviewed in this paper suggests that levels of satisfaction with internal communication
are around the 50 to mid 60 percentage range. Understanding of organizational strategy is around 60 per cent.
Both these findings represent significant room for improvement and are seriously undermined by a lack of
senior manager clarity, commitment to values and integrity in upholding values. Indications are that satisfaction
with opportunities for employee voice can also be improved. Taken together this data suggests that there is a
great opportunity to improve internal communication in key areas that lead to higher levels of employee
engagement. The data also indicates that internal communication is often dominated by a journalistic “tell”
approach, or buffering, that does not necessarily meet the communication needs of employees. However, it is
not just the results themselves that are the focus of this paper. It is clear that, in a changing communication
environment, traditional approaches to assessment are themselves becoming outdated. They emphasise volume
and channels rather than content and dialogue. They also marginalize the importance of organisational
identification and are too reliant on a positivist research philosophy and questionnaires. Additionally,
assessment of internal communication should be revised to take more account of the impact of social media,
within a wider context of medium theory.
A new conceptual model of employee communication is posited as a high level framework for revised
approaches to internal communication assessment. It includes a stronger balance between communication
related to an individual’s role and wider internal corporate communication. It incorporates the importance of
employee voice, based on being well informed together with questions of organisational support and
VALUING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION; MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE
PERSPECTIVES 22
identification. At a more detailed level of assessment the framework should be supported with instruments that
include a far greater emphasis on content that meets employee needs as this has now been ignored for far too
long now.
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