Description
Internal communication in New Zealand is a relatively new field of research, particularly within the financial sector. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the internal communication of financial institutions. Three major themes were considered within the field of internal communication: internal communication management, the channels utilised within organisations for internal communication and whether measurement of the internal communication was evident.
An Investigation of Internal Communication within the
New Zealand Financial Sector
Kylie Horomia
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of International Communication
Unitec New Zealand, 2007
i
Abstract
Internal communication in New Zealand is a relatively new field of research, particularly
within the financial sector. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the
internal communication of financial institutions. Three major themes were considered
within the field of internal communication: internal communication management, the
channels utilised within organisations for internal communication and whether
measurement of the internal communication was evident.
The research followed a qualitative methodological approach where a semi-structured
interview with a representative from each of the participating organisations was
conducted, in order to gain the management perspective of internal communication. The
findings of the interviews were then transcribed and discussed in accordance with the
current academic literature.
The findings indicate that internal communication is a large area of research that differs
between organisations with content, structure and management. Additionally, a range of
communication channels were used in all of the participant organisations with intranet
and emails the most predominant channels, while face-to-face communication was an
often underutilised channel. One finding that was not anticipated was the lack of formal
measurement undertaken by most of the participants. While informal channels were well
accounted for, formal measurement was surprisingly minimal thereby contradicting the
advisement of the academic literature.
ii
Declaration
Name of candidate: Kylie Horomia
This Thesis/Dissertation/Research Project entitled:
An Investigation of Internal Communication within the
New Zealand Financial Sector
is submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Unitec degree of
Master of International Communication
CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION
I confirm that:
• This Thesis/Dissertation/Research Project represents my own work;
• The contribution of supervisors and others to this work was consistent with the
Unitec Regulations and Policies.
• Research for this work has been conducted in accordance with the Unitec Research
Ethics Committee Policy and Procedures, and has fulfilled any requirements set for
this project by the Unitec Research Ethics Committee.
Research Ethics Committee Approval Number: ........................................
Candidate Signature: ……….…………………………………….Date: …………………
Student number: …………………………
iii
Acknowledgements
There are several people I would like to thank for their tremendous support during my
often arduous masters journey:
My first port of call is my amazing principle supervisor Dr Donna Henson – Dr D, thank
you for your patience, your incredible reading speed, the immeasurable amount of help
you gave me, your amazing ability to spit out academic language extemporaneously (and
all without aid of a thesaurus) and your willingness to share your wisdom with a keen,
and admittedly, semi-annoying postgraduate student. I would not have completed my
thesis without your absolutely generous support and I really can’t thank you enough for
everything you have done. In addition I would also like to thank Diana Mead my
secondary supervisor for her valued enthusiasm and excitement for my whole research
journey.
Additionally, my thanks extend to the School of Communication. I think the concept of
“it takes a community to raise a child” extends to my experience with this school as
many, if not all of you, have been my mentors and “raised” me from my initial foray into
a bachelors degree to a successful masters graduate. In fact, I think that I have popped
into all of the offices at some stage asking multiple questions, and everyone has given
generously of their time whenever I appeared at their door. Special mention goes to Ed
Mason for his great discussions on a multitude of subjects, including sport and media
and Debbie Rolland who has always kept me on track.
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I would also like to acknowledge and thank the six participating organisations in this
study who generously shared their time and experiences with an eager masters student.
To my masters study buddies, Liza Nel - you and your camera bag have kept me sane (or
insane) with loads of laughter, Birgit Hermann - my lunch buddy and competitor to see
who was first in the building every morning (I won). You helped keep me on track and
provided me with great competitive spirit. You both make great sounding boards. Also
thanks to my buddy abroad, Anne Nordvang, who has supported me from Norway with
great inspirational emails.
Most importantly, I would like to credit my educational journey to my brilliant family.
My exceedingly patient parents have supported me through all of my crazy ideas, jobs,
hobbies and experiments - mentally, physically and most definitely financially.
Hopefully I will be able to return the support tenfold in the future. I love you both.
Finally, Heddi Goodrich – my proof-reader, my cheerleader, my sounding-board, my
sister and my best friend:
Alla mia carissima amica Heddi:
grazie di cuore per il tuo aiuto e sostegno in tutti
questi lunghi mesi di lavoro.
Non sarei mai riuscita a finire la mia tesi senza il
tuo incoraggiamento e i tuoi abbracci
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ……………………………………………………… vii
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….. 1
Rationale……………………………………………………………… 1
Research Structure……………………………………………………. 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………. 4
Internal Communication……………………………………………… 4
Internal Communication Management……………………………….. 7
Internal Communication Measurement……………………………… 13
Internal Communication Channels…………………………………... 16
Previous Communication Research Involving Banks ………………. 25
3. RESEARCH DESIGN…………………………………………………….. 31
Overview……………………………………………………………. 31
Rationale……………………………………………………………. 31
Qualitative Research………………………………………………... 32
Methods of Data Collection………………………………………… 34
Participants………………………………………………………….. 36
Data Analysis……………………………………………………….. 38
Ethical Considerations……………………………………………… 39
Limitations………………………………………………………….. 39
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………….. 42
Internal Communication Management ……………………………... 42
Alfa………………………………………………………….. 45
Echo…………………………………………………………. 47
Sierra………………………………………………………… 49
Delta…………………………………………………………. 51
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Victor…………………………………………………………53
Lima……………………………………………………….....55
Internal Communication Channels…………………………………...58
Alfa…………………………………………………………..58
Echo………………………………………………………….61
Sierra…………………………………………………………63
Delta…………………………………………………………66
Victor………………………………………………………...68
Lima…………………………………………………………70
Measurement of Internal Communication ………………………….71
Alfa………………………………………………………….72
Echo…………………………………………………………74
Sierra………………………………………………………...76
Delta…………………………………………………………77
Victor………………………………………………………..78
Lima…………………………………………………………80
5. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………. 83
Internal Communication Management………………………………83
Internal Communication Channels…………………………………..86
Measurement of Internal Communication…………………………...88
Limitations…………………………………………………………..89
Future Research……………………………………………………...90
Conclusions………………………………………………………….90
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………...…..92
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………..104
Appendix 1: Sample Interview Schedule…………………………………...104
Appendix 2: Participant Information Form…………………………………105
Appendix 3: Participant Consent Form……………………………………..106
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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1: Internal Communication Matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007)…………… 6
Figure 1: Different departments own pieces of the communication jigsaw
(Quirke,2000)………………………………………………………….. 8
Figure 2: Conceptual framework of integrated internal communications
(Kalla,
2005)……………………………………………………………….….. 9
Figure 3: The position of internal corporate communication within integrated
corporate communication (Welch and Jackson 2007)…………………10
1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The study of internal communication is arguably one of the fastest growing areas within
the field of communication, with a 25-30 percent growth rate in the past five years
(Donaldson & Eyre, 2000). In fact, studies indicate that organisations are pointing to
effective internal communication as an influential factor in business success (Cees,
Berens, & Dijkastra, 2005; Holtz, 2004; Quirke, 2000). Internal communication is
defined as the “formal and informal communication taking place internally at all levels of
an organisation” (Kalla, 2005, p.304). The general purpose of this research is to
determine the extent to which organisations in New Zealand, specifically the financial
sector, manage their formal internal communication. The main focus of the study is
primarily on the management of internal communication, the channels used during
internal communication and the measurement of effective internal communication.
Rationale
The rationale for this study is founded on a review of the literature which reveals a
distinct absence of New Zealand based research into internal communication. This is in
stark contrast to the increasing international studies that highlight the importance of
internal communication (Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Johnson, 2001; Kitchen, 1997; Quirke,
2000; Welch & Jackson, 2007). Additional reasons for this study lie in the lack of
academic research focussing on financial institutions. Although a few organisations in the
financial sector have been conducting studies into their own internal communication
(Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Moorcroft, 2006; Sablosky, 2005; Wadman, 2006), there is little
published scholarly research available, which emphasises the importance of this study.
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Research Structure
This research project is a level nine, 90 credit thesis which will provide partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the Master of International Communication degree at Unitec New
Zealand. The following sections of this thesis are divided into four main chapters.
Chapter two consists of a review of the literature according to five main themes: internal
communication, internal communication management, measurement, channels and
previous communication research in the financial sector. These themes were chosen due
to their importance within the field of internal communication and their influence on each
other. This review of the literature provides additional justification for the purpose and
direction of this study and highlights some of the major themes within internal
communication research.
Based on the literature review, chapter three discusses the methodology and the design of
this research. A qualitative method was chosen as the most appropriate approach due to
the small sample size retained and the ability to collect detailed data from participants
through semi-structured interviews. Additionally, the background of the participants and
the ethical considerations and limitations are also discussed in this section. In accordance
with the review of the literature and the research design, three questions were posited in
order to provide the focus for this study:
How do organisations in the New Zealand banking sector manage their internal
communication?
3
What channels do banking institutions in New Zealand utilise for their internal
communication?
How do banking institutions in New Zealand measure the effectiveness of their
internal communication?
Utilising the results of the literature review and the methodological considerations,
chapter four explores the findings of the participant interviews and is divided into three
themes: internal communication management, internal communication channels and
measurement of internal communication.
Finally, chapter five concludes by summarising the main points of this thesis with
consideration to all of the previous discussions. In addition the limitations of the study
and areas of future research are explored.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The main focus of this thesis is on the formal communication taking place within New
Zealand banks across all levels of the organisation. Additionally, of interest are the
channels utilised and the means by which organisations measure their internal
communication. This chapter presents a review of the literature in accordance with four
themes; the role and function of internal communication, its management, channels and
previous research on internal communication in banks. This will then provide the
foundation for the discussion and analysis of the research findings in later chapters.
Internal Communication
Research on internal communication is cross disciplinary, and the number of available
definitions reflects this fact. Internal communication can be termed internal marketing,
organisational communication, employee relations (Quirke, 2000), management
communication, internal media, cross-departmental communication (Greenbaum,
Clampitt, & Willihnganz, 1988), business or corporate communication (Kitchen, 1997),
strategic communication (Argenti, 2007) or integrated internal communications (Kalla,
2005).
Today, much of the current scholarly literature is brought under the umbrella of internal
communication, although as previously suggested, the use of the term, in practice, is
dependent on the organisation and the scholarly approach. In its simplest form internal
communication is “the exchange of information and ideas within an organisation” (Bovee
& Thill, 2000, p.7) or the “formal and informal communication taking place internally at
5
all levels of an organisation” (Kalla, 2005, p.304). Welch and Jackson (2007) view
internal communication from a stakeholder approach and define it as “the strategic
management of interactions and relationships between stakeholders at all levels within
organisations” (p. 183). Internal communication within an organisation is dependent on a
number of factors including the type of industry; the structure of the organisation;
organisational culture and managerial style (Kitchen, 1997; Quirke, 2000).
Historically, internal communication was constrained by the available budget (Asif &
Sargeant, 2000) and was often limited to announcements from management and the
packaging of messages for mass distribution to employees (Quirke, 2000). In fact, a study
undertaken in the 1970’s showed that management erroneously thought the production of
communication was enough to lead to actual communication and little consideration was
given to audience perception or understanding of the message itself (Peterfreund, 1970
cited in Cameron & McCollum, 1993). Holtz (2004) noted that, in the past, company
communication, typically in the form of publications, consisted of the four B’s: birthdays,
babies, brides and bowling scores. In marked contrast, today, the function of internal
communication includes the transmission of organisational goals, activities, new
developments, achievements and personal contributions as well as strategic visionary
messages (Welch & Jackson, 2007).
Welch and Jackson (2007) suggest the function of internal communications has four
dimensions: (1) internal line management, (2) internal team peer communication, (3)
internal project peer communication and (4) internal corporate communication (as noted
in table 1).
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Table 1 –– Internal Communication Matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p.185)
These four dimensions emphasise that the content of internal communication has moved
from the four B’s into all areas of the organisation including strategic goals and personal
development. In addition to the content, the four dimensions also highlight the two-way
relationship between employees and managers at all levels of the organisation and the
importance of internal communication to organisational success (Asif & Sargeant, 2000;
Hargie, Tourish, & Wilson, 2002; Quirke, 2000; Tourish & Hargie, 2000a; Zetterquist &
Quirke, 2007) with effective internal communication leading to improved productivity,
reduced absenteeism, increased levels of innovation, higher quality of services and
products and reduced costs (Argenti, 2007; Clampitt & Downs, 1993).
The corporate acknowledgement of internal communication playing a vital role within
organisations has become more evident in recent years with large companies reporting
record budgets for internal communications (Johnson, 2001). Research undertaken in the
United Kingdom suggests that 60 percent of communications departments are less than
five years old with 76 percent of them having their own budgets, some topping ?1
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million with anticipated budget increases of up to 50 percent over the next three years
(Johnson, 2001). This financial development is in marked contrast to previous years and
can be attributed to a greater corporate understanding of the impact of effective internal
communication, as noted in an extensive internal communication survey conducted by
Karian and Box, a United Kingdom communication consultancy (Karian and Box,
2006).
Internal Communication Management
Literature spanning the last 10 years suggests that good internal communication
management is one of the pivotal steps towards successful and productive
communication within an organisation (Cees et al., 2005; Holtz, 2004; Karian and Box,
2006; Quirke, 2000; Tourish & Hargie, 2000a). Welch and Jackson (2007) state that
internal communication management includes “participation in communication, its
direction and the content of communication” (p.184). However, participation and
direction of communication is strongly influenced by the hierarchical structure of the
organisation where “issues of status, power, rank and prerequisites often cloud the form
and content of upward communication” (Silburyte, 2004, p.192). Today, organisations
are adopting flatter more dynamic structures which have more inclusive participation
from all levels of the organisation (Silburyte, 2004) as well as varied content including
new developments, organisational achievements, appraisal discussions and employee
roles, noted previously in Welch and Jackson’s four dimensions of internal
communication (refer to Table 1).
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The modern structure of internal communication within organisations creates a myriad of
issues as evident in the definition of internal communication and the management and
boundaries of internal communication management within an organisation. Management
of internal communication can be the responsibility of the corporate communication or
human resources departments (Argenti, 2007) or can include the IT department as more
organisations are utilising alternative technological channels for their internal
communication (Gordon, 1998; Lehmuskallio, 2006). Therefore, Cheney and Christensen
(2001) suggest that service organizations have difficulties maintaining a clearly defined
“sense of self” (p.243) and that organisational boundaries in relation to communication
are problematic with “internal” and “external” communications no longer considered
separate fields of practice. This in turn complicates governance issues with marketing
departments becoming involved in internal communication across the organisation.
Figure 1: Quirke (2000) – Different departments own pieces of the communication jigsaw (p.199)
9
Similarly, Quirke (2000) also suggests that internal communication can be shared across
different organisational departments and likens it to a jigsaw where each section is
responsible for a piece of the internal communication puzzle (see fig.1). This metaphor
suggests that internal communication is more than the realm of corporate communication
and is involved in all areas of the organisation, potentially leading to confusion as to who
to report to for different issues. A 2002 study of internal communication in 100 leading
blue-chip companies found that 38 percent of internal communication teams were
governed by the human resources department (Quirke, 2003). Four years later a 2006
online survey of internal communications conducted by Melcrum, an internal
communication research and training organisation, alternatively proposed that of the
1,149 respondents from different industries and locations, 44 percent state internal
communication is the governance of the corporate communications department
(Dewhurst, 2007).
Similar to Quirke’s (2000) jigsaw of internal communication, Kalla (2005) suggests that
there are four domains of integrated internal communication – business, management,
corporate and organisational.
Figure 2: Kalla (2005) – Conceptual framework of integrated internal communications (p.306)
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Business communication addresses the communication skills of all employees,
management communication focuses on the development of the managers’
communication skills and capabilities, corporate communication focuses on the
formal corporate communication function, and organisational communication
addresses more philosophically and theoretically oriented issues (Kalla, 2005,
p.305).
Kalla describes internal communication as being closely interlinked within an
organisation with variances in the focus of the communication as noted above, similar to
Welch and Jackson (2007) who also suggest four domains of internal communication
(fig.1); however, unlike Kalla (2005), Welch and Jackson (2007) suggest internal
communication is firmly housed within the realm of corporate communication which
reflects the Melcrum survey which revealed that internal communication was governed
by the corporate communication function in 44 percent of participant organisations.
Figure3: Welch and Jackson (2007) - The position of internal corporate communication within integrated
corporate communication (p.192).
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In addition to the governance of internal communication, one major theme to emerge
from the literature in relation to internal communication management is the importance of
effective management and involvement at a senior level (Asif & Sargeant, 2000). Howard
(1996) states that personal commitment and individual involvement from the executive
level is imperative for good internal communication as senior management set the tone
and climate for internal communications throughout the entire company. The
relationship between the management structure and employees is a crucial one (Asif &
Sargeant, 2000) and includes open communication characterised by supportiveness,
warmth and a commitment to dialogue rather than monologue (Tourish & Hargie,
2000b). Supporting this view, Sims and Lorenzi (1992) in a study of leadership in
management, state that effective leadership is reliant on communication tools that will
build a common focus, create shared meaning and vision and share a focus for change.
Reinforcing this perspective, Zetterquist and Quirke (2007), found that “leadership
accounts for two-thirds of the impact on employees’ attitudes and behaviour” (p.19). This
study supports the idea that improving the communication of the senior management with
employees, in particular the CEO, could be the most “cost-effective way to improve
employees’ satisfaction with communication in their organisations” (Gray & Robertson,
2005, p.26). In addition, studies by Pincus et al., (1991) suggest that it is the employees
that hold a large proportion of information that could help the CEO and therefore the
CEO should be seeking regular feedback from all levels of the organisation.
Unfortunately, support and the generation of feedback from senior management is not
often the case and the CEO may consider internal communication limited to one-way
announcements to employees, with their channel of choice being face-to-face meetings
12
or speeches (Pincus, Rayfield, & Cozzens, 1991). In addition to one-way speeches, the
literature suggests there are other barriers to management communication with employees
including time, willingness, skills, and leadership style (Shaw, 2005). Time - the “most
limited resource in organisations” (Quirke, 2000, p.32) combined with a lack of
willingness to focus on internal communication or ineffective communication skills or
leadership style can affect an organisation’s ability to retain staff (Quirke, 2001) and lead
to dissatisfaction at lower levels of the organisation (Shaw, 2005).
Professionals and theorists agree that colleagues are an essential resource for an
organisation (Dolphin, 2005). However, within organisations there is often distrust
amongst employees towards management and they may not be regarded as a trustworthy
channel for information (Zetterquist & Quirke, 2007). Therefore, an additional theme to
emerge from the literature involving internal communication management is the
importance of trust by the employees towards management – with trust evolving from
good internal communication.
Albrecht and Travaglione (2003) define trust as “an expectancy held by an individual or a
group that the word, promise, verbal or written statement of another individual or group
can be relied upon” (p.78). Clichés from management that the staff are an organisation’s
most valuable asset are often met with cynicism (Karian and Box, 2006; Quirke, 2000)
and described as “one of the great lies in business” (Garratt, 2000, p.5). The suggestion is
that if staff are the most valuable asset of an organisation “why are they not valued
financially so that they appear on the balance sheet, not just as a cost in the profit and loss
account” (Garratt, 2000, p.5). Robertson (2005) contends that modern corporations have
13
become “information gluttons” yet are “starving for the kind of communication that fills
people’s need to share understanding and meaning and foster trust” (p.4)
Argenti (2007) suggests that events within the last twenty years, such as the bursting of
the dot-com bubble, collapse of some of the most high profile firms in America (e.g.
Enron) and the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries, has “further necessitated strong
communication channels between management and employees to win employee trust and
loyalty” (p.54). In order to gain employee trust and loyalty, management needs to
understand that as the literature suggests, employees prefer to receive their information
from their direct supervisors rather than receive directives from the CEO or other upper
management (Cees et al., 2005). But firstly it is necessary for management to ascertain
trust levels as well as organisational discontent or other communication issues.
Internal Communication Measurement
In order to establish a clear picture of the current situation, measurement of internal
communication needs to be undertaken by management (Hargie & Tourish, 2004). This is
especially relevant in organisations that have increased their expenditure on internal
communication (Johnson, 2001) and are facing the challenge of connecting
communication results to an organisation’s “bottom line” (Robertson, 2000, p.9). The
terms ‘measure’ or ‘measurement’ take on a variety of meanings within the
communication discipline. Shaw (2004) identifies four different uses for the term
‘measurement’ within organisational communication: (1) measuring employees with
regards to their needs and preferences, (2) measuring the communication department and
the outputs with the desired outcome to justify the expense of maintaining a
14
communication function, (3) tracking the communication channels and their use and
usability and (4) looking at the content and whether it has been received, understood and
has prompted action.
A 2004 report conducted by Melcrum, stated that of the internal communication
practitioners surveyed, 66% did not have a measurement strategy in place and did not
consider a connection between communication performance and business goals
(Melcrum, 2004). The report also found that newsletters, intranets, business TV, webinars
(web seminars or conferences) and executive forums were the most common channels
measured even though business TV and webinars are the least utilised channels. The most
common channels used - email and team briefings - were found to be the least measured
(Melcrum, 2004).
Measuring effective communication is dependent on what the organisation terms
‘effective’. Bovee and Thill (2000) suggest that effective communication only takes place
when there is a shared understanding that prompts others to take action and encourages
alternative thinking. This view is shared by Spence (1994), who considers
communication to be effective only when a message has been received and understood
and can then produce action. Communication performance within organisations has been
considered an understudied area and therefore poorly understood (Pandey & Garnett,
2006) yet it is deemed a “central component of effective business operations” (Hargie,
Dickson, & Tourish, 2004, p.5). Hargie et al., (2004) state that a lack of effective
communication can contribute to a range of problems including “at one end of the
continuum, job dissatisfaction and stress, through to damaging strikes, operating losses,
15
bankruptcies, production line injuries, shipwrecks, plane crashes and, at the other
extreme, mass slaughter in the field of battle” (p.5).
The literature suggests that audits are well established tools for measuring internal
communication (Chalmers, Liedtka, & Bednar, 2006; Pandey & Garnett, 2006). A
communication audit is defined as “a comprehensive and thorough study of
communication philosophy, concepts, structure, flow and practice within an organisation”
(Emmanuel, 1985, p.50). Tourish and Hargie (2000a) suggest that communication audits
have similar characteristics with more established audit practices in areas such as finance,
medicine and accounting. Some of those characteristics include (1) the accumulation of
information and (2) the creation of management systems. Within the financial sector an
audit is used to sample a cross section of transactions to determine financial accounting
procedures. Within the communication field a similar cross section approach is utilised to
determine the flow of resources and information over a given period of time as well as
the implementation of systems to develop best practice.
In addition to, or as an alternative to a comprehensive audit, employee satisfaction
surveys are also utilised by organisations; however, the surveys usually focus on
perceptions and attitudes and not levels of knowledge or understanding so are “not a
direct measure of internal communication department performance and therefore are a
poor indication of the function’s value to the organization” (Likely, 2004, p.14).
According to Likely (2004) a recent upgrade from the satisfaction survey is the employee
engagement survey which measures not only satisfaction of staff but also how committed
employees are to the organisation, the brand and the values.
