Exploring Internal Communication

Towards Informed Employee Voice

Kevin Ruck

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781032337500
• eBook ISBN: 9780429534898
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Exploring Internal Communication has long been the go-to publication for internal communication, public relations and human resources practitioners who want their practice to be grounded in research and guided by evidence-based advice. The new fourth edition has been comprehensively updated throughout to reflect the latest thinking in internal communication. Notably, the use of social media within organisations is explored in depth in recognition of the increasing integration of digital platforms.

A greater understanding of the different communication roles played by line managers and senior managers is emerging, and this is reviewed to help managers understand what is expected of them and how to succeed as they communicate with employees. And the demands of channel management are becoming increasingly complex; this edition helps practitioners negotiate this challenge.

Enriched with models, tips and case studies, this book is an indispensable tool for both students and practitioners alike.

PART I

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION LEADERSHIP

1

Internal communication and the associations with organisational purpose, culture and strategy

Kevin Ruck

Introduction

Following the financial crisis in 2008, management thinkers and others have rightly questioned the role of business leaders in society. Often fingers point at business schools, regarding their failure to incorporate ethics into programmes. Governance is in the spotlight. When the UK department store British Home Stores (BHS) went into administration in 2016 (a situation similar to going into ‘Chapter 11’ in the United States), serious questions were asked about how it was run to the detriment of employees and their pension fund. It seems that shareholder greed sometimes trumps employee and common interests. As a response, a new term was coined: responsible leadership. This chapter starts by exploring what responsible leadership means for internal communication practice. It also considers how internal communication is shaped by, and shapes, organisational culture and how it is linked to purpose and strategy.

Responsible communication leadership

Responsible leadership is a term that incorporates an elevated emphasis on ethical business practice.¹ It includes:

• issues about sustainability and the environment
• risk analysis
• care for employees; and
• monitoring of subcontractors

If you work in public relations and you have incorporated stakeholder analysis into your planning then this sounds like issues identification and management combined with corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, the focus on ‘care for employees’ is notable as it points to the importance of treating employees well. But how do leaders go about doing this? This chapter argues that one aspect of caring for employees is communicating with and listening to employees. Indeed, perhaps we need a new approach towards leadership – an approach that builds on the principles of responsible leadership highlighted above but one that also focuses more on the importance of communication.

Much of the business studies literature focuses on transactional or transformational leadership. Transactional leadership is based around formal exchanges between groups and leaders all pursuing their individual objectives. Transformational leadership focuses on changing the goals of individuals or groups for the ‘common good’ of the organisation. Often transformational leadership is viewed as a more contemporary approach, based on leaders who convey a strong and inspirational vision and purpose that motivates employees. However, this approach is critiqued by Tourish who suggests that we cannot assume that goals proposed by leaders are necessarily of mutual benefit to employees. Furthermore, Tourish argues that the transformational leadership model ‘tends to preclude the possibility of corrective feedback from followers to leaders.’²

Indeed, one of the dangers of transformational leadership is that some leaders can become ‘rock stars’ within their organisation, believing that their position and charisma is enough to gain sycophantic-like buy-in to their new strategies or dodgy practices. Gregory and Willis cite Northouse’s definition of leadership as ‘a process through which an individual influences a group of other individuals to achieve a common goal’.³ This is essentially a communicative process. However, with an emphasis on ‘influencing’ employees, it may not take enough account of Tourish’s critique of transformational leadership.

Fairhurst and Uhl-Bien argue for an alternative, more relational, view of leadership focused on interactions among people acting in context. At the core of this view is the assumption that leadership is co-constructed in social interaction processes. Fairhurst and Uhl-Bien conclude that communication is a key element of relationally-oriented leadership.⁴ Other academics, such as Johanssen et al., identify a number of principles of communicative leadership, including, ‘Communicative leaders are willing to listen, receive questions or complaints, and share appropriate information in a truthful and adequate manner’.⁵ It is an emphasis on meaningful dialogue that is most likely to lead to a culture of innovation and trust.

Reflection 1 How would you describe leadership in your organisation? Is it more transactional than transformational?

Including communication as an aspect of responsible leadership is part of ‘caring for employees’. If leaders care for employees then they will keep them informed about important plans, developments and progress. They should also listen to what employees have to say. Indeed, perhaps we should really be talking about responsible communication leadership which includes the following core principles:

• Keeping employees informed about what’s happening in the organisation. At a minimum this includes where the organisation is headed, that is, how it is doing and what changes are planned.
• Giving employees a say about what goes on. This includes senior managers being visible and approachable, having regular meaningful conversations and actively listening to what employees say.
• Being open to feedback and constructive criticism. Critical to this is making it safe for employees to speak out.

In the author’s PhD research,⁶ the ratings for senior management communication were inconsistent across the five UK-based organisations who participated in the study. Indeed, the inconsistencies for senior manager communication were greater than for any other aspect of internal communication. Although it is not possible to generalise these findings to all organisations, it suggests that senior manager communication may be idiosyncratic. Some senior managers may appreciate the value of communication; others do not.

If we want organisations to take their role in society more seriously, then we should recognise that it’s often employees who are first to spot when the organisation is going down the wrong track. Establishing responsible communication leadership as a first principle is one way towards a degree of inoculation from Enron-like situations. But to get there, leaders really have to understand and value listening to employees and taking what they say seriously.

In research commissioned by Weber Shandwick, 88 percent of employees in the tech sector agreed with the statement, ‘CEOs need to speak out when their company’s values are violated or threatened’ and 78 percent believe ‘Employees today expect their CEOs to speak out publicly on their behalf’. These findings reveal that there is an expectation for CEOs to represent company culture and values in a very public and demonstrative way.⁷ The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer reported that ‘71 percent of employees believe it’s critically important for “my CEO” to respond to challenging times. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of the general population concur – they say they want CEOs to take the lead on change instead of waiting for government to impose it’.⁸

There are also other benefits from responsible communication leadership. Research suggests that senior manager communication – which includes keeping employees informed about changes and listening to employees – is correlated with what employees think and feel about the organisation, as well as what they do to help it succeed.⁶ The outcomes are very clear. Responsible communication leadership is good for employees and good for business.

Employees often say that when senior managers communicate well (which includes listening) it makes them feel valued. So, when senior managers communicate well, the organisation is likely to be more successful. In addition, employees are less likely to be stressed, as feeling valued is important for mental health. However, unless employee value is elevated to the same level as shareholder value we will, unfortunately, continue to see low levels of productivity and sub-optimal organisational performance.

Organisational purpose and values

An organisation’s purpose is its rationale for existing. This is different from a mission statement which is more related to the business that the organisation is in. It is also different from vision which is a statement about where the organisation aims to be in a few years’ time. Purpose can be thought of as a company’s ‘philosophical heartbeat.’⁹ These statements should ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Notes on contributors
• Preface
• PART I INTERNAL COMMUNICATION LEADERSHIP
• PART II GOOD PRACTICE
• PART III STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESSES
• PART IV CONTENT AND CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
• PART V THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE
• Index