Chapter 66

Employee communications

David Wragg

While employee communications are certainly not new, and most of us have come across an employee magazine or
newspaper, many changes have been in evidence in recent years. Amongst these have been the use of new
technology, and there has been a matching move of employee communications from the public relations function
towards that of human resources. The changes are not unconnected. In the old days when newspapers or magazines
dominated the so-called 'managed', or formal, employee communications, it made sense to make use of the journalistic
resources available in many PR functions. Today, with the use of video and electronic media, this justification for
leaving employee communications with PR has gone, so that the function lies with human resources in an estimated 70
per cent of cases. Nevertheless, larger, publicly-quoted, companies are more likely to adhere to the PR-based system
than government or other public bodies.

Of course, one big problem which arises given this change in circumstances is that co-ordination of the message to
internal and external audiences is more difficult than in the past. This should not be underestimated, since employees
and their relatives are reached by external communications as well, and external media perceptions of an organization
can do much to influence morale, for better or for worse.

The need for managed communications

The need for employee communications seems to be challenged less often now than in the past, although it does
sometimes happen that these are confused with what might be best described as a sports or social club newsletter or
magazine. Communicating with employees is an essential part of business life. The managed communications such as
publications and video inform employees of what is happening, and why, giving them news and information about the
organization, and through features on them, or sports and social news, helps to create some team spirit, which is often
described as a form of 'social cement'.

This in itself is just part of the story. Most directors and their senior managers like the idea of being able to talk
directly to all of their employees, especially at difficult periods. Unfortunately, in large organizations with thousands, or
even tens of thousands, of employees, this approach is difficult, if not impossible, to put into practice.

The need for consistency, in the context of internal and external communications has already been noted. The need
for consistent messages is another reason why internal communications need to be managed. That apart, all research
has shown that employees' preferred means of communications is to hear the message from their immediate superiors,
so that it is tailored to their own particular concerns and they have the opportunity to ask questions and have any points
which they raise clarified. The need to combine these needs means that in future one of the essential characteristics of
a good manager will be the ability to communicate. Of course, in the best-run organizations, this has always been the
case.

One cannot split employee communications from the silent messages which an organization conveys. Organizations
tend to have what almost amounts to a culture of their own. We see organizations which seem to be young in their
approach, and others which are more sedate. There are businesses which convey an air of excitement and purpose,
while others seem to be drifting. More important, in recent years, delayering and a tendency to favour younger
workers, giving early retirement to those over a certain age, has had an impact on morale, hitting the older and more
experienced employee most as they see themselves approaching whatever might be viewed as the cut-off point. All the
polished communications in the world cannot compete with these perceptions if they hold true.
 If motivation is part of employee communication, so too must be discipline and personnel policies. Employee
handbooks, guidance on who can speak to the external media or write articles or books, are all matters which need to
be communicated.

In common with all other forms of corporate communications, employee communications must be planned, sustained
and consistent. There will be the need for ad hoc communications from time to time, but there must be the
structure to support this, so that the occasional ad hoc communication stands out as something significant within the
overall programme. Again, in common with other forms of communication, you communicate with employees
whenever it is necessary, and not simply when it suits you to do SO.

Employee expectations

Employees are usually as familiar with employee communication as any manager, the exceptions being those who are
starting work for the first time. Good employee communications are often eagerly awaited, the poor are treated with
indifference. It is important to ensure that every employee receives whatever communication is intended for them, and
that this is not left to chance. On one occasion 1 visited a subsidiary of a large company, and in each department, a
pile of the parent company's house newspaper could be seen, unread and unwanted. If video is being used, ensure that
time is made available for employees to watch it, and that there is feedback from their managers on the acceptability of
the video.

Employee attitude surveys can be an effective means of discovering the way the organization's communications are
viewed by the employees, and the attitude of employees towards the organization itself as well. Such surveys are most
useful if conducted at regular intervals; perhaps annually, although every two or three years might be more practical, as
well as more affordable.

As a general rule, employees expect communications to provide them with information on:

• What is going to happen (rather than that which has already happened) especially when it is borne in mind that the
news contained in many employee publications or videos is often stale because of their low frequency

• Events, with information on what is happening together with background comment

• The impact which changes or developments will have upon them personally

• Decisions: Information on these should come from those responsible rather than being allowed to filter down
through the grapevine. It helps if the decision makers in the organization can be identified and given the opportunity
to explain why they have taken a particular decision.

Research shows that employees are most interested in their own operating unit, and that loyalty is often to the team
rather than to the wider organization. The message is also that employees become more responsive if they feel that
they are treated as adults rather than as children.

It is imperative that the news is fresh - this is why circulars still have value. They are easy to organize and are more
immediate than a magazine or newspaper which takes time to produce. Daily newspapers are up-to-date with the news
because they have the structure for this, but companies and other organizations are structured for weekly or, more
usually, monthly publications. The need for immediacy also underlines why organizations with large numbers of staff
using computer terminals, such as banks and building societies, find that these are now an important element in the
communication chain.