16
Focus groups are also used to gain information about the internal communication of an
organisation and comprise of approximately six to twelve participants recorded during a
one to two hour session to gather qualitative information (Quible, 1998). The information
gathered may include feedback regarding a specific problem, impressions about a
program or product, the generation of new ideas or general information (Quible, 1998). A
critical role is that of the moderator, who promotes interaction and ensures that the
discussion keeps on the topic. Walston and Lissitz (2000) note that the current
technological environment enables computer-mediated focus groups, where a question
appears on each participant’s computer from the moderator and participant’s responses
appear on everyone’s screen, all based in real time like an internet chat room. Computer-
mediated focus groups allow more candid discussions that may not be possible in face-to-
face group settings and can be beneficial when the topic of discussion – personal health
issues, personal opinions - may create embarrassment.
Internal Communication Channels
Fletcher and Major (2006) contend that the world is growing smaller as technology
advances and the creation of more advanced technology introduces organisations to
different channels of internal communication, spanning both time and geographical
distance. Fletcher and Major (2006) suggest four basic channels are used in workplace
communication (1) face-to-face meetings, (2) audio or telephone exchanges, (3) video
mediated conferences, and (4) computer-mediated text transfers. In addition to those four,
Charles (2005) notes organisational publications, such as the company newsletter, are
also a channel for information.
17
Recent literature on communication channels almost exclusively focuses on media
richness theory (Kahai & Cooper, 2003; Salmon & Joiner, 2005; Sheer & Chen, 2004).
Markus (1994) defines media richness theory as a “prescriptive model in which achieving
a match between information processing requirements (e.g., uncertainty and equivocality
reduction) and communication channels (e.g., face-to-face interactions and written
memos) was posited as essential for organizational effectiveness” (p.503). Essentially the
premise is that lean media is used by managers for simple topics and rich media is for
more complex topics (Sheer & Chen, 2004, p.79) so the focus of media richness theory is
on the choices made by the managers, not necessarily the employees. According to this
perspective there are four factors that influence media richness: “the ability of the
medium to transmit multiple cues (e.g., vocal inflection, gestures), immediacy of
feedback, language variety, and the personal focus of the medium” (Dennis & Kinney,
1998, p.258). Media richness theory typically places channels on a continuum from rich
to lean media with face-to-face communication considered the richest followed by
telephone, email and written documents (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). The media richness
continuum places written documents as the leanest channel of communication. Sheer and
Chen (2004) state that there are three separate categories of written documents within
media richness theory: personal written text (letters, notes, memos); formal written text
(documents, bulletins) and formal numeric text (computer output, statistical reports).
Face-to-face communication is considered the richest channel primarily due to the ability
to give immediate feedback as well as the amount of information shared during the
interaction in the form of verbal cues (tone of voice, pitch, volume…) as well as non-
verbal cues(Kahai & Cooper, 2003). Non-verbal communication is defined in its broadest
18
sense as “communication that transcends the bare elements of the written or spoken word”
(Gabbott & Hogg, 2000, p.386). According to Gabbott and Hogg (2001) there are four
key channels of non-verbal communication including “proxemics (the use of personal
space and distance); kinesics (body postures and movement); oculesics (the
communicative aspects of eye behaviour such as gaze and movement) and vocalics (para-
language such as vocal tone and intonation)” (p.6). In addition, Gabbott and Hogg (2000),
emphasise that non-verbal communication takes place in every interaction, whether
intentional or not, and can be impacted by three specific variables: gender, culture and
personal traits. These factors can affect the interpretation of the non-verbal cues and often
creating misunderstandings. Each of these four key channels of non-verbal
communication are particularly important in the context of media richness theory, as the
media richness varies depending on the strength and presence of nonverbal and verbal
cues (Sheer & Chen, 2004).
The proponents of face-to-face communication suggest that it is the most preferred
method of communication by employees (Quirke, 2000) with interactions between
managers and staff widely commended as beneficial (Gamble & Kelliher, 1999) and more
effective than information from a central communication department (Cees et al., 2005).
Face-to-face team briefings are considered a vehicle for sharing the philosophy and values
of the organisation, the strategy (Gamble & Kelliher, 1999) and “give people the
opportunity to ask questions, offer opinions, and give and receive feedback – unique
advantages over even the best print publications, video programs and e-mail messages”
(Howard, 1996, p.12). Additionally, rich media can create a closer relationship between a
manager and subordinate as well as a more personal focus (Sheer & Chen, 2004).
19
However, Berry (2006) suggests that although management literature examining
communication uses face-to-face communication as the standard, the literature does not
adequately consider time-related problems inherent in face-to-face communication. In
fact, face-to-face communication relies on participants being in the same place at the same
time (Hargie & Tourish, 2004) which is not always possible. In agreement, Quirke (2000)
adds that time is “the most limited resource in most organizations, and better use can be
made of precious face-to-face time which is too often used for the wrong purposes – to
tell people things they could more easily read about, in meetings which are badly run and
boring (Quirke, 2000, p.32). In addition to legitimate time constraints, Howard (1996)
contends that the presentation skills of the supervisor to confidently articulate the
company’s goals and plans, in face-to-face sessions, need to be considered when choosing
this channel, something which is not addressed within the original premise of media
richness theory.
According to media richness theory, the telephone is the second richest channel after face-
to-face communication; however, Salmon and Joiner (2005) state that recent research
suggests the telephone “as a mode of transmitting and receiving management information,
has been superseded by the use of email, because of the superior functionality and
usability features of email” (p.57). In agreement, Markus (1994) also notes that the
telephone is not a good choice for equivocal communication with “refuses to answer the
phone” (p.508).
Although media richness theory proposes emails as lean channels of communication
(Salmon & Joiner, 2005), Shaw (2004) states that organisational intranets, team briefings,
20
e-mail and newsletters are the “bread and butter of modern communication” (p.22). In
fact, O’Kane, Hargie and Tourish (2004) argue that traditional communication channels
such as memos, letters and phone calls have been replaced by emails, the most preferred
communication channel in the business world. The success of email is due in part to its
asynchronous nature where the sender and receiver do not have to be present for the
communication to occur (Thomas et al., 2006), as well as being able to cross “physical,
social, temporal, and psychological boundaries at an astonishingly low cost” (Berry, 2006,
p.352). In addition, research suggests that email reduces interruptions caused by face-to-
face meetings and telephone conversations thereby improving managerial efficiency
(Markus, 1994) as well as having the added advantage of being able be read around the
clock (Thomas et al., 2006).
Our ability to communicate at any time in any place with anyone is increasing our
opportunities for interaction. Using e-mail, instant messaging, and cell phones, a
manager’s ability to stay engaged within the workplace is greater than ever before.
In fact, multitasking has become synonymous with the communication technology-
infused workplace of today (Turner & Reinsch, 2007, p.36).
Thomas et al., (2006) state that “compared with alternative channels such as the post
office or the telephone, e-mail reduces transaction time by offering instant transmission
almost anywhere in the world at relatively low cost” (p.257). Many organisations have
employees that are geographically located in diverse areas; email enables information to
be sent regardless of location and/or time zone (Salmon & Joiner, 2005, p.62).
Critics of e-mail suggest that the availability of new technology does not ensure effective
communication, and instead it is the leadership and training in the use of the technology
21
that will ensure effectiveness (Berry, 2006). E-mail has now become the dominant force
in written communication (O'Kane et al., 2004) and has made email processes such as
deleting and not responding to messages, an acceptable communication process in the 21
st
century (Tassabehji & Vakola, 2005). In addition, e-mail does not allow concurrent
feedback (Kahai & Cooper, 2003) and the informal style of emails has often lead to
misunderstandings and spelling and grammatical errors (O'Kane et al., 2004). Emails can
be sent quickly without serious thought given to the content or proofreading of the reply,
resulting in a form of nonverbal identity, where the choice of informal or formal
vocabulary or grammar describes the sender (Carter, 2003) in a manner similar to first
impressions upon meeting. One of the largest challenges with e-mail is the concept of
information overload. Thomas et al., (2006) states that e-mail overload can stem from “(a)
the sheer volume of e-mail messages sent every day, (b) poorly written messages or
messages that violate netiquette, and (c) the variety of ways that users use their email
systems” (p.256). Within media richness theory, the inability for immediate feedback or
ambiguity in messages as suggested by Thomas et al., (2006) is what defines e-mail as a
lean channel of communication (Salmon & Joiner, 2005).
The leanest channel of communication as defined by media richness theory is the use of
written documents. The company newsletter, memo or magazine require little interaction
and exchange with employees and usually involve operational information about the
company and not about critical decisions under review; therefore, employees can attend to
them at their own convenience (Byrne & LeMay, 2006).
22
While many companies are moving to the convenience of electronic newsletters,
there are still companies that recognize the importance of providing employees with
a newsletter that they can hold in their hands and take home to share with their
families (Charles, 2005, p.21).
Research suggests that employees have specific reasons for reading the company
newsletter or magazine (Johansen, 1995); for example, an employee interested in career
advancement may read for stories on research in the field or current business practices.
Critics of organisation publications point to the expense that is incurred in an
environment of cost cutting and redundancy; whereas, a black and white copy may be
acceptable in times of budget cuts, a glossy four colour spread may create employee -
management friction (Charles, 2005). There is little research to support the redundancy or
worthiness of hard-copy organisational publications as the focus of current studies is on
the area of computer mediated communication within organisations.
The detractors of media richness theory suggest that when discussing media such as letters
and memos this theory adequately explains the effects of media choice. However, in
today’s technological environment of emailing and intranet, media richness theory is
deemed, by some, as “not a useful theory for explaining the effects of the use of the new
media on task performance”(Dennis & Kinney, 1998, p.14). In addition, they suggest that
the theory is not based on empirical research (Kahai & Cooper, 2003) and that managers
surveyed have been asked which media would be the best choice for a theoretical situation
rather than measuring the actual performance results of media use (Dennis & Kinney,
1998).The literature also notes that little empirical research has been undertaken regarding
employee satisfaction and communication received via different channels or whether
23
employees perceive information to be of greater quality depending on the medium (Byrne
& LeMay, 2006). Research now suggests that managers make different choices when
choosing a channel to communicate information than those prescribed by media richness
theory (Byrne & LeMay, 2006) and that consideration should be made for contextual
factors such as the capabilities and appropriateness of using particular mediums (Watson-
Manheim & Belanger, 2007). Furthermore, a particular medium may be deliberately
chosen to slow things down. “A manager may deliberately choose a text based medium
for emotionally laden information to allow the receiver time and privacy to respond
appropriately to the information” (Dennis & Kinney, 1998, p.270).
There are several forms of technology that have not been considered in media richness
based research, possibly due to their relatively recent introduction, including video-
conferencing, blogging, instant messaging or video/DVD use. Based on the criteria for
media richness, specifically the need for two way communication, organisational videos
or DVDs could be, in fact, categorised as a lean channel of communication. Additionally,
extensive research into recent academic literature has not unearthed any discussions on
intranet usage in accordance with media richness theory, so uncertainty exists as to where
on the channel continuum intranets would be placed. It may be reasonable to conclude;
however, that the intranet is a lean channel on the media richness continuum due in part to
the lack of feedback and synchronicity. Alternatively the intranet may also be considered
a richer channel than email due to the amount of information it is possible to store and
share. Lehumskallio (2006) defines intranets as “networks, built and maintained within
the company firewalls, offering Internet technology and various contents for the exclusive
use of the company staff” (p.291) and suggests that intranets are not only for information
24
storage and retrieval but also for enhancing communication within the organisation and
information flow. An additional purpose is to increase productivity and the quality of
work, connect departments located elsewhere (Bottazzo, 2005) as well as introduce the
latest guidelines, tools and news through a simultaneous cost effective medium
(Lehmuskallio, 2006). The centralisation of knowledge eliminates problems that are
inherent to the Internet such as the over-availability of resources and the loss of time
incurred searching through the information (Bottazzo, 2005).
Research suggests that intranets should be considered a mosaic of top-down and bottom-
up communication with distributed ownership (Dasgupta, 2001). A blanket approach
throughout the organisation, regarding regulations on intranet usage, may not be
appropriate as different business units will have different requirements. Rather a
collaborative and facilitative managerial style would acknowledge diversity and
individual contributions (Dasgupta, 2001), thereby allowing individual units and teams to
control their own information. Studies show that the versatility and multifaceted nature of
intranets has seen an increase in research that is largely multidisciplinary (Lehmuskallio,
2006); however, research into the measurement of intranet effectiveness and perceptions
of the employees towards the medium is still in its infancy and is seen as a fundamental
shortcoming (Jacoby & Luqi, 2007).
Currently it is not academia but rather the organisations themselves who are initiating the
greatest amount of research into intranet technology. One such example is a study
undertaken by the internal communication team of Ikea, a worldwide home furnishing
retailer. The study concluded that “it’s not just technology that makes or breaks an
25
intranet” (Gleba & Cavanagh, 2005, p.31). Their findings suggested that the focus of an
intranet should be designed with the needs of the employees in mind, what information
they require and how access can be made as easy as possible. In addition to intranet
usage, recent research into new technologies and communication suggest that Instant
Messaging may become a valid method of communication, in particular within teams,
although it is currently not considered a professional means of communication in business
(Tassabehji & Vakola, 2005). Research in the latest technologies including instant
messaging along with blogging, video-conferencing and intranets is still in its infancy and
should be considered for future study in relation to media richness theory as well as
internal communication research.
Previous Communication Research Involving Banks
In an organizational sense, banking is a curious conglomeration of varying
functions and needs. It is, by definition, obsessed with rules, procedures,
cautions, and details, and at the same time, by practice, a retail, customer-
satisfaction, “service-with-a-smile” type of operation. A successful balancing
act between the machine bureaucracy and the personal approach, required by
this mix, depends not only on information adequacy but on communication
planning as well (Walther, 1988, p.79).
Literature specifically referring to the banking industry and internal communication is
scarce; however, studies have been undertaken within the last seven years that suggest
there is growing recognition of the importance of internal communication within this
sector (Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003; Moorcroft, 2006; Sablosky, 2005;
26
Wadman, 2006). Asif and Sargeant (2000) undertook a study of two major United
Kingdom clearing banks to explore a range of internal communication issues. The
majority of participants viewed internal communication as an information sharing tool
and did not consider it as part of a relationship building endeavour. Asif and Sargeant
(2000) consider the latter an area of potential focus, as stronger relationships throughout
the organisation could enhance team spirit and organisational identity. The results
highlighted the need for more horizontal communication as well as the creation of a
stronger organisational identity and team spirit.
Similarly, two independent audits on internal communication within Westpac Banking
Corporation in Australia noted that there was a need for a unified organisational identity
as well as a better understanding of the vision and values among the employees (Lennon,
2003). The result of the audit was the creation of an in-house communication consultancy
who forged close relationships with all areas of the bank and focused on the vision,
values, strategy, purpose and mission (Lennon, 2003). Both Asif and Sargeant’s (2000)
study as well as Lennon’s (2003) example, discuss the need for strong organisational
identity and reflect Tourish and Hargie’s (2000b) suggestion that employees are unable to
buy into shared meaning and vision if they do not know what they are or understand
them.
In 2004 the Royal Bank of Canada undertook a study where they assessed the
effectiveness of their employee communication, their return on investment and the
external trends affecting communication in general. Four key trends became evident
within the study: (1) technology and the speed of access have led to employee demands
27
for two-way communication and honesty; (2) resources allocated for communication
were shifting towards “outcome” rather than “output” communication, creating initiatives
to generate greater revenue or cut costs; (3) employees are more engaged when they have
a clear “line of sight”, that is, when they see where their work fits within the
organisation’s strategy and objectives (a similar result to the Westpac Australia study)
and (4) with a “line of sight” there is alignment between formal communication and
organisational actions (Moorcroft, 2006, p.31).
Of the 4,200 respondents in the Royal Bank of Canada study, 91 percent stated that
online communication was their primary source of information with 79 percent requiring
more information about corporate strategies and where they fit into that vision. One
surprising result of the survey showed that the organisational magazine, which was the
most expensive and labour intensive channel, was not very valued by employees as a
source of information (Moorcroft, 2006). This latter result arguably makes sense in light
of media richness theory that considers it the leanest of communication channels (Salmon
& Joiner, 2005) and consequently less engaging and immediate.
In 2004, banking group ABN AMRO created an internal communication team to address
the issue of employee engagement. Their findings showed that employees were critical of
the lack of leadership communication, in particular face-to-face delivery, and were also
sceptical as to whether the leadership team could deliver on their strategies (Wadman,
2006). Based on these findings the internal communication team organised more face-to-
face meetings as well as clear milestones for strategies to enable employees to see the
organisation goals, how they would be achieved and in what timeframe.
28
In the United States the First Interstate Bank, located in Wyoming and Montana,
recognised that there were geographical issues with their internal communication; for
example, e-mail broadcasts sent to staff resulted in a crashed computer system due to the
amount of replies and attachments being sent to and from the various bank locations
(Sablosky, 2005). To improve the internal communication First Interstate adopted new
technology such as videoconferencing and an intranet to ensure all employees were well
informed with information sent and received without major issues. One positive addition
to the intranet was the inclusion of vendor links where individual branches could directly
order supplies straight from the vendor, freeing up central administrative services and
enabling more autonomy for each branch (Sablosky, 2005). This positive result from the
use of the intranet echoes the suggestion previously mentioned by Bottazzo (2005) that
the intranet increases productivity, connects disparate branches and thereby improves the
quality of work.
In summary, research on internal communication is cross disciplinary which is reflected
in the variety of academic sources as well as public and private studies. The literature
notes that internal communication is vital to organisational success (Asif & Sargeant,
2000; Hargie et al., 2002; Quirke, 2000; Tourish & Hargie, 2000a; Zetterquist & Quirke,
2007) and that the basic function of internal communication is to inform employees on
organisational issues (Welch & Jackson, 2007) which can then improve productivity,
reduce absenteeism, increase levels of innovation and reduce costs (Argenti, 2007;
Clampitt & Downs, 1993).
29
The literature also indicates that internal communication management is an important
field of study but highlights the confusion in the corporate world as to which
organisational department is ultimately responsible for the role of internal communication
(Cheney & Christensen, 2001; Dewhurst, 2007; Quirke, 2000). It also raises the
importance of senior level involvement within internal communication management (Asif
& Sargeant, 2000; Howard, 1996) and reveals the employee cynicism evident with
regards to management communication (Argenti, 2007).
Research suggests that there is an increase in expenditure on internal communication
(Johnson, 2001) and that measurement tools such as internal audits, surveys and focus
groups are utilised to determine the efficiency of internal communication (Hargie &
Tourish, 2004; Likely, 2004) as well as link the effectiveness of communication with the
economic bottom line (Robertson, 2000).
In addition to measurement techniques, a large body of literature involves communication
channels which are an evolving field of research due to the ever changing technological
environment (Fletcher & Major, 2006). The main focus of enquiry has been the
communication channels in relation to media richness theory which seeks to determine
how managers choose their channel of communication (Markus, 1994). For example,
media richness theory has advanced the idea that channels of communication can be
placed on a continuum between rich and lean media (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). However,
there is some dispute within the literature over the legitimacy of media richness theory
(Dennis & Kinney, 1998; Kahai & Cooper, 2003) and whether it applies to modern
30
technology and takes into consideration situational variables such as context and the skill
level of participants (Byrne & LeMay, 2006).
Recent studies undertaken by sectors in the banking industry reflect the literature with
regards to internal communication management and the utilisation of different channels
(Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003; Moorcroft, 2006; Sablosky, 2005; Wadman,
2006). Research highlights a need for further investigation into internal communication
specifically in the area of computer mediated communication such as e-mail and intranet
(Jacoby & Luqi, 2007). Additionally, a search of the relevant literature highlights a lack
of research within New Zealand companies, which may or may not be interpreted to
suggest internal communication’s fledgling importance within local organisations. The
goal of this research thesis is to better understand the current internal communication
climate within the New Zealand banking sector, what channels are currently being used
and whether measurement of internal communication occurs. One important outcome of
this research is to give an overview of the role and importance of internal communication
within the New Zealand banking sector, thereby making it one of the few research papers
on internal communication in banking to be based in this country.
The following chapter will discuss the design of the research project including a
discussion of the rationale, methodological approach and the methods of data collection
and data analysis that were utilised. Additionally, the following chapter will also
introduce the participants as well as any ethical considerations and limitations.
31
Chapter 3: Research Design
Overview
This study was designed to investigate the management, channels and measurement of
internal communication within New Zealand banking institutions. According to
Donaldson and Eyre (2000) several trends have emerged within the communication field
in the past five years with internal communication being the “fastest growing area of
activity, with a growth rate of between 25-30 percent” (p.32) thereby giving justification
for the direction of this research. In order to explore the management, channels and
measurement of internal communication within the participating organisations, focused
interviews were used to elicit the rich data necessary for this qualitative research. The
data was then analysed in accordance with the current scholarly literature on internal
communication with a particular focus on the banking industry. This chapter discusses
the rationale, chosen methodology, data collection, and analysis of the findings, ethical
considerations and the limitations of this research.
Rationale
As evident in the current literature, internal communication is a growing area of interest
(Donaldson & Eyre, 2000; Johnson, 2001; Karian & Box, 2006), suggesting that research
into the management and measurement of internal communication is becoming more
widespread. The New Zealand banking sector was chosen as the focus for this study due
to the researcher’s interest in service industries, in particular, those within the financial
arena. According to Walther (1988), banks are a cross between “machine bureaucracy”
with rules, procedures and cautions in conjunction with a retail, customer-satisfaction,
32
“service with a smile” aspect (p.79). Therefore, it is this dichotomy of behaviour which
makes for an ideal research ground into the internal communication workings of the
organisations.
In addition, the review of the literature revealed a distinct absence of research on internal
communication in banking institutions within New Zealand; therefore, it is the
researcher’s contention that pursuing this field of study will provide a unique insight into
the workings of New Zealand banks and will significantly contribute to the greater body
of work on internal communication provided by previous scholars. Therefore, the
research questions providing the foundation for this study are:
How do organisations in the New Zealand banking sector manage their internal
communication?
What channels do banking institutions in New Zealand utilise for their internal
communication?
How do banking institutions in New Zealand measure the effectiveness of their
internal communication?
Qualitative Research
There are generally two accepted paradigms or philosophies within scholarly research:
positivistic and interpretivist (or phenomenological) (Collis & Hussey, 2003). In a
positivistic paradigm the data collected is highly specific and precise, therefore
33
quantitative data is usually acquired through surveys, longitudinal studies, experimental
studies and cross-sectional studies.
While a positivistic paradigm utilises large sample sizes, an interpretivist paradigm
produces qualitative data by using small samples (Collis & Hussey, 2003). For this thesis,
although the majority of banking institutions were approached, only a small sample of
banks agreed to take part in the research. Therefore, an interpretevist paradigm,
specifically, a qualitative approach, was deemed applicable. A qualitative approach tries
to understand the participants’ perceptions of the world and the focus is on insight rather
than statistical analysis (Bell, 1993). In addition, this approach utilises small samples of
subjective data (Collis & Hussey, 2003) because it enables richer more detailed
information to be sourced, which otherwise may not be possible using quantitative
methods.
