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.

In advance of our next Social Media for Internal Communication training day and the launch of our new course on digital communication, we wanted to find out what challenges internal communicators are facing in implementing social media.

40% said that senior managers being nervous of it was the top one.  The limitations of organisations’ IT was an issue for nearly 15%. Other barriers included the need for a better understanding of social media and concerns that the culture might not be right. Some thought that employees simply weren’t media savvy enough to embrace it.

In a challenge to managers, one respondent said:  “The thought that staff will abuse the system or that you will read things you don’t want to is completely out-weighed by the benefits that can be achieved by using it properly.”  More positive comments came from another respondent who said: “I have been surprised at how well adopted social media tools have become. It’s becoming a key method for internal communication whether people like it or not.”

Time was an issue for some and there is also perhaps a feeling that one ‘should be doing it’; this was articulated by one respondent who said: “Not using social media is like my guilty secret.  I know I should be doing it; I just need to make the time to make it happen!” 

Generally, respondents were keen that social media was introduced in a planned way rather than just jump in: “You have to have the staff, knowledge and strict guidelines before social media is introduced.”  And: “We need to establish it’s worth and if our audience would be receptive to this channel as opposed to another.” 

How does your organisation feel about social media – is it embracing it or still cautious?

Kevin has edited it and also written a fair bit of the text and we have some great contributors who some of you will know: Paul Noble on evaluation and Ellen Hake on tone of voice – both tutor with us. Also contributing chapters are Dr Mary Welch from the University of Central Lancashire, our good friend and social media whiz the soooo Italian Francesco Furnari and Dr Donna MacAleese who those who have studied the internal comms diploma with us will recognise from the Tourish and Hargie book on audits that we use. Kevin even let me write a bit at the end.

The book has been designed firstly as a text to go alongside the CIPR qualificaitons in internal communication (if you are joining one of the courses with us it is one of the books that we provide).

CIPR members will have seen it reviewed this week in The Conversation.

Find out more on the website above, you can arrange to order a copy via that site too. And isnt the cover lovely? !

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.”

Closest to home is Karen Brookes-Ferrari who has been studying with us on the internal communication certificate. Karen works for Devon and Cornwall Constabulary where their in-house publication “Billboard” has just won silver in the CIPR Pride awards for the region.

Karen told us what she thought led to the success: “We did a lot of research up front to see what colleagues wanted not only content, but channel – print or online. There was still a lot of support for print. That research continues and we have regular surveys about the focus, design, content and future direction of the magazine. We have also recruited a team of ‘communications champions’ from across the Force area to tell us what staff and officers like and dislike about the magazine on a regular basis. The next step maybe setting up an editorial panel made up of staff and officers across the Force.” Read the case study.

In January, the internal communication certificate will be going online and we will also be running a qualification at diploma level. Still plenty of time to enrol!

Meanwhile, in Romania, Online Diploma student Janina Trotea is celebrating having scooped seven awards in the 2009 Spotlight Awards – Print, Video and Communication, organised by the League of American Communications Professionals. Janina – who is responsible for internal communications at Coca Cola Romania – told us that there were more than 1000 projects submitted but all four of the internal communication entries that she submitted won something – three of them won two awards!

She says that she has spent a lot of time this past year on audience segmentation and been much more targeted in her approach. It has paid off not only in terms of better results at work but brought international recognition.

Find out more about the awards here.     

Are you a former PR Academy student? Why not tell us about your successes? We’d love to know what our students have gone on to achieve – let us know by responding to the blog.