Tomorrow is the first day of Melcrum’s 2009 Strategic Communication Management Summit (SCM), which is set to be one of the biggest events in the internal communicators’ diary this year.
In a recent article in Communicate magazine, Sheila is among those discussing the role of internal communication at board level: and it seems that placing a strategic focus on this industry is still a fairly novel approach. Even now there is little emphasis on the importance of our industry, sometimes deemed a ‘nice to have’ rather than an important strategic part of the business.
In our research report, Social media and you which launches at the SCM, we found that 63% of respondents still don’t have internal communications represented at board level – then how do we raise the profile and educate the business world and its leaders on the strategic importance of great internal communication?
This is backed up by a PersonnelToday finding that employee engagement is key to performance and retention – something internal communicators have always known.
I wonder if there’s a conference out there for business leaders, not communicators, not HR professionals, but CEO’s, finance managers, operational directors – to discuss with them the importance of our profession and why they need to really put their people at the heart of the business (rather than merely pay lip service). Would this change the way internal communications is viewed?
As the world of business changes – after a year of difficult economic times and the explosion of social media onto business agendas – the way we work is going to change… surely the only way to ensure that the changes are best for your business is to have real conversations with the people doing the job?
Sounds like a good project for IABC to host. I’m so tired of hearing, “I don’t have time,” when I invite senior leaders to communicate with employees. Let’s get some of the leaders who understand the value of communication and engagement with those who don’t.