Internal branding

In India, the need for the hour in most organizations is employee engagement and retention. Organizations now go to any length to make any activity an event! I have seen many Corporate Communication teams hire event management experts on board to manage the spurt of programs which are branded and sold internally as ‘events’. These […]

I chanced upon this interesting study on internal communications which talks of e-mail clutter on page 8. http://home.bi.no/fgl96053/CommStudy.pdf  While this is an issue with many organizations, I guess we try to find other media to communicate and sometimes fail to address the timing of the communication itself. From what I hear Intel does a good […]

I just returned after a presentation at my 4th induction session on communications. Quite a good feeling! The session is part of the orientation program which new joinees must attend to enter the organization.  It makes for an opportune moment to sell the internal communications story for the organization. A captive, attentive audience – you will […]

While I am aware of induction and orientation sessions conducted to induct employees into the organization, I would be keen to know if there are specific focussed inductions undertaken to get internal communicators up to speed with the role. In my previous assignments, it was mainly ‘trial by fire’ to get into the ‘groove’! I dived […]

Have seen a spurt in recent times in getting employees to ‘register for a gift voucher’, ‘attend a training session and get a free t-shirt’ or ‘volunteer for a program and avail a discount at the cafeteria’! These programs and campaigns begin with a clear conscience but by the end of it you are left wondering […]

It took me a while to convince event communicators to align their thinking around engagement and less on the tactical elements of events. Questions typically asked earlier were centered around ‘enjoyment’ and  ‘comments on program elements like tranpsort and entertainment’. After understanding the need for business justification, we now are able to get answers from […]

Internal communicators often fall prey to taking ownership for chunks larger than what they can chew. I believe intranets are self-running animals – all they need is direction and empowerment. Feed the ideas, provide the focus and get out of the way. I can witness a revolution in one of the intranets which I manage. […]

I have had the opportunity in my earlier assignments to observe the transition between an existing vendor and another taking over the intranet management. Quite a tricky affair managing expectations and heartburn! While trying to gauge what works best – in-sourcing or outsourcing, the debate never really ends. There are pros and cons but what […]

In India, most internal communication openings are known either through networks or via consultants. Internal communication professionals are a rare breed in this part of the world. Apart from large, established multi-nationals, the concept of engaging with internal communication professionals is still quite unfamiliar.  The JD ( job descriptions) shared by consultants generally include the […]

Just a couple of days ago, I received a brief for an important human resources communication related to career development. When I enquired if there was a measurement metric in mind to understand if the program was successful or not, I was greeted with a wry smile. There was none. “Could we measure the hits […]