Scholarly research is underpinned by the researcher’s personal philosophy, experiences
of the world, assumptions and their general approach to scholarly investigations (Collis &
Hussey, 2003). However, for the purpose of this research efforts have been made to
ensure the methodology for the study is dictated by the type of research question being
asked and not the personal preference of the researcher (Weber, 2004). Therefore, based
on the desired nature of information, this research used a qualitative approach utilising
interviews as the method of data collection.
34
Methods of Data Collection
Interviews, observations and documents are all types of qualitative data (Patton, 2002);
however, for the purposes of this research, in-depth interviews were chosen as the
method for data collection. The choice of interviews for data collection was partly based
on the suggestion by Millar and Gallagher (2000) that interviews are one of the central
tools utilised within internal and external communication audits. The current study
arguably parallels aspects of the communication audit process (Tourish & Hargie, 2000a)
and additionally, interviews were considered most appropriate due to the type of rich data
required from the participants in order to answer the research question.
Millar, Crute and Hargie (1992) define the interview as:
A face-to face dyadic interaction in which one individual plays the role of
interviewer and the other takes on the role of interviewee, and both of these roles
carry clear expectations concerning behavioural and attitudinal approach. The
interview is requested by one of the participants for a specific purpose and both
participants are willing contributors. (p.3)
The relative advantage of interviews, as used primarily in qualitative research, is the
expectation that interviewees are more likely to speak openly with more detail in an
interview situation, as opposed to structured questionnaires (Flick, 2006). Additionally,
Fontana and Frey (2000) argue that through the interview technique, researchers are able
to extrapolate not only the traditional ‘what’ of the research focus but also ‘how’,
leading to “negotiated, contextually based results” (p.646).
35
Accordingly, there are several types of interviews (Flick, 2006); however for the
purposes of this research a semi-structured format was utilised. Frey, Botan and Kreps
(2000) suggest the key advantage of using a semi-structured interview approach is that
the researcher is able to clarify questions that the participant may not understand (unlike
questionnaires). Additionally, there is the opportunity for greater depth of response as
well as the ability to encourage full participation by establishing a rapport (Frey et al.,
2000). Semi-structured interviews generally use open-ended questions (Collis & Hussey,
2003) which “provide more information than closed questions about the particular
perspectives of individual respondents and, thereby, allow people to respond with what
is on their mind” (Frey et al., 2000, p.100).
Additionally, the questions used were sourced from previous communication audits,
particularly the International Communication Association audit, which is the basis for
most current audit research and includes a variety of semi-structured questions
regarding measurement of internal communication, applicable to this research (Tourish
& Hargie, 2000a).
The relative disadvantages of using interviews for data collection involve the
competence of the interviewer in their ability to extrapolate required information (Flick,
2006). The interviewer’s competence can extend into how well he or she is able to gain
the trust of the interviewee and establish a rapport –both of which are necessary to fully
engage the participant (Fontana & Frey, 2000). In addition, the interviewer must be able
to determine when questions have been answered satisfactorily and when it’s appropriate
36
to move onto a new topic highlighting the need for effective interview techniques (Flick,
2006). The disadvantages of using semi-structured interviews are primarily in the
amount of time needed to complete the interview and the difficulty in keeping control of
the topics (Collis & Hussey, 2003).
Despite the potential utility of including a questionnaire for data collection, the current
study was designed on the basis that interviews enabled more flexibility in questioning by
establishing a rapport with the interviewees (Fontana & Frey, 2000) as well as the ability
to immediately ask for confirmation of facts (Flick, 2006). Ghoshal, Korine and
Szulanski (1994) highlight the limitations of the questionnaire method in their study of
communication in a multinational corporation, where their method of utilising a survey to
gather data could be analysed for frequency but was limited when content or quality of
the information was considered.
Participants
New Zealand currently has 16 registered banks listed in operation (Reserve Bank of New
Zealand, 2007). Of those 16 banks, seven were invited in January 2007, via posted letter,
to participate in this research. The seven banks were selected as the sample, due to their
relative dominance of the New Zealand market and with consideration given to whether
the size of the organisation affected the results. In addition, seven organisations were
contacted initially to counter the possibility of refusals to participate.
Follow-up emails and phone calls were used during the months of February and March
with those banks who had not responded to the initial letters. Of the seven banks invited,
37
six agreed to participate in this research and interviews were organised for a date and
time at the participant’s convenience, with all six interviews conducted over a four week
period (March/April). The researcher travelled to three regions in New Zealand
conducting the audio recorded interviews at each participant’s place of business,
concluding within 30 to 50 minutes. The interviews were then transcribed by the
researcher over a four week period in order to begin analysis. Admittedly, transcription of
data takes time and energy (Flick, 2006), nevertheless this researcher benefited from self-
transcription by synthesising the information and noting emergent themes during the
transcription process. Some participants were also contacted at a later stage via email for
clarification purposes. Pseudonyms have been used and identifying characteristics
removed where necessary to ensure anonymity and/or confidentiality for those
participating.
Name of participating
bank
Approximate number of
employees
Approximate
number of branch
and business units
Alfa Over 6,000 300
Echo Less than 5,000 130
Sierra Over 6,000 180
Delta Over 6,000 200
Victor Less than 5,000 300
Lima Less than 500 20
The interviewees were selected on the criteria that they had responsibility for or extensive
knowledge of the internal communication within the organisation and as such, were
situated at a senior level. Participants included internal communication managers,
38
communications managers, national business managers and corporate communications
managers. The arguable disadvantages of senior level participants concern the extent to
which the information obtained is limited to that individual’s knowledge, and the further
possibility that such staff may focus on positive aspects of the organisation while
downplaying the negative challenges. This was taken into consideration when analysing
the data and every effort was made to attain a variety of information regarding
organisational behaviour.
Data Analysis
Lindlof (1995) identifies four interrelated principles that should be kept in mind: process,
reduction, explanation and theory, when analysing qualitative data,. Data analysis should
be viewed as an ongoing process throughout the study (Lindlof, 1995) through which the
material is reduced to the most pertinent information is then discussed in accordance with
the theory or literature. This thesis utilised an interpretative style of analysis. Patton
(2002) defines interpretation as going beyond the descriptive data. This involves
“attaching significance to what was found, making sense of findings, offering
explanations, drawing conclusions, extrapolating lessons, making inferences, considering
meanings, and otherwise imposing order on an unruly but surely patterned world”
(p.480). This approach as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) gives well grounded
rich descriptions and explanations of processes within the chosen context.
Additionally, the data was analysed according to three key themes – internal
communication management, the channels of internal communication and the
measurement of internal communication for effectiveness. These themes were developed
39
based on the findings in the literature which highlighted their importance to the body of
internal communication research.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations were taken into account throughout the research process including
issues of informed consent, confidentiality, cultural and social sensitivity, and respect for
intellectual and cultural property ownership. Each participant was given an information
sheet that clearly explained the purpose of the research and what their participation
required as well as sample questions before the interview stage. In addition, they were
informed that participation was voluntary and that they would be able to pull out of the
research within two weeks of the interview process. To maintain confidentiality,
information on the participants’ names and places of employment were coded by utilising
pseudonyms.
There was no conflict of interest as this researcher did not have any previous contacts in
the banking industry and has never worked in the industry. This researcher does hold an
account with one of the participating banks; however, this was deemed non contentious
by the supervisors. This research was evaluated by the supervisors and the appropriate
Unitec bodies to ensure the design would adequately cover all the necessary requirements
for the Masters degree as well as any necessary ethical considerations.
Limitations
This research design endeavoured to take all possible eventualities into consideration;
however, there are no certainties in any academic research. A primary limitation of this
40
study was that research was drawn primarily from only one participant in each
organisation and therefore, their subjective perspectives did not necessarily reflect the
entire bank, of which they were a representative. However, the information required was
generally factual rather than opinion based and; therefore, it may be reasonable to
conclude that the responses would have been similar regardless of how many participants
at a similar level were interviewed from the one organisation. Acknowledgement is made
however, for the very real possibility of variable results if lower level employees were
asked the same questions.
An additional limitation may reside in the fact that participants were all from a senior
level. As senior representatives of their organisation they were considered the most
knowledgeable participants to interview, particularly in the area of internal
communication within their bank. In light of their management position, many
participants were surprisingly open about internal communication challenges their
organisations experienced, thereby increasing the depth of this study.
The theme of internal communication, as noted in the literature review, is extensive and
cross-disciplinary with tightly interwoven definitions of similar areas of study within the
communication field. Thus, deconstructing and filtering only relevant data for this
particular study was time consuming but enlightening. Furthermore, extensive research
yielded no previous studies of the New Zealand banking industry; therefore, comparisons
could only be made based on available studies of other international financial institutions.
41
The entire process of this thesis was personally conducted, analysed and documented by
this researcher who is influenced by previous knowledge, experience and cultural
background, a common occurrence in qualitative research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000).
This was taken into consideration during all stages and every effort was made to adhere
to high standards of academic research.
The following chapter discusses the findings of the participant interviews in conjunction
with the literature and other previous studies undertaken in the arena of internal
communication. The findings specifically focus on the three key areas that provide
grounding for this research - internal communication management, channels of internal
communication and effective measurement of internal communication.
42
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The following chapter discusses the findings of the participant interviews in relation to
the current literature. The findings in this chapter are divided into three categories -
internal communication management, the internal communication channels utilised and
measurement of internal communication. The results suggest there are more similarities
than differences between the participating banks and this chapter highlights some of the
key themes to emerge from the participant interviews.
Internal Communication Management
As discussed previously, the literature describes the cross-disciplinary nature of internal
communication, in particular the governance factors whereby varying departments claim
responsibility for internal communication. As suggested in the review of the literature,
internal communication can be governed by the corporate communication department or
human resources department (Argenti, 2007) or even the IT department (Gordon, 1998;
Lehmuskallio, 2006). In fact, this multi-departmental variability was clearly illustrated in
the findings of the participant interviews, whereby a range of different options emerged.
At Alfa and Echo, the corporate communication or corporate affairs department is
responsible for the internal communication of the organisation. This structure reflects
findings in the previous literature whereby governance of internal communication is
mainly the responsibility of the corporate communication department (Dewhurst, 2007).
In addition, Echo, within the corporate communication department, is strategically
positioned within the marketing arena as it is considered the “most logical place for us to
43
sit” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Somewhat in agreement, Rafiq and Ahmed (2000)
consider the relationship between the marketing department and employees to be a
valuable alliance, suggesting that marketing managers and human resources managers
would benefit from strategic discussions together regarding employee roles and employee
motivation.
Similar to Echo and Alfa, the corporate relations department at Sierra is responsible for
the internal communication. The term corporate relations is often indistinguishable from
corporate communications and in fact has been known to be used interchangeably
(Hutton, Goodman, Alexander, & Genest, 2001); however, an exhaustive search through
literature over the past seven years reveals a distinct lack in the use of the term corporate
relations; rather, a preference for corporate communication has been adopted.
Alternatively, at Delta the internal communication responsibility was previously held
within the corporate affairs department; however, it is now part of the human resources
department. The fact that Delta places internal communication in human resources is
perhaps a bit old fashioned (Quirke, 2003) since recent studies indicate “over 80 percent
of corporations in the United States place the responsibility for internal communications
in the corporate communication area” (Argenti, 2007, p.140).
A surprising result was that of Victor, where the responsibility for internal
communication is not in corporate affairs, human resources or marketing but the sales
and service division; although both human resources and marketing run alongside this
division within the operational management structure. This is an unusual configuration
44
and there is no indication reviewed literature to suggest the possibility that overall
internal communication could be the responsibility of the sales and service department. In
fact, this development was closely considered by the researcher during comparison of all
of the participants to determine whether, being situated within sales and service, in some
way influenced or created an alternative outcome to the other participants. This will be
explored further in this chapter.
An additional surprise was the finding that Lima had no dedicated internal
communication team or person responsible for the overall internal communication. As
one of the smaller New Zealand banks, with less than 500 staff, Lima reportedly does not
see the necessity for a formal internal communication division and there is no central
source for information, which was an unexpected result. The implications for this finding
will be discussed further in this chapter; however, as Vinten (1999) suggests, the size of
an organisation is often in direct proportion to the consideration of formal communication
structures.
As mentioned in the review of the literature, internal communication management
includes “participation in communication, its direction and the content of
communication” (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p.184) which is influenced by organisational
structure (Silburyte, 2004) and dependent on variables such as the type of industry,
organisational culture and managerial style (Kitchen, 1997; Quirke, 2000). Most of these
variables were discussed at some point during the participant interviews and the major
themes have been described and analysed in the following section.
45
Alfa
Key findings from the interview with the Alfa representative suggest that, with regard to
internal communication management, the division at Alfa holds three major areas of
responsibility: internal communication support of the CEO/senior management,
facilitation of strategic visionary messages from senior management to employees and
facilitation of effective two-way communication between various business units.
According to the representative from Alfa, the main focus for the corporate
communication team involves the support of the senior management, in particular the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO). "We see our strategy as about supporting the CEO and
building and maintaining his profile" (Interview, April 20, 2007).
The role of the CEO within internal communication is highlighted in the literature as a
major factor in organisational success. In fact, Gaines-Ross (2003) contends that
inadequate internal CEO communication can lead to uncertainty among employees as to
their future with the company and confusion as to where their time and energies should
be spent, possibly leading to “unethical conduct” (p.9) within the organisation.
Additionally highlighting the importance of CEO communication, Murray and White
(2005) propose that today’s CEO is under intense scrutiny both by internal and external
stakeholders and the CEOs obligation is to lead by example as their personality traits
define the way people see the business.
A second finding concerned the fact that at Alfa it is the corporate communication team’s
responsibility for facilitating strategic visionary messages from the CEO and executive
committee to the employees. The literature suggests that visionary messages and in fact
46
visionary leadership plays a vital role in effective communication and leadership
(Howard, 1996; Levin, 2000), and encourages employee support by expressing the
management challenges, responsibilities within the organisation and the overall direction
and strategy which “makes goals clear, increases employee commitment, and energizes a
team” (Spreier, Fontaine, & Malloy, 2006, p.80).
The disadvantages suggested in the literature, of the CEO not sharing visionary messages
or ideas for success, are a lack of company direction, employee expectations or shared
contributions, all leading to the creation of a meaningless organisational culture (Hamm,
2006). In fact, Murray and White (2005) assert that internal communication is the main
way to persuade employees that the CEO has something to say that is genuine and “worth
believing in” (p.356).
An additional internal communication management finding that emerged from the
discussion with the Alfa representative was the facilitation of two-way communication
between the various business units whereby the corporate communication team
endeavour to ensure communication between the business units is efficient.
It's a bit like having an intranet. You push a button and post it on the intranet or you
send an email. It's easy to make an assumption that it's been received, read,
understood and complied with, obeyed, acknowledged… we're trying to encourage
other sort of behaviour... channelling communications more effectively (Interview,
April 20, 2007)
47
Murray and White (2005) contend that in-house communications advisors should not be
‘doers’ but facilitators who help others to accomplish goals thereby creating a coaching
style of facilitation. This coaching style may not be currently utilised at Alfa; however
the corporate communication team facilitate by ensuring overall messages across the
whole organisation are effective and efficient although they are not responsible for
operational messages, as those are filled within each business unit. This follows Young
and Post’s (1993) suggestion that corporate communications should “address the broad
issues and the local manager should address the local issues” (p.8) and that “..top
management must be responsible for conveying the ‘big picture,’ but only the supervisor
can link the big picture to the work group and to the individual employee” (Young &
Post, 1993, p.8).
The relative disadvantage of a facilitator role, as suggested in the literature, is the
assertion by employees that messages from the CEO are in fact manufactured by a
communication expert rather than the CEO (Briggs, 2007) which can damage the
credibility of future messages as well as the reputation of the senior leader (Briggs,
2007).
Echo
The interview with the Echo participant resulted in a number of key issues within internal
communication management, of which two were most notable: The importance of
employee satisfaction by encouraging inclusion and job development and the close
relationship between the Echo corporate communication team and an external public
relations firm.
48
The Echo corporate communication team work to enable employees to think and work
strategically as well as feel included and developed. "We are trying to help people
process, improve and innovate and think about what their audience actually wants to
read” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Indeed, there is much to be said about employee
involvement as Tourish and Hargie (2000a) argue that employee involvement is crucial to
organisational success and “no organisation achieves high quality outcomes over an
extended period of time if staff or customers feel uninvolved and alienated” (p.38). This
direction of inclusion and value that Echo have undertaken is considered, in the literature,
a positive step towards a financial competitive advantage (Papasolomou & Vrontis,
2006).
A second key finding expressed by the Echo representative concerned the close
relationship between the corporate communication team and an external public relations
company.
We’ve certainly got a business plan about how we are going to support the business
units but it’s more of an add on. We look at what their objectives are and what they
need to achieve over the year and we sit down and say now this is where we can
add value and we brainstorm through that. So rather than us try and have a view, it
needs to be really integrated (Interview, March 27, 2007).
This integrated form of communication ensures consistency of messages both internally
and externally. In fact, Argenti (2007) contends that “regardless of where the internal
49
communications is positioned and whether or not an outside consultant is used, it must
work closely in conjunction with external communicators to integrate the messages
disseminated to both internal and external audiences” (p.142) thereby helping to ensure
employees are well informed of what information the public receives ensuring that if
significant changes are announced, the employees will be fully informed.
Sierra
A number of interesting issues emerged from the interview with the Sierra representative.
Of particular relevance to internal communication management was the evolution of
organisational culture, the integration of external and internal messages and the
recognition by Sierra management of the importance of internal communication.
A lot of my job is thinking about the strategy of how we talk internally, very strong
links with what we call our people and culture team, so looking at some of the big
projects around culture, how we build culture, how we evolve (Interview, April 11,
2007).
This focus on culture is in line with recent literature that suggests that a healthy
organisational culture is one of the defining characteristics of a successful company
(Hamm, 2006). In fact, Argenti (2007) argues that twenty-first century internal
communication is more than broadcasts, publications and memos but rather it’s about
building a corporate culture that can adapt and drive organisational change. In a similar
vein, Lok and Crawford (2004) contend that organisational culture can affect how
50
employees make decisions, “set personal and professional goals, perform tasks and
administer resources to achieve them” (p.323).
The evident importance of the close relationship between the Sierra corporate relations
team and the division responsible for external messages was highlighted by the Sierra
participant. Through the relationship, integrated plans are conceived together as well as
discussions on product launches. The integration of internal and external messages has
arguably been an important factor in consistency of messaging (Argenti, 2007) and
Dolphin (2005) concludes in his research that integrating internal and external messages
is crucial, so the organisation is “speaking with a single voice” (p.184).
At Sierra, in order to maintain the integration of messages and evolve the organisational
culture, management have also endeavoured to support the internal communication
function. "They [the bank] see the value in it [internal communication] and at this point
in time are willing to invest" (Interview, April 11, 2007). Young and Post (1993) suggest
that for effective internal communication to be undertaken adequate resources need to be
allocated. This comment, insofar as it represents Sierra’s investment in internal
communication, is indicative of a trend toward increasing support within organisations
for an effective internal communication function (Johnson, 2001). Nevertheless, Karian
and Box (2006) recognise that budgetary support of internal communication is often
cyclical and during economic downturns organisations looking to cut costs often focus on
internal communication resources as unnecessary expenses.
51
Delta
The discussion with the Delta representative highlighted some notable findings related to
international communication management. In particular, the creation of the ‘big picture’
for employees and the fostering of close internal relationships on all levels of
organisation. The first finding suggests that employees are able to work more effectively
when they are certain of where they fit within the organisation.
My role is to plan and develop communications for employees that help them
understand what our four drivers are, support them and understand where they fit in
terms of the bigger picture and how they can help achieve them and why are these
so important for us (Interview, April 13, 2007).
The importance of the ‘big picture’ should not be underestimated and it was a key
conclusion of the 2004 Royal Bank of Canada study, mentioned previously in the
literature review, where employees worked better with a clear understanding of where
they fit in the organisation (Moorcroft, 2006). This concept is also supported by Gay and
D’Aprix (2007), who confirm that the creation of a big picture clearly establishes a link
between strategies and the employees, thereby encouraging engagement and support of
those strategies.
In addition to establishing the big picture for employees, a second notable issue to
emerge from the Delta participant was the importance of the internal communication
team forging close relationships with all levels of the organisation, in particular senior
managers.
52
There are the senior people who it is very useful to know but there are other leaders
in the business who aren’t necessarily in senior roles but are very influential and are
able to give me a good idea of what the temperature’s like out there or how people
are reacting…(Interview, April 13, 2007).
Quirke (2000) contends that relationship building, as noted by Delta, should be a focus of
senior management, in order to build strong communication with company employees. In
fact, Delta has determined that it is advantageous for the human resources
communication team to relate with employees at lower levels of the organisation in
addition to senior management, thereby giving Delta an overall view of communication
within the business. One of the initial steps in building that relationship, as suggested by
Droppers (2006) is to:
Create a communication role description for key layers of management: senior
leaders, managers, supervisors, etc. Often, there is confusion about who should
communicate what information. This confusion causes both overlap and omission,
leading to a situation where some issues are over communicated and others get lost
between the cracks” (Droppers, 2006, p.62).
It was unclear from the interview with Delta whether such descriptions of the
communication management structure existed; however, the literature suggests that
communication role descriptions are invaluable in decreasing miscommunication by
clearly highlighting roles and responsibilities at the management level (Droppers, 2006).
53
Victor
The discussion with the Victor participant resulted in a range of significant findings
concerning internal communication management. Most prominently among them is the
importance of integrating internal and external messages and the gatekeeper role of the
service and sales communication team in controlling information overload and
compliance.
Like Delta, a significant focus for Victor is the importance of integrating external and
internal messages in order to gain consistency of messaging. This is accomplished by the
sales and service communication team working closely with the corporate
communication team which, as noted previously, is advantageous to ensuring consistency
of messages (Dolphin, 2005). In fact, such a collaboration of different departments can
foster an environment for successful innovation (Lievens & Moenaert, 2000) as well as
ensure employees are able to adequately respond to unforseen external issues such as
media interest or a business crisis (Argenti, 2007).
An additional notable finding at Victor is the emphasis on compliance and accuracy,
managed through a gatekeeper role. In order to ensure accuracy and compliance, the
Victor sales and service team has created language guidelines detailing the type of words
and language use required in written documents, online and in emails as well as language
to avoid. In fact, important documents that are disseminated company wide are then
routed through the sales and service communication team who act as a “gatekeeper for
information” (Interview, March 22, 2007). The accuracy of messages is also extended to
customer service in the branches.
54
There is a high level of a need for compliance and accuracy because you’re dealing
with financial transactions and other people’s money. It’s very important that
there’s quite a bit of communication around correct procedure to handle people’s
money and do things right (Interview, March 22, 2007).
