How has internal communication developed in your country in recent years?

In 2011, when I started working at a PR agency, internal communication (IC) activities of our clients were mostly aimed to top-down information distribution and holding corporate events like team-building activities and celebrations. IC was not considered as to be a separate function and was implemented by the HR or PR team, or even by a management assistant. Exceptions were foreign-based companies representing in the banking, ITC and insurance sectors; they made first steps in making internal communication more strategic.

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Now, six years later, the situation has improved and there were at least three reasons for it , some of them which I believe are common for other countries too. First of all, those communication and HR specialists who follow the global tendencies in the business environment have acknowledged the need of strategic approach to internal communication. Secondly, more and more so called millennial generation leaders are coming into top management positions and they are more open to two-way communication and the idea of employee engagement. And, thirdly, there were some cases in Latvia widely covered by media when organisations were in big trouble and employees deepened this crisis by going public and accusing their employers of violating employee rights, not-providing appropriate working conditions etc.

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Due to these reasons interest in internal communication as a separate organisational function has increased during recent years. Today more and more positions for internal communication specialists are opening. Furthermore, these are not only private companies, but also governmental organisations and NGOs that are looking for such employees. Demand for corporate IC courses and training has also increased. The level of IC awareness has increased undoubtedly but it still varies a lot, so at the same time we can find both a company with high level of employee engagement and a company with very poor understanding about IC.

What do you currently see as the greatest challenges for internal communication in your world?

In many organisations it’s still crucial for IC teams to get a direct access to C-level management and to become strategic consultants rather than simply be distributors of information. In those companies where the IC role has already been acknowledged by the management, there are two major challenges. As there is no more a clear border between internal and external communication, organisations should work harder to make employees their ambassadors outside the office, and the strategic approach to internal communication is the only way to make it done. And the second challenge is improving communication skills of managers at all levels.

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What do you see as the biggest opportunities for internal communication to make a difference in the next year or two?

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I think one of these opportunities is growing availability of data about internal communication, employee engagement, neuroscience etc. as more and more surveys on these topics are taken. This helps IC specialists in their dialogue with managers, in choosing the most appropriate IC strategies and tactics, in shaping messages and choosing channels.

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Another opportunity involves employee participation in IC processes. The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer results have a clear message to IC teams – employees trust their peers more than managers and we shouldn’t ignore it. Discovering informal communication flows, identifying key communicators within the staff is a great opportunity for making IC activities more effective. 

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Introducing modern digital solutions is also an opportunity but I see two challenges here. Firstly, we are already over-digitalised, so there is a risk that employees won’t be enthusiastic about one more online platform or social network. Secondly, face-to-face communication still matters and we need to think carefully how to balance digital and personal communication within an organisation.

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