Choosing the appropriate medium

The range of media available for employee communications has been extended over the years. Not surprisingly, the
arrival of new forms of communication, such as e-mail, has not displaced the older 'low tech' forms of communication,
such as workplace meetings and circulars. In some cases, the augmentation of existing communications by newer
forms has been a triumph of salesmanship over need.

It is important to be clear about the advantages and drawbacks of the different media, which, broadly, are discussed
below.

Circulars

Quick and cheap, so ideal for urgent messages, although effort has to be made to ensure that these are passed on
quickly, and not delayed, lost or misdirected. Simply marking 'urgent' or 'pass on quickly' will not do. Mandatory
instructions also lend themselves to circulars.

Notices

Also ideal for urgent messages, or instructions with a definite life, such as the suspension of a staff facility for a period.
It is important that notice boards are sited where they cannot be missed, and where those looking at them will not
cause an obstruction. Good notice-board management is necessary to avoid leaving out-of-date notices on the board,
since this discourages people from looking at the board. Allow staff and social club notices, within the confines of
space, since these increase interest in the notice board.

Electronic mail

Ideal for organizations where the vast majority of employees have computer terminals, and with the advantages of
immediate notification to everyone if time is of the essence. In many cases, it is also possible to check just who has
seen the message and who hasn't. If good computer printers are used, then notices and circulars can also be
communicated in this way, speeding. up their distribution. Don't forget any members of staff who might not be
contactable through a computer terminal, such as messengers, drivers, etc.

The Internet

Fashionable and useful, especially if the message is urgent, with the opportunity of having a 'Web site' updated as
frequently as you wish so that developing stories can always be presented in the most up-to-date form. The drawbacks
are cost, and the risk of employees using the Net in idle moments for non-work uses.

Electronic notice boards

Can be useful if sufficient numbers can view them, and these do enjoy the advantage of immediacy, at a price!

Facsimile

Best viewed not as a communication medium in its own right, but as a means of expediting delivery of circulars or
posters. Unless plain paper faxes are in use, it is worth photocopying the circular or notices before these are circulated
or posted.

Loudspeaker announcements

These are impersonal, and much depends on the level of background noise and the quality of the speaker system.
Nevertheless, they are useful on occasion, such as warning of travel difficulties on the way home!

Meetings

Important and urgent information, such as mergers or reorganizations, are best handled through meetings, providing that
those taking the meetings are themselves suitably briefed and able to answer questions. Really difficult questions, or
those which cannot be answered at the time, should be noted and the answers circulated as soon as possible to all of
those present at the original meeting.
Video

Superb for anything which is visual in nature - talking heads are a mistake unless you have Alan Bennett as a
scriptwriter! These are time-consuming and expensive to make, and require the presence of video playback machines
and monitors for viewing, as well as allocating staff time. Sometimes written material is needed to support the video
programme, and questionnaires for feedback on staff reactions. The advantage is that the equipment can also be used
for staff training. Stories which lend themselves to video treatment include new branch layouts, forthcoming television
advertising campaigns, new uniforms, or the organization's presence at a major exhibition.

Videoconferencing

Ideal for two or three way meetings, and a great saver of travelling time and fares, but there are limits on the numbers
who can be involved at each location. The drawback is cost, and especially so if you need to have your own studios to
avoid security problems.

Video telephone

Fine, but really one-to-one only. Do you really want to see as well as hear the boss on a Monday morning?

Satellite links

Useful for extending the scope of a meeting, so that staff in remote locations can feel that they are hearing from the
chairman or chief executive at the same time as everyone else. Time zone differences suggest that even so there are
limitations on how far this can be taken. It is possible to have question-and-answer sessions live by satellite. In short,
terrific, if you have a really big budget!

Business television

This takes over where video leaves off, providing immediacy, although it is costly and you will need a professional
producer to get the most from it. Much really depends on how frequently you wish to communicate, and can you really
expect to provide interesting and informative programmes frequently?

Periodicals

Excellent for background, but their value for hard news coverage will depend on frequency. They can complement
video messages, providing greater depth, and do give employees something which they can read in their own time or
take home with them. The more sophisticated the periodical, the longer production takes and the less newsworthy.
There is a difficult balance to strike: too expensive and staff feel that you are being extravagant (especially if they are
unhappy with the latest pay award); while too cheap and staff feel that you don't really care about them. Newspapers
are more 'newsy' than magazines, which are better with features. In some organizations staff prefer a magazine
because a newspaper looks too much like a downmarket tabloid. Newspapers need a good strong front-page story, and
both magazines and newspapers benefit from a bright centre-page spread.

Audio tapes

Ideal for shorter messages, since attention spans for aural messages are far shorter than for written or broadcast
messages. Ideal for communicating with sales or service staff if they visit customers, since they can listen en route.
Fairly inexpensive.

Telephone cascade

This is one way of sending short and simple messages urgently if electronic mail is not available to you. The distribution
must be fast enough to be effective, and so you might need several networks with each member of the network having
permanent instructions on who to pass the message on to next. To ensure that the correct message goes round and is
not corrupted by 'Chinese whispers', and that everyone on each network has been contacted, each network must finally
end with the originator of the call. If the originator receives a call from the last person on the network, giving him or her
the correct message, all is well.

