Watson Helsby's verdict on IC: there's more to deliver

Having sat in my 'must read' pile for the past month or so, today I finally got around to reading the latest report on internal communication from specialist headhunters Watson Helsby.

Entitled 'Internal Communications - More to Deliver' the report is the sequel to a similar research exercise undertaken way back in 2002, which was widely acclaimed at the time. A free summary report is available online via the above link (the full report is priced at £275) and, from my perspective, it's recommended reading for anyone with an interest in IC.

Based on qualitative research with 75 senior in-house 'movers and shakers', the research was designed to assess the state of internal communication practice, to identify some broad themes and issues and, specifically, to provide some pointers on the best way forward for the profession and its practitioners. It was written by two seasoned IC commentators, Nick Helsby of Watson Helsby and Michael Croton of Comma Consulting.

Having sat here nodding my way through the report for the last 30 minutes or so, I find myself agreeing with the vast majority of what's contained within - it's an excellent assessment of the state of our emerging profession in 2009.

To summarise, the big messages are:

• We've come a long way since 2002 - companies have invested heavily and are demanding more and better IC. However, the results IC has delivered have not always matched expectations.
• There is now broad consensus on the scope and remit of IC with most respondents saying they were accountable for developing and communicating the corporate story, developing channels, leadership comms, campaigns and programmes, internal news management, supporting engagement and employer branding efforts, crisis comms and measurement & evaluation.
• We've still got a long way to go to become a genuinely mature profession - there are many challenges ahead and numerous areas where we could and should be doing better to demonstrate our value to organisations.
• The best is yet to come - the future for IC is rosy, if we continue to professionalise the function, raise standards, build understanding and appreciation in the board room and get the talent right.

One of the most useful sections of the report is the discussion on obstacles to progress, where several themes emerge:

• Lack of coherence - an increasing focus on IC has resulted in an increase in noise and clutter. As business unit heads, functional leaders and others battle to give their messages prominence this is creating a situation where there are simply too many badly coordinated messages bombarding employees. The result is a cacophony.
• Poor governance - unlike PR/external comms there are few checks, balances, controls and protocols in place to guide internal comms. It is often informal and decentralised and, as a result, leaders cannot be confident that (a) communication is flowing through the organisation effectively (b) they have the ability to communicate quickly and consistently in a crisis situation.
• Employees' ranking in the audience hierarchy -external stakeholders (shareholders, media, etc) are often viewed as more important than employees and, as a result, these audiences often receive more focus, attention and senior executive time. Put simply, IC still often plays second fiddle to external comms.
• Senior level support - to thrive inside an organisation IC needs to have a senior sponsor who really 'gets it' - someone who understands what good IC looks like and can deliver in its broadest sense (i.e. beyond simply pumping out messages). Likewise, it's vital that there is someone at a senior level - someone with 'clout' - who is proactively championing the work of the IC team and helping push through organisation-wide initiatives.
• Shortage of talent - IC is still not attracting, nurturing and growing sufficient talent. As a result there is little in the way of a succession pipeline inside organisations, meaning that candidates have to be lured from elsewhere. Even then, there is a relatively small pool of good practitioners to fish from.
• The report also identifies a number of key areas where IC can add - and be seen to add - more value. This provides a useful checklist for any communicator who wants to develop themselves and/or their team.

The report concludes that, in order to realise its full potential, IC needs to focus on getting the right people in the right roles, developing that talent, winning support from senior leaders, beefing up the role, becoming more proactive when it comes to identifying and grabbing opportunities to demonstrate their value, and getting the operating model right.

If you haven't already done so, read the summary report (at least) and take on board the findings - it's wise counsel and provides an useful blueprint for doing IC really well.

Lee Smith on Jun 14 2009

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