How to start internal communications in a company. Light up and inspire! or How to make internal communications effective? What means of internal communications can be used in the company

Organizations have a variety of means of communicating with key elements of their external environment. So, for example, with the existing and potential consumers produced goods and services, firms communicate primarily through advertising and other means of promoting goods to the market, as well as conducting various sociological surveys.

Much attention is paid to creating a favorable image of the organization in public opinion, for which large firms special public relations departments (“public relations”) are created, whose specialists, using a variety of means, disseminate the information necessary for this. This is not a complete list of examples of communications between an organization and its external environment.

Internal communications are understood as information exchanges carried out between elements of the organization. Within an organization, information is exchanged between levels of management (vertical communications) and between departments (horizontal communications).

For a long time, internal communications in an organization were seen as the "foster" of PR, but now that has changed - now PR and corporate communications departments in organizations follow the old adage: "good PR starts at home."

External communications system

External communications are the exchanges of information between an organization and its external environment. Any organization does not exist in isolation, but in interaction with its external environment. And on what factors of this environment (consumers, competitors, authorities state regulation, public opinion etc.) have the greatest impact on the work of the organization and its results, the nature and methods of its communications depend.

The task of external communications is to transform the desired strategic position into the behavior of the organization, its communication messages and symbols at the organizational, production and functional levels. Managers must clearly decide how they want to represent the organization and its products, clearly identifying key public groups, and understand what the image of their organization is. Then they must develop a set of corporate image tools that can communicate it to the public, while keeping a close eye on competitors' corporate image development and changes. An acceptable set of such tools should include:

* definition of communication tasks;

* selection of target groups (customers and members of the public relevant to the organization);

* formulating appropriate message(s);

* choice of means and planning;

* organization (coordination) of actions.

The task of corporate communications is to reduce the gap between the desired and actual image of the company; creation of a consistent holistic portrait of her, development and application of recommendations for the coordination of all internal and external communications, as well as control and management of communications. To achieve the goals of the company among the external public, PR also includes marketing communications.

A corporate feature (personality) is a strategically planned and tactically (at a practical level) applied self-presentation of an organization (corporate "I") based on the desired image. A strong corporate identity contributes to:

* increasing the motivation of employees;

* creates a sense of confidence among representatives of key groups of the external public;

*recognizes vital to the body based on good knowledge advantages and disadvantages of both their own and other suppliers. Managers must decide where and how to compete. Now on to external communications related to strategic PR. Probably the most obvious activity is media relations to create popularity and positive interest in the company. And managers must win their respect, show an understanding of the essence of the news, be constructive, go towards journalists and producers, and create media confidence in the company. As a rule, journalists expect: * a quick response to requests; * an open and honest policy towards the media; * a willingness to deal with negative news; * the availability of managers, and not the press and media department in general; * an easily understood object can be recognized, and with the help of which people describe, remember and form their attitude towards it. It is the result of the interaction of human beliefs, ideas, feelings and impressions about the object.

Impression management is the policy of presenting an organization to key groups in order to create a favorable image for them or prevent them from developing an unfavorable image.

Corporate reputation is what people think and say about the organization, its products/services, and the behavior of those people.

Strategic positioning is essentially the conscious choice of a specific basis for building competitive advantage. This is a combination of a call to a client or interested person and competitive considerations, which can endow a company or brand with distinct personality traits in the perception of these people. Thus, a company in the mind of its target group must be better than its competitors, regardless of what its members themselves consider important. The company must appear better than it really is, and therefore must sell its products to the "right" customers, based on a good knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of both its own and other suppliers. Managers must decide where and how to compete.

Now let's move on to external communications related to strategic PR.

Probably the most obvious activity is media relations to create popularity and positive interest in the company. And managers must win their respect, show an understanding of the essence of the news, be constructive, go towards journalists and producers, and create media confidence in the company. As a rule, journalists expect:

* fast response to requests;

* an open and honest policy towards the media;

* readiness to deal with negative news;

* the availability of managers, and not the press department and the media in general;

* easy to understand and easy to use information (not overloaded with unnecessary technical or other details);

* a proactive policy of maintaining contacts (regular, consistent, personal).

