Internal Communication contributes to certainty in organizations

The internal communication may represent a solution for companies and employees in tough times, removing some of the uncertainty that exists in crisis period. This was one of the conclusions drawn today, in the first conference on internal communication, organized by Saga Business Community. The event reunited internal communication experts, mass-media representatives and consultants, who debated the benefits of this management function.

According to Csaba Gergely, HR Director for Provident, companies have decided to reduce the costs with employee training, due to the tough economic environment. The communication strategy at Provident emphasizes the need of employees to detach from the general economic environment and focus more on what they can influence.

Michele Gressani, Country Manager Romania & Moldova, for Ericsson Telecommunications explained that the CEO should work on a communication strategy and be convincing enough to attract the talent in the company. He added, that building comfort and strategy when implementing the new strategy is a must. Christos Karabelas, the HR Head at Ericsson, mentioned that new employees have the chance to speak to the CEO in person, after experiencing 3 months in the company.

“Don’t turn up the volume in communication, but focus on finding the right channel”, is the advice that Jeppe Glahn, Corporate Communications Director for Novozymes, told the audience. Glah also stated the three roles that managers have in communication: the works manager, the change agent and the visionary strategist.

Raiffesien Bank Romania has been experimenting with the web 2.0, and has already implemented executive blogging and wikis. Carmen Ghita, Internal Communications Manager at Raiffeisen Bank, said the company is also trying to roll in a social media strategy in the next period.

The speakers warned that internal communication specialists are not invited into board-room decision making, and usually act as messengers when delivering decisions that impact employees. Andrei Crisan, CEO of BCIstudio concluded that the bad news in Romania are hidden and not communicated on time to employees.

Ovidiu Posirca