The gatekeeper role, as described by the Victor representative, reduces the amount of
information employees receive as well as arrange the most important information into
manageable and understandable pieces. Indeed Droppers (2006) argues that one of the
most common communication mistakes senior leaders make is to communicate with a
complexity and perspective that is of importance to senior management but not
considered essential by other employees “standing at ground level, trying to focus on
what they need to do right now (p.64). Additionally, the Victor participant indicated the
importance of managing the amount of information:
"It's always that there's too much information and we don't have time to read it all
so a lot of the time we are reassuring them all and saying we are only telling you
things that you need to know” (Interview, March 22, 2007).
The Victor sales and service division endeavour to create ground level information while
at the same time ensure that overall management information is available via the intranet
should employees wish to see it. Arguably, their intention is not so much censoring
information as much as prioritising it. This concern is in accordance with the literature
that suggests information overload is major issue in modern business communication. In
fact Quirke (2000) contends:
55
Employees’ ‘brainspace’ – the time and attention they are willing to give to
messages aimed at them - is shrinking. Their capacity to process the information
they receive is also under attack. With more work being done by fewer people,
there is less time for chatting and for social interactions that used to diffuse
communication around organizations (p.17).
A review of the literature suggests information overload or brainspace has become a
major research issue (Quirke, 2000; Thomas et al., 2006), mainly emerging from the
adoption of computer-mediated communication within organisations as previously
mentioned in the literature review chapter.
Lima
The interview with the Lima representative unearthed a variety of findings, including a
lack of internal communication management as well as the challenge of sustaining the
existing organisational culture. At Lima the branch managers are responsible for
communicating necessary information. "In part it reflects the type of organisation we are,
very fast on our feet responsive, not too rigid but it does rely on individuals taking of
responsibility as far as sharing information" (Interview, April 17, 2007). Relying solely
on individuals to share pertinent information is an unusual move expressed by the Lima
participant, because is no guarantee that managers have the necessary communication
skills required, such as listening, feedback, coaching and information sharing (Mayfield
& Mayfield, 2002) all of which greatly impact on the organisation as a whole (Nemec,
2000).
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Shaw (2005) states that communication skills as well as particular leadership styles
influence the internal communication within an organisation and Quirke (2001) contends
that current companies are “discovering the impact a supervisor’s communication style
has on retaining new employees, making them feel part of a team, giving them a sense of
purpose” (p.34). Lima’s reliance on the skill of individuals, without support from a
central communication division, places the full responsibility on managers as well as
employees to ask for feedback when required.
However, Lima has a very “localised and focussed communication” (Interview, April 17,
2007) which, in small businesses, is often a strength and “may take the competitive edge
from larger firms because of their lack of bureaucracy and their more efficient, informal
communications” (Vinten, 1999, p.114). Being a small bank has been a communicative
advantage for Lima with informal discussions between employees and supervisors one of
the best approaches to communication (Argenti, 2007); however this informal structure
may not be adequate in the future as the organisation has plans to expand into other areas
of New Zealand. Indeed, Street and Meister (2004) argue that small businesses need to
anticipate growth and lay the foundation beforehand in that “as small business growth
tests the capabilities of informal communication channels, formal systems become more
essential to fulfil the information needs of an increasingly complex organization” (p.495).
As Lima does not have a formal system for their internal communication, this will be an
area of challenge during their growth period. Vinten (1999) suggests that small
enterprises operate in a reactive way and generally introduce more formal structures of
internal communication when there is a breakdown or misinterpretation of
57
communication. In fact, it is a myth to assume “communication is adequately and
completely fulfilled through informal means” (p.119).
Along with the potential future growth, an additional notable finding at Lima is in the
sustainability of the existing company culture, “specifically service culture and the
employment of people for new national offices” (Interview, April 17, 2007). Indeed, the
literature suggests that employees need to be part of a company culture. Hamm (2006), a
proponent of successful company cultures, asserts that:
In companies with healthy cultures, employees aren’t kept in the dark; rather they
are supported in the belief that they are part of an exciting future. They come to
work with a fire inside them, a result of clearly stated leadership and business
practices that everyone explicitly understands. Every person in the company knows
how to individually contribute to its future (p.123)
As mentioned previously, a healthy organisational culture is beneficial to organisational
success (Hamm, 2006). Lima currently asserts that there is a healthy culture, where
employees are aware of the brand and all that it entails; however, the Lima representative
recognises that future plans to expand may present a challenge in the continuation of the
current Lima culture. Argenti (2007) states that an effective culture should be able to
adapt and drive organisational change, with internal communication playing a large role
in that change- something that is currently informal and flexible at Lima.
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Internal Communication Channels
There are a myriad of internal communication channels available to organisations
including computer mediated channels such as email or intranet, hardcopy publications or
face-to-face communication. The participants of this study utilise a range of channels with
the most common method being the intranet followed by email and face-to-face
communication. Emerging issues with respect to communication channels include
information overload, the management of organisational intranets, and the retention of
face-to-face channels. The following section discusses the internal communication
channels utilised within each participant organisation in relation to the review of
literature, and specifically, with reference to the theory of media richness.
Alfa
The Alfa interview suggests a variety of channels are utilised, with the intranet as the
main tool. As reported, the intranet is used for “announcements, important events and
news, and messages from the CEO. These may be complemented by direct email
messages from the CEO, depending on the importance and relevance/urgency of the
message” (Interview, April 20, 2007). This finding arguably contradicts the literature
which proposes, under media richness theory, face-to-face communication is the best
mode for urgent or important information (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). However, in an
organisation of more than 6,000 employees like Alfa, talking to them face-to-face would
be an insurmountable challenge for any manager.
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In addition to the use of the intranet, emails are widely used at Alfa, although the
corporate communication team try to implement controls on its use. “We have a pretty
rigid policy in terms of usage… most of our staff are pretty well aware of the fact that
email is a business tool, intranet is a business tool…" (Interview, April 20, 2007).
Monitoring and enforcing policies related to email usage is an important part of internal
communication due to the amount of information that can be passed as well as the limited
amount of ‘brainspace’ that employees have (Quirke, 2000). Quirke (2000) argues that
organisations often confuse volume and value, therefore those organisations that do not
monitor or measure the information content and flow, produce “toxic communication
which consumes time while creating confusion” (p.11).
With regard to senior management communication, at Alfa an annual roadshow is held
where the CEO and senior management team travel to various national locations and
meet with employees to discuss key issues. This showcases the profile of the senior team,
particularly the CEO, and enables face-to-face contact with a range of employees. Alfa
acknowledge that not all of the 6,000 plus employees will meet the CEO during the
roadshow tour; however, they recognise the value of face-to-face communication from
the senior management and endeavour to create as many face-to-face opportunities as
possible. Nevertheless, Quirke (2000) disagrees with the roadshow approach and argues
that “a one-off roadshow by the chief executive may give employees a temporary
awareness of the strategy, but their re-entry into the pressures of the next day’s workplace
may relegate the presentation to a fond, but irrelevant, memory” (p.34). To evaluate any
potential benefits, or lack of benefits as argued by Quirke (2000), measurement of the
effectiveness of the roadshow would need to be taken by employees.
60
At Alfa the main form of face-to-face communication is through regular staff meetings
where managers brief their employees on training, new products and new initiatives. This
reflects the literature which suggests direct supervisors are the best source for information
and the most preferred by employees (Cees et al., 2005; Gamble & Kelliher, 1999;
Quirke, 2000). The benefits of face-to-face meetings include immediate feedback and a
sharing of ideas in a team environment (Howard, 1996), which fosters a closer
relationship between a manager and subordinate (Sheer & Chen, 2004). With regular
branch meetings the employees at Alfa are able to keep up to date on operational
information as well as solicit feedback of any concerns. This emphasises the skill and
value of the managerial role to be able to elicit quality feedback and institute any
necessary changes as suggested by the employees if warranted (Howard, 1996).
In addition to the face-to-face channel, three times a year a DVD from the CEO is sent
out to the business units as well as four videos per year from the managing director.
These initiatives provide a means for discussing strategic changes or other key issues.
Donaldson and Eyre (2000) contend that traditional video programs are unlikely to
disappear from organisational use as the video “remains the mainstay for most production
companies for the time being” (p,32) and indeed, the authors suggest that good visual
communication can inform, inspire and empower employees. The relative disadvantage
of DVD’s and videos, is that they are arguably a lean channel of communication confined
to one-way communication with no access to immediate feedback. The only determinant
of success or failure of this channel is through feedback and measurement which will be
discussed further in this chapter.
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An additional lean channel utilised by Alfa is a quarterly magazine, distributed
organisation-wide, which discusses Alfa employees and events. In the more rural
branches, some managers have also created their own newsletters aimed specifically at
their local issues. The convenience factor of publications has been discussed previously,
the key advantages being that employees are able to read them in their own time and in
their own location (Byrne & LeMay, 2006); however, the cost of such publications has
also been noted in the literature as prohibitive (Charles, 2005).
Echo
At Echo, email and the intranet are the major communication channels utilised internally,
with the intranet being fairly extensive. "We've got an intranet and then we've got
intranets off that" (Interview, March 27, 2007). The extensiveness of Echo’s intranet has
created admitted challenges where it is currently hard to navigate due to the large amount
of information stored in it; although, the Echo corporate communication team is currently
looking at improved navigation tools. “One of our aims is to make the navigation of the
search engine a lot better so it's a lot easier to shove in a word and it will give you five
options” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Additionally, the Echo intranet is also closely
monitored. “It's [the intranet] pretty heavily policed. It's not a blog site. We police it
really heavily (Interview, March 27, 2007).
The large amount of information held within Echo’s intranet is a concern where the
danger of information overload, as suggested in the literature, is a possibility, with
employees sorting through large amounts of information, taking time and energy (Quirke,
62
2000). In addition, intranets may be considered a lean channel of communication due to
the lack of feedback; although this has yet to be confirmed in recent literature, and the
amount of information that can be stored and presented in an intranet far exceeds
anything that could be done via face-to-face communication. Quirke (2001) argues that
intranets should not be considered a replacement for face-to-face communication.
Specifically he contends that, of the three challenges that businesses are trying to achieve
via internal communication – providing information and accessibility to information,
demonstrating leadership and direction and building a sense of community and
collaboration - only the first challenge is able to be met using the intranet while the other
two require face-to-face channels.
At Echo, face-to-face communication is limited as it is considered time consuming unless
there is a specific project or focus where actions are a result.
I think the bank has got very good at not doing FYI meetings. A lot of companies
you see they sit there and churn, it's a lot of keeping everybody informed and we've
actually really cut down on those because nobody has the time to do it and if there's
a productive outcome then we can do that by email and keep each other updated and
you read it if it's relevant to you (Interview, March 27, 2007).
The previous literature review suggests a range of positive reasons why face-to-face
communication is vital within an organisation (Gamble & Kelliher, 1999; Kahai &
Cooper, 2003): specifically the ability to ask questions, give feedback and opinions on
key initiatives in face-to-face sessions, which have “unique advantages over even the best
63
print publications, video programs and email messages” (Howard, 1996, p.12). However,
Echo’s argument that FYI meetings are time wasters is supported by Quirke (2000) who
argues that:
Time is the most limited resource in most organizations, and better use can be made
of precious face-to-face time which is too often used for the wrong purposes – to
tell people things they could more easily read about, in meetings which are badly
run and boring (p.32).
In addition to the intranet and limited face-to-face meetings, rural units at Echo have their
own newsletters which are aimed at their local news. Company wide; however, the
corporate communication team release a quarterly 20-minute video which is an “update
from the managing director and the different business heads about what's happening in
their area, what's the main area focus, which challenges they have had…"(Interview,
March 27, 2007). As mentioned previously, the use of visual communication such as
videos and DVDs to share information has been proven successful in empowering and
inspiring employees to succeed (Donaldson & Eyre, 2000). But recent feedback from
Echo employees about the video suggests that the video/DVD has become dated and not
relevant to everybody; therefore, new technology options are currently being evaluated
for suitable implementation to replace the videos.
Sierra
One of the major channels utilised at Sierra is the intranet which has a mixture of news
and operational information. "We have a number of channels but the intranet is a big
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communication channel for us and has almost been a victim of its own success in a lot of
ways in that it's grown into quite a big beast" (Interview, April 11, 2007). The amount of
information held within an intranet or other channels is a valid concern with internal
communication as, mentioned previously, information overload via the intranet or other
computer mediated communication channels which are able to hold large amounts of
information (Quirke, 2000), can have detrimental results on the effectiveness of
employees (Thomas et al., 2006).
To combat the size and success of the intranet, Sierra has incorporated processes for
expiring content to ensure information does not stagnate and is removed when it becomes
dated. A large part of monitoring the information at Sierra is to simplify.
A big part of going forward for me is about simplification and I think companies are
very good at sticking stuff out there and they evolve things, which is great, but they
never necessarily take stuff away (Interview, April 11, 2007).
As successful as the intranet has become, Sierra also recognises the risks of only utilising
computer-mediated forms of communication. "I think there's always a danger of relying
too much on technology and not thinking about the downstream implications of it"
(Interview, April 11, 2007). This is a valid reflection which surprisingly is not adequately
discussed in recent literature with the focus currently on new technology and the future of
technology rather than the potential impact or the future of historically established forms
of communication such as face-to-face.
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On a quarterly basis Sierra hold a one-day forum for senior management and team leaders
as well as a monthly teleconference. The forum is hosted by their CEO, who is an
advocate for face-to-face communication. These one-day forums may be akin to
roadshows which, as discussed previously, may not necessarily have long-lasting
effectiveness (Quirke, 2000) although measurement would need to be taken to ascertain
the effectiveness.
Surprisingly at Sierra there are no hardcopies of organisational newsletters, as all news is
posted on the intranet, where each business unit has their own homepage. "I think that
newsletters as a communication tool done well can be very engaging. I think the reason,
[or] part of the reason, they became unpopular was simply a cost issue as opposed to an
efficiency or effectiveness issue"(Interview, April 11, 2007). The idea of high costs and
lack of effectiveness is also discussed by Charles (2005); who notes, there is little
empirical evidence to suggest the validity of hardcopy publications or their future place
in organisations.
Like the previous participants, Sierra also sends 15-minute DVDs to their employees on a
bimonthly schedule. This has proven popular with the frontline staff who do not spend as
much time in front of computers or on the intranet. Argenti (2007) notes that in large
corporations keeping employees in touch with recent information can be a challenge and
often depends on the job position of the employees, where some may have no or limited
access to email and therefore would miss valuable information. Therefore, the DVD can
be a useful tool for certain types of employees. An additional bonus of the Sierra DVD is
that it fosters team building where the teams will watch it together and discuss items they
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have watched. "I've really tried to get our thinking out of the ops stuff and use it as a
storytelling tool because I think it has a lot of scope with supporting our culture in terms
of demonstrating behaviours that we're looking for" (Interview, April 11, 2007). Sierra
has indicated a possible future direction for the DVD in the use of online streaming tools
such as podcasts; however, a concern is that streaming “becomes very individualistic"
(Interview, April 11, 2007) where employees sit at their computers to watch rather than in
a group environment, which is not the intention or the aim of the communication team.
Delta
Delta utilises a range of channels although none have been suggested as a dominant
method. At Delta, the use of the intranet has a somewhat chequered history where
employees have not been enthusiastic about using it or information has been outdated or
missing from pages. The internal communication team updates the news page on a daily
basis; however, the rest of the site is still in need of reconstruction. "A strategy has been
put forward for updating the whole thing and figuring out gatekeepers...Getting some
consistent guidelines" (Interview, April 13, 2007). As suggested in the literature review,
research into intranet effectiveness is lacking (Jacoby & Luqi, 2007); however, one of the
few sources discussing intranet strategy (White, 2006) does suggest that governance and
maintenance of the intranet is a valid concern in relation to internal communication
effectiveness.
With regards to email usage in Delta, it is not generally used for company-wide
communication; however, within departments and teams there is a great deal of
communication disseminated and “only urgent news will go out via email for company
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wide [distribution]” (Interview, April 13, 2007). Sending urgent news via email conflicts
with media richness theory which posits that urgent news should be disseminated through
the richest channel, face-to-face communication; however with staff numbers exceeding
6,000 that approach would not be logical or possible. By constraining the majority of
emails to team or departments, it may be reasonable to conclude that Delta somewhat
curb the possibility of information overload (Thomas et al., 2006).
With regard to face-to-face communication, the CEO of Delta has a regular monthly
presentation in Auckland which is video-linked to employees in Wellington, Hamilton
and Christchurch. In addition, twice yearly the CEO and general managers will embark
on a roadshow to the main centres where the employees hear what's happening. As
mentioned previously, Quirke (2000) suggests that roadshows give temporary awareness
of strategies; however, they are soon forgotten upon returning to the office. In
accordance, Smythe (2004) somewhat negatively argues that roadshows are a type of
“egotainment” where “middle managers are flattered to get a day off to massage the giant
egos of corporate captains at costly events which have as much lasting impact as most
off-site training” (p.27).
In addition to the roadshows, Delta employees are able to see a quarterly magazine-style
DVD which "covers messages from our chief executive and will cover some great
success stories and what's going on in the community…" (Interview, April 13, 2007) and
has garnered positive anecdotal feedback from Delta employees, reflecting the literature
suggesting visual media can be a successful tool for information sharing (Donaldson &
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Eyre, 2000) although as noted previously the inability to give immediate feedback limits
it to a lean channel of communication.
Organisational publications in Delta, considered the leanest channel in media richness
theory, are confined to a bimonthly glossy magazine that “talks about what's going on in
our international banks and anything we need to know about head office over there or the
group…"(Interview, April 13, 2007), as well as a 10 to 12 page weekly information pack
that provides a summary of operational information. There is nothing company wide that
is informal or ‘chatty’; however, regional managers are able to have their own
personalised newsletters.
Victor
Victor uses a myriad of channels depending on the type of information. However, the
biggest challenge suggested by Victor currently is the intranet – specifically document
control and content management.
We have a very big sprawling intranet and it's one of those things that was
developed some years ago and it's had pieces tacked on and content added and they
are just going through a process … so we will have some consistency about
management [of the intranet] (Interview, March 22, 2007).
Management and effectiveness of the intranet is a valid concern, as discussed with Delta,
and entails the use of a formal strategy to keep control (White, 2006) in order to create
the most effective channel for internal communication. This involves the need for
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measurement to determine what is working effectively and which areas need work
(Hargie & Tourish, 2000).
With regards to face-to-face communication, each business unit at Victor has regular
meetings as well and store managers are able to attend a yearly annual conference in
Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch.
We bring all the store managers together and we talk about the vision, where we are
going and it’s very much the high level picture of what we do. It doesn’t get down
to the detail but it’s about this is what we said we were going to do last year, this is
what we delivered against that, this is what we’re going to do next year and it’s very
high level (Interview, March 22, 2007).
Victor suggests that the conferences are a chance for employees to get involved in
workshops and interactive sessions in order to learn and give feedback on a variety of
specific issues. These conferences are in line with a roadshow style of presentation
which, as stated previously by Quirke (2000) may not be the best avenue for sharing
information; however, Victor asserts that they want to make them as interactive as
possible so that employees are able to play an active role in the event.
One of the largest channels that Victor uses is organisational publications. There is a
printed weekly copy of short articles and key summaries sent to every branch, as well as
an email link to the intranet. There is a fortnightly publication dedicated to in-store
marketing and promotional activity as well as two or three corporate publications
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published fortnightly and monthly that are issued company-wide and focus on key
financials and Victor employees. As stated in media richness theory, organisational
publications are the leanest channels to use due to their lack of feedback (Salmon &
Joiner, 2005) and the cost of publishing publications can be exorbitant (Charles, 2005).
This suggests that even though employees may be well informed, their ability to provide
feedback is reliant on other channels of communication.
Lima
The main channel utilised at Lima is face-to-face communication noted as the richest
channel of communication (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). Being one of the smaller
participants, Lima is able to organize a great deal of face-to-face communication to
discuss key issues with employees. In fact, Howard (1996) suggests that face-to-face
communication gives senior executives of organisations the opportunity to “hear
firsthand what is on their employees’ minds – the good as well as bad concerns that,
raised and resolved quickly, can avoid becoming major problems”(p.13). The meetings at
Lima are in groups, teams and various shapes and meetings can be “on the spur of the
moment and arranged. It's quite fluid" (Interview, April 17, 2007). This fluid arrangement
in smaller groups has proven to be productive, as suggested in the literature, where
mangers find “employees are more forthcoming when not in a large group setting.
Smaller groups are also more conducive to resolving specific problems” (Argenti, 2007,
p.145).
An additional important factor of face-to-face meetings between supervisors and
employees is the ability for the employees to ask questions of management in an open
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forum (Argenti, 2007) which Lima has created in their company culture. Arguably the
biggest disadvantage of employing face-to-face as the major channel of internal
communication at Lima, involves the time factor (Quirke, 2000) and the need for all
participants to be available at the same time (Hargie & Tourish, 2004)
Lima also utilises emails, written memos and an intranet, which is not considered a main
form of internal communication. In the past there was an organisational newsletter but it
is no longer being issued. In accordance with media richness theory, Lima is the only
participant that utilises mostly rich channels for internal communication indicating that
employees are able to give regular feedback and opinions. This may be due to the size of
the organisation or the organisational culture that has been established, with a preference
from Lima management to maintain communication at a face-to-face level. Nonetheless,
future consideration on integrating new technology was not fully discussed during the
interview.
Measurement of Internal Communication
As discussed in the literature review, measurement of the internal communication within
organisations is fundamental to understanding the overall picture of the organisation as
well as changes that need to be made and future strategies (Hargie & Tourish, 2004). Of
the six participating banks in this research, only one utilised a regular measurement tool
dedicated to the internal communication of that particular organisation; whereas, the
other participants used a myriad of adhoc focus groups, anecdotal feedback and surveys
where some of the questions were related to internal communication.
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Alfa
Alfa admittedly does not do enough measurement of their internal communication and
the majority of feedback is anecdotal and informal. Because there is no formal
measurement of their communication channels, in particular the intranet which was
reported as the main channel for internal communication, it may be reasonable to
conclude that a lack of management knowledge exists regarding Alfa’s internal
communication effectiveness or employee perception of the communication channels.
Hargie, Dickson and Tourish (2004) suggest that like a car, an organisation runs at it’s
best when it is regularly serviced and that managers cannot rely on “their own
perceptions, or upon what others tell them, to give them a comprehensive, objective and
true picture regarding the current state of communications” (p.425)
In fact, potentially one of the few formal measurements undertaken of the internal
communication within Alfa is via an engagement survey. "Every year there's a whole
block of the engagement survey that has to do with communication about how informed
you feel and how much you understand… how well do you feel that you understand the
banks strategy…"(Interview, April 20, 2007). Bernthal (2005), a proponent of
engagement surveys, notes:
Engagement surveys, in their current form, represent the next generation of macro-
level measures of WLP [workplace learning and performance] success. Through
proven statistical relationships to outcomes – such as turnover, productivity, and
profitability – engagement surveys are an obvious lead measure of organizational
outcomes (p.54)
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Although engagement surveys have been noted in the literature as being utilised
throughout organisations, there is limited academic literature available on the possible
effects. Vance (2006) states:
To date, much employee engagement research has been conducted by consulting
firms. Owing to their proprietary status, these studies validating engagement models
have yet to appear in refereed scientific journals. Most of this research is
unavailable to detailed outsider scrutiny (p.19)
As noted previously, the intranet is the main form of communication at Alfa which
suggests that measurement of the effectiveness of Alfa’s intranet is paramount to
determining where any challenges may lie. Hathi (2007) suggests that “monitoring and
evaluating the level of user satisfaction should be a key element of any intranet
measurement program” (p.31) which highlights the need for regular measurement
protocol to be established. In an organisation with over 6,000 staff spread throughout
New Zealand, measuring whether the internal communication is effective and gaining
feedback from employees is vital. In fact, audits and other measurement tools “can effect
profound improvements in communication, internally and externally (Tourish & Hargie,
2000a, p.40) and measurement allows management to connect with employees and gain
critical feedback on all areas of the organisation (Baron, 2005).
