But this doesnt just apply to internal comms does it? Many of our students working in other communication disciplines struggle with the same thing – how do we prove that we matter. And in these tough times that is more important than ever. Of course some are still forced by their clients or peers to prove it through the quantity of media  coverage, but we all know that this doesn’t really prove anything apart from the obvious fact of there being a lot of  cuttings. We are none the wiser what our customers and other stakeholders think as a result.

In my mind what we need to do is set out a good strong strategy from the start that articulates how the communications/PR will support business objectives. Then set some measurable objectives – get the client or senior managers to sign up to them and then prove that you have delivered them. Yes, that means spending money on decent research but how much money is wasted doing stuff that we can’t prove the value of?  And then again, how on earth do you measure the value of keeping your client or employer out of trouble?

Do we need different approaches for internal and external facing activity? How have you met the challenge of proving your worth? I’d love to hear……

Earlier this year I spoke to Tracy about the differences in using social media internally and what some of the blockers might be.

According to Tracy, the differences in terms of actual use are negligible. People are people irrespective of whether they are colleagues, managers, team members, customers or a complete stranger on the street. The principles of engaging and communicating with other people remain the same. 

Tracy explained more: “The differences are more likely to be relating to the tools and platforms that you choose to use. The social and digital media spectrum as I see it is vast, encompassing anything from online video and podcasts, to wikis, micro-blogging (Twitter, Yammer), blogging, mobile apps, social networking, instant messaging… I could go on. Some platforms are very open and public by their very nature (Twitter, for example) so they’d need to be used with far more care if used for communications intended only for internal audiences. That’s where tools like Yammer and SharePoint are useful, as they can easily be controlled for internal-only viewing. But just because you choose to set spaces up in some places, doesn’t mean that your staff won’t decide to go ahead and set up their own spaces elsewhere, where they might feel more comfortable and familiar with the layout and functionality (Facebook, for example), and this can be difficult to control.”

I  asked Tracy more about the blockers to using social media internally. She felt that blocking access is a pointless thing to do:  “You only have to look at the many reports that suggest time spent on social media sites at work loses companies money (though there are other reports now to suggest the opposite, so who really knows – you have to question what else employees might be doing with that time…), and the number of organisations that block access to social media sites on their IT networks. But it’s a pointless task. People will find a way to use them, and their so ubiquitous now that it’s best to work with them than pretend that they don’t exist. The company that completely closes off all use of social media is essentially sending out a message that they don’t want their staff to have a voice, and that is akin to not caring about what their staff think and feel. Who would want to work there? It also closes off potential for collaboration and development of new ideas across the whole organization.”

 Thanks Tracy!

 More  info on our ‘Social Media for Internal Communication’ course  here.

I bumped into her again today at the CIPR Inside conference (she must think I get everywhere!).  CIPR Inside is the group for internal communicators and they had pulled together a top line up of speakers with more than 100 communicators there as delegates.  It was great to see so many PR Academy alumni there too. 

The secetor groups are a great way to network with people in the same field as you – so if you havent joined one, do sign up, its free! There are groups for everything from public affairs to education.  Check out the groups here.

Here at PR Academy we are really pleased to be supporting the event with a copy of Kevin Ruck’s book on internal communication going to the first ten to register – to be collected on the day. Those who attend the conference will also be able to buy a copy at a discount of 20%.

And while on the subject of internal communication, we are really pleased to hear that the Internal Communication Diploma that Kevin here at PR Academy designed, is going to be launched in Edinburgh by our good friends at Queen Margaret University.  It just shows how the desire to help professionalise internal communication through professional qualifications is growing.

It just makes me think that Internal Communciations is really going to have to seize the day if we arent going to get left in others’ wake, stuck as the corporate post people.  As Quirke (2008:291) says: 

“There are areas of businesses which are quietly getting on with harnessing communication to change cultures, re-engineer processes and build their brands. However, the internal communication departments are often busy elsewhere, either missing the action or being kept out.”

There are some great speakers and it is bound to be a good opportunity to network with other people in internal comms, so do try and get along, you need to book ahead of course.

If you are a CIPR member and work in internal comms – have you joined the Inside group? It is the sector group for internal comms professionals and has a really proactive committee with lots of ideas for events etc, so think about signing up if you havent already, visit the  CIPR website