No one seems sure whose responsibility internal communications is


No one seems sure whose responsibility internal communications is

A study by the CIPD in 2003, [2] noted that 36 per cent of HR managers said they had lead responsibility for internal communications, compared to 41 per cent who reported that they shared the responsibility jointly with another department. This, of course is part of the problem: no one is quite sure where it belongs, it doesn't have a genuine corporate champion.

Having said that, there are firms - large successful ones at that - where the CEO sees himself or herself as the CCO (chief communications officer) and believes that his/her role is to inform staff personally of issues that affect them.

My view is that it probably doesn't matter where internal communications is located provided it has a senior management champion and is allowed to do its job. When you consider the complexity of the modern corporation, and the difficulty we all admit to having in getting messages understood by an ever more diverse workforce, then effective corporate communications become paramount.

Sadly, it would seem, resources for internal communications are set at either feast or famine levels. CEOs who see the real need to let employees know what is going on - this is very often in times of major change - will pour people and pounds into internal communications. A new arrival, particularly if times are reasonably stable, will be quite likely to de-emphasise internal communications, cutting both budgets and staff. In this respect internal communications seem to be set upon a permanent roller -coaster ride, boom to bust and back again.

If I were to locate internal communications anywhere it would be with HR, with a close relationship to external communications functions as well. Then I would have a senior executive at managing board level put in overall charge as part of his or her responsibility. It is vital to have a seasoned professional in this role who can act as a spokesman for the internal communications' group and enjoy ready access to the CEO.

The other point to keep in mind is that, like all other parts of an organisation, internal communications is not a role that is set in stone. There may be an imperative to build engagement, or there may be a need to help along a change process (perhaps associated with a merger or acquisition). Every so often, new issues will arise and need to be emphasised for a period of time. This is why you need a senior manager responsible who knows what is required. Too often the internal communications department just keeps cranking out the same old stuff, regardless of the real needs of the business at a particular time.

[2] (October 2003) HR Survey: Where We Are, Where We're Heading . London. CIPD.




The New Rules of Engagement(c) Life-Work Balance and Employee Commitment
Performance Tuning for Linux(R) Servers
ISBN: N/A
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 131

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net