Annual reviews

An employee version of the annual report, these reviews recognize that the financial detail often has to be simplified,
and emphasis put on the performance and progress of the different operating divisions (but don't include any hard
financial material which is not available in the annual report). Employees who are at ease with financial reporting will
still want the full annual report.

The report must be produced in such a form that employees will want to read it, and it can often work well with an
annual results video as well.

Measuring success

With some forms of communication, success is easy to measure. In the case of a periodical, for example, success
arises when staff pester the postroom when it is due, and when the editor is flooded with contributions from staff, who
provided a substantial amount of the published material. In the case of employee contributors, a substantial amount
really means that they supply between 20 and 50 per cent of the material used - it will seldom be higher. Of course
much depends on the nature of the publication and the nature of the organization. For example, organizations with a
collegiate style, such as accountancy firms or other partnerships, may well find that most of the material is
staff-generated.

The growing variety of media makes it even more important that you make the right choice, and any new media or
any changes will need a great deal of preparatory work. When planning a new periodical, it is a good idea to look at the
number of newsworthy items over the past year or so, and then consider how many features could be provided, such
as features on locations and/or departments, and look at the level of sports and social club activity, and use this as a
guide to both the size of publication and its frequency. There is nothing worse than running out of steam in the second
or third issue, and finding It a struggle to fill the publication. If publication is too infrequent, or there is too much
material, frequency can always be increased. If you opt for monthly publication, you might find it expedient to merge
July and August, and December and January, so that you lose two issues a year at times when people are preoccupied
with holidays or Christmas. You need to decide:

• The combination of media to use

• The type of message each medium will be used for
• The audience to be targeted with each medium
• The frequency of each medium.

Naturally, circulars, notices and electronic mail can have their frequency kept flexible on an 'as needed' basis.

When reaching a decision, you will have to bear the following in mind:

• Nature and structure of the organization

• Audience
• Resources available, in terms of finance and skills
• The time-scale within which messages must be communicated.

Do be realistic about the skills which are available. Desktop publishing can enhance the quality of circulars and allow
the production of simple newsletters or magazines, but production of more ambitious newspapers or full-colour
magazines requires considerable skill and experience. Many organizations bring the origination of the publication
in-house, with editors and journalists, and even layout artists in some cases, which usually works very well, but many
also go a step further, and buy expensive printing equipment which is under-utilized, and might not be well suited to the
production of newspapers or magazines.
 One-off publications and videos often work very well, launching, for example, new corporate identities or staff
uniforms, or briefing employees on an important new business venture. Indeed, the annual review for employees fits
into this category as well. Many companies using video and business television often adopt a magazine format, along
the lines of a television news programme in some cases. Managers sometimes worry about the relationship between
video and publications, and the answer is simply that you need both, since the publication can carry more stories than
video, and follow up the major stories with features in greater depth than the video magazine programme could
manage. As an example, compare News at Ten or the Nine O'Clock News with a quality broadsheet newspaper, and
you will see that they cover more stories on the first two pages than the television news does in an entire programme.

In the case of publications and video, the criterion for use must be the value of a particular news story or feature.
The audience is most interested in people like themselves, so unless the management team is the audience, shopfloor
workers will not be interested if a senior manager wins a gardening competition, for example, but if the winner is
someone they can identify with, they will be interested. Unusual hobbies are one way of making managed
communications more personal. An important announcement can be handled by:

• A telephone cascade if the announcement is urgent

• Provide brief details in a meeting

• Confirm the details with a circular or on the notice board

• Produce a video documentary on the new development.

Much depends on frequency of video or publications and the importance of the development as to whether they should
cover it, but a good journalist can often find a means of turning what would otherwise be stale news into a good
background feature. It is also worth considering whether a simple newsletter could complement a magazine by
absorbing much of the content of circulars and stemming the flow of paper into branches and departments.

One of the biggest mistakes many senior managers and directors make is to believe that because they don't like the
popularist feel of some employee communications, then the communications are not doing their job. Only research will
show whether or not communications are working. The point is that what appeals to the main audience might not
appeal to those holding senior positions. Again, a comparison with external media is helpful: Which is your favourite
daily newspaper, and which is the favourite of the target audience? Don't expect them to like The Times or the Daily
Telegraph just because you do.

If you have a substantial and scattered management, a management publication, perhaps supported by occasional
management conferences, could augment the mass employee communications. In some cases, certain professional
groups may also have to be focused on separately; for example, in an airline, the pilots would have to be considered.

The point is, your communications must mirror the expectations of the audiences.

Further reading

Barnard, M., Magazine and Journal Production, Blueprint Publishing, London,1986

Scholes, E. (ed.), Gower Handbook of Internal Communication, Gower, Aldershot, 1997

Seekings, D., How to Organize Effective Conferences and Meetings, Kogan Page, London, 1987

Watford College, Desktop Publishing.. Design Basics, Blueprint Publishing, London,1989