The main topics of media coverage include marketing news, company policy coverage, news of general interest, personalities, current events. Messages should be intended primarily for articles on specific topics and not just for self-promotion of the company.

Publicity is the dissemination of deliberately pre-planned and highly executed messages through selected (unpaid) media in order to arouse public interest in an organization or individual.

Press relations activities are very different from promotional activities and sales because it aims to gain publicity or satisfy public interest in the organization and/or its product(s). On the other hand, propaganda is an attempt to influence public opinion in order to spread a particular desired belief.

Financial relations are aimed at creating supportive relationships and managing communications with shareholders (both current and potential) during fiscal year, as well as with investors, representatives of the business community (in particular, with analysts, stock market brokers, commercial banks) and journalists from financial magazines.

Preparing for public events can include planning strategic communications and dealing at a corporate level with a variety of audiences—government and business representatives, the press, public organizations, shareholders and trade unions and the general public.

Lobbying (government activities) occurs and operates among legislators and government agencies in the specific interests of the organization at the local, national and international levels. In fact, to really represent any issue that needs lobbying to ensure constant strong pressure on legislators, a wide-ranging study, even intelligence, is required. This is a more complex process than simple monitoring of parliamentary activity. The purpose of lobbying is to influence government circles and the legislature and thereby push through decisions that are beneficial to the organization, which can seriously affect the effectiveness of its activities in the present and future.

Industry ties include communications with various organizations within the same industry in which the company operates, for example trade associations, research (expert) agencies.

Corporate advertising sees the company as a product and is the "face and voice of the company". Managers often have little understanding of corporate advertising and are wary of this high technology public communications that does not directly increase sales or market share and is therefore often difficult to justify. Research has shown that despite being expensive, corporate advertising can enhance a company's image.

Corporate social responsibility is by far the most important item on the agenda of any PR manager. In the field of corporate social responsibility key for managers is the concept of beneficiaries as individuals or groups with legally secured property rights (or participation). They interact with the company in some of its activities. Their participation is essential if the company is to succeed and prosper. Beneficiary relationship management can be seen as an investment and as one of the core areas of business planning and management.

Sponsorship - a company acquires the exclusive right to any event or sports competition or lends its name to any product for the purpose of promoting itself through media coverage and / or planting in the minds of citizens a positive association of its name with an interesting or significant event. By supporting an event or activity, company managers can expect to receive a material return on the money and effort expended - for example, in the form of a notional value. business connections, i.e. prices of accumulated business connections, intangible assets of the company, say, prestige trademark, experience in business relationships, acquiring the ability to influence customers, creating a high reputation for the organization, its product or brand.

Information services are an essential part of the process of building mutual trust and understanding between a company and other groups in the public. The PR department must take the lead in coordinating the delivery of information to the media about the company's activities, and this often requires accompanying outreach material to help the public learn more about the company and its industry.

Advice and consulting is also one of the most important activities of PR teams in many companies. PR professionals are increasingly being called upon to provide advice and guidance on organizational management and policy issues. As communications management is taken more seriously and is increasingly recognized as an important competency in business, PR professionals are increasingly being brought in to advise managers on communications with the "outside world", also to ensure technical side relevant PR-communications chosen by the specialist.

Crisis management looks at the future in terms of anticipating and preparing for likely events that could destroy relationships that are important to the organization. Here, the responsibilities of a PR specialist can extend to a wide range of activities, including contingency planning, limiting damage, taking into account the lessons of previous crises, streamlining and managing managers' ideas about the crisis and their attitude towards them, up to managing the crisis itself.

Problem management is the systematic identification of possible problems that cause concern to the company, and actions aimed at correcting its policy in the conditions of their occurrence. Problem management differs from crisis management only in time frames and a sense of panic. Managers must learn to view problems from the perspective of different groups of the public. PR in its activities must anticipate the possibility of these problems and be able to manage the organization's response to them.

