Internal Communication: Whose job is it anyway? – Part 3
We are left with more questions than answers as we bring this series on internal communication to a close. But in summation, it does seem that internal communication is one growing function that PR consultancies will do well to address as part of their specialised offerings.
We are left with more questions than answers as we bring this series on internal communication to a close. Technology PR practitioner Text 100 India has built the internal communication practice as a specialised area over the last 18 months or so, and a lot of training has gone into creating ‘internal communication specialists’ within the organisation.
Zackhariah James, MD, Text 100 India, said, “Internal communications is an area we are working with several clients on. This is a growing area, and is much larger today compared to what it was two or three years ago – it was non-existent then. Increasingly, clients are looking at best practices that can be brought into the system with the help of a communication partner. At present, 8-10 per cent of the work we do is in this area, and we see this going up further.”
Focused on consulting and engaging the top management, rather than conventional media relations or content development, Pune-based Image Corp has been closely involved in several internal communication projects for Garware Walropes, the Reserve Bank of India, Aarem Electronics and the Gera Group, among others.
This is perhaps an indication that a baggage of existing client commitments and expectations stands in the way of larger agencies entering the internal communication practice, and nurturing it with the attention it deserves.
“Most organisations themselves are not clear about the route they need to take. As for consultants, I see a lot of the larger management consultants getting into internal communication, but the view of some of the communication consultants is too myopic,” said Sujay Madhok, of Pune-based Consulting firm, Image Corp. “Companies, too, need to take communication partners into confidence. Communication is not a standalone skill and the veil of secrecy that exists needs to be discarded,” he observed.
According to a senior official of an ITeS company, in several instances, while strategic inputs on internal communication were sought from the top rungs of the communication partner, the implementation was done in-house. Often, the agency team that services the client is not engaged, given the nature of consultancy required, and also levels of confidentiality desired. Internal communication as a practice also demanded a longer association, when compared to other communication support, was the opinion expressed.
“A different communication model, with a different level of engagement is required. There is a huge degree of intimacy that is needed,” explained Madhok.
So, will we see more partnerships between HR and PR practitioners in the coming days? “It is a great opportunity to bring together the skill sets of two different functions. Independently, neither has the ability to deliver comprehensively, and the synergistic possibilities are immense,” said Srinivasan of Prime Point.
Veena Gidwani, CEO, Madison PR, lent yet another perspective to the business of internal communication, when she reasoned that PR agencies were better positioned to grasp a ‘first hand interactive knowledge’ of what employee morale and perceptions were.
She said, “PR agencies work very closely with the top management. And they also get involved with several businesses of the client, and interact with several functions of the client organization. We have been involved in several things for clients in internal communication, across strategizing and content development.”
Though she said that internal communication had the potential to become an independent income-generating area, for now it was being viewed as a value-add offered to clients. And this seems to be the view of many of the agencies that have ventured into the arena. “It’s more about partnering the client on both internal and external communication needs,” she added.
It is safe to say that design and content firms have already carved their niche within internal communication, but they are, admittedly, implementers of the strategy. Smaller advertising agencies and creative shops, too, have claimed their share of the pie.
As ‘mom and pop’ shops successfully deliver column centimetres (for less) in an increasingly competitive PR-space, it is consulting that will drive home the differential, according to several agency and corporate communication heads.
And internal communication is one area where consulting expertise from the experts on understanding, interpreting and shaping perceptions are welcome, when accompanied by an innate understanding of the internal dynamics of client organizations, and the client’s trust. Hopefully, the responsibilities of execution too, will follow.
(Concluded)
Also see:
Internal
Communication: Whose job is it anyway? Part 1
Internal Communication: Whose job is it anyway? Part 2
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