It’s a while since the ancient art of “tug o’ war” featured in the Olympics, but it’s alive and well in a boardroom near you.  Internal communication, that golden thread between employees and customers, is starting to take the strain!

According to a Melcrum study back in 2006 which compared the generic site of the internal communication function between 2003 and 2006, there’s a very real “heave ho” taking place between HR and Corporate Communication to control the internal communication strings. 

During the period in question, 44% of corporate communication functions across the multi-sector survey claimed to include internal communication among their reporting lines.  This was a 14% increase in three years. The HR figures were roughly half that amount, but increased by 10% over the same period.  It is also evident that, in that time, a number of HR functions were attempting to sweep internal communication into the employee engagement and industrial relations pot.

The growth in the demand for control over internal communication within HR and Corporate Comms was apparently at the expense of functions like the office of the CEO, Organisation Development and Marketing. I believe that’s a worrying trend.

These figures become most interesting, however, when seen in the context of a 2005 study by the same organisation (see Buckingham, Brand Engagement, Palgrave/Macmillan 2007 )* which reports that where organisations claim to have a formal employee engagement programme, 67% claim that this falls within HR, 55% attribute engagement to Internal Communication as a distinct function and 27% claim it is the responsibility of their Organisation Development function.  There’s no mention of Corporate Comms which is worrying when you consider that employee engagement is, in effect, the highly evolved form of internal communication at the opposite end of the spectrum from tactical “push” communication campaigns.

Now the more statistically astute of you will have detected that the figures in the last paragraph don’t add up to 100%.  And that’s the crux of this argument. Internal communication is not simple message management controlled by the HR or Corporate Comms function.  Truly evolved internal communication requires partnerships across the business functions and professional collaboration which is why so many departments believe that employee engagement, its most glamorous manifestation, falls within their remit.

Unfortunately, take a look at the recruitment press and it becomes clear that the internal communication profession is still dominated by message managers.  Where’s the glamour in owning the intranet and newsletters? 

The cream of the profession, however, are skilled engagement specialists with solid, credible business pedigree who are as comfortable in the newsroom as they are in the boardroom. They have the respect of their executive peers given that the best internal communication role models a partnership mentality. 

Internal communication should bring together the key people disciplines to ensure a clear and consistent representation of the vision, strategy, goals and employment brand.  That’s why any formal engagement programme needs to evolve out of what I call an engagement axis!  If too closely aligned to any 1 department it becomes subjugated to and inevitably falls foul of issue cherry-picking and internal politics (creatives vs pragmatists vs authenticity vs budget hunters etc).

It’s time we all afforded Internal Communication and the respect it deserves and credible practitioners similar kudos.  It’s vital to the management of the brand, employee motivation and retention, innovation and ultimately customer service, needs to be led by specialist practitioners and must be properly funded by budgeted not discretionary spend. 

Come to think of it, that just might be why so many of the internal generals are bracing their backs and tugging at that rope!

I’m intrigued to hear about the fun and games where you work.

I recently met the Marketing and Brand Director of a very well known (thanks to their quirky advertising strategy) but struggling (possibly also due to their quirky advertising strategy) telecomms brand.

Needless to say they have been wrestling with employee brand engagement for some time and although they reeled out the “our greatest asset” clichés, they also spoke about their internal culture as if the employee demographic was loitering by the bus stop with contraband fags and cider.

The corporate HQ had a frankly schizophrenic feel full of jazzy gimmicks like “oh so witty” voicemail and Dali-esque interior design.  It was certainly matched by the surreal logic of the marketing team and their talk of “magic moments”.  In a market where even their owners confess to being baffled by their brand, the director answered my question about what an engaged employee looked like with a remarkably casual “oh we’ll know one when we see one.”

I tried but I couldn’t see the tv cameras in the Board room and I swear I’ve rarely spent a more baffling hour and half.  The brand engagement strategy was so baffling I half expected the CEO to waltz through the room in his birthday suit, leap over his stretch goals and reveal his burning platform.

Why, oh why do so many leaders persist in believing that the art and science of engaging customers with brand is the same as engaging employees with it?

Customers seemingly crave fantasy as part of the purchasing process.  As gurus like Seth Godin or Phillip Kitchen remind us, convention dictates that the stories marketers relay to the market about products, services and brands are laced with illusion to such an extent that customers don’t just expect magic dust sprinkled over the marketing mix, they demand it.

Employees, however, have a very different, much more intimate relationship with the brand.  They not only demand but need sincerity and authenticity. They have an intrinsic understanding of the values underpinning the culture (whether officially sanctioned or not). They largely reject and often subtly undermine communication which is not in touch with this reality.  They’re a tough and demanding audience, particularly for leaders who are so blinded by notions of the aspirational culture that they overlook and underestimate the prevailing culture. 

By all means ensure that employees are aware of and are even excited by the new ad campaign or better still embrace storytelling as an engagement advice. But don’t forget that it isn’t just Seth Godin who believes that all marketers are liars.  Internal marketing campaigns, glitzy launches and suave internal PR may serve a purpose but cynical modern employees, in the words of rap pioneers Public Enemy’s Flava Flav simply “don’t believe the hype”. True and lasting engagement can only be built (and please pardon the pun) from the bottom up

So the next time someone makes the smart suggestion that they can align the employees behind the brand strategy with a video and supporting powerpoint slides, please remember to point out that office lighting is fairly unforgiving.  And who in their right mind would want to be an internal marketer, today’s naked Emperor?