Designing and writing printed materials is also one of the responsibilities of the PR department for external communications. These are special literature on PR, brochures and booklets published by the company (annual report and history of the company, as well as a story about the main products of the company). Increasingly, the preparation of audio and video materials is required. Much of this work is planned to be promotional, and therefore close collaboration between marketing and PR professionals is needed to ensure consistency in creating and maintaining corporate identity. Analyze the communication needs of the organization and the coverage of all its key public groups. Planning is an essential part of the PR manager's role.

Internal communications, or, as they are often called - corporate communications, business today pays more and more attention. It is understandable: this is not a tribute to fashion, but a growing need and a vital necessity. Much depends on the quality of the internal communications system in the company. And it has become quite usual that large enterprises allocate it to a separate functionality, creating the appropriate divisions and hiring specialists in this field. However small organizations they often sincerely believe that their small “dimensions” still allow them to do without internal communications. And some companies in their conviction go further, believing that they do not have internal communications, and they do not need them at all. Let's deal with this misconception.

"There is no. And here - no. What are we looking for?

Misconception first: in a small company there are no internal communications.

Before discussing internal communications, let's define the basic concepts.

Internal communications are communication in the company of personnel and management in the course of joint activities: exchange of information, ideas, thoughts, solutions, tasks.

Internal communication channels are specific ways of moving information flows in a company, which are a tool for distributing information in certain direction, quality and for a specific purpose.

The internal communications system is a structured set of information channels that allows receiving and optimally distributing information messages of business, intellectual and emotional content in a company purposefully and with a given efficiency.

From the definition of internal communication channels, it is also obvious that communications are not transmitted by airborne droplets, like viruses, but through specific channels. Therefore, if there are communications, then there are channels.

From the definition of an internal communications system, it follows that there is no system in a company where the channels are not structured and not interconnected.

The general conclusion: in the most unfavorable scenario, the company does not have a system of internal communications, and not VC as such.

“The enemy enters the city, sparing no prisoners, because there was no nail in the forge”

If we proceed from the thesis that there is a VC in any company, and the system of internal communications is not everywhere, then it becomes clear that in the absence of a VC system, they "live their own lives", develop independently, the company is not managed, but only used.

Misconception two: an internal communications system is only needed big business, large companies.

Consider the situation. Company A with 60 employees actively uses e-mail and skype for communication. In one of the premises of the office organized workplace for a new employee. After a while, it became obvious that, due to the specifics of the functionality, he needed a local printer. Colleagues told the newcomer that permission to purchase office equipment is given personally by the general director, the purchase is handled by the office manager, and the installation is carried out by a technical support specialist. The employee, following the advice of colleagues, wrote a memo addressed to CEO about the need to purchase a printer, to be sure, I duplicated the application for e-mail by sending a copy also to the office manager. And in order to speed things up, he promptly informed the technical support specialist via Skype that he needed to install a local printer. And the turmoil broke out. While the office manager and the technical support specialist figured out among themselves who and what to purchase / install, while they found a memo with a brilliant general visa, time passed. Which, by the way, both - both the office manager and the system support specialist - should spend not on figuring out such things, but on completely different, useful activities. BUT new employee meanwhile, he sat without a printer, running for his printouts to a network printer, winding extra kilometers around the office and also losing his working time.

There is an unsettled process and an eternal companion of this phenomenon - chaos in internal communications. The cost of this chaos is the loss of working time and a decrease in labor productivity.

How often do we encounter the fact that internal communication channels are used irrationally and chaotically, at best, according to informal rules, and at worst, it comes to anyone’s mind.

If there are several channels, and if modern level development information technologies in any office, as a rule, there are not one or two of them, then employees do not have the opportunity to structure the flow of incoming information. And they are forced to parse this stream on their own, often receiving and sending messages that duplicate each other through different channels. At the other extreme, the data is transmitted through the wrong channels. And this is also the result of the lack of a system of internal communications. For example, employees transfer files by mail or other means of communication, and not through server storage, which is found in many corporate networks. Or they schedule a meeting using Skype or some other communicator, instead of Outlook, which has the corresponding service. Unfortunately, there are many such examples.

The smaller the company, the easier it is to build internal communications into a system

As you can see, these things are not connected with the scale of the company's business. Rather, they are associated (and exacerbated) with business growth. And to seize on building a system of internal communications during the period of rapid development of the company means to follow the well-known domestic principle “you need it yesterday.”

