Let's set clear communication standards in 2009
By Annie Waite, Global Editor of the Internal Comms Hub, Melcrum
As a new year tickles December's toes, we're turning our attention to internal communication (IC) goals for the potentially tumultuous 12 months ahead.
Gabe Winn, head of internal communication at British Gas, however, has an action plan for ensuring the success of internal comms for the future.
"We lack consistency as a profession,
which means we lack credibility," he says in his recent Hub opinion piece Why setting IC standards will boost our credibility. "Speak to any leader about their
experience of IC and they’ll be able to recount at least one
frustrating story of someone who could harp on for hours about the
theory, but never actually deliver anything."
I think most of us would agree that there are plenty of internal comms functions in need of a kick up the posterior, but many are hindered from making the radical changes necessary for a variety of different reasons.
IC, Gabe argues, is a relatively new discipline which has grown quickly; but it’s grown without any of the key structures that support more mature disciplines like marketing or PR. And that means that we’re all doing it differently. Marketing and PR have developed effective industry bodies that provide widely recognized qualifications, have a standard approach to what they do, and have rigorous methods of understanding their audiences, and are able to demonstrate a genuine return on investment (ROI).
"And, although it’s a generalization that will annoy some ... we don’t do that very well in IC," Gabe says.
His solution? "It's high time we standardize, professionalize and specialize. We have to align ourselves so closely with the business and its strategy that we can always demonstrate the ROI in us because, without IC, the strategy would fall flat.
And that means that we need to look very carefully at how we
structure our teams, and the output that's expected of them as a
result. We need to devolve, integrate and support," Gabe says.
Do you agree? If so, what's the starting point that will enable us to begin the standardising process? An IBM-esque online brainstorming "Jam" for all communicators everywhere to contribute to? Who exactly should create and monitor nationwide or global standards - like agreed Health and Safety standards in the workplace, for example?
I enjoy the article, but I disagree with Gabe Winn's assertions about public relations. The PR field, like IC, has yet to adopt a standard definition of what PR is, let alone a standardized approach to the practice. Is PR a marketing function, a relationship builder, or an advocate for a company's publics? That depends on who you ask, I've found.
PR professionals disagree on effective ROI measures as well. Does one measure ad equivalency, corporate reputation (is that even measurable), or as Angela Sinickas (among others)argues: Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.
I agree that IC could benefit from clear, standardized practices, but PR is in that boat, too.
Nonetheless, the ROI of IC would make an interesting thesis study, and I am in the market for one of those. Thanks.
Posted by: Guy | January 07, 2009 at 08:45 PM
If you want to improve internal communications, look at StyleWriter - the plain English editor at: www.editorsoftware.com.
Nick Wright
Posted by: Nick Wright | January 23, 2009 at 11:45 AM