Alfa recognises the need for “rigid policy in terms of usage” (Interview, April 20, 2007)
of their email; however, with few measurement protocols in place, arguably it may be
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reasonable to question how the corporate communication team know that policy is being
adhered to or in fact that employees are even aware of what the policy indicates.
Echo
As opposed to Alfa, Echo has undertaken a fair amount of measurement practices to
determine the effectiveness of their internal communication, although not necessarily on
a regular basis. "We've just finished an internal communications research programme and
it's really good because our department is still relatively new and we are still finding our
feet and what areas do we need to dig into and give some help and support to" (Interview,
March 27, 2007). The research involved an e-survey, invigilated and interpreted by an
external company to gain objectivity. The results were fairly positive for Echo.
Basically we were sitting in our comms team thinking it’s easy to sit here in head
office and think - well how are people in Dunedin finding this and how’s a rural
manager in Invercargill, how’s a mobile manager in Palmerston North, how do
these people find the intranet, what are they using, what do they find rubbish …
Basically the really good news was that it’s not broken. They are actually pretty
happy with it (Interview, March 27, 2007).
The positive results from the internal research undertaken by Echo have enabled them to
continue with their current strategy and in some areas make changes dependent on the
feedback received. This finding highlights the necessity for undergoing measurement of
internal communication. Prior to the recent e-survey research, Echo undertook a similar
measurement activity approximately ten years ago; however, this was before the
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popularity of the intranet and email was still relatively new, with the organisation being
more paper based at the time. Consequently in the last ten years, Echo relied on general
feedback to gain insight into employee perceptions of the internal communication which,
as previously suggested, is not necessarily an accurate nor reliable form of internal
communication measurement (Hargie et al., 2004). The growth of the organization has
impacted significantly on the measurement of internal communication.
We have grown so quickly… ever few years we double our asset base…. We are
growing … we’ve been going so busy keeping this big engine rolling and getting
bigger but nobodies sat down and said hang on hang on… it’s like an octopus.
There are all these things out here and we need something to pull it all together and
say is this the best way and actually have a bit of thinking around that process
(Interview, March 27, 2007).
Echo does not intend to undertake an e-survey every year although their intention is to
carry out a series of focus groups, related to changes being undertaken, to ensure that
those changes are understood and satisfactory to the employees. “We want to be very
sure that any changes we do make, do make things better. Because it's really easy for us
to sit here and think "ooh that's perfect"” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Dickson (2000)
suggests that focus groups can provide a richness of knowledge that surveys cannot.
In addition to the focus groups, Echo is also involved in the Gallup organisation that runs
international surveys on staff satisfaction. “We just constantly top their charts as far as
staff satisfaction goes. It’s a really good gauge. And if we don’t then that’s promising too
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as we need to know where we aren’t going well” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Overall
Echo acknowledges the importance of measuring the health of their internal
communication and endeavour to utilise surveys, focus groups and research for a
prognosis in the future.
Sierra
At Sierra measurement on internal communication was undertaken a few years ago but at
present the reliance is on informal discussions with employees, gaining anecdotal
feedback, to find out if there are any issues. "We haven't done an official audit but I
always make a point of talking to people and getting anecdotal feedback and stuff”
(Interview, April 11, 2007). As highlighted previously, there is little reliability on
informal anecdotal feedback (Hargie et al., 2004) and in fact Tourish and Hargie (2000a)
argue that formal feedback is a key issue in business success where examinations of
performance aren’t necessarily negative but can garner positive evaluations towards
management, the organisation and the company culture which “should be published,
celebrated and built upon” (p.37).
Feedback on internal communication channels as well as general feedback should be a
key part of corporate strategy to gain insight into the market and improve employee
morale (Kling, 2000). In fact regular feedback through measurement tools such as
surveys can give quantifiable information that may not be possible through informal
channels thereby giving a fairly accurate gauge of company performance over a period of
time (Kling, 2000)
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At Sierra the measurement of internal communication has not been a focus; however, it is
being considered for the future.
I think a lot of our tools have been in place for quite a while and one of the big
things for me to do is think about another audit. Think about evolution. They've
served us real well but there are a whole lot of new emerging technologies for us to
be thinking about (Interview, April 11, 2007).
Delta
Delta has endeavoured to engage an annual employee survey which contains a few
questions on communication; however, notably the last e-survey was completed
approximately 18 months ago where “no changes appeared from the results” (Interview,
April 13, 2007). Reliant on informal feedback, one area that Delta has received anecdotal
evidence around is the annual roadshow with senior management with suggestions
managers appreciate the face-to-face time. Recently Delta has also run focus groups as
part of a broader channel review to gauge the perceptions of the employees on all of their
communications. Initial feedback has been mixed with some areas of the internal
communication adequate and others, such as the intranet, needing work.
An additional concern for Delta is the concept of internal communication being difficult
to measure. "Internal comms can sometimes feel a bit nebulous… how do you measure
that?" (Interview, April 13, 2007). In agreement Argenti (2006) states that “the value
corporate communication brings within a company has been difficult to determine”
(p.365); however, even with the difficulty of quantifying the success or failure of internal
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communication, Zetterquist and Quirke (2007) note that “internal communication
departments that don’t examine the value they add, will soon find themselves being
examined by the finance function who, while they may not understand communication,
do understand the cost and value” (p.18).
Victor
Victor was the only participant to undertake regular measurement of their internal
communication – both content and channels. A sample of employees at Victor undergo a
formal e-survey on a yearly basis “measuring relevancy, the timeliness, accuracy and just
the amount of information and then we get some feedback and some freeform feedback"
(Interview, March 22, 2007). In the initial stages Victor researched a variety of surveys
and survey tools to adapt and create one that fits Victor’s business requirements.
The e-survey has proven successful in measuring how employees feel about the
information they receive – usefulness and amount, the channels used to receive the
information – hardcopy or electronic and any changes or preferences the employees have.
Kling (2000) contends surveys can be:
Valuable tools even when day-to-day communication between managers and
employees is good. Sometimes you want the sort of quantifiable information that
you can’t get informally, and a regular ongoing feedback mechanism can give you a
gauge of company performance over time (p.1)
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Victor contends that the survey is a measurement tool for not only the internal
communication of the company but also the work of Victor’s sales and service
communication team in evaluating their usefulness. Argenti (2006) argues that the
majority of communication assessments measure quantity or efficiency of output rather
than changes in performance outcomes; however, Victor has created a survey that
“measures not only my performance- it's part of one of my performance measures, but
also it gives us some good feedback in time to make any changes or tweak anything we
need for the next financial year" (Interview, March 22, 2007). Initial feedback from the
most recent survey indicates that employees like the publications they receive; however,
the amount of publications may be changed in the future reflecting that of the six
participants in this study, Victor has the most organisational publications (approximately
five) disseminated to employees.
In addition to the annual e-survey, Victor also receives anecdotal feedback from all parts
of the business via telephone calls as well as emails and, like Delta, consider internal
communication a challenge to measure and quantify the value of in that it’s "intangible to
match the happy people to the business results" (Interview, March 22, 2007).
A survey can do it but what you're measuring is very much about how people feel
about what they get, which is a great measure and is very important measure for us,
obviously people feel engaged and they know what's going on, but in terms of what
it's worth to the business... it's very difficult to put a figure on (Interview, March 22,
2007).
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Even with the intangibility as described by Victor, Likely (2004) contends that it is
possible, through evaluation of communication effectiveness, to link communication with
the bottom line thereby determining return on investment although admits that this is still
an under-researched field requiring more definitive study.
Lima
Lima was the only participant who did not have a formal communication department
responsible for overall governance. Additionally they do not undertake surveys or
measurement of their internal communication. "We don't research that kind of thing, we
don't audit… on the face of it things aren't broke" (Interview, April 17, 2007).
Hargie, Dickson and Tourish (2004) propose that:
Just because things seem calm on the bridge and the ship is moving ahead, it does
not mean that the journey will be smooth. The Titanic operated successfully for
most of its only voyage. It is better to chart and circumvent the icebergs than to
hope that your ship will miss them (p.423).
As Lima does not measure their communication channels to test for effectiveness, it is
reasonable to conclude that there is no current overall picture of what is working or not
working efficiently although informal feedback is received. As noted previously (Argenti,
2007; Vinten, 1999), smaller businesses have a distinct advantage over larger operations
with internal communication able to be done informally; however, this does not mean
that small businesses should not measure the effectiveness of their internal
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communication or that the current structure will be able to handle future growth, in fact,
the groundwork should be done prior to any organisational growth (Street & Meister,
2004). Tourish and Hargie (2000a) argue that:
The job of management is not to preside over complacency and inertia. It is to
improve the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness. This means seizing every
opportunity to identify those areas where it is possible for everyone, including top
managers, to do better (p.37)
Even with no measurement undertaken or currently planned, Lima admittedly sees a few
challenges with feedback and state "I think we could do better on the two way front"
(Interview, April 17, 2007). Tourish and Hargie (2000c) argue that “open communication
without feedback is like a ladder without rungs. It will never move organisations from
where they are to where the marketplace tells them they need to be” (p.313).
In addition, Hallowell, Schlesinger and Zornitsky (1996) contend that organisations must
identify, measure and manage the internal communication in order to deliver high levels
of customer satisfaction; therefore, without feedback from Lima employees it would be
difficult to identify the current internal communication, measure it for effectiveness or
determine what areas of the organisation need addressing. The key result of an audit or
other measurement technique is the chance for employees to give feedback which
Tourish and Hargie (2000b) argue should be “institutionalised into organisational
decision-making, in order to avoid the emergence of a ‘collective’ consciousness
characterised by drab uniformity – and profits which sink in tandem with staff morale”
(p.12)
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As mentioned previously, the reliance at Lima is on individual unit managers to
adequately inform employees about strategies, changes or any other pertinent
information. One of the ways to determine the success of management communication is
by measurement tools such as surveys. Sinickas notes:
If supervisors are expected to communicate well and frequently in your
organization, using surveys to measure their current effectiveness can be helpful –
not only to the supervisors and their own employees, but also to your training
department in order to help them develop priorities and agendas (p.12).
Lima does not have current plans for measurement techniques on their internal
communication; however, with expansion plans being considered and underway this may
be an area of future consideration.
Overall, the participant interviews revealed a myriad of findings related to the channels
used for internal communication within each organisation, specifically how internal
communication was managed, what channels were utilised and what measurement was
undertaken for effectiveness. The results suggest that most participants relied on informal
forms of measurement such as anecdotal feedback to gauge effectiveness which, as noted
in the literature, is arguably an unreliable tool to rely on (Hargie et al., 2004). However,
two participants, Echo and Victor, both use established measurement channels, with
Victor’s a regular annual event. The implications of the overall results will be explored
further in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate three key aspects within the field of internal
communication: internal communication management, the channels used for internal
communication and measurement tools used to determine effectiveness of internal
communication. In order to research dimensions of international communication practices
within organisations, six participants were recruited from the New Zealand banking
sector, providing the basis for the findings of this study. This chapter will summarise the
major findings according to the three key research themes mentioned previously and
discuss future research implications as a result of those findings.
Internal Communication Management
The primary focus of this research was to investigate the internal communication of
organisations in the financial sector. Interviews with participants drawn from six New
Zealand banks highlighted a range of key issues involving internal communication
management. Specifically the diverse range of departments responsible for internal
communication was a key result as was the emphasis on cross-collaboration between
internal/external departments. Additionally, the importance of senior management
involvement in internal communication and the significance of organisational culture on
internal communication were also key findings.
The results of the participant interviews suggest there is no unanimity across
organisations regarding which department should have overall responsibility for internal
communication. This finding reflects the current literature that also indicates a lack of
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conformity in the governance of internal communication (Kalla, 2005; Quirke, 2000). It
seems unlikely at this stage that a move towards a business consensus regarding
responsibility for internal communication will be made. However, based on the findings
of this research and recent literary studies, the corporate communication department
seems the most popular option with three of the six participants from such departments.
There were two rather unique findings in the area of internal communication governance.
One was the responsibility of internal communication at Victor, placed within the sales
and service division, a resulting structure not cited in the literature nor reflected in the
other participant organisations. There are no clear implications as to whether this
configuration enhances or detracts from the effectiveness of internal communication.
However, the findings from the Victor interview did reveal a strong measurement focus
that, arguably, could be attributed to the sales and service background of those
responsible for internal communication.
The second unique result regarding internal communication management was at Lima,
who did not have a person or department responsible for the overall internal
communication management. The literature clearly highlights the importance of internal
communication management and the extent to which organisational success is tied to
internal communication (Hargie et al., 2002; Zetterquist & Quirke, 2007), yet this was
not an acknowledged major focus for this organisation. Nevertheless, Lima has indicated
a pattern of successful growth which contradicts in many ways the evidence of the
literature. This confounding result may in part be due to the strong organisational culture
that has reportedly been created and the use of rich, face-to-face communication channels
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that seems prevalent within the organisation. However, as noted in the literature the
challenge for most small businesses is being able to sustain effective communication
during a growth or change period (Street & Meister, 2004; Vinten, 1999), something that
Lima is currently undergoing.
One of the strongest themes reflected in the findings for nearly all of the participants
(excluding Lima), was the integration of internal communication with other departments
or those responsible for external communication (external public relations firms). This
parallels the literature which suggests a relationship-building approach to internal
communication should be utilised with external and internal communicators and
employees on all levels of the organisation (Argenti, 2007; Dolphin, 2005; Droppers,
2006; Quirke, 2000). The implications for a lack of cross-departmental communication
can arguably include the effect on the external communication, including the possibility
of miscommunication between branches around customer accounts. Interestingly, the
Asif and Sargeant (2000) study of two major clearing banks in the United Kingdom,
found that internal communication was considered an information tool rather than a
relationship building tool, which was not the case in this study as most participants
emphasised relationship building and not just information sharing.
The major issues for each participant ranged widely, highlighting the diverse nature of
internal communication. Two participants, Sierra and Lima, were strongly interested in
the evolution and retention of organisational culture. This priority featured widely in the
literature, particularly evidenced in previous studies of financial institutions (Asif &
Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003). The recognition of the importance of internal
communication on organisational culture has been noted in this research and the
86
literature; however, it has only been reflected in two of the six participants, although
arguably, the other participants may also consider organisational culture a concern;
however did not mention it during the interview.
Surprisingly the issue of trust, a strong theme within the literature, did not emerge in the
participant interviews. This could be interpreted to mean each organisation implicitly
assumes the employees have trust in their management or, in fact, there is little interest in
determining if trust is prevalent or not. In addition to trust, further exploration into the
importance of internal and external integration of communication messages may be a
possible area of future study, considering its strong presence in this research.
Investigation of the internal communication management provides a clear indication that
there is no template for the governance, structure and content of internal communication.
In light of the literature and the participant findings, the future implications suggest there
may never be unanimity across organisations; although, similarities such as those found
in this study may exist.
Internal Communication Channels
A second question of interest to internal communication concerned the channels used by
the banks. The results clearly indicate the main channel utilised by the participants in this
study was the intranet. All of the participants utilise an intranet, although there is
apparently no agreement between the participants on management, content or structure.
The academic research on the effectiveness and use of intranets is still to be fully
explored (Jacoby & Luqi, 2007); however, based on the interest from the banks in this
87
study, and the widespread use of intranets in other financial organisations (Bottazzo,
2005; Sablosky, 2005), further research may surface in future academic publications.
Overall, there were two major challenges with respect to the use of internal
communication channels with most participants. The first was the challenge of effectively
utilising face-to-face communication in light of the advances in technology and size of
the organisations. Effective face-to-face communication was an expected challenge for
the larger organisations that were geographically dispersed throughout New Zealand;
although surprisingly Lima, who also has employees in different regions, did not seem to
have any major challenges with retaining face-to-face communication. The initiatives
used by many of the participants included roadshows or conferences, showcasing senior
management and organisational visions. These were often limited to senior employees or
those able to attend, although, as measurement was limited in most organisations the
success or failure of the roadshows is yet to be determined. Additionally, all of the
organisations established regular branch or unit meetings; however, it appeared that the
only cross-departmental communication derived mainly from those employees
responsible for internal communication.
The second major finding with respect to the use of internal communication channels was
the effective use of current technology and the possible adoption of new technology.
Most participants in this study expressed a desire to investigate new ways to
communicate information and research the potential that new technology may offer. For
example online streaming was mentioned by a few of the participants as a potential new
direction. The discussed advantages of streaming included the cost savings of not using
88
videos/DVDs or the expense of sending them out to each branch. One suggested
disadvantage, posited by the Sierra representative, was the individualistic nature of online
streaming. Instead of the whole team watching and discussing the DVDs together, which
is the current practice at Sierra, staff members may end up sitting at their desk to watch
without any real discussion with other members about the content.
Even with the expressed interest in online streaming from some of the participants,
adoption of communication technologies such as blogs, podcasts and instant messaging,
may be adopted more slowly. Whether this is due to budgetary concerns, technological
skill or whether the organisation feels the need for such advanced technology remains an
issue to be explained.
Internal Communication Measurement
Overall this study highlighted the lack of measurement currently undertaken within the
sample banks, which lead to the generalised conclusion that banking organisations and
potentially others do not currently test the effectiveness of their internal communication.
Many participants discussed an organisational requirement for effective communication,
or having policies or procedures in place for particular communication areas; however,
without measurement it was unclear as to how they could determine the success of those
policies. Admittedly, most of the participants did undertake some form of informal
feedback or in the case of Echo, focus groups and intermittent research. However, only
one participant, Victor, annually measured the effectiveness of the content and the
channels for internal communication, via a self-designed research survey, in order to
compare activities with performance results and business goals. Interestingly, Victor was
89
also the only participant whose internal communication was managed by the sales and
service division, which may possibly have some bearing on the result.
Despite the literature on the importance of measurement and the international studies
concluding that internal communication measurement is vital to organisational
performance (Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003; Moorcroft, 2006), there is still a lack
of awareness within organisations of the importance of effective internal communication.
This lack of awareness also extends to the determination that effectiveness can only be
achieved through adequate measurement. As indicated, the relative implications of
ineffective internal communication are numerous and can include high staff turnover, low
quality of service, increased absenteeism and low levels of innovation (Argenti, 2007;
Clampitt & Downs, 1993; Hargie et al., 2002; Quirke, 2000). Arguably, regular effective
measurement practices may indeed reduce the possibility of the aforementioned results.
Limitations
Most research, this one included, is influenced by various limitations. Most notably the
methodological approach chosen, the participants of the study and the form of analysis
utilised. The qualitative design of this project required subjective data to be collected and
analysed which in itself can be the challenge of a qualitative approach where there are no
specific rules about how to analyse the data, as opposed to quantitative data (Collis &
Hussey, 2003). Through a qualitative approach the amount of data collected can be fairly
substantial and in fact the task of reducing that data towards the final conclusions is
entirely dependent on the subjective nature of the researcher.
90
The limitations of the participants have been previously acknowledged; however, in most
cases this study was able to obtain valuable rich data of which was able to be analysed in
accordance with scholarly literature in order to satisfactorily answer the research
questions.
Future Research
There are several areas within this study which could be considered for future research
including the new innovations in technology, the efficacy of face-to-face communication
in light of new technology and internal/external integrated communication. Of these the
most notable is perhaps the influence of future technology on internal communication.
The current literature suggests that the future direction of internal communication may in
fact be the area of podcasting (Vogele & Townsend-Gard, 2006), wikis, blogs and instant
messaging within teams (Holtz, 2006). In fact, Vogele and Townsend-Gard (2006)
indicate the rapid growth in technology by highlighting the increased interest in podcasts.
They refer to a September 2004 Google search on the word ‘podcasts’ resulting in just 24
hits and a following search in August 2006 resulting in 44.9 million hits. Today, August
11
th
2007 a similar Google search undertaken by this researcher on the term ‘podcasts’
resulted in 126 million hits. This is a phenomenal speed for new technology adoption and
clearly illustrates the possibility for future research regarding the application of such
technology in the internal communication environment.
Conclusions
This research project investigated the use of internal communication within organisations
in the banking sector. More specifically, the focus of this research was on the internal
91
communication management, the channels of internal communication utilised and the
measurement of effective internal communication. As a result, it has been determined that
internal communication is a growing area of interest, both in academia and within
international organisations which are reliant on effective management, effective channels
and effective measurement of communication. This study suggests that even with
international interest, all of these areas remain somewhat misunderstood within the New
Zealand context and require further scholarly research in order to fully understand the
implications on New Zealand businesses.
92
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Appendix 1
Interview Schedule
This is a general interview schedule for participants who agreed to be interviewed.
Additional questions were asked dependent on the direction of the discussion.
• Could you give a brief background of your organisation with regards to employee
numbers and locations
• How do you see your role as the “Internal Communication Manager” in the
organisation?
Where in the organisation is your position / department situated?
What do you consider your main responsibilities?
• What are the main channels used to communicate within your organisation?
Intranet?
Internet / email?
Face-to-face meetings?
Newsletters?
Organisational meetings (whole teams / bonding)?
Online Streaming?
• How does your organisation measure the effectiveness of your internal
communication? Surveys? Audits? How often?
• How does your organisation see internal communication fitting within the
organisational structure?
Is there anything else you would like to tell me?
105
Appendix 2
Information for Participants
THE MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF EFFECTIVE INTERNAL
COMMUNICATION
Tena Koe, Talofa Lava, Hello!
I am a final year Master of International Communication student at Unitec. Part of my degree
programme involves a thesis on a subject of my choice. My research topic looks at the
management and measurement of internal communication in the banking sector. I am doing the
research at your organisation and have the preliminary approval of the organisation to carry out
the research.
What I am doing
I would like to find out how different banking organisations manage their internal
communication and how they measure for effective internal communication.
What it will mean for you
I would like to interview you and talk about:
• A brief background of your organisation with regards to employee numbers and
locations
• How you see your role within the organisation
• The channels used to communicate within your organisation and their effectiveness
• How your organisation sees internal communication fitting within the business plan
• Key goals for your organisation with regards to internal communication.
The interview will last between 35 and 45 minutes and I will audio record the interview which
will be transcribed later. All features that could identify you or your organisation will be
removed and the information on the tapes used will be erased, once the transcription is done.
You are free to withdraw from this project for whatever reason within two weeks of the
interview.
What will I do with this?
The information I receive will be written up as part of my thesis research.
