IC AROUND THE WORLD
Views on internal communication from
Belgium
Interview with
Anne-Sophie Duchene
Communications consultant
IC Around The World is a series of interviews with communication professionals from around the globe working in the field of internal communication.
They share their views on the practice of internal communication in their countries, and tell us who and what they are paying attention to in the world of IC.
How has internal communication developed in Belgium in recent years?
It seems to me that we have moved away from just pushing one size fits all messages. We’ve had to become better at mapping our audiences and communicating to individuals. Working at European level, this means communicating in a number of languages and respecting many cultures. But I see this individualization of communications as a major underlying trend impacting many aspects of our work. Tools like enterprise social media, for instance, have to have the right technology to display RELEVANT communications. Individuals inside companies have become internal news reporters just like the man on the street has become a journalist. Despite this, many IC jobs are still stuck within HR departments when corporate communications as a whole, I think, should be the overall keeper of messages.
What do you currently see as the greatest challenges for internal communication in your world?
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Respecting languages (and culture) with fit-for-purpose communications.
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Data protection and IT security are often used as an excuse not to communicate and they end up blocking good communications initiatives.
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Measurement: proving correlation between engagement and business growth is still a very difficult thing to do.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for internal communication to make a difference in the next year or two?
Enterprise social networks: I believe they will lead to the end of emails and to fully cooperative work environments, saving employee time, raising engagement and eventually helping accelerate growth.
Internal lobbyists: Networks of influencers, especially if they’re not communication professionals. Hires from other services/departments to be(come) story tellers and internal promoters.
Video: interviews, messaging, podcasts are a great channel for executive communications for example.
What internal communication resources (websites, conferences, associations) do you make the most use of, other than IC Kollectif?
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All things IC
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LinkedIn groups :
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Corporate Communications Executive Network
- Internal Communication and Employee Engagement
- Employee Communications and Engagement
- Internal Communication
- Simply-Communicate
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IABC
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BOC conferences
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The Institute of Internal Communication
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CIPR
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TED talks
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VMA group (www.vmagroup.com)
"It seems to me that we have moved away
from just pushing one size fits all messages.
We’ve had to become better at mapping
our audiences and communicating
to individuals."
Who are the international internal comms experts and personalities you pay attention to the most?
Rachel Miller All things IC
Mike Klein Changing The Terms
Caroline Kealey Ingenium Communications
"Individuals inside companies have become internal news reporters
just like the man on the street has become a journalist.
Despite this, many IC jobs are still stuck within HR departments when corporate communications as a whole, I think, should be the overall keeper of messages."
Have you came across a piece of data - a study/report/research/case study/article - that proves your bosses/clients the value of IC investment generally, or to support a particular tactic or initiative?
VMA Group’s Inside Insight 2016 Internal Communications Survey.
ABOUT Anne-Sophie Duchene
Anne-Sophie Duchene is a communications consultant with 19 years of progressively successful experience in PR and communications. She graduated from Reims Management School in France in 1995, and also obtained a BA hons in European Business Administration from Middlesex University in London. Anne-Sophie Ducheneis a French national but has been working in Belgium for over 15 year helping companies and organisations improve and better deliver their internal and external messages.
Lately, she supported agribusiness Bunge EMEA in communicating a change initiative aiming to accelerate growth to their 7000 employees. She worked alongside the senior management team and functional managers to roll out messages across the region, and to share success stories with colleagues in 22 countries speaking 13 different languages.
Prior to being a consultant, Anne Sophie was Head of Communications for the European corrugated board packaging trade association.