A webinar presented to members on 2 November 2016, Laura Jameson and Nick Leonard presented some top details from the recent research conducted by Ruder Finn

1. Taking internal
communications
out of its comfort zone
2 November

2. Today’s discussion hosted by
2
Laura Jameson
Director, Internal Communications
Ruder Finn
Nick Leonard
Managing Director
Ruder Finn
Share your thoughts
and questions in the
chat window

3. Our starting point
3
Organisations with high levels of
employee engagement can expect to
see at least a 20% boost in productivity
and profitability.
But only 13 per cent of global workers
feel engaged in their jobs.
Source: Gallup

4. 4
What we wanted to know
What is the general perception
of internal communications in
organisations today?

5. About the survey
5
34% Large size
43% Medium size
23% Small size
54% internal comms
8% external comms
37% both
1% other
Responses
collated between
May – June 2016

6. 6
• Many organisations are under huge
pressure to change
• IC has a pivotal role to play in the
transformation process
• Senior leaders believe IC
represents a significant risk
• IC functions are still operating firmly
within their ‘comfort zone’
Overview

7. Definition of ‘comfort zone’
7
1. A situation where one feels safe
or at ease.*
2. A settled method of working that
requires little effort and yields
only barely acceptable results.*
*Oxford dictionary

8. An important distinction
8
The ‘comfort zone’ is not
necessarily a choice
In most cases it seems enforced
by culture and structure

9. 9
Five reasons why
this situation exists

10. 10
One:
Paranoia causes
paralysis

11. A risk-averse attitude prevails
11
70%
30%
Risk averse
Risk takers
Attitude to risk

12. Not just a risk - but a threat
12
60% also agreed that their senior
stakeholders believed the prospect of
an IC leak externally represented a
significant risk to the business

13. What does this lead to?
13
Top down approach
with internal
communicators lacking
mandate to engage
‘Bare minimum’ comms
with strong company
line, leading to low
believability and
relatability
A workforce which is
not inspired, engaged
or motivated by internal
communications
Excessive
control
Lack of
transparency
Dull,
uninspiring
comms

14. Expert recommendation
14
Consider how you can get senior leaders
involved in internal communications
Start small and build
Help them to feel comfortable with the
approach and content
Encourage them to open up and be human

15. 15
Two:
Low empathy
causes apathy

16. Not enough is done to deliver reach
16
Agree Disagree
IC only engages a small
proportion of staff
65%
35%

17. And whole sections of organisations are ignored
17
Only 20% of respondents said their
organisation was good at engaging
employees in countries outside of
HQ – nearly half said their
organisation was not effective at all

18. What does this lead to?
18
The feeling that
only HQ matters
The feeling that
information is delivered
on a ‘need to know’ basis
Business units feel
disjointed and
disenfranchised
Excessive
centralisation
Us and them
Erosion of
team dynamic

19. Expert recommendation
19
Build a three-dimensional view of employees
via a comprehensive map to understand their needs
Translate!
Be mindful of platforms – particularly in Asia
Use champions and advocates to support
as part of a wider virtual team
…and get them to feed back

20. 20
Three:
IC is not close
enough to the
strategy

21. Internal communications is often just an afterthought
21
1 in 5

22. What does this lead to?
22
No ability to set a plan,
deliver it and measure
outcomes against
business goals
Communications that
are poorly thought
through, rushed,
inconsistent and
expensive
How can you deliver
campaigns in line with
strategy if you don’t
have the necessary
insights?
Poor planning
Knee-jerk
comms
A disconnect
with the
company

23. Expert recommendation
23
Improve integration with other teams
within the business
Know what they are doing and build it
into the plan
Start the process early and be clear
about the timescales you need

24. 24
Four:
Organisations are
not reacting to
changes in
working practices

25. Offline staff are suffering
25
80%
20%
How are you performing at
reaching front-line staff?
Could do better
Satisfactory

26. Current Future
How we need to evolve
26
Email
Intranet
Events
Printed newsletters
Posters/visual boards
Employee generated content
Video/animation
Blogs
Online and offline events
Mobile specific content

27. Expert recommendation
27
Ensure your channels cater
for your employees’ needs
Make the medium the message

28. 28
Five:
External and
internal comms
are divided

29. External operates independently
29
Could you do better at joining up
internal and external comms?
Works well
Could do better
76%
24%

30. What this means
30
Employees hear
different messages
from different sources
Different stakeholders
with different degrees
of understanding
Do shareholders
matter more than
employees?
Two-stroke
comms
Low
consistency
Perception of
low priority

31. Expert recommendation
31
Plan together – and share a diary
Repurpose materials based on the
needs of your internal audience
Always be thinking “How can this work
for employees?”

32. 32
What are the key
priorities for 2017?

33. What internal communicators want to do
33
There is a desire amongst internal
communicators to step away from
the well-known
Respondents highlighted several areas
where they wanted to improve and
make significant changes …

34. What are the key priorities for IC in your
organisation for the next 12-18 months?
34
“Help employees
understand
corporate
scorecard”
“Develop more
two-way channels
which support
collaboration”
“Taking the
organisation
through a change
programme”
“Introducing a form of
internal social media
to revamp some
existing channels”
“Building internal
communications in to
our new 5-year
strategy”

35. 35
Taking internal communications out of
its comfort zone
Full report available soon

36. 36
Q&A

37. Twitter
@RuderFinnUK
LinkedIn
Ruder Finn UK
Facebook
@RuderFinnUK
Instagram
Ruder Finn UK
Follow us online
Get in touch with us
Laura Jameson
ljameson@ruderfinn.co.uk
07837 943645

38. CIPR News
38
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