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Internal communication has been tagged as an area in need of improvement for some time now. In the global recession, the need for strong communication systems within organisations was even more pronounced. As leaders stress the importance of an accurate dissemination of information, companies must have the right protocols in place to ensure clarity, timeliness and precision in their communication avenues.

The challenges are currently multifaceted. There are a variety of reasons for this complexity, but they all boil down to one familiar question – who is in charge?

According to Karen Kwan, director, Hudson Singapore, the age-old dissonance between HR and the corporate communications department still exists in many organisations, and has been further exacerbated by recent market turmoil.

In the era of high-speed internet and mobile technology, one would assume that communication would hardly be as challenging as it is today. But Kwan cites the control of information – particularly sensitive information – as another internal communication issue. “Control over messaging (or rather lack of) and managing confidentiality of communication is also a topical challenge in the digital age,” she says.

According to Rebekah France, Senior Vice President, HR, BW Shipping, communication challenges abound for one simple reason: communication is a two-way process. When people in an organisation forget or ignore this fundamental rule, problems quickly arise.

Successful communication depends on delivering and receiving. “You have not actually communicated until the other person has received the message you want them to get.”

France also reminds HR professionals never to underestimate the power of context. Communication is not only about what is said, but how it is said, and there are added complexities when information is implied by tone and circumstance, but not explicitly verbalised.

Authenticity is also crucial. France says that if employees have a sense that communication is incomplete, or that information is being spun, trust is immediately undermined. “The link with the receiver is lost,” she says. “Filters come up, misinterpretations begin and scepticism creeps in.”

The ideal way

Approaches to tackling communication issues vary with every organisation and HR department.

At BW Shipping, HR shapes its internal communication practices in line with external communication methods. In external communication, customer-facing teams determine and drive the messaging, and communication teams help to support the delivery. Similarly when it comes to internal communication, management and HR determine and drive the message, with the communications team facilitating the delivery.

France says having multiple teams is vital. Line managers are critical, but ownership is with HR. France believes this is the ideal method because the intention and the emphasis are right, and these can be the biggest hurdles for organisations going through changes.

Kwan says the ideal relationship between the HR and communication departments occurs when an organisation is cognisant of the strategic value of internal communications, and when this is championed by the senior leadership team. “In such instances, it does not matter where internal communications sit – whether with HR or with Corporate Communications,” Kwan points out.

Kwan says social media presents opportunities for HR to redefine communication and strengthen the channels through which information is spread.

Social media may present a win-win situation, but changes cannot be implemented effectively without ownership and accountability. “HR needs to establish clear buy-in of the role of internal communications and recognise how best to leverage the function to address existing issues, as well as to mitigate future issues,” she notes.

Kwan says, internal communications should be deployed at a strategic level in partnership with business stakeholders, and be conscious of how internal messages are consumed and understood by the target audience.

When, what, how

The typical challenges with internal communication can be resolved when HR decides when, what and how to communicate.

The need for balance is important when it comes to timing. Certain information is sensitive and needs to be passed on to only limited numbers of people. However, France says HR should often challenge this, because there is always a tendency to communicate less rather than more in such situations. “It is good to have a healthy debate about whether something really needs to be kept confidential,” she says.

At other times, information must be shared quickly, and with everyone in the organisation. Leaving little room for the grapevine to become the default communication channel is a must.

Knowing what to communicate, and the level of detail is another tricky area. “This depends on whether one wants to inform, involve, or activate people,” France says. If informing is the aim, surface information is usually sufficient. To actively involve staff, HR should share the rationale and key considerations leading up to the decision. Employers who want to “activate” communicate a very high level of detail and explanation so staff not only know what action is needed, but also why it is needed and how they should respond.

The question of how to communicate is also situational. For simple information, email or an internal newsletter will generally suffice. But major changes should be communicated face-to-face wherever possible. This can create timing issues as HR has to wait for an appropriate forum – thus delaying the spreading of important information. “It’s a tricky call,” says France. “We try our best to give opportunities to make sense of what they are hearing, respond to it, and ask questions.”

This doesn’t just mean a speech with a question-and-answer session at the end. In complex cases, entire days are taken up for HR to run mobilisation sessions where staff and management get together to grapple with information, implications and expectations. Another approach is to have line managers deliver important news or information in smaller groups. “This can happen face-to-face, with someone you work with everyday and is sometimes better than a town hall with the CEO,” France says.