106
Consent
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to sign a consent form. This does not stop you
from changing your mind if you wish to withdraw from the project. You can also ask to be
withdrawn. However, because of my schedule, any withdrawal must be done within 2 weeks
after I have interviewed you.
Please contact me if you need more information about the project:
At any time if you have any concerns about the research project you can contact my
supervisor:
Kylie Horomia
[email protected] , 021 036 2404
At any time, if you have any concerns about the research project you can also contact my
supervisors:
Dr Donna Henson Diana Mead
School of Communication School of Communication
Unitec New Zealand Unitec New Zealand
(09) 815-4321 ext 8119 (09) 815-4321 ext 8542
[email protected] [email protected]
Confidentiality
Your name and information that may identify you will be kept completely confidential. All
information collected from you will be stored on a password protected file and the only access
to your information is myself and my supervisors.
Thank you!
This study has been approved by the Unitec Research Ethics Committee from (March 2007) to (August 2007). If you have any complaints or
reservations about the ethical conduct of this research, you may contact the Committee through the UREC Secretariat (Ph: 09 815 4321
ext.7254). Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and investigated fully, and you will be informed of the outcome.
107
Appendix 3
Consent Form
THE MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF EFFECTIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
This consent form will help us get information for a research project looking at the management and
measurement of effective internal communication within a banking organisation
I have had the research project explained to me and I have read and understand the information sheet given to me.
I understand that I don't have to be part of this if I don't want to and I may withdraw within two weeks of the
interview process.
I understand that everything I say is confidential and none of the information I give will identify me or my
organisation and that the only persons who will know what I have said will be the researchers and their supervisor.
I also understand that all the information that I give will be stored securely on a computer at Unitec for a period of
5 years.
I understand that my interview with the researcher will be audio taped and transcribed.
I understand that I can see part of the finished research document.
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queries about the project.
I have had time to consider everything and I give my consent to be a part of this.
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contact the Committee through the UREC Secretariat (Ph: 09 815 4321 ext.7254). Any issues you raise
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doc_237528274.pdf
Internal communication in New Zealand is a relatively new field of research, particularly within the financial sector. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the internal communication of financial institutions. Three major themes were considered within the field of internal communication: internal communication management, the channels utilised within organisations for internal communication and whether measurement of the internal communication was evident.
An Investigation of Internal Communication within the
New Zealand Financial Sector
Kylie Horomia
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of International Communication
Unitec New Zealand, 2007
i
Abstract
Internal communication in New Zealand is a relatively new field of research, particularly
within the financial sector. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the
internal communication of financial institutions. Three major themes were considered
within the field of internal communication: internal communication management, the
channels utilised within organisations for internal communication and whether
measurement of the internal communication was evident.
The research followed a qualitative methodological approach where a semi-structured
interview with a representative from each of the participating organisations was
conducted, in order to gain the management perspective of internal communication. The
findings of the interviews were then transcribed and discussed in accordance with the
current academic literature.
The findings indicate that internal communication is a large area of research that differs
between organisations with content, structure and management. Additionally, a range of
communication channels were used in all of the participant organisations with intranet
and emails the most predominant channels, while face-to-face communication was an
often underutilised channel. One finding that was not anticipated was the lack of formal
measurement undertaken by most of the participants. While informal channels were well
accounted for, formal measurement was surprisingly minimal thereby contradicting the
advisement of the academic literature.
ii
Declaration
Name of candidate: Kylie Horomia
This Thesis/Dissertation/Research Project entitled:
An Investigation of Internal Communication within the
New Zealand Financial Sector
is submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Unitec degree of
Master of International Communication
CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION
I confirm that:
• This Thesis/Dissertation/Research Project represents my own work;
• The contribution of supervisors and others to this work was consistent with the
Unitec Regulations and Policies.
• Research for this work has been conducted in accordance with the Unitec Research
Ethics Committee Policy and Procedures, and has fulfilled any requirements set for
this project by the Unitec Research Ethics Committee.
Research Ethics Committee Approval Number: ........................................
Candidate Signature: ……….…………………………………….Date: …………………
Student number: …………………………
iii
Acknowledgements
There are several people I would like to thank for their tremendous support during my
often arduous masters journey:
My first port of call is my amazing principle supervisor Dr Donna Henson – Dr D, thank
you for your patience, your incredible reading speed, the immeasurable amount of help
you gave me, your amazing ability to spit out academic language extemporaneously (and
all without aid of a thesaurus) and your willingness to share your wisdom with a keen,
and admittedly, semi-annoying postgraduate student. I would not have completed my
thesis without your absolutely generous support and I really can’t thank you enough for
everything you have done. In addition I would also like to thank Diana Mead my
secondary supervisor for her valued enthusiasm and excitement for my whole research
journey.
Additionally, my thanks extend to the School of Communication. I think the concept of
“it takes a community to raise a child” extends to my experience with this school as
many, if not all of you, have been my mentors and “raised” me from my initial foray into
a bachelors degree to a successful masters graduate. In fact, I think that I have popped
into all of the offices at some stage asking multiple questions, and everyone has given
generously of their time whenever I appeared at their door. Special mention goes to Ed
Mason for his great discussions on a multitude of subjects, including sport and media
and Debbie Rolland who has always kept me on track.
iv
I would also like to acknowledge and thank the six participating organisations in this
study who generously shared their time and experiences with an eager masters student.
To my masters study buddies, Liza Nel - you and your camera bag have kept me sane (or
insane) with loads of laughter, Birgit Hermann - my lunch buddy and competitor to see
who was first in the building every morning (I won). You helped keep me on track and
provided me with great competitive spirit. You both make great sounding boards. Also
thanks to my buddy abroad, Anne Nordvang, who has supported me from Norway with
great inspirational emails.
Most importantly, I would like to credit my educational journey to my brilliant family.
My exceedingly patient parents have supported me through all of my crazy ideas, jobs,
hobbies and experiments - mentally, physically and most definitely financially.
Hopefully I will be able to return the support tenfold in the future. I love you both.
Finally, Heddi Goodrich – my proof-reader, my cheerleader, my sounding-board, my
sister and my best friend:
Alla mia carissima amica Heddi:
grazie di cuore per il tuo aiuto e sostegno in tutti
questi lunghi mesi di lavoro.
Non sarei mai riuscita a finire la mia tesi senza il
tuo incoraggiamento e i tuoi abbracci
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ……………………………………………………… vii
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….. 1
Rationale……………………………………………………………… 1
Research Structure……………………………………………………. 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………. 4
Internal Communication……………………………………………… 4
Internal Communication Management……………………………….. 7
Internal Communication Measurement……………………………… 13
Internal Communication Channels…………………………………... 16
Previous Communication Research Involving Banks ………………. 25
3. RESEARCH DESIGN…………………………………………………….. 31
Overview……………………………………………………………. 31
Rationale……………………………………………………………. 31
Qualitative Research………………………………………………... 32
Methods of Data Collection………………………………………… 34
Participants………………………………………………………….. 36
Data Analysis……………………………………………………….. 38
Ethical Considerations……………………………………………… 39
Limitations………………………………………………………….. 39
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………….. 42
Internal Communication Management ……………………………... 42
Alfa………………………………………………………….. 45
Echo…………………………………………………………. 47
Sierra………………………………………………………… 49
Delta…………………………………………………………. 51
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Victor…………………………………………………………53
Lima……………………………………………………….....55
Internal Communication Channels…………………………………...58
Alfa…………………………………………………………..58
Echo………………………………………………………….61
Sierra…………………………………………………………63
Delta…………………………………………………………66
Victor………………………………………………………...68
Lima…………………………………………………………70
Measurement of Internal Communication ………………………….71
Alfa………………………………………………………….72
Echo…………………………………………………………74
Sierra………………………………………………………...76
Delta…………………………………………………………77
Victor………………………………………………………..78
Lima…………………………………………………………80
5. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………. 83
Internal Communication Management………………………………83
Internal Communication Channels…………………………………..86
Measurement of Internal Communication…………………………...88
Limitations…………………………………………………………..89
Future Research……………………………………………………...90
Conclusions………………………………………………………….90
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………...…..92
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………..104
Appendix 1: Sample Interview Schedule…………………………………...104
Appendix 2: Participant Information Form…………………………………105
Appendix 3: Participant Consent Form……………………………………..106
vii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1: Internal Communication Matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007)…………… 6
Figure 1: Different departments own pieces of the communication jigsaw
(Quirke,2000)………………………………………………………….. 8
Figure 2: Conceptual framework of integrated internal communications
(Kalla,
2005)……………………………………………………………….….. 9
Figure 3: The position of internal corporate communication within integrated
corporate communication (Welch and Jackson 2007)…………………10
1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The study of internal communication is arguably one of the fastest growing areas within
the field of communication, with a 25-30 percent growth rate in the past five years
(Donaldson & Eyre, 2000). In fact, studies indicate that organisations are pointing to
effective internal communication as an influential factor in business success (Cees,
Berens, & Dijkastra, 2005; Holtz, 2004; Quirke, 2000). Internal communication is
defined as the “formal and informal communication taking place internally at all levels of
an organisation” (Kalla, 2005, p.304). The general purpose of this research is to
determine the extent to which organisations in New Zealand, specifically the financial
sector, manage their formal internal communication. The main focus of the study is
primarily on the management of internal communication, the channels used during
internal communication and the measurement of effective internal communication.
Rationale
The rationale for this study is founded on a review of the literature which reveals a
distinct absence of New Zealand based research into internal communication. This is in
stark contrast to the increasing international studies that highlight the importance of
internal communication (Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Johnson, 2001; Kitchen, 1997; Quirke,
2000; Welch & Jackson, 2007). Additional reasons for this study lie in the lack of
academic research focussing on financial institutions. Although a few organisations in the
financial sector have been conducting studies into their own internal communication
(Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Moorcroft, 2006; Sablosky, 2005; Wadman, 2006), there is little
published scholarly research available, which emphasises the importance of this study.
2
Research Structure
This research project is a level nine, 90 credit thesis which will provide partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the Master of International Communication degree at Unitec New
Zealand. The following sections of this thesis are divided into four main chapters.
Chapter two consists of a review of the literature according to five main themes: internal
communication, internal communication management, measurement, channels and
previous communication research in the financial sector. These themes were chosen due
to their importance within the field of internal communication and their influence on each
other. This review of the literature provides additional justification for the purpose and
direction of this study and highlights some of the major themes within internal
communication research.
Based on the literature review, chapter three discusses the methodology and the design of
this research. A qualitative method was chosen as the most appropriate approach due to
the small sample size retained and the ability to collect detailed data from participants
through semi-structured interviews. Additionally, the background of the participants and
the ethical considerations and limitations are also discussed in this section. In accordance
with the review of the literature and the research design, three questions were posited in
order to provide the focus for this study:
How do organisations in the New Zealand banking sector manage their internal
communication?
3
What channels do banking institutions in New Zealand utilise for their internal
communication?
How do banking institutions in New Zealand measure the effectiveness of their
internal communication?
Utilising the results of the literature review and the methodological considerations,
chapter four explores the findings of the participant interviews and is divided into three
themes: internal communication management, internal communication channels and
measurement of internal communication.
Finally, chapter five concludes by summarising the main points of this thesis with
consideration to all of the previous discussions. In addition the limitations of the study
and areas of future research are explored.
4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The main focus of this thesis is on the formal communication taking place within New
Zealand banks across all levels of the organisation. Additionally, of interest are the
channels utilised and the means by which organisations measure their internal
communication. This chapter presents a review of the literature in accordance with four
themes; the role and function of internal communication, its management, channels and
previous research on internal communication in banks. This will then provide the
foundation for the discussion and analysis of the research findings in later chapters.
Internal Communication
Research on internal communication is cross disciplinary, and the number of available
definitions reflects this fact. Internal communication can be termed internal marketing,
organisational communication, employee relations (Quirke, 2000), management
communication, internal media, cross-departmental communication (Greenbaum,
Clampitt, & Willihnganz, 1988), business or corporate communication (Kitchen, 1997),
strategic communication (Argenti, 2007) or integrated internal communications (Kalla,
2005).
Today, much of the current scholarly literature is brought under the umbrella of internal
communication, although as previously suggested, the use of the term, in practice, is
dependent on the organisation and the scholarly approach. In its simplest form internal
communication is “the exchange of information and ideas within an organisation” (Bovee
& Thill, 2000, p.7) or the “formal and informal communication taking place internally at
5
all levels of an organisation” (Kalla, 2005, p.304). Welch and Jackson (2007) view
internal communication from a stakeholder approach and define it as “the strategic
management of interactions and relationships between stakeholders at all levels within
organisations” (p. 183). Internal communication within an organisation is dependent on a
number of factors including the type of industry; the structure of the organisation;
organisational culture and managerial style (Kitchen, 1997; Quirke, 2000).
Historically, internal communication was constrained by the available budget (Asif &
Sargeant, 2000) and was often limited to announcements from management and the
packaging of messages for mass distribution to employees (Quirke, 2000). In fact, a study
undertaken in the 1970’s showed that management erroneously thought the production of
communication was enough to lead to actual communication and little consideration was
given to audience perception or understanding of the message itself (Peterfreund, 1970
cited in Cameron & McCollum, 1993). Holtz (2004) noted that, in the past, company
communication, typically in the form of publications, consisted of the four B’s: birthdays,
babies, brides and bowling scores. In marked contrast, today, the function of internal
communication includes the transmission of organisational goals, activities, new
developments, achievements and personal contributions as well as strategic visionary
messages (Welch & Jackson, 2007).
Welch and Jackson (2007) suggest the function of internal communications has four
dimensions: (1) internal line management, (2) internal team peer communication, (3)
internal project peer communication and (4) internal corporate communication (as noted
in table 1).
6
Table 1 –– Internal Communication Matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p.185)
These four dimensions emphasise that the content of internal communication has moved
from the four B’s into all areas of the organisation including strategic goals and personal
development. In addition to the content, the four dimensions also highlight the two-way
relationship between employees and managers at all levels of the organisation and the
importance of internal communication to organisational success (Asif & Sargeant, 2000;
Hargie, Tourish, & Wilson, 2002; Quirke, 2000; Tourish & Hargie, 2000a; Zetterquist &
Quirke, 2007) with effective internal communication leading to improved productivity,
reduced absenteeism, increased levels of innovation, higher quality of services and
products and reduced costs (Argenti, 2007; Clampitt & Downs, 1993).
The corporate acknowledgement of internal communication playing a vital role within
organisations has become more evident in recent years with large companies reporting
record budgets for internal communications (Johnson, 2001). Research undertaken in the
United Kingdom suggests that 60 percent of communications departments are less than
five years old with 76 percent of them having their own budgets, some topping ?1
7
million with anticipated budget increases of up to 50 percent over the next three years
(Johnson, 2001). This financial development is in marked contrast to previous years and
can be attributed to a greater corporate understanding of the impact of effective internal
communication, as noted in an extensive internal communication survey conducted by
Karian and Box, a United Kingdom communication consultancy (Karian and Box,
2006).
Internal Communication Management
Literature spanning the last 10 years suggests that good internal communication
management is one of the pivotal steps towards successful and productive
communication within an organisation (Cees et al., 2005; Holtz, 2004; Karian and Box,
2006; Quirke, 2000; Tourish & Hargie, 2000a). Welch and Jackson (2007) state that
internal communication management includes “participation in communication, its
direction and the content of communication” (p.184). However, participation and
direction of communication is strongly influenced by the hierarchical structure of the
organisation where “issues of status, power, rank and prerequisites often cloud the form
and content of upward communication” (Silburyte, 2004, p.192). Today, organisations
are adopting flatter more dynamic structures which have more inclusive participation
from all levels of the organisation (Silburyte, 2004) as well as varied content including
new developments, organisational achievements, appraisal discussions and employee
roles, noted previously in Welch and Jackson’s four dimensions of internal
communication (refer to Table 1).
8
The modern structure of internal communication within organisations creates a myriad of
issues as evident in the definition of internal communication and the management and
boundaries of internal communication management within an organisation. Management
of internal communication can be the responsibility of the corporate communication or
human resources departments (Argenti, 2007) or can include the IT department as more
organisations are utilising alternative technological channels for their internal
communication (Gordon, 1998; Lehmuskallio, 2006). Therefore, Cheney and Christensen
(2001) suggest that service organizations have difficulties maintaining a clearly defined
“sense of self” (p.243) and that organisational boundaries in relation to communication
are problematic with “internal” and “external” communications no longer considered
separate fields of practice. This in turn complicates governance issues with marketing
departments becoming involved in internal communication across the organisation.
Figure 1: Quirke (2000) – Different departments own pieces of the communication jigsaw (p.199)
9
Similarly, Quirke (2000) also suggests that internal communication can be shared across
different organisational departments and likens it to a jigsaw where each section is
responsible for a piece of the internal communication puzzle (see fig.1). This metaphor
suggests that internal communication is more than the realm of corporate communication
and is involved in all areas of the organisation, potentially leading to confusion as to who
to report to for different issues. A 2002 study of internal communication in 100 leading
blue-chip companies found that 38 percent of internal communication teams were
governed by the human resources department (Quirke, 2003). Four years later a 2006
online survey of internal communications conducted by Melcrum, an internal
communication research and training organisation, alternatively proposed that of the
1,149 respondents from different industries and locations, 44 percent state internal
communication is the governance of the corporate communications department
(Dewhurst, 2007).
Similar to Quirke’s (2000) jigsaw of internal communication, Kalla (2005) suggests that
there are four domains of integrated internal communication – business, management,
corporate and organisational.
Figure 2: Kalla (2005) – Conceptual framework of integrated internal communications (p.306)
10
Business communication addresses the communication skills of all employees,
management communication focuses on the development of the managers’
communication skills and capabilities, corporate communication focuses on the
formal corporate communication function, and organisational communication
addresses more philosophically and theoretically oriented issues (Kalla, 2005,
p.305).
Kalla describes internal communication as being closely interlinked within an
organisation with variances in the focus of the communication as noted above, similar to
Welch and Jackson (2007) who also suggest four domains of internal communication
(fig.1); however, unlike Kalla (2005), Welch and Jackson (2007) suggest internal
communication is firmly housed within the realm of corporate communication which
reflects the Melcrum survey which revealed that internal communication was governed
by the corporate communication function in 44 percent of participant organisations.
Figure3: Welch and Jackson (2007) - The position of internal corporate communication within integrated
corporate communication (p.192).
11
In addition to the governance of internal communication, one major theme to emerge
from the literature in relation to internal communication management is the importance of
effective management and involvement at a senior level (Asif & Sargeant, 2000). Howard
(1996) states that personal commitment and individual involvement from the executive
level is imperative for good internal communication as senior management set the tone
and climate for internal communications throughout the entire company. The
relationship between the management structure and employees is a crucial one (Asif &
Sargeant, 2000) and includes open communication characterised by supportiveness,
warmth and a commitment to dialogue rather than monologue (Tourish & Hargie,
2000b). Supporting this view, Sims and Lorenzi (1992) in a study of leadership in
management, state that effective leadership is reliant on communication tools that will
build a common focus, create shared meaning and vision and share a focus for change.
Reinforcing this perspective, Zetterquist and Quirke (2007), found that “leadership
accounts for two-thirds of the impact on employees’ attitudes and behaviour” (p.19). This
study supports the idea that improving the communication of the senior management with
employees, in particular the CEO, could be the most “cost-effective way to improve
employees’ satisfaction with communication in their organisations” (Gray & Robertson,
2005, p.26). In addition, studies by Pincus et al., (1991) suggest that it is the employees
that hold a large proportion of information that could help the CEO and therefore the
CEO should be seeking regular feedback from all levels of the organisation.
Unfortunately, support and the generation of feedback from senior management is not
often the case and the CEO may consider internal communication limited to one-way
announcements to employees, with their channel of choice being face-to-face meetings
12
or speeches (Pincus, Rayfield, & Cozzens, 1991). In addition to one-way speeches, the
literature suggests there are other barriers to management communication with employees
including time, willingness, skills, and leadership style (Shaw, 2005). Time - the “most
limited resource in organisations” (Quirke, 2000, p.32) combined with a lack of
willingness to focus on internal communication or ineffective communication skills or
leadership style can affect an organisation’s ability to retain staff (Quirke, 2001) and lead
to dissatisfaction at lower levels of the organisation (Shaw, 2005).
Professionals and theorists agree that colleagues are an essential resource for an
organisation (Dolphin, 2005). However, within organisations there is often distrust
amongst employees towards management and they may not be regarded as a trustworthy
channel for information (Zetterquist & Quirke, 2007). Therefore, an additional theme to
emerge from the literature involving internal communication management is the
importance of trust by the employees towards management – with trust evolving from
good internal communication.
Albrecht and Travaglione (2003) define trust as “an expectancy held by an individual or a
group that the word, promise, verbal or written statement of another individual or group
can be relied upon” (p.78). Clichés from management that the staff are an organisation’s
most valuable asset are often met with cynicism (Karian and Box, 2006; Quirke, 2000)
and described as “one of the great lies in business” (Garratt, 2000, p.5). The suggestion is
that if staff are the most valuable asset of an organisation “why are they not valued
financially so that they appear on the balance sheet, not just as a cost in the profit and loss
account” (Garratt, 2000, p.5). Robertson (2005) contends that modern corporations have
13
become “information gluttons” yet are “starving for the kind of communication that fills
people’s need to share understanding and meaning and foster trust” (p.4)
Argenti (2007) suggests that events within the last twenty years, such as the bursting of
the dot-com bubble, collapse of some of the most high profile firms in America (e.g.
Enron) and the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries, has “further necessitated strong
communication channels between management and employees to win employee trust and
loyalty” (p.54). In order to gain employee trust and loyalty, management needs to
understand that as the literature suggests, employees prefer to receive their information
from their direct supervisors rather than receive directives from the CEO or other upper
management (Cees et al., 2005). But firstly it is necessary for management to ascertain
trust levels as well as organisational discontent or other communication issues.
Internal Communication Measurement
In order to establish a clear picture of the current situation, measurement of internal
communication needs to be undertaken by management (Hargie & Tourish, 2004). This is
especially relevant in organisations that have increased their expenditure on internal
communication (Johnson, 2001) and are facing the challenge of connecting
communication results to an organisation’s “bottom line” (Robertson, 2000, p.9). The
terms ‘measure’ or ‘measurement’ take on a variety of meanings within the
communication discipline. Shaw (2004) identifies four different uses for the term
‘measurement’ within organisational communication: (1) measuring employees with
regards to their needs and preferences, (2) measuring the communication department and
the outputs with the desired outcome to justify the expense of maintaining a
14
communication function, (3) tracking the communication channels and their use and
usability and (4) looking at the content and whether it has been received, understood and
has prompted action.
A 2004 report conducted by Melcrum, stated that of the internal communication
practitioners surveyed, 66% did not have a measurement strategy in place and did not
consider a connection between communication performance and business goals
(Melcrum, 2004). The report also found that newsletters, intranets, business TV, webinars
(web seminars or conferences) and executive forums were the most common channels
measured even though business TV and webinars are the least utilised channels. The most
common channels used - email and team briefings - were found to be the least measured
(Melcrum, 2004).
