Guidelines for internal communications set out by leading businesses at Melcrum's 9th SCM Summit
London: 18th October 2010 - A number of important themes emerged from the case studies, panel debates, presentations and round table discussions at the 9th annual Strategic Communication Management Summit in London, organised by internal communications experts Melcrum.
Making communications credible was one keynote - for example, getting employees experiencing change in their business to film video diaries or blogs to bring real credibility to the message. Harnessing the power of external coverage was another factor – PwC has developed an intranet that brought its internal and external communications together, and re-purposed external press coverage for its internal audience.
According to one leading high street bank, facilitating dialogue is important - leveraging the power of line managers can be the 'Holy Grail' for internal comms. While, Nick Howard from Lloyds Banking Group said boosting manager capability would be ‘the most important work we will do in improving our communications’.
One important move noted by the Summit was from cascade to dialogue – a shift to more engaging communications. Volvo uses CEO ‘paper bag’ lunches with employees to promote active dialogue and encourage feedback. And equally important, employees want to generate their own content, be it blogs, video, podcasts, and want to post it internally. Corporate comms must act as quality control and channel ongoing debates.
The Summit also provided top tips for using social media in internal communications including; start with something small, get buy-in, measure the results and use groundswell to build on success.
Melcrum’s CEO, Victoria Mellor highlighted what internal comms professionals need to do to move forward. ‘Internal communicators have never had a more challenging time. We need to become better at partnering with other functions in the organisation, linking strongly to the strategic focus when building a case for internal comms.’
Becoming more proactive rather than reactive to stakeholders, and being more focused and prioritised was a theme that Melcrum’s research director Rebecca Richmond also emphasised when presenting research from Melcrum’s recent survey, ‘The facts speak for themselves. Companies with above average employee engagement exhibit above average revenue growth than their peers, and up to 40% performance improvement.’
Melcrum’s SCM Summit is the event of the year in internal communications, where professionals from around the world gather both to explore the modern role of internal communicators and celebrate the work and results of pioneering practitioners who are defining standards and setting the precedents. It is the largest professional gathering for those working in internal communication, and an annual meeting of minds to share expertise and pave the way forward for a year of measurable business results.
About Melcrum
Melcrum, a privately held research and training business, is the leading authority on best practice, emerging trends and strategy in internal communication.
Melcrum advises internal communication leaders at 69% of the Global Fortune 100 largest organisations and 84% of the FTSE 100. Through independent research and executive education, Melcrum helps internal communicators achieve the rewards and recognition they deserve.
With global networks and offices in the UK, USA and Australia, Melcrum researchers and editors spend their time meeting and talking to practitioners to find out where the best work gets done. Melcrum makes these tools, techniques, and case studies available to its members through publications, research, events, forums and web sites.
For further information about Melcrum visit www.melcrum.com or contact:
Robin Crumby, Managing Director, Melcrum T: +44 (0) 20 8600 4670 E: robin.crumby@melcrum.com
or Jacqui Green, JGMpr M: 07885 270 349 E: jacqui@jgmpr.com
