a day, which adds up to between 300 and 500 a month
significant improvement on before, where the
figure was around 2%.”
Thanks to additional behind-the-scenes
data-processing and AI modelling, another
strength is the ability to use analytics on
existing open rates and use this as the basis for
predicting the likely response certain topics
will generate. Morrison confirms Vodafone is
currently looking at how this can be used to
plan future communications. “If we start
seeing certain trends we can begin pushing
more of what people are most interested in,”
she says.
International case study Operational efficiency
So far in the
UK distribution
of content has
been line
manager-driven.
But the success of
more two-way
communications
in Greece for
example (where
the rules are
different, and usergenerated
content
is allowed) has
meant plans are
afoot to extend
the facility for
staff-driven content here too.
“In Greece 20% of content is now usergenerated,”
generated,” explains Morrison. For the time
being desktop users still see communications
default to their login page. But over time, and
as portable devices become more common,
Morrison anticipates more interaction with
communications on the move.
“We’ve already noticed people engage with
content while they’re commuting,” she says.
“Interestingly we also see spikes in readership
and open rates at the weekend, and early
morning and early evening. If this is when
people want to read stuff we have to be wise to
it. The whole point of good internal
communication is keeping it regular and for
reading it to be habitual.” HR
Importing back home...
In the UK the benefi t of having good internal
communication is – in theory – well understood.
According to data from the internal
communications group of the Chartered
Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), 77% of those
working in the area felt CEOs and MDs valued
the function of internal communications. This
rises to 92% when it comes to senior leadership.
Other surveys show positive links between
improved performance and informing staff
about what’s going on.
Many fi rms are embracing this. Take Merlin
Entertainments (which has 28,000 staff globally).
It is using its internal communications around
overarching themes such as ‘Protecting the
Magic’ (to communicate around health, safety
and community),
which can be
adapted locally.
However, the CIPR
research also revealed that many still see a
disconnect between theory and practice.
Signifi cantly, it found that there is ‘a level of
confusion about what the role does, as the
terms ‘internal communication’ and ‘employee
engagement’ were used interchangeably’.
Data from the European Association of Internal
Communication fi nds that 64% of practitioners
believe the discipline would gain greater
importance if it matured as a specialism in its
own right, but that HRDs could show more
leadership in explaining the differences.
In focus:
Global
internal
comms
Key statistics
Every day more than
205.6 billion emails are
sent, but only a third
actually get opened.
Globally, data suggests
internal communicators
are poor at both
planning and
measuring their internal
communications, with
21% admitting they
don’t employ any
formal planning (rising
to 31% for
communicators in
North America),
according to
Gatehouse’s State of
the Sector 2018 report.
This same survey also
fi nds more than half
(54%) of internal
communicators claim
technology is a barrier
to good internal
communications
Mobile comms
Globally some 40%
of internal
communicators still
believe mobile apps
are ineffective as a
form of
communication. But
this is despite the
fact that job mobility
is increasing and
that younger
generations prefer
this channel.
According to United
Nations data, this
year Generation Z is
predicted to
comprise 32% of the
global population of
7.7 billion, nudging
ahead of Millennials
who will account for
a 31.5% share
hrmagazine.co.uk June 2019 HR 49
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