Day to Day Communication, Change and Marketing Communications in the Company - Essay Example

Reflective Essay It was been agreed by the management and the staff of the agency that an internal communication project would benefit the organization not just in terms of the profits or the actual mathematical results but also largely in terms of the over all environment at work and the growth of the employees at the level of professional individuals. The idea behind the project was to ensure that there was an active exchange of creative ideas and an active process of dialogue between the management and the employee base. To this extent, that it was agreed that it would be an active communication process that could form the basic forum for the effectiveness of the organization the long run. Costs incurred would be manifested in the growth financial profit that the agency balance sheets would soon start to show. The plan of action that had been outlined in the initial phases of the proposal was three fold. First there was to be the publication of a group journal which would be contributed to, by every member of the agency thereby giving everyone involved a sense of teamwork and involvement in the working of the project. This would not just arouse interest but would be almost a guarantee to the success of the proposal at the basic as well as at the top most levels. Second, the project meant an organization of a number of workshops and interactive meets of the employees of the agency. These could take the manifestation of self help groups, creativity classes, teamwork rules or just an interactive meet which would also include the top level management of the agency. Third, one on one interactive sessions, the primary purpose of which was to ensure skill transfer at a personal level, an active exchange of ideas and formation of connections that would lessen the feeling of competitiveness and put an end to personal jealousies. It has infact been proven that we are always more afraid of the things we do not know than of the things that we do. This would be the underlying principle of the proposal implementation. The idea was to ensure that the employee and the management got to know each other and that there was an exchange of knowledge, an attempt to integrate the loyalties of the ones working at the bottom and making sure that each one felt like he/she were part of the process that would make the agency achieve its short term and it s long term objectives. Before embarking on the process of implementing the plan that were outlined in the initial proposal, I found it important first and foremost to understand and to identify the factors that were causing problem with the internal communication process of the agency in the first place. The research that was put into this area found out than the causal factor behind tensions within the agency were, first, an idea on the part of the managers and most employees that if he/she knew something then everyone body else must be knowing it as well. This would automatically result in a reluctance to share information and the creation of distrust within the office. Moreover, the notion was even stronger in the upper rung of the management hierarchy. Second, there was big problem related to what can now be termed ad miscommunication. There was an absence on the part of the management about the value of the communication process and hence a complete ignorance of who said what to whom. The diverse personalities of the personnel in the agency meant that it would be easy on the part of the management to believe that the information that needed to be convened has been transferred while the interpretation of the information would still be open to personal interpretation. This would obviously create trouble. Last, the greatest source of the communication related trouble in the organization was the fact that the management interpreted its job as being the solving of problems. This would automatically then translate into the idea that in the absence of problems/crises, there's nothing that needs to be communicated hence no need for communication of any kind leading to the creation of a vacuum in the process of inter personnel interaction. Process of implementation: First and foremost it was ensures as part of the project execution that each member of the team received a copy of the initial publication. The initial publication was designed in a manner that it included the very basic level of information with regards to the agency. The information included things like the management vision and how each employee fit into the larger picture; the statement of values that are supposed to be the guiding principles behind the day to day functioning of the organization; the strategic goals and objectives of the firm along with a statement of how these goals would be attained. The second part was to get an employee handbook in order and made sure that each one got a copy of the same. This handbook had an up-to-date enumeration of the personnel policies of the agency. Another part of the process of getting the management’s opinion across was to ensure that there were management meetings that were held at least once in two weeks. This achieved the simple purpose of making the management accessible to the members of the team. Beside this team leaders behind every account were made to accept the mandatory process of holding a group meeting with the entire team, at least once a week and submit reports to the management. This achieved two things: it brought to the fore the performers and the non performers in every team and it also ensured that ideas did not ho unheeded. Finally, at the level of meetings and interaction it was ensured that there were celebrations of every account that was handled successfully. This fostered a culture where each one would rejoice in the success of the other members of the team. With respect to change in management behaviour the project tried to make the follwing changes. First, there was a provision in the proposal that there would be a requirement placed on all employees that they submit regular status reports to their supervisors and their team heads. These reports would be, in essence personal accounts what of they feel they had achieved in the past week or the past month. The report also included a summary of the targets that need to be achieved in the in the next week. What this meant is a track of the employee timetable in a manner that is not threatening because it seekd to monitor for what they did last week, will do next week and any actions/issues to address. The project also tried to regulate that all supervisors meet one-on-one at least once a month with their employees to discuss how its' going, hear any current concerns from the employee, etc. Even if the meeting is chit-chat, it cultivates an important relationship between supervisor and employee. There was in place a basic communications plan to out line all of the above and yet there were a number of stumbling blocs along the way. What was kept in mind in order to ensure that the effectiveness of the project did not go astray was that it was designed keeping mind the basic values of the organization. There were some stiff debates that had to be dealt with. These emerged when the requirements of the project were pitied against some of the demands of the management. The basic work that was done can be classified as follows: Day to day communication: Organization news Awards Housekeeping appraisal Listening and responding to worries Change Communication Explaining vision, purpose and values Helping the management talk to their teams Embedding change initiative Industry and other BIG news Marketing Communications Creating passion about work and product Internal marketing activity Inviting critique and discussion Marketing programmes Visual environment (Building etc). At the end of the month there was a survey that was conducted among the employees of the firm. The mood in the agency as manifested in the survey demonstrated the fact that there was an overwhelming response to the communication project. There was also a support for the project from the board and the top line management. 82% of the managers said that worker relations and the work output at the individual level had gone up at least 20% within a month of setting up of the internal communications initiative. In conclusion it may be now reiterated that, the project was a success at a number of levels. The degree to which the success was achieved might have varied a bit as opposed to the goals that were set in the initial plan proposal. However this might have been anticipated in the first place because of the fact that in the absence of a culture conducive to this kind of a proposal these blocs were bound to show up. The manifestation of the proposal in the finances will take some time to come through but it is hoped that they will be there in the end of the year numbers this fiscal. Reference: Smith et al., (2005) Effective internal communication, Ed. Illustrated Reprint, Kogan page Publishers, p215-228 Scholes E, (1997) Gower handbook of internal communication, Pub. Gower Publications, Ed., Illustrated, p118-142 Quirke B (2008) Making the Connections Using Internal Communication to Turn Strategy into Action, Edition II, Gower Publications, p39-56 Basics in international Communications management, accessed May 6, 2009, Internal Communications, accessed May 6, 2009, http://www.ragan.com/ME2/Default.asp Internal Communication, Business Marketing Report, accessed May 6, 2009, http://www.bharatbook.com/productdetail.asp?id=4896 Read More