The smaller the company, the easier it is to build internal communications into a system. And when the enterprise enters a phase of rapid growth, it will no longer be possible to restore order in the communication chaos.

“Tahiti, Tahiti, we have not been to your Tahiti, we are well fed here too”

Misconception three: the system of internal communications is an expensive pleasure.

Internal portals, corporate social networks and other "corporate communication happiness" - all this requires an impressive investment. And for a compact company that does not have a regional network, these solutions are not needed. She needs order in communications. And order is the system. And no order requires any impressive investments. To restore order, it is necessary to realize the need to restore it, the will of the management and the establishment of a clear, intelligible regulation on the use of all VC channels in the company. Regardless of whether she gets corporate portal or uses only the capabilities of Outlook and Skype for communications.

“The song helps us to build and live”

Misconception four: internal communications are part of the corporate culture, and corporate culture- this is corporate holidays, various events out of work and other "excesses".

Of course, internal communications are part of the corporate culture, and a very important part of it. But corporate culture is not only holidays. This is the culture of doing business in the company, the culture of interaction between functions, processes, divisions, employees. Internal communications are not entertainment, but a realized necessity. Treating it as an excess and luxury negatively affects the quality of any business interaction.

So, we figured out the main misconceptions about internal communications.

Brief summary. Every company has internal communications. They must be linked into a system in order to work effectively. This is not a luxury, but a necessity for successful business. The quality of communications does not directly depend on the amount of investment in the development of communication channels.

Here comes the crisis...

Now consider this important aspect, as the role and importance of internal communications in times of crisis or changes in the company. It is in these cases that the importance of communications in general, and internal communications in particular, increases so much that they are “remembered” even by those companies that sincerely considered the communications system a luxury or, worse, an unnecessary excess.

And the last introductory "news" in this regard - the crisis has become a permanent phenomenon. Crises only change their configuration, scale and appearance, but accompany the business environment constantly. Hence the moral - to build a business and, accordingly, internal communications should be with the understanding that we are in a state of crisis, not serene stability.

With the onset of the crisis, the competitiveness of the business environment sharply increases. And this environment requires prompt response to any information signal, to any change. In a competitive race, the winner is not the one who owns the information, but the one who quickly and efficiently manipulates it: finds, structures, transmits, receives. This is exactly what the communication system provides. All major business transactions must be carried out quickly, clearly, and efficiently.

The internal communications system (ICS) is a tool for company management. Clearly built, it allows you to increase the involvement of employees in the implementation of business strategies, manageability by reducing and optimizing information chains, thereby reducing costs. Agree, in a crisis this is extremely important. The speed and quality of information flows - necessary condition prompt response of the company to the rapidly changing business environment and market situation.

An effective ICS is a tool that helps reduce the stress of all staff in a company in a crisis situation. It is internal communications that provide opportunities to convey the leader's ideas to the staff, reduce the demotivating influence of aggressive external circumstances, unite the team and unite it against the "external enemy".

One of the most destructive factors for the corporate environment is information hunger. The information space of the company does not tolerate a vacuum, and any “hole” in it is instantly filled with fantasies that can undermine any, even the most harmonious system. It is the ICS that maintains a smooth information background of the company and ensures the timely receipt of the necessary information.

Thus, ICS today is by no means a luxury and a privilege of big business, but a system that ensures the survival and development of a company of almost any size in modern conditions.

For the formation of the ICS, it is not at all necessary to unfasten impressive investments. There are many budget solutions. Including those that allow you to more effectively use the communication tools that the company already has.

Every organization has a corporate email. A well-organized system of mailing lists, the rules for their use: who, what, to whom ( the target audience) and on what occasion sends. This is one solution that does not require additional investments - a more efficient use of an existing channel.

Bulletin boards, flyers, corporate paper media - the old fashioned way. To some, it will seem too unfashionable, but nevertheless it is effective and attractive with its budget.

Information events: different formats, fast, mobile, for different staff audiences. A little organizational effort - and the required information background has been created.

The so-called speakerphone - fast and effective method prompt notification of the office about any event.

