1. Corporate Conversation:
Effective and Appropriate
Internal Stakeholders
A Best Practice of Kompas
Gramedia Group
R. MASRI SAREB PUTRA

2. A best practice
• A best practice is a technique
or methodology that, through
experience and
research, has been proven to
reliably lead to a desired result.

3. • Successful companies
recognise that their employees
are the ambassadors of the firm
and their brands.
• Shareholders and other
stakeholders are also vital cogs
in the company wheel. Here are
some ideas for improving
internal communication.

4. Ten Things You Should Do
1. Develop an open and
transparent culture. Have a
system of regular briefings and
consultation to keep employees
informed of market trends,
trading performance, business
developments, emerging issues
and changes.

5. 2. Encourage and value feedback.
This may include questions and
suggestions that will be passed
up the management chain for an
assured response if they cannot
be answered on the spot.

6. 3. Use all relevant channels.
Communication can embrace
briefings, notice boards,
internal e-mail, intranet,
employee annual reports,
newsletters, even corporate
video and business TV. With
employee permission, don't
overlook text message and
mobile communications.

7. 4. Explain change. Where
significant changes are under
consideration, take time to
explain the background and why
this is important to the business
and to those affected. The
issues must be understood and
ownership and responsibility
shared.

8. 5. Engage and involve. Your
employees are also consumers
and often so are shareholders.
Ask them what they think of
your new products, advertising
campaign and new corporate
identity.

9. 6. Project and protect the brand.
Corporate clothing is a good
way to project the brand, but
make sure this is of good
quality and cleaned and
replaced at regular intervals.

10. 7. Be consistent. Ensure that
internal briefings and public
communication are consistent.
Mixed messages make all
stakeholders nervous.

11. 8. Create role models.
Acknowledge and reward the
exceptional performer, winning
teams and individuals who
make worthwhile suggestions.

12. 9. Live the message. Ensure that
planned programmes and
agreed changes roll out to
schedule and that everyone,
even the chairman, participates.

13. • 10. Train and train some more.
Training builds skills and
confidence, it can reinforce
good practice. It is an
investment that shows your
employees they are valued.

14. Five Things You Should Not Do
1. Don't keep people in the dark.
This will only allow rumour to
spread and issues to become
exaggerated.
2. Don't spin. People appreciate
plain speaking and honesty. If
there is a feeling that you are
only telling part of the story,
confidence will be undermined.

15. 3. Don't forget the isolated. Many
companies have sales or
service people in the field,
branch operations and even part
time workers who all need to be
included in the communication
loop.

16. 4. Don't neglect feedback. This is
often the most valuable part of
the communication process - it
shows concern, involvement
and shared ownership of issues.
It can often provide insights
that are not available from
management ivory towers.

17. 5. Don't panic. Public speaking
can unnerve some people.
Develop a training programme if
this is an issue.

18. Further Reading
• Lyn Smith, Pamela Mounter.
Effective Internal Com-
munication. Kogan Page.
• Shel Holtz. Corporate
Conversations: A Guide to
Crafting Effective and
Appropriate Internal
Communications. Amacom.