IC AROUND THE WORLD
Views on internal communication from
Germany
Interview with
Gunther Mittmann-Gano
Responsible for intranet, portal solutions and extranet at Klüber Lubrication
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 your country in recent years?
Internal communication (IC) goes more specialized regarding content marketing, external communication and digitalization. IC pays today directly into business success. I see that top management spends more and more attention to IC and emphasizes its importance with regard to employer branding, social media or collaboration. This does not mean, unfortunately, that they hire more IC professionals.
What do you currently see as the greatest challenges for internal communication in your world?
Digital transformation requires a profound cultural change guided from IC, especially if you consider the company's intranet. The greatest challenge, in my opinion, is to bring the different generations together with regard to the level of their digital socialization during their lifetime. This requires a high ability of empathy and patience.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for internal communication to make a difference in the next year or two?
Content marketing is a great opportunity to transform content generated by IC from informative to strategic value. We can learn from content marketing how to tell a real good story for different communication channels. IC should take up these stories and make employees heroes. They can actively shape the future of their company.
What internal communication resources (websites, conferences, associations) do you make the most use of?
Most resources I use are digital, of course. Actually, I attend more IT conferences than IC. I worked for nearly ten years with Microsoft SharePoint and I am highly interested in digital workplace topics. A very important resource for me is CMSWire. Regarding internal ommunication simply communicate has been shown to me as the most valuable resource.
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?
Well advanced in years, but therefore absolutely pointing the way ahead: Get Bold by Sandy Carter (IBM) explains that social media is not only a Marketing thing, but especially an IC effort (“Social Business”).
ABOUT Gunther Mittmann-Gano
Gunther Mittmann-Gano is responsible for intranet, portal solutions and extranet at Klüber Lubrication.