TOOL KIT INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

PRESENTERS Faiza Ameer Husnain Yousuf Abeer Amin Atia Iqbal Hasan Aziz

COMMUNICATION

It is the function responsible for effective communication among participants within an organization. It is a form of corporate communication and can be formal or informal, upward, downward, or horizontal.

WHY DO ORGANIZATION NEED TO COMMUNICATE INTERNALLY?

BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS  Employees can make more decisions themselves and knowledge to know the "right" decisions.  In the organisation ‘s employee can identify better with the goals, mission and procedures of the organisation, which can result in a sense of "making a difference" and increase effort and efficiency.  Programmes and departments share more resources and information resulting in less duplication of work and stronger impact as a whole organisation  Day-to-day conflict can be reduced since a lot of conflict is the result of conflicting ideas on what is important to the organizationals

Internal communication is significant in any organization because it is the building block of the organizational culture. The organizational culture is the atmosphere of the organization based on its values, mission and work processes.

Principles of effective internal communications Internal communications is a responsibility of a department’s management Internal communications is meant to help inform decision making and influence employee behavior in ways that benefit management, the public, and employees themselves. Internal communications must consists of accurate, consistent, and timely information. Internal communications is always two-way communications. Management to Employees (Instructions) Employees to management (Response/ Feedback) Internal communications never stops. It is a continuous interactive process.

In person Communication All Staff Meeting Individual Meeting Recognition Programs Printed Communication Internal Newsletter Staff Handbook Notice Board Information Technology Base Communication Tele/Video Conferencing Website Policies

All Staff Meeting If your organization is not too big, all staff meetings can be an ideal way to communicate key information to staff. Individual Meeting Individual meetings are a good tool when you need to communicate sensitive issues. Recognition Programs Recognizing the contribution and achievement of staff is a key part of ensuring a high morale in the workplace. In Person Communication

Internal Newsletter Different from your organization's regular newsletter It contains information that is directly relevant only to your organization's staff. Ideal way to communicate information such as new staff, changes in policies and procedures Staff Handbook A staff handbook should be used as resource that staff can turn to when they have a question about the organization's policies and procedures. Notice Board Simple and easy way to keep people informed of important issues. High traffic area in your office Visually attractive Printed Communication

People become ever more inundated with information, it is important to use strategically as well. You should consider establishing a monthly or bi-weekly e- newsletter for your staff, rather then sending out an for each item Information Technology Base Communication Tele/Video Conferencing Tele/Video conferencing is the best way to simulate a face-to-face meeting when that is not possible. Its main advantage is that it can overcome distance but has the disadvantage of requiring technology which in many areas is not very accessible. Intranet Site An intranet site is different from a website in that it is usually protected by a password and only accessible to the staff of an organization. An intranet site can be used to provide access to shared files, resources and other information to staff who are located all around the world but have access to the internet.

SOLUTION OF CONFLICTS BY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION  Editors of programme e-newsletters should ensure that each issue goes to every member of staff.  The communication team should produce a monthly internal e-newsletter with programme updates and staff news.  The communication team should provide all staff with a branding and style guide of organization.  Programme managers should provide programme updates at monthly staff meeting.  The human resources team should organise a monthly social gathering for staff.

DEVELOPING INTERNAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY Determine how information has been communicated in the past. How and why did that process have limitations? Agree on what happens next. How will the process be managed? Who is responsible for what? Set measurable communication objectives that are aligned with business goals. Engage management in the internal communication strategy initiative and secure their support. Encourage enthusiasm and commitment. Engage employees in all areas of the business. Identify key spokespersons and ensure they are properly informed and supportive of the strategy. These communication “holders” will be imperative to feeding information to the communication process in a timely manner.