Transcript
The Role of Internal Communicationin Employee Engagement
James KinneerLaurel Highlands Communications Conference
September 23, 2010
• Method– Systematic review of peer reviewed literature– Databases used included: Academic Search Complete,
Business Source Premier, Communications and Mass Media Complete and Google Scholar
– Search parameters focused on articles from 2005 to 2010, additional resources identified from references of relevant sources
– Search terms: employee engagement, internal communication, employee communication, organizational communication, corporate communication
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Employee Engagement– Definition– Benefits– Key Drivers– Role of Internal Communications
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Employee Engagement– Definition
A positive cognitive, emotional and behavioralstate directed toward organizational outcomes(Shuck and Wollard 2009).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Employee Engagement– Benefits
Engaged employees are more productive,profitable and deliver higher levels of customerservice with higher levels of retention and lowerabsenteeism and accident rates (Fleming, 2009).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Employee Engagement– Role of Internal Communication
Employee communication facilitates employeeengagement (Dorey & Garcia, 2007).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Employee Engagement– Key Drivers
A number of factors contribute to employeeengagement including workplace culture,managerial style, trust, leadership and corporatereputation (Lockwood, 2007).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Leadership and Management Communication– Senior Leadership Credibility– Strategic Direction– Manager Effectiveness– Importance of Personal Connection
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Leadership and Management Communication– Senior Leadership Credibility
Internal communications is the protector ofleadership credibility and must help to reinforce aconsistent management message (Dorey & Garcia,2007).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Leadership and Management Communication– Strategic Direction
Employees want the organization’s strategy to beeffectively communicated to them so they cancontribute to the corporate strategy and help theorganization succeed (Matthews, 2010).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Leadership and Management Communication– Manager Effectiveness
Effective organizations make communication aformal part of the line manager’s role and provideline managers with communication training(Alexander, Lindsay-Smith & Joerin, 2009).
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Leadership and Management Communication– Importance of Personal Connection
Face-to-face opportunities for informationexchange and dialogue are critical to effectiveinternal communications (Alexander, LinsdaySmith & Joerin, 2009).
• Research on Leadership and Communication
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
Study FindingsWhitworth & Riccomi (2005) Direct correlation between managerial
communication effectiveness and job satisfaction.
Matlock (2008) Supervisor communication competence is a strong predictor of employee job satisfaction.
Harris &Maceli (2010) CEO communication more important than manager communication during a time of significant change.
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Internal Marketing and Branding– Definitions• Internal Marketing• Internal Branding
– Research on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Internal Marketing and Branding– Definitions• Internal Marketing• Internal Branding
– Research on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Internal Marketing and Branding– Definitions• Internal Marketing
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
Management philosophy of promoting the firm and its policies to employees as if they are the (internal) customers of the firm.
• Internal Marketing and Branding– Definitions• Internal Branding
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
Internal Branding is the set of strategic processes that align and empower employees to deliver the appropriate customer experience in a consistent fashion.
• Internal Marketing and Branding– Definitions• Internal Marketing• Internal Branding
– Research on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Research on Job Satisfaction and Internal Marketing
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
Study FindingsTurkoz & Akyol (2008) Studied internal marketing in hotel
industry and found positive relationship between internal marketing, job satisfaction and hotel performance.
Sihombin and Gustam (2007) Research internal marketing in a university setting and found internal marketing to be a predictor of organizational commitment.
Shiu & Yu (2009) Found positive relationship of internal marketing to organizational culture and job performance.
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Technology Enabled Communications– Intranets– Social Media
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Intranets
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
Intranets are the foundation for internal communication, especially in large or global organizations (Alexander, Lindsay-Smith & Joerin, 2009).
• Social Media Applications– Instant Messaging– Blogs– Podcasts– Webcast– Wikis
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Summary of the Literature– Employee Engagement– Leadership and Management Communication– Internal Marketing and Branding– Technology Enabled Communications
• Directions for Further Research
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• Directions for Further Research– Internal Branding and Employee Engagement– ROI of Social Media Applications– Use of Blended Internal Communications and
Employee Engagement
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
References• Alexander, J., Lindsay-Smith, S. & Joerin. C. (2009). On the quest for world-class internal communication.
Strategic Communication Management, 13(4), 32- 35.• Dorely, J. & Garcia, H.F. (2007). Reputation Management: The key to successful public relations and
corporate communication. New York: Taylor & Francis Routledge.• Fleming, J. (2009). From Gallup: Why engagement is essential. Strategic Communication Management,
13(4), 7.• Harris, E.G, & Maceli, K. (2010). The role of communication in nursing job satisfaction and performance
following a significant change in leadership: Implications for health care management. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Collegiate Marketing Educators, 146-153.
• Shuck, M. B., & Wollard, K. K. (2009). A historical perspective of employee engagement: An emerging definition. In M. S. Plakhotnik, S. M. Nielsen, & D. M. Pane (Eds.), Proceedings of the Eighth Annual College of Education & GSN Research Conference (pp. 133-139). Miami: Florida International University. http://coeweb.fiu.edu/research_conference/
• Shiu, Y., & Yu, T. (2010). Internal marketing, organisational culture, job satisfaction, and organisational performance in non-life insurance. Service Industries Journal, 30(6), 793-809.
• Turkoz, I. & Akyol, A. (2008). Internal Marketing and Hotel Performance. International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 19(1), 149-154.
• Whitworth, B. & Riccomini, B. (2005). Management communication: Unlocking higher employee performance. Communication World, 18-22.
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement
• References (please refer to proceedings for a complete listing of references)
• Contact InformationJames Kinneer, MA, SPHRDoctoral CandidateDepartment of Communications MediaIndiana University of Pennsylvania121 Stouffer HallIndiana, PA 15705j.w.kinneer@iup.edu
The Role of Internal Communication in Employee Engagement