All this and much more, linked into a logical system managed by a single communication center, can effectively solve the problem. information support without additional funding. Only by putting things in order and regulating the work of internal communication channels.

Internal communications must be proactive. The external environment is active, it quickly forms an information field on any event, so the company needs to be ready not to catch up with explanations of information received from outside, but to get ahead of its penetration with its informational message.

You can fight as much as you want with office abuse of employees in use social networks. But in any case, it is possible to lower the "iron curtain" only for a period of working time. Outside of it, no prohibitions on employees apply. They actively scoop out external environment what they were deprived of during working hours. If a company is not ready to oppose them with its high-quality information field, then it will inevitably fail in this unequal battle.

The recent global financial crisis has clearly shown how helpless in the face of panic, penetrating from the external environment, were companies that did not work on their internal communications. They were forced to respond to circumstances that did not directly affect their business and work on the demotivating factors brought by employees from the expanses of a nervously pulsating market. All this can and should be prevented using internal communications. During the 2009 crisis, there were massive layoffs in companies, sharply reduced budgets for social Security and training. Information was unloaded in a stream into the external information field, creating nervousness (to put it mildly) and anxious expectations of the personnel of those organizations where things were going well. This inevitably led to a decrease in work efficiency and labor productivity.

If, under such conditions, the company does not work with its own information field, does not create transparency for the staff regarding the state of the company's business, then one has to reap the fruits of such an external panic. And the internal corporate information field is formed and filled with internal communications.

When any factors really undermine the company's business, causing damage to it and forcing it to take unpopular measures against personnel, internal communications can reduce the severity of the situation and stress reactions. If the company's informational response to negative factors arrives untimely, then there is a risk that the staff will work ahead of the curve, and react faster and more aggressively than management can expect.

The ICS creates controlled information flows aimed at the company's employees and displacing informal speculation, external and internal panic reactions.

SVK is a tool for any modern leader. After all, the manager must form communication and broadcast his version of the explanation of what is happening to his subordinates. Today, the leader who manages information flows is successful. And you can manage them through the SVK. And today, those companies that are able to act quickly, providing high speed and the quality of information exchange in its business environment. All this is solved by the system of internal communications.

During a crisis, opportunities are sharply reduced long term planning with a high share of sales. The periods of real planning are becoming short, which, however, does not cancel the natural need of the staff to understand the prospects: business, company and their own. Management cannot afford to make promises to people without guarantees that they will be kept. But if the staff does not receive such forecasts from the management, then an information vacuum arises, which is always filled with their own assumptions, usually negative ones. Employees always need long-term forecasts - this is the only way they can plan their own future or get confidence in its stability. In a crisis, the only way is to move in small steps, highlighting business plans at accessible and visible (planned) stages. Therefore, constant communication between management and staff regarding plans and business opportunities for the short term is extremely important. Employees transform the company's strategic plans into their little guarantees of a "bright future". But when great plans become essentially unfounded slogans (which is obvious to people and therefore does not “warm”), it is imperative to offer “momentary reality”.

Figuratively speaking: we do not know what will happen to the climate in 10 years, and people need to plan their lives in favorable conditions. Therefore, we show the weekly dynamics of the weather, on the basis of which you can make small forecasts and be sure that the ice age will not come tomorrow.

The only way out of this situation is the constant communication of management with the company's personnel, which ensures the regular flow of reliable information in equal doses over short periods of time. Such a rhythmic dialogue - as evidence of the presence of constant communication - stabilizes and improves the situation in the company, which is extremely important in a crisis period. And in a favorable market situation, loyal and engaged employees will allow the organization to get ahead, maintain its position in the market or capture higher ones.

So, we have considered what an internal communications system is, and how significant a role it plays in the company's business. It is obvious that the system of internal communications is not a luxury available only to big business, but a recognized necessity for a company of any size, if it strives for survival, prosperity and development.

Who should be in charge of all this "restless economy"?

