Internal Communication

Top Places to Work and Agency Elite Awards keynoter Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications, and PRNEWS content manager, Nicole Schuman, sat down for a discussion regarding Breakenridge’s research on emotional intelligence. They also covered how the infusion of empathy can improve communications efforts not only in the office, but throughout an overall brand strategy.

It’s one of the dirty little secrets of PR: Internal communications is vital to the smooth operation of a company, yet it’s often the last to be given consideration. Early fall is a perfect time to shine up your internal communications efforts.

Social media has made listening easy, right? Not so fast. There’s listening and then there’s critical listening. It’s not hard to figure out which kind is more advantageous for communicators. Tips and thoughts about listening will help your career blossom.

Internal communications often is the dark-haired stepchild of PR. The communicators we spoke with insist a strong internal communications effort is a key ingredient in helping to avoid uncomfortable situations, including when disgruntled employees go to the media with their complaints.

As a company grows, so does its variety of personalities and backgrounds, which contribute to the promotion of diverse creations and thinking, ultimately making an organization more well-rounded. However, growth can yield growing pains, and at almost 100,000 employees strong, Google management felt it needed to revisit and remind its workforce of the importance of work and reel in what it saw as wasteful and hurtful discussions.

There’s no arguing about the importance of a steel-toed communication plan for a company merger. External AND internal communications need to be orchestrated in respect to many audiences—investors, employees, consumers, the media and more. It can be somewhat overwhelming for those involved to perform with speed and accuracy, all the while keeping a brave face for those unsure of an acquisition’s future impact.

PR employees can and will go to social media when they feel management is not listening to their opinions. This is so particularly when firms engage in work for controversial clients and staff find out in the media. Fortunately, one way to avoid having employee dissent spill into the public domain is to engage in a rigorous internal communications effort, several PR pros told us.

The new Chief Strategy Officer at FleishmanHillard, Marjorie Benzkofer, talks to us about how she keeps 4,000 employees working in concert and why brands continue to struggle aligning their values and actions.

With school beginning soon (yes, the summer has flown by), we turn to educators, most of whom are or were PR pros, to tell us what areas of the profession communications students need additional training in. Then we ask PR pros to give us their assessment of incoming PR candidates and their training needs.

That stigma attached to seeking help is not surprising in a line of work so tethered to certain social expectations around masculinity, silence and honor. But commissioner O’Neill’s response heralds a powerful lesson for communicators—when you work for a brand or organization that places added stress on your employees, providing empathetic solutions and mental health resources is not only good for reputation—it can save lives.