Your leadership wanted to beat the recession. We had layoffs. We were pressurized to revisit our operating expenses. That led to a wave of reforms (pay cuts, reduction in benefits among others). You (the HR and Communications teams) believed it was necessary and you communicated it the right way. Or did we? Were we sensitive […]
Internal branding
Getting employees on the same page with company confidential information. Catch-22?
Not just knowledge intensive industries but even FMCGs competing for mindshare face this dilemma. On one hand you want to have your employees on your side by letting them into your plans and on the other you want to ensure they can keep a secret. The best policies and processes may not be enough to […]
Internal Communicators as Change Managers – Reviving Air India
I was reading with interest an interview with Praful Patel, India’s Civil Aviation Minister and the state of the recent Air India changes (Businessworld, July 27, 2009) and impact on morale of employees. What stuck to my mind was his statement that ‘change in Air India must come from within. Nothing can change unless people […]
Take the 4th Annual Global Intranet Strategies Survey and Get Insights You Can Use
In my career, I have had the opportunity to lead and be a part of four company-wide portals and intranets. I am convinced of the power of this collaborative internal communication tool to improve productivity, enhance engagement and connect stakeholders. With the advent of social media tools and technologies, integrating newer ideas for the benefit […]
How Internal Communicators Can Lead Your Organization’s Social Networking Beginning
Planning to get your organization on the social media map? There are factors which I learnt along the way that is needed to get completely immersed. Read more about the do’s and don’ts of kick-starting your firm’s social media communication. Understand also how you can leverage internal communication context and content. The power of social […]
Can You Determine The Total Value of Your Internal Communications Effort?
Infosys has estimated its total value of human resources, which includes both software professionals and support at INR 1,02,133 crore for the fiscal ended March 2009. That works out to INR 97 lakhs per employee! According to the report, the value of human resources is evaluated and based on the “present value of future earnings […]
Re-branding of Satyam weighs in on ‘values’ and ‘internal expertise’
Quite interestingly, the re-branding of Satyam as Mahindra Satyam takes cues from ‘within’ – relying heavily on values and inherent strengths. This amplifies the role of internal communication and branding on how employees and external stakeholders perceive the company’s image. Also important to note the emphasis on ‘internal’ attributes which the new entity defines as […]
Do you partner with or play watchdog over your employees?
How many times have you avoided your supervisor who tries to pry into your personal life? How often have you cringed when your organization encroaches on your life outside of work by calling you to work on weekends or conduct events? There are differing viewpoints about the level of interventions organizations can play in their […]
Internal Branding and the Employee Experience – Stick to the Basics
In today’s Times of India edition (June 10, 2009), Amitabh Kant, the architect of two of India’s well known tourism campaigns (Kerala’s ‘God’s Own Country’ and Incredible India) shared his thinking on branding in an interview. His articulation of branding and travel experience made me draw a parallel with how internal communicators can benefit by […]
Is the value of internal communication dependent on the quality of the people who represent it?
A comment in a research report ‘Developing tomorrow’s Internal Communications Professionals, Liam FitzPatrick and Hamish Haynes’ (Working: May 2004) citing recruitment specialist Watson Helsby got me thinking. This is how it read: “The internal communications role has not attracted enough high caliber individuals. Inevitably, the perceptions of the value of internal communications are intrinsically intertwined […]