In practice, if the company does not allocate ICS into a separate cross-functional area, then this function belongs to the HR or PR department. In my opinion, it is more efficient to transfer it under the responsibility of HR specialists, because ICS goals are directly correlated with the goals of the HR department, which, in turn, permeates all business processes of the company. The PR service is a partner in the ICS, since it is she who owns the main tools of internal communications. Often there is a situation when IT is engaged in internal communications in a company. This is fundamentally wrong, because. The IT department only delivers technical solutions through the main ICS channels.

The great era of proud silence of management and obedience of the staff is gone forever. It's the age of communications. They "flash" our whole life and are the key to survival. Therefore, the illusory belief in the absence and uselessness of internal communications due to the scale of the company is not an argument for ignoring the fact of their impact on life in general and business in particular.

Elena Rudavina - Director of Internal Communications of OJSC "Prosveshchenie", expert of the magazine "Kadrovik"

Leadership and Management

Keywords:

1 -1

Internal communications is any communication within an organization. They can be oral or written, direct or virtual, personal or group. Effective internal communications of all directions - from top to bottom, from bottom to top and horizontally - is one of the main tasks of any organization. Good internal communication allows you to establish role interactions and distribute the responsibility of employees.

Communication is often defined as the exchange of information. It's always a dialogue. A dialogue in which a large number of people can participate. In the structure of an organization, the requirement for two-way communication means the ability of management to listen to employees and correctly interpret the messages they convey. This allows you to determine the strengths and weak sides production process and adjust management decisions accordingly.

Practice of internal communications

Corporate departments of internal communications, originating in the depths of human resources (in international terminology - HR, from the English Human Resources), acquired independence in the 80s-90s. Where this has not yet happened, the functions of internal communication can be performed in the old fashioned way by personnel officers, either top management, or marketing and PR departments.

Internal communications should help the employee understand the corporate culture, goals and values. All employees must be aware of events and decisions that affect the work of all departments. Good internal communications are especially important during a crisis, when it is necessary that each employee not only obeys instructions from above and follows instructions, but can act independently, bearing in mind the general situation and the benefit of the entire company. Internal communication links all departments of the company together, through all levels, and creates a sense of community.

Internal communication cannot be once established and forgotten. The process must be constantly maintained and changed in accordance with the development of the company. Methods for establishing internal communications are being developed in more and more detail, depending on different groups interests that exist in the company, and the features of building their interaction, the intersection of areas of activity.

In internal communications, the essence, channels and even the form of information are important. The form has a very strong influence on the message, the same fact can be communicated in such a way that it will be perceived in a negative or positive way, leave people indifferent or, on the contrary, arouse interest. If a company is investing huge amounts of money and applying the most advanced technologies in order to secure its PR - that is, public relations - then it must be equally attentive to internal relations. The most difficult thing is to find the right balance between “top-down” and “bottom-up” communication so that the democracy and susceptibility of management to new ideas does not affect the diligence and discipline of employees.

Signs of good internal communication

Informativeness - it should not be just a set of words, but something that will somehow affect the work.
Clarity - the message must be crafted with regard to the perception of those to whom it is intended.
Timeliness. Employees must receive necessary information before it goes beyond the firm and is provided to customers, partners, competitors.
Independence and impartiality - any lie or understatement will be revealed sooner or later anyway.
Conciseness.

Those involved in establishing internal communications should have the following qualities:

Openness - which means the ability to speak with any audience and listen to any proposal.
Honesty.
The ability to dialogue.

In fact, the internal communications department becomes the moderator of interactions between management and employees. He is responsible for maintaining a certain number of communication channels in working order, for example, such as:

internal website (intranet);
regular meetings - including:
- informal meetings where employees can talk directly with superiors;
- virtual meetings using online platforms like Second Life
conferences;
corporate press and non-periodical printed materials;
internal email distribution;
bulletin boards.

Communication Management

To establish communication with employees, management uses different approaches:

Targeted approach - communication is established with a clearly defined target audience. The more accurately the message is composed, the more likely it is to be received correctly. Main mistake- is to consider that information is transmitted only with the help of words and that the recipient simply passively receives the message.
Circular approach - communication is established through good human relations and work to ensure that each employee enjoys the work. Such a system can only be established through lengthy and open discussions. It is assumed that the essence of communication is to achieve mutual understanding. Problems arise from the misconception that understanding leads to agreement, and that is the sole purpose of communication. It is not necessary to share the point of view of a person in order to respect it and take it into account in the work.
Active action approach - communication is established through practical actions that require understanding and intuition. The approach is based on the principle that communication is the coordination of meanings, understanding general rules and pattern recognition.