Measuring effective communication is dependent on what the organisation terms
‘effective’. Bovee and Thill (2000) suggest that effective communication only takes place
when there is a shared understanding that prompts others to take action and encourages
alternative thinking. This view is shared by Spence (1994), who considers
communication to be effective only when a message has been received and understood
and can then produce action. Communication performance within organisations has been
considered an understudied area and therefore poorly understood (Pandey & Garnett,
2006) yet it is deemed a “central component of effective business operations” (Hargie,
Dickson, & Tourish, 2004, p.5). Hargie et al., (2004) state that a lack of effective
communication can contribute to a range of problems including “at one end of the
continuum, job dissatisfaction and stress, through to damaging strikes, operating losses,
15
bankruptcies, production line injuries, shipwrecks, plane crashes and, at the other
extreme, mass slaughter in the field of battle” (p.5).
The literature suggests that audits are well established tools for measuring internal
communication (Chalmers, Liedtka, & Bednar, 2006; Pandey & Garnett, 2006). A
communication audit is defined as “a comprehensive and thorough study of
communication philosophy, concepts, structure, flow and practice within an organisation”
(Emmanuel, 1985, p.50). Tourish and Hargie (2000a) suggest that communication audits
have similar characteristics with more established audit practices in areas such as finance,
medicine and accounting. Some of those characteristics include (1) the accumulation of
information and (2) the creation of management systems. Within the financial sector an
audit is used to sample a cross section of transactions to determine financial accounting
procedures. Within the communication field a similar cross section approach is utilised to
determine the flow of resources and information over a given period of time as well as
the implementation of systems to develop best practice.
In addition to, or as an alternative to a comprehensive audit, employee satisfaction
surveys are also utilised by organisations; however, the surveys usually focus on
perceptions and attitudes and not levels of knowledge or understanding so are “not a
direct measure of internal communication department performance and therefore are a
poor indication of the function’s value to the organization” (Likely, 2004, p.14).
According to Likely (2004) a recent upgrade from the satisfaction survey is the employee
engagement survey which measures not only satisfaction of staff but also how committed
employees are to the organisation, the brand and the values.
16
Focus groups are also used to gain information about the internal communication of an
organisation and comprise of approximately six to twelve participants recorded during a
one to two hour session to gather qualitative information (Quible, 1998). The information
gathered may include feedback regarding a specific problem, impressions about a
program or product, the generation of new ideas or general information (Quible, 1998). A
critical role is that of the moderator, who promotes interaction and ensures that the
discussion keeps on the topic. Walston and Lissitz (2000) note that the current
technological environment enables computer-mediated focus groups, where a question
appears on each participant’s computer from the moderator and participant’s responses
appear on everyone’s screen, all based in real time like an internet chat room. Computer-
mediated focus groups allow more candid discussions that may not be possible in face-to-
face group settings and can be beneficial when the topic of discussion – personal health
issues, personal opinions - may create embarrassment.
Internal Communication Channels
Fletcher and Major (2006) contend that the world is growing smaller as technology
advances and the creation of more advanced technology introduces organisations to
different channels of internal communication, spanning both time and geographical
distance. Fletcher and Major (2006) suggest four basic channels are used in workplace
communication (1) face-to-face meetings, (2) audio or telephone exchanges, (3) video
mediated conferences, and (4) computer-mediated text transfers. In addition to those four,
Charles (2005) notes organisational publications, such as the company newsletter, are
also a channel for information.
17
Recent literature on communication channels almost exclusively focuses on media
richness theory (Kahai & Cooper, 2003; Salmon & Joiner, 2005; Sheer & Chen, 2004).
Markus (1994) defines media richness theory as a “prescriptive model in which achieving
a match between information processing requirements (e.g., uncertainty and equivocality
reduction) and communication channels (e.g., face-to-face interactions and written
memos) was posited as essential for organizational effectiveness” (p.503). Essentially the
premise is that lean media is used by managers for simple topics and rich media is for
more complex topics (Sheer & Chen, 2004, p.79) so the focus of media richness theory is
on the choices made by the managers, not necessarily the employees. According to this
perspective there are four factors that influence media richness: “the ability of the
medium to transmit multiple cues (e.g., vocal inflection, gestures), immediacy of
feedback, language variety, and the personal focus of the medium” (Dennis & Kinney,
1998, p.258). Media richness theory typically places channels on a continuum from rich
to lean media with face-to-face communication considered the richest followed by
telephone, email and written documents (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). The media richness
continuum places written documents as the leanest channel of communication. Sheer and
Chen (2004) state that there are three separate categories of written documents within
media richness theory: personal written text (letters, notes, memos); formal written text
(documents, bulletins) and formal numeric text (computer output, statistical reports).
Face-to-face communication is considered the richest channel primarily due to the ability
to give immediate feedback as well as the amount of information shared during the
interaction in the form of verbal cues (tone of voice, pitch, volume…) as well as non-
verbal cues(Kahai & Cooper, 2003). Non-verbal communication is defined in its broadest
18
sense as “communication that transcends the bare elements of the written or spoken word”
(Gabbott & Hogg, 2000, p.386). According to Gabbott and Hogg (2001) there are four
key channels of non-verbal communication including “proxemics (the use of personal
space and distance); kinesics (body postures and movement); oculesics (the
communicative aspects of eye behaviour such as gaze and movement) and vocalics (para-
language such as vocal tone and intonation)” (p.6). In addition, Gabbott and Hogg (2000),
emphasise that non-verbal communication takes place in every interaction, whether
intentional or not, and can be impacted by three specific variables: gender, culture and
personal traits. These factors can affect the interpretation of the non-verbal cues and often
creating misunderstandings. Each of these four key channels of non-verbal
communication are particularly important in the context of media richness theory, as the
media richness varies depending on the strength and presence of nonverbal and verbal
cues (Sheer & Chen, 2004).
The proponents of face-to-face communication suggest that it is the most preferred
method of communication by employees (Quirke, 2000) with interactions between
managers and staff widely commended as beneficial (Gamble & Kelliher, 1999) and more
effective than information from a central communication department (Cees et al., 2005).
Face-to-face team briefings are considered a vehicle for sharing the philosophy and values
of the organisation, the strategy (Gamble & Kelliher, 1999) and “give people the
opportunity to ask questions, offer opinions, and give and receive feedback – unique
advantages over even the best print publications, video programs and e-mail messages”
(Howard, 1996, p.12). Additionally, rich media can create a closer relationship between a
manager and subordinate as well as a more personal focus (Sheer & Chen, 2004).
19
However, Berry (2006) suggests that although management literature examining
communication uses face-to-face communication as the standard, the literature does not
adequately consider time-related problems inherent in face-to-face communication. In
fact, face-to-face communication relies on participants being in the same place at the same
time (Hargie & Tourish, 2004) which is not always possible. In agreement, Quirke (2000)
adds that time is “the most limited resource in most organizations, and better use can be
made of precious face-to-face time which is too often used for the wrong purposes – to
tell people things they could more easily read about, in meetings which are badly run and
boring (Quirke, 2000, p.32). In addition to legitimate time constraints, Howard (1996)
contends that the presentation skills of the supervisor to confidently articulate the
company’s goals and plans, in face-to-face sessions, need to be considered when choosing
this channel, something which is not addressed within the original premise of media
richness theory.
According to media richness theory, the telephone is the second richest channel after face-
to-face communication; however, Salmon and Joiner (2005) state that recent research
suggests the telephone “as a mode of transmitting and receiving management information,
has been superseded by the use of email, because of the superior functionality and
usability features of email” (p.57). In agreement, Markus (1994) also notes that the
telephone is not a good choice for equivocal communication with “refuses to answer the
phone” (p.508).
Although media richness theory proposes emails as lean channels of communication
(Salmon & Joiner, 2005), Shaw (2004) states that organisational intranets, team briefings,
20
e-mail and newsletters are the “bread and butter of modern communication” (p.22). In
fact, O’Kane, Hargie and Tourish (2004) argue that traditional communication channels
such as memos, letters and phone calls have been replaced by emails, the most preferred
communication channel in the business world. The success of email is due in part to its
asynchronous nature where the sender and receiver do not have to be present for the
communication to occur (Thomas et al., 2006), as well as being able to cross “physical,
social, temporal, and psychological boundaries at an astonishingly low cost” (Berry, 2006,
p.352). In addition, research suggests that email reduces interruptions caused by face-to-
face meetings and telephone conversations thereby improving managerial efficiency
(Markus, 1994) as well as having the added advantage of being able be read around the
clock (Thomas et al., 2006).
Our ability to communicate at any time in any place with anyone is increasing our
opportunities for interaction. Using e-mail, instant messaging, and cell phones, a
manager’s ability to stay engaged within the workplace is greater than ever before.
In fact, multitasking has become synonymous with the communication technology-
infused workplace of today (Turner & Reinsch, 2007, p.36).
Thomas et al., (2006) state that “compared with alternative channels such as the post
office or the telephone, e-mail reduces transaction time by offering instant transmission
almost anywhere in the world at relatively low cost” (p.257). Many organisations have
employees that are geographically located in diverse areas; email enables information to
be sent regardless of location and/or time zone (Salmon & Joiner, 2005, p.62).
Critics of e-mail suggest that the availability of new technology does not ensure effective
communication, and instead it is the leadership and training in the use of the technology
21
that will ensure effectiveness (Berry, 2006). E-mail has now become the dominant force
in written communication (O'Kane et al., 2004) and has made email processes such as
deleting and not responding to messages, an acceptable communication process in the 21
st
century (Tassabehji & Vakola, 2005). In addition, e-mail does not allow concurrent
feedback (Kahai & Cooper, 2003) and the informal style of emails has often lead to
misunderstandings and spelling and grammatical errors (O'Kane et al., 2004). Emails can
be sent quickly without serious thought given to the content or proofreading of the reply,
resulting in a form of nonverbal identity, where the choice of informal or formal
vocabulary or grammar describes the sender (Carter, 2003) in a manner similar to first
impressions upon meeting. One of the largest challenges with e-mail is the concept of
information overload. Thomas et al., (2006) states that e-mail overload can stem from “(a)
the sheer volume of e-mail messages sent every day, (b) poorly written messages or
messages that violate netiquette, and (c) the variety of ways that users use their email
systems” (p.256). Within media richness theory, the inability for immediate feedback or
ambiguity in messages as suggested by Thomas et al., (2006) is what defines e-mail as a
lean channel of communication (Salmon & Joiner, 2005).
The leanest channel of communication as defined by media richness theory is the use of
written documents. The company newsletter, memo or magazine require little interaction
and exchange with employees and usually involve operational information about the
company and not about critical decisions under review; therefore, employees can attend to
them at their own convenience (Byrne & LeMay, 2006).
22
While many companies are moving to the convenience of electronic newsletters,
there are still companies that recognize the importance of providing employees with
a newsletter that they can hold in their hands and take home to share with their
families (Charles, 2005, p.21).
Research suggests that employees have specific reasons for reading the company
newsletter or magazine (Johansen, 1995); for example, an employee interested in career
advancement may read for stories on research in the field or current business practices.
Critics of organisation publications point to the expense that is incurred in an
environment of cost cutting and redundancy; whereas, a black and white copy may be
acceptable in times of budget cuts, a glossy four colour spread may create employee -
management friction (Charles, 2005). There is little research to support the redundancy or
worthiness of hard-copy organisational publications as the focus of current studies is on
the area of computer mediated communication within organisations.
The detractors of media richness theory suggest that when discussing media such as letters
and memos this theory adequately explains the effects of media choice. However, in
today’s technological environment of emailing and intranet, media richness theory is
deemed, by some, as “not a useful theory for explaining the effects of the use of the new
media on task performance”(Dennis & Kinney, 1998, p.14). In addition, they suggest that
the theory is not based on empirical research (Kahai & Cooper, 2003) and that managers
surveyed have been asked which media would be the best choice for a theoretical situation
rather than measuring the actual performance results of media use (Dennis & Kinney,
1998).The literature also notes that little empirical research has been undertaken regarding
employee satisfaction and communication received via different channels or whether
23
employees perceive information to be of greater quality depending on the medium (Byrne
& LeMay, 2006). Research now suggests that managers make different choices when
choosing a channel to communicate information than those prescribed by media richness
theory (Byrne & LeMay, 2006) and that consideration should be made for contextual
factors such as the capabilities and appropriateness of using particular mediums (Watson-
Manheim & Belanger, 2007). Furthermore, a particular medium may be deliberately
chosen to slow things down. “A manager may deliberately choose a text based medium
for emotionally laden information to allow the receiver time and privacy to respond
appropriately to the information” (Dennis & Kinney, 1998, p.270).
There are several forms of technology that have not been considered in media richness
based research, possibly due to their relatively recent introduction, including video-
conferencing, blogging, instant messaging or video/DVD use. Based on the criteria for
media richness, specifically the need for two way communication, organisational videos
or DVDs could be, in fact, categorised as a lean channel of communication. Additionally,
extensive research into recent academic literature has not unearthed any discussions on
intranet usage in accordance with media richness theory, so uncertainty exists as to where
on the channel continuum intranets would be placed. It may be reasonable to conclude;
however, that the intranet is a lean channel on the media richness continuum due in part to
the lack of feedback and synchronicity. Alternatively the intranet may also be considered
a richer channel than email due to the amount of information it is possible to store and
share. Lehumskallio (2006) defines intranets as “networks, built and maintained within
the company firewalls, offering Internet technology and various contents for the exclusive
use of the company staff” (p.291) and suggests that intranets are not only for information
24
storage and retrieval but also for enhancing communication within the organisation and
information flow. An additional purpose is to increase productivity and the quality of
work, connect departments located elsewhere (Bottazzo, 2005) as well as introduce the
latest guidelines, tools and news through a simultaneous cost effective medium
(Lehmuskallio, 2006). The centralisation of knowledge eliminates problems that are
inherent to the Internet such as the over-availability of resources and the loss of time
incurred searching through the information (Bottazzo, 2005).
Research suggests that intranets should be considered a mosaic of top-down and bottom-
up communication with distributed ownership (Dasgupta, 2001). A blanket approach
throughout the organisation, regarding regulations on intranet usage, may not be
appropriate as different business units will have different requirements. Rather a
collaborative and facilitative managerial style would acknowledge diversity and
individual contributions (Dasgupta, 2001), thereby allowing individual units and teams to
control their own information. Studies show that the versatility and multifaceted nature of
intranets has seen an increase in research that is largely multidisciplinary (Lehmuskallio,
2006); however, research into the measurement of intranet effectiveness and perceptions
of the employees towards the medium is still in its infancy and is seen as a fundamental
shortcoming (Jacoby & Luqi, 2007).
Currently it is not academia but rather the organisations themselves who are initiating the
greatest amount of research into intranet technology. One such example is a study
undertaken by the internal communication team of Ikea, a worldwide home furnishing
retailer. The study concluded that “it’s not just technology that makes or breaks an
25
intranet” (Gleba & Cavanagh, 2005, p.31). Their findings suggested that the focus of an
intranet should be designed with the needs of the employees in mind, what information
they require and how access can be made as easy as possible. In addition to intranet
usage, recent research into new technologies and communication suggest that Instant
Messaging may become a valid method of communication, in particular within teams,
although it is currently not considered a professional means of communication in business
(Tassabehji & Vakola, 2005). Research in the latest technologies including instant
messaging along with blogging, video-conferencing and intranets is still in its infancy and
should be considered for future study in relation to media richness theory as well as
internal communication research.
Previous Communication Research Involving Banks
In an organizational sense, banking is a curious conglomeration of varying
functions and needs. It is, by definition, obsessed with rules, procedures,
cautions, and details, and at the same time, by practice, a retail, customer-
satisfaction, “service-with-a-smile” type of operation. A successful balancing
act between the machine bureaucracy and the personal approach, required by
this mix, depends not only on information adequacy but on communication
planning as well (Walther, 1988, p.79).
Literature specifically referring to the banking industry and internal communication is
scarce; however, studies have been undertaken within the last seven years that suggest
there is growing recognition of the importance of internal communication within this
sector (Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003; Moorcroft, 2006; Sablosky, 2005;
26
Wadman, 2006). Asif and Sargeant (2000) undertook a study of two major United
Kingdom clearing banks to explore a range of internal communication issues. The
majority of participants viewed internal communication as an information sharing tool
and did not consider it as part of a relationship building endeavour. Asif and Sargeant
(2000) consider the latter an area of potential focus, as stronger relationships throughout
the organisation could enhance team spirit and organisational identity. The results
highlighted the need for more horizontal communication as well as the creation of a
stronger organisational identity and team spirit.
Similarly, two independent audits on internal communication within Westpac Banking
Corporation in Australia noted that there was a need for a unified organisational identity
as well as a better understanding of the vision and values among the employees (Lennon,
2003). The result of the audit was the creation of an in-house communication consultancy
who forged close relationships with all areas of the bank and focused on the vision,
values, strategy, purpose and mission (Lennon, 2003). Both Asif and Sargeant’s (2000)
study as well as Lennon’s (2003) example, discuss the need for strong organisational
identity and reflect Tourish and Hargie’s (2000b) suggestion that employees are unable to
buy into shared meaning and vision if they do not know what they are or understand
them.
In 2004 the Royal Bank of Canada undertook a study where they assessed the
effectiveness of their employee communication, their return on investment and the
external trends affecting communication in general. Four key trends became evident
within the study: (1) technology and the speed of access have led to employee demands
27
for two-way communication and honesty; (2) resources allocated for communication
were shifting towards “outcome” rather than “output” communication, creating initiatives
to generate greater revenue or cut costs; (3) employees are more engaged when they have
a clear “line of sight”, that is, when they see where their work fits within the
organisation’s strategy and objectives (a similar result to the Westpac Australia study)
and (4) with a “line of sight” there is alignment between formal communication and
organisational actions (Moorcroft, 2006, p.31).
Of the 4,200 respondents in the Royal Bank of Canada study, 91 percent stated that
online communication was their primary source of information with 79 percent requiring
more information about corporate strategies and where they fit into that vision. One
surprising result of the survey showed that the organisational magazine, which was the
most expensive and labour intensive channel, was not very valued by employees as a
source of information (Moorcroft, 2006). This latter result arguably makes sense in light
of media richness theory that considers it the leanest of communication channels (Salmon
& Joiner, 2005) and consequently less engaging and immediate.
In 2004, banking group ABN AMRO created an internal communication team to address
the issue of employee engagement. Their findings showed that employees were critical of
the lack of leadership communication, in particular face-to-face delivery, and were also
sceptical as to whether the leadership team could deliver on their strategies (Wadman,
2006). Based on these findings the internal communication team organised more face-to-
face meetings as well as clear milestones for strategies to enable employees to see the
organisation goals, how they would be achieved and in what timeframe.
28
In the United States the First Interstate Bank, located in Wyoming and Montana,
recognised that there were geographical issues with their internal communication; for
example, e-mail broadcasts sent to staff resulted in a crashed computer system due to the
amount of replies and attachments being sent to and from the various bank locations
(Sablosky, 2005). To improve the internal communication First Interstate adopted new
technology such as videoconferencing and an intranet to ensure all employees were well
informed with information sent and received without major issues. One positive addition
to the intranet was the inclusion of vendor links where individual branches could directly
order supplies straight from the vendor, freeing up central administrative services and
enabling more autonomy for each branch (Sablosky, 2005). This positive result from the
use of the intranet echoes the suggestion previously mentioned by Bottazzo (2005) that
the intranet increases productivity, connects disparate branches and thereby improves the
quality of work.
In summary, research on internal communication is cross disciplinary which is reflected
in the variety of academic sources as well as public and private studies. The literature
notes that internal communication is vital to organisational success (Asif & Sargeant,
2000; Hargie et al., 2002; Quirke, 2000; Tourish & Hargie, 2000a; Zetterquist & Quirke,
2007) and that the basic function of internal communication is to inform employees on
organisational issues (Welch & Jackson, 2007) which can then improve productivity,
reduce absenteeism, increase levels of innovation and reduce costs (Argenti, 2007;
Clampitt & Downs, 1993).
29
The literature also indicates that internal communication management is an important
field of study but highlights the confusion in the corporate world as to which
organisational department is ultimately responsible for the role of internal communication
(Cheney & Christensen, 2001; Dewhurst, 2007; Quirke, 2000). It also raises the
importance of senior level involvement within internal communication management (Asif
& Sargeant, 2000; Howard, 1996) and reveals the employee cynicism evident with
regards to management communication (Argenti, 2007).
Research suggests that there is an increase in expenditure on internal communication
(Johnson, 2001) and that measurement tools such as internal audits, surveys and focus
groups are utilised to determine the efficiency of internal communication (Hargie &
Tourish, 2004; Likely, 2004) as well as link the effectiveness of communication with the
economic bottom line (Robertson, 2000).
In addition to measurement techniques, a large body of literature involves communication
channels which are an evolving field of research due to the ever changing technological
environment (Fletcher & Major, 2006). The main focus of enquiry has been the
communication channels in relation to media richness theory which seeks to determine
how managers choose their channel of communication (Markus, 1994). For example,
media richness theory has advanced the idea that channels of communication can be
placed on a continuum between rich and lean media (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). However,
there is some dispute within the literature over the legitimacy of media richness theory
(Dennis & Kinney, 1998; Kahai & Cooper, 2003) and whether it applies to modern
30
technology and takes into consideration situational variables such as context and the skill
level of participants (Byrne & LeMay, 2006).
Recent studies undertaken by sectors in the banking industry reflect the literature with
regards to internal communication management and the utilisation of different channels
(Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003; Moorcroft, 2006; Sablosky, 2005; Wadman,
2006). Research highlights a need for further investigation into internal communication
specifically in the area of computer mediated communication such as e-mail and intranet
(Jacoby & Luqi, 2007). Additionally, a search of the relevant literature highlights a lack
of research within New Zealand companies, which may or may not be interpreted to
suggest internal communication’s fledgling importance within local organisations. The
goal of this research thesis is to better understand the current internal communication
climate within the New Zealand banking sector, what channels are currently being used
and whether measurement of internal communication occurs. One important outcome of
this research is to give an overview of the role and importance of internal communication
within the New Zealand banking sector, thereby making it one of the few research papers
on internal communication in banking to be based in this country.
The following chapter will discuss the design of the research project including a
discussion of the rationale, methodological approach and the methods of data collection
and data analysis that were utilised. Additionally, the following chapter will also
introduce the participants as well as any ethical considerations and limitations.
31
Chapter 3: Research Design
Overview
This study was designed to investigate the management, channels and measurement of
internal communication within New Zealand banking institutions. According to
Donaldson and Eyre (2000) several trends have emerged within the communication field
in the past five years with internal communication being the “fastest growing area of
activity, with a growth rate of between 25-30 percent” (p.32) thereby giving justification
for the direction of this research. In order to explore the management, channels and
measurement of internal communication within the participating organisations, focused
interviews were used to elicit the rich data necessary for this qualitative research. The
data was then analysed in accordance with the current scholarly literature on internal
communication with a particular focus on the banking industry. This chapter discusses
the rationale, chosen methodology, data collection, and analysis of the findings, ethical
considerations and the limitations of this research.
