It is not a matter of size: every company needs an internal communication plan. Why?
From a multinational corporation to a SME, all companies need to incorporate internal communication tools and processes. The strategy they apply has an impact on organizational health: it affects engagement, and employee productivity and collaboration.
Sounds obvious? It isn’t. North American companies are underinvesting IC functions, according to the findings from an annual report published by insurance brokerage/risk management combine Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
No Compass
In a very competitive job market, in which engagement is a key factor to achieve success, 60% of the companies surveyed lacked a long-term IC strategy.
This is terrible news for engagement and, by extension, for productivity. The lost productivity is believed to cost the US $ 550 billion each year, according to Gallup.
Sometimes companies prefer to focus on creating a strong external communication strategy, because they believe that the main goal is to reach the customer with key messages. But the problem is that poor internal communication can result in poor communication with consumers.
More Than a Plan
Another issue the Gallagher study found is that internal communicators aren’t placing much emphasis on measuring their impact.
Slightly more than a quarter of respondents (25 %) said they do little more than regular reports on the immediate impact of their activities. About one in eight respondents (12 %) don’t measure their communication effectiveness in any way, and only 9 % have completed an internal communication audit with the help of an external agency in the past three years.