According to Wikipedia

Internal communications, or, as they are often called - corporate communications, business today pays more and more attention. It is understandable: this is not a tribute to fashion, but a growing need and a vital necessity. Much depends on the quality of the internal communications system in the company. And it has already become quite customary that large enterprises single out it as a separate functionality, creating appropriate divisions and hiring specialists in this field. However, small organizations often quite sincerely believe that their small “dimensions” still allow them to do without internal communications. And some companies in their conviction go further, believing that they do not have internal communications, and they do not need them at all. Let's deal with this misconception.

First fallacy: in a small company there are no internal communications.

Before discussing internal communications, let's define the basic concepts.

Internal communications are communication in the company of personnel and management in the course of joint activities: the exchange of information, ideas, thoughts, solutions, tasks.

Internal communication channels are specific ways of moving information flows in a company, which are a tool for distributing information in a certain direction, quality and for a specific purpose.

From the definition of an internal communications system, it follows that there is no system in a company where the channels are not structured and not interconnected.

General conclusion: in the most unfavorable scenario, the company does not have a system of internal communications, and not VC as such.

“The enemy enters the city, sparing no prisoners, because there was no nail in the forge”

Misconception two: only big business, large companies need an internal communications system.

Consider the situation. Company A with 60 employees actively uses e-mail and skype for communication. A workplace for a new employee was organized in one of the office premises. After a while, it became obvious that, due to the specifics of the functionality, he needed a local printer. Colleagues told the newcomer that permission to purchase office equipment is given personally by the general director, the purchase is handled by the office manager, and the installation is carried out by a technical support specialist. The employee, following the advice of colleagues, wrote a memo addressed to the general director about the need to purchase a printer, to be sure, he duplicated the application by e-mail, sending a copy also to the office manager. And in order to speed things up, he promptly informed the technical support specialist via Skype that he needed to install a local printer. And the turmoil broke out. While the office manager and the technical support specialist figured out among themselves who and what to purchase / install, while they found a memo with a brilliant general visa, time passed. Which, by the way, both - both the office manager and the system support specialist - should spend not on figuring out such things, but on completely different, useful activities. Meanwhile, the new employee, meanwhile, was sitting without a printer, running for his printouts to a network printer, winding extra kilometers around the office and also wasting his working time.

There is an unsettled process and an eternal companion of this phenomenon - chaos in internal communications. The cost of this chaos is the loss of working time and a decrease in labor productivity.

How often do we encounter the fact that internal communication channels are used irrationally and chaotically, at best, according to informal rules, and at worst, it comes to anyone’s mind.

If there are several of these channels, and with the current level of information technology development in any office, as a rule, there are not one or two of them, then employees do not have the opportunity to structure the flow of incoming information. And they are forced to parse this stream on their own, often receiving and sending messages that duplicate each other through different channels. At the other extreme, the data is transmitted through the wrong channels. And this is also the result of the lack of a system of internal communications. For example, employees transfer files by mail or other means of communication, and not through server storage, which is found in many corporate networks. Or they schedule a meeting using Skype or some other communicator, instead of Outlook, which has the corresponding service. Unfortunately, there are many such examples.

The smaller the company, the easier it is to build internal communications into a system

Misconception three: the system of internal communications is an expensive pleasure.

Internal portals, corporate social networks and other "corporate communication happiness" - all this requires an impressive investment. And for a compact company that does not have a regional network, these solutions are not needed. She needs order in communications. And order is the system. And no order requires any impressive investments. To restore order, it is necessary to realize the need to restore it, the will of the management and the establishment of a clear, intelligible regulation on the use of all VC channels in the company. Regardless of whether it acquires a corporate portal or uses only the capabilities of Outlook and Skype for communication.

“The song helps us to build and live”

Misconception four: internal communications are part of the corporate culture, and corporate culture is corporate holidays, various events outside of work, and other “excesses”.

So, we figured out the main misconceptions about internal communications.

Brief summary. Every company has internal communications. They must be linked into a system in order to work effectively. This is not a luxury, but a necessity for a successful business. The quality of communications does not directly depend on the amount of investment in the development of communication channels.

Here comes the crisis...

Now consider such an important aspect as the role and importance of internal communications in times of crisis or changes in the company. It is in these cases that the importance of communications in general, and internal communications in particular, increases so much that they are “remembered” even by those companies that sincerely considered the communications system a luxury or, worse, an unnecessary excess.

The internal communications system (ICS) is a tool for company management. Clearly built, it allows you to increase the involvement of employees in the implementation of business strategies, manageability by reducing and optimizing information chains, thereby reducing costs. Agree, in a crisis this is extremely important. The speed and quality of information flows is a necessary condition for a company's prompt response to a rapidly changing business environment and market situation.

Thus, ICS today is by no means a luxury and a privilege of big business, but a system that ensures the survival and development of a company of almost any size in modern conditions.

Every organization has a corporate email. A well-organized system of mailing lists, the rules for their use: who, what, to whom (target audience) and for what reason sends out. This is one solution that does not require additional investments - a more efficient use of an existing channel.

Bulletin boards, flyers, corporate paper media - the old fashioned way. To some, it will seem too unfashionable, but nevertheless it is effective and attractive with its budget.

Information events: different formats, fast, mobile, for different staff audiences. A little organizational effort - and the required information background has been created.

The so-called speakerphone is a fast and effective way to promptly notify the office of any event.

All this and much more, linked into a logical system managed by a single communication center, can effectively solve the problem of information support without additional funding. Only by putting things in order and regulating the work of internal communication channels.

You can fight as much as you want with office abuse of employees in the use of social networks. But in any case, it is possible to lower the "iron curtain" only for a period of working time. Outside of it, no prohibitions on employees apply. They actively scoop out from the external environment what they were deprived of during working hours. If a company is not ready to oppose them with its high-quality information field, then it will inevitably fail in this unequal battle.

The recent global financial crisis has clearly shown how helpless in the face of panic, penetrating from the external environment, were companies that did not work on their internal communications. They were forced to respond to circumstances that did not directly affect their business and work on the demotivating factors brought by employees from the expanses of a nervously pulsating market. All this can and should be prevented using internal communications. During the crisis of 2009, there were massive layoffs in companies, and budgets for social security and training were sharply reduced. Information was unloaded in a stream into the external information field, creating nervousness (to put it mildly) and anxious expectations of the personnel of those organizations where things were going well. This inevitably led to a decrease in work efficiency and labor productivity.

SVK creates controlled information flows aimed at company employees and displacing informal speculation, external and internal panic reactions.

SVK - tool of any modern leader. After all, the manager must form communication and broadcast his version of the explanation of what is happening to his subordinates. Today, the leader who manages information flows is successful. And you can manage them through the SVK. And today, those companies that are able to act quickly, providing high speed and quality of information exchange in their business environment, are successful. All this is solved by the system of internal communications.

In a crisis period, the possibilities of long-term planning with a high share of implementation are sharply reduced. The periods of real planning are becoming short, which, however, does not cancel the natural need of the staff to understand the prospects: business, company and their own. Management cannot afford to make promises to people without guarantees that they will be kept. But if the staff does not receive such forecasts from the management, then an information vacuum arises, which is always filled with their own assumptions, usually negative ones. Employees always need long-term forecasts - this is the only way they can plan their own future or get confidence in its stability. In a crisis, the only way is to move in small steps, highlighting business plans at accessible and visible (planned) stages. Therefore, constant communication between management and staff regarding plans and business opportunities for the short term is extremely important. Employees transform the company's strategic plans into their little guarantees of a "bright future". But when great plans become essentially unfounded slogans (which is obvious to people and therefore does not “warm”), it is imperative to offer “momentary reality”.

So, we have considered what an internal communications system is, and how significant a role it plays in the company's business. It is obvious that the system of internal communications is not a luxury available only to large businesses, but a recognized necessity for a company of any size if it seeks survival, prosperity and development.

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