Rationale
As evident in the current literature, internal communication is a growing area of interest
(Donaldson & Eyre, 2000; Johnson, 2001; Karian & Box, 2006), suggesting that research
into the management and measurement of internal communication is becoming more
widespread. The New Zealand banking sector was chosen as the focus for this study due
to the researcher’s interest in service industries, in particular, those within the financial
arena. According to Walther (1988), banks are a cross between “machine bureaucracy”
with rules, procedures and cautions in conjunction with a retail, customer-satisfaction,
32
“service with a smile” aspect (p.79). Therefore, it is this dichotomy of behaviour which
makes for an ideal research ground into the internal communication workings of the
organisations.
In addition, the review of the literature revealed a distinct absence of research on internal
communication in banking institutions within New Zealand; therefore, it is the
researcher’s contention that pursuing this field of study will provide a unique insight into
the workings of New Zealand banks and will significantly contribute to the greater body
of work on internal communication provided by previous scholars. Therefore, the
research questions providing the foundation for this study are:
How do organisations in the New Zealand banking sector manage their internal
communication?
What channels do banking institutions in New Zealand utilise for their internal
communication?
How do banking institutions in New Zealand measure the effectiveness of their
internal communication?
Qualitative Research
There are generally two accepted paradigms or philosophies within scholarly research:
positivistic and interpretivist (or phenomenological) (Collis & Hussey, 2003). In a
positivistic paradigm the data collected is highly specific and precise, therefore
33
quantitative data is usually acquired through surveys, longitudinal studies, experimental
studies and cross-sectional studies.
While a positivistic paradigm utilises large sample sizes, an interpretivist paradigm
produces qualitative data by using small samples (Collis & Hussey, 2003). For this thesis,
although the majority of banking institutions were approached, only a small sample of
banks agreed to take part in the research. Therefore, an interpretevist paradigm,
specifically, a qualitative approach, was deemed applicable. A qualitative approach tries
to understand the participants’ perceptions of the world and the focus is on insight rather
than statistical analysis (Bell, 1993). In addition, this approach utilises small samples of
subjective data (Collis & Hussey, 2003) because it enables richer more detailed
information to be sourced, which otherwise may not be possible using quantitative
methods.
Scholarly research is underpinned by the researcher’s personal philosophy, experiences
of the world, assumptions and their general approach to scholarly investigations (Collis &
Hussey, 2003). However, for the purpose of this research efforts have been made to
ensure the methodology for the study is dictated by the type of research question being
asked and not the personal preference of the researcher (Weber, 2004). Therefore, based
on the desired nature of information, this research used a qualitative approach utilising
interviews as the method of data collection.
34
Methods of Data Collection
Interviews, observations and documents are all types of qualitative data (Patton, 2002);
however, for the purposes of this research, in-depth interviews were chosen as the
method for data collection. The choice of interviews for data collection was partly based
on the suggestion by Millar and Gallagher (2000) that interviews are one of the central
tools utilised within internal and external communication audits. The current study
arguably parallels aspects of the communication audit process (Tourish & Hargie, 2000a)
and additionally, interviews were considered most appropriate due to the type of rich data
required from the participants in order to answer the research question.
Millar, Crute and Hargie (1992) define the interview as:
A face-to face dyadic interaction in which one individual plays the role of
interviewer and the other takes on the role of interviewee, and both of these roles
carry clear expectations concerning behavioural and attitudinal approach. The
interview is requested by one of the participants for a specific purpose and both
participants are willing contributors. (p.3)
The relative advantage of interviews, as used primarily in qualitative research, is the
expectation that interviewees are more likely to speak openly with more detail in an
interview situation, as opposed to structured questionnaires (Flick, 2006). Additionally,
Fontana and Frey (2000) argue that through the interview technique, researchers are able
to extrapolate not only the traditional ‘what’ of the research focus but also ‘how’,
leading to “negotiated, contextually based results” (p.646).
35
Accordingly, there are several types of interviews (Flick, 2006); however for the
purposes of this research a semi-structured format was utilised. Frey, Botan and Kreps
(2000) suggest the key advantage of using a semi-structured interview approach is that
the researcher is able to clarify questions that the participant may not understand (unlike
questionnaires). Additionally, there is the opportunity for greater depth of response as
well as the ability to encourage full participation by establishing a rapport (Frey et al.,
2000). Semi-structured interviews generally use open-ended questions (Collis & Hussey,
2003) which “provide more information than closed questions about the particular
perspectives of individual respondents and, thereby, allow people to respond with what
is on their mind” (Frey et al., 2000, p.100).
Additionally, the questions used were sourced from previous communication audits,
particularly the International Communication Association audit, which is the basis for
most current audit research and includes a variety of semi-structured questions
regarding measurement of internal communication, applicable to this research (Tourish
& Hargie, 2000a).
The relative disadvantages of using interviews for data collection involve the
competence of the interviewer in their ability to extrapolate required information (Flick,
2006). The interviewer’s competence can extend into how well he or she is able to gain
the trust of the interviewee and establish a rapport –both of which are necessary to fully
engage the participant (Fontana & Frey, 2000). In addition, the interviewer must be able
to determine when questions have been answered satisfactorily and when it’s appropriate
36
to move onto a new topic highlighting the need for effective interview techniques (Flick,
2006). The disadvantages of using semi-structured interviews are primarily in the
amount of time needed to complete the interview and the difficulty in keeping control of
the topics (Collis & Hussey, 2003).
Despite the potential utility of including a questionnaire for data collection, the current
study was designed on the basis that interviews enabled more flexibility in questioning by
establishing a rapport with the interviewees (Fontana & Frey, 2000) as well as the ability
to immediately ask for confirmation of facts (Flick, 2006). Ghoshal, Korine and
Szulanski (1994) highlight the limitations of the questionnaire method in their study of
communication in a multinational corporation, where their method of utilising a survey to
gather data could be analysed for frequency but was limited when content or quality of
the information was considered.
Participants
New Zealand currently has 16 registered banks listed in operation (Reserve Bank of New
Zealand, 2007). Of those 16 banks, seven were invited in January 2007, via posted letter,
to participate in this research. The seven banks were selected as the sample, due to their
relative dominance of the New Zealand market and with consideration given to whether
the size of the organisation affected the results. In addition, seven organisations were
contacted initially to counter the possibility of refusals to participate.
Follow-up emails and phone calls were used during the months of February and March
with those banks who had not responded to the initial letters. Of the seven banks invited,
37
six agreed to participate in this research and interviews were organised for a date and
time at the participant’s convenience, with all six interviews conducted over a four week
period (March/April). The researcher travelled to three regions in New Zealand
conducting the audio recorded interviews at each participant’s place of business,
concluding within 30 to 50 minutes. The interviews were then transcribed by the
researcher over a four week period in order to begin analysis. Admittedly, transcription of
data takes time and energy (Flick, 2006), nevertheless this researcher benefited from self-
transcription by synthesising the information and noting emergent themes during the
transcription process. Some participants were also contacted at a later stage via email for
clarification purposes. Pseudonyms have been used and identifying characteristics
removed where necessary to ensure anonymity and/or confidentiality for those
participating.
Name of participating
bank
Approximate number of
employees
Approximate
number of branch
and business units
Alfa Over 6,000 300
Echo Less than 5,000 130
Sierra Over 6,000 180
Delta Over 6,000 200
Victor Less than 5,000 300
Lima Less than 500 20
The interviewees were selected on the criteria that they had responsibility for or extensive
knowledge of the internal communication within the organisation and as such, were
situated at a senior level. Participants included internal communication managers,
38
communications managers, national business managers and corporate communications
managers. The arguable disadvantages of senior level participants concern the extent to
which the information obtained is limited to that individual’s knowledge, and the further
possibility that such staff may focus on positive aspects of the organisation while
downplaying the negative challenges. This was taken into consideration when analysing
the data and every effort was made to attain a variety of information regarding
organisational behaviour.
Data Analysis
Lindlof (1995) identifies four interrelated principles that should be kept in mind: process,
reduction, explanation and theory, when analysing qualitative data,. Data analysis should
be viewed as an ongoing process throughout the study (Lindlof, 1995) through which the
material is reduced to the most pertinent information is then discussed in accordance with
the theory or literature. This thesis utilised an interpretative style of analysis. Patton
(2002) defines interpretation as going beyond the descriptive data. This involves
“attaching significance to what was found, making sense of findings, offering
explanations, drawing conclusions, extrapolating lessons, making inferences, considering
meanings, and otherwise imposing order on an unruly but surely patterned world”
(p.480). This approach as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) gives well grounded
rich descriptions and explanations of processes within the chosen context.
Additionally, the data was analysed according to three key themes – internal
communication management, the channels of internal communication and the
measurement of internal communication for effectiveness. These themes were developed
39
based on the findings in the literature which highlighted their importance to the body of
internal communication research.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations were taken into account throughout the research process including
issues of informed consent, confidentiality, cultural and social sensitivity, and respect for
intellectual and cultural property ownership. Each participant was given an information
sheet that clearly explained the purpose of the research and what their participation
required as well as sample questions before the interview stage. In addition, they were
informed that participation was voluntary and that they would be able to pull out of the
research within two weeks of the interview process. To maintain confidentiality,
information on the participants’ names and places of employment were coded by utilising
pseudonyms.
There was no conflict of interest as this researcher did not have any previous contacts in
the banking industry and has never worked in the industry. This researcher does hold an
account with one of the participating banks; however, this was deemed non contentious
by the supervisors. This research was evaluated by the supervisors and the appropriate
Unitec bodies to ensure the design would adequately cover all the necessary requirements
for the Masters degree as well as any necessary ethical considerations.
Limitations
This research design endeavoured to take all possible eventualities into consideration;
however, there are no certainties in any academic research. A primary limitation of this
40
study was that research was drawn primarily from only one participant in each
organisation and therefore, their subjective perspectives did not necessarily reflect the
entire bank, of which they were a representative. However, the information required was
generally factual rather than opinion based and; therefore, it may be reasonable to
conclude that the responses would have been similar regardless of how many participants
at a similar level were interviewed from the one organisation. Acknowledgement is made
however, for the very real possibility of variable results if lower level employees were
asked the same questions.
An additional limitation may reside in the fact that participants were all from a senior
level. As senior representatives of their organisation they were considered the most
knowledgeable participants to interview, particularly in the area of internal
communication within their bank. In light of their management position, many
participants were surprisingly open about internal communication challenges their
organisations experienced, thereby increasing the depth of this study.
The theme of internal communication, as noted in the literature review, is extensive and
cross-disciplinary with tightly interwoven definitions of similar areas of study within the
communication field. Thus, deconstructing and filtering only relevant data for this
particular study was time consuming but enlightening. Furthermore, extensive research
yielded no previous studies of the New Zealand banking industry; therefore, comparisons
could only be made based on available studies of other international financial institutions.
41
The entire process of this thesis was personally conducted, analysed and documented by
this researcher who is influenced by previous knowledge, experience and cultural
background, a common occurrence in qualitative research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000).
This was taken into consideration during all stages and every effort was made to adhere
to high standards of academic research.
The following chapter discusses the findings of the participant interviews in conjunction
with the literature and other previous studies undertaken in the arena of internal
communication. The findings specifically focus on the three key areas that provide
grounding for this research - internal communication management, channels of internal
communication and effective measurement of internal communication.
42
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The following chapter discusses the findings of the participant interviews in relation to
the current literature. The findings in this chapter are divided into three categories -
internal communication management, the internal communication channels utilised and
measurement of internal communication. The results suggest there are more similarities
than differences between the participating banks and this chapter highlights some of the
key themes to emerge from the participant interviews.
Internal Communication Management
As discussed previously, the literature describes the cross-disciplinary nature of internal
communication, in particular the governance factors whereby varying departments claim
responsibility for internal communication. As suggested in the review of the literature,
internal communication can be governed by the corporate communication department or
human resources department (Argenti, 2007) or even the IT department (Gordon, 1998;
Lehmuskallio, 2006). In fact, this multi-departmental variability was clearly illustrated in
the findings of the participant interviews, whereby a range of different options emerged.
At Alfa and Echo, the corporate communication or corporate affairs department is
responsible for the internal communication of the organisation. This structure reflects
findings in the previous literature whereby governance of internal communication is
mainly the responsibility of the corporate communication department (Dewhurst, 2007).
In addition, Echo, within the corporate communication department, is strategically
positioned within the marketing arena as it is considered the “most logical place for us to
43
sit” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Somewhat in agreement, Rafiq and Ahmed (2000)
consider the relationship between the marketing department and employees to be a
valuable alliance, suggesting that marketing managers and human resources managers
would benefit from strategic discussions together regarding employee roles and employee
motivation.
Similar to Echo and Alfa, the corporate relations department at Sierra is responsible for
the internal communication. The term corporate relations is often indistinguishable from
corporate communications and in fact has been known to be used interchangeably
(Hutton, Goodman, Alexander, & Genest, 2001); however, an exhaustive search through
literature over the past seven years reveals a distinct lack in the use of the term corporate
relations; rather, a preference for corporate communication has been adopted.
Alternatively, at Delta the internal communication responsibility was previously held
within the corporate affairs department; however, it is now part of the human resources
department. The fact that Delta places internal communication in human resources is
perhaps a bit old fashioned (Quirke, 2003) since recent studies indicate “over 80 percent
of corporations in the United States place the responsibility for internal communications
in the corporate communication area” (Argenti, 2007, p.140).
A surprising result was that of Victor, where the responsibility for internal
communication is not in corporate affairs, human resources or marketing but the sales
and service division; although both human resources and marketing run alongside this
division within the operational management structure. This is an unusual configuration
44
and there is no indication reviewed literature to suggest the possibility that overall
internal communication could be the responsibility of the sales and service department. In
fact, this development was closely considered by the researcher during comparison of all
of the participants to determine whether, being situated within sales and service, in some
way influenced or created an alternative outcome to the other participants. This will be
explored further in this chapter.
An additional surprise was the finding that Lima had no dedicated internal
communication team or person responsible for the overall internal communication. As
one of the smaller New Zealand banks, with less than 500 staff, Lima reportedly does not
see the necessity for a formal internal communication division and there is no central
source for information, which was an unexpected result. The implications for this finding
will be discussed further in this chapter; however, as Vinten (1999) suggests, the size of
an organisation is often in direct proportion to the consideration of formal communication
structures.
As mentioned in the review of the literature, internal communication management
includes “participation in communication, its direction and the content of
communication” (Welch & Jackson, 2007, p.184) which is influenced by organisational
structure (Silburyte, 2004) and dependent on variables such as the type of industry,
organisational culture and managerial style (Kitchen, 1997; Quirke, 2000). Most of these
variables were discussed at some point during the participant interviews and the major
themes have been described and analysed in the following section.
45
Alfa
Key findings from the interview with the Alfa representative suggest that, with regard to
internal communication management, the division at Alfa holds three major areas of
responsibility: internal communication support of the CEO/senior management,
facilitation of strategic visionary messages from senior management to employees and
facilitation of effective two-way communication between various business units.
According to the representative from Alfa, the main focus for the corporate
communication team involves the support of the senior management, in particular the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO). "We see our strategy as about supporting the CEO and
building and maintaining his profile" (Interview, April 20, 2007).
The role of the CEO within internal communication is highlighted in the literature as a
major factor in organisational success. In fact, Gaines-Ross (2003) contends that
inadequate internal CEO communication can lead to uncertainty among employees as to
their future with the company and confusion as to where their time and energies should
be spent, possibly leading to “unethical conduct” (p.9) within the organisation.
Additionally highlighting the importance of CEO communication, Murray and White
(2005) propose that today’s CEO is under intense scrutiny both by internal and external
stakeholders and the CEOs obligation is to lead by example as their personality traits
define the way people see the business.
A second finding concerned the fact that at Alfa it is the corporate communication team’s
responsibility for facilitating strategic visionary messages from the CEO and executive
committee to the employees. The literature suggests that visionary messages and in fact
46
visionary leadership plays a vital role in effective communication and leadership
(Howard, 1996; Levin, 2000), and encourages employee support by expressing the
management challenges, responsibilities within the organisation and the overall direction
and strategy which “makes goals clear, increases employee commitment, and energizes a
team” (Spreier, Fontaine, & Malloy, 2006, p.80).
The disadvantages suggested in the literature, of the CEO not sharing visionary messages
or ideas for success, are a lack of company direction, employee expectations or shared
contributions, all leading to the creation of a meaningless organisational culture (Hamm,
2006). In fact, Murray and White (2005) assert that internal communication is the main
way to persuade employees that the CEO has something to say that is genuine and “worth
believing in” (p.356).
An additional internal communication management finding that emerged from the
discussion with the Alfa representative was the facilitation of two-way communication
between the various business units whereby the corporate communication team
endeavour to ensure communication between the business units is efficient.
It's a bit like having an intranet. You push a button and post it on the intranet or you
send an email. It's easy to make an assumption that it's been received, read,
understood and complied with, obeyed, acknowledged… we're trying to encourage
other sort of behaviour... channelling communications more effectively (Interview,
April 20, 2007)
47
Murray and White (2005) contend that in-house communications advisors should not be
‘doers’ but facilitators who help others to accomplish goals thereby creating a coaching
style of facilitation. This coaching style may not be currently utilised at Alfa; however
the corporate communication team facilitate by ensuring overall messages across the
whole organisation are effective and efficient although they are not responsible for
operational messages, as those are filled within each business unit. This follows Young
and Post’s (1993) suggestion that corporate communications should “address the broad
issues and the local manager should address the local issues” (p.8) and that “..top
management must be responsible for conveying the ‘big picture,’ but only the supervisor
can link the big picture to the work group and to the individual employee” (Young &
Post, 1993, p.8).
The relative disadvantage of a facilitator role, as suggested in the literature, is the
assertion by employees that messages from the CEO are in fact manufactured by a
communication expert rather than the CEO (Briggs, 2007) which can damage the
credibility of future messages as well as the reputation of the senior leader (Briggs,
2007).
Echo
The interview with the Echo participant resulted in a number of key issues within internal
communication management, of which two were most notable: The importance of
employee satisfaction by encouraging inclusion and job development and the close
relationship between the Echo corporate communication team and an external public
relations firm.
48
The Echo corporate communication team work to enable employees to think and work
strategically as well as feel included and developed. "We are trying to help people
process, improve and innovate and think about what their audience actually wants to
read” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Indeed, there is much to be said about employee
involvement as Tourish and Hargie (2000a) argue that employee involvement is crucial to
organisational success and “no organisation achieves high quality outcomes over an
extended period of time if staff or customers feel uninvolved and alienated” (p.38). This
direction of inclusion and value that Echo have undertaken is considered, in the literature,
a positive step towards a financial competitive advantage (Papasolomou & Vrontis,
2006).
A second key finding expressed by the Echo representative concerned the close
relationship between the corporate communication team and an external public relations
company.
We’ve certainly got a business plan about how we are going to support the business
units but it’s more of an add on. We look at what their objectives are and what they
need to achieve over the year and we sit down and say now this is where we can
add value and we brainstorm through that. So rather than us try and have a view, it
needs to be really integrated (Interview, March 27, 2007).
This integrated form of communication ensures consistency of messages both internally
and externally. In fact, Argenti (2007) contends that “regardless of where the internal
49
communications is positioned and whether or not an outside consultant is used, it must
work closely in conjunction with external communicators to integrate the messages
disseminated to both internal and external audiences” (p.142) thereby helping to ensure
employees are well informed of what information the public receives ensuring that if
significant changes are announced, the employees will be fully informed.
Sierra
A number of interesting issues emerged from the interview with the Sierra representative.
Of particular relevance to internal communication management was the evolution of
organisational culture, the integration of external and internal messages and the
recognition by Sierra management of the importance of internal communication.
A lot of my job is thinking about the strategy of how we talk internally, very strong
links with what we call our people and culture team, so looking at some of the big
projects around culture, how we build culture, how we evolve (Interview, April 11,
2007).
This focus on culture is in line with recent literature that suggests that a healthy
organisational culture is one of the defining characteristics of a successful company
(Hamm, 2006). In fact, Argenti (2007) argues that twenty-first century internal
communication is more than broadcasts, publications and memos but rather it’s about
building a corporate culture that can adapt and drive organisational change. In a similar
vein, Lok and Crawford (2004) contend that organisational culture can affect how
50
employees make decisions, “set personal and professional goals, perform tasks and
administer resources to achieve them” (p.323).
The evident importance of the close relationship between the Sierra corporate relations
team and the division responsible for external messages was highlighted by the Sierra
participant. Through the relationship, integrated plans are conceived together as well as
discussions on product launches. The integration of internal and external messages has
arguably been an important factor in consistency of messaging (Argenti, 2007) and
Dolphin (2005) concludes in his research that integrating internal and external messages
is crucial, so the organisation is “speaking with a single voice” (p.184).
At Sierra, in order to maintain the integration of messages and evolve the organisational
culture, management have also endeavoured to support the internal communication
function. "They [the bank] see the value in it [internal communication] and at this point
in time are willing to invest" (Interview, April 11, 2007). Young and Post (1993) suggest
that for effective internal communication to be undertaken adequate resources need to be
allocated. This comment, insofar as it represents Sierra’s investment in internal
communication, is indicative of a trend toward increasing support within organisations
for an effective internal communication function (Johnson, 2001). Nevertheless, Karian
and Box (2006) recognise that budgetary support of internal communication is often
cyclical and during economic downturns organisations looking to cut costs often focus on
internal communication resources as unnecessary expenses.
51
Delta
The discussion with the Delta representative highlighted some notable findings related to
international communication management. In particular, the creation of the ‘big picture’
for employees and the fostering of close internal relationships on all levels of
organisation. The first finding suggests that employees are able to work more effectively
when they are certain of where they fit within the organisation.
My role is to plan and develop communications for employees that help them
understand what our four drivers are, support them and understand where they fit in
terms of the bigger picture and how they can help achieve them and why are these
so important for us (Interview, April 13, 2007).
The importance of the ‘big picture’ should not be underestimated and it was a key
conclusion of the 2004 Royal Bank of Canada study, mentioned previously in the
literature review, where employees worked better with a clear understanding of where
they fit in the organisation (Moorcroft, 2006). This concept is also supported by Gay and
D’Aprix (2007), who confirm that the creation of a big picture clearly establishes a link
between strategies and the employees, thereby encouraging engagement and support of
those strategies.
In addition to establishing the big picture for employees, a second notable issue to
emerge from the Delta participant was the importance of the internal communication
team forging close relationships with all levels of the organisation, in particular senior
managers.
52
There are the senior people who it is very useful to know but there are other leaders
in the business who aren’t necessarily in senior roles but are very influential and are
able to give me a good idea of what the temperature’s like out there or how people
are reacting…(Interview, April 13, 2007).
Quirke (2000) contends that relationship building, as noted by Delta, should be a focus of
senior management, in order to build strong communication with company employees. In
fact, Delta has determined that it is advantageous for the human resources
communication team to relate with employees at lower levels of the organisation in
addition to senior management, thereby giving Delta an overall view of communication
within the business. One of the initial steps in building that relationship, as suggested by
Droppers (2006) is to:
Create a communication role description for key layers of management: senior
leaders, managers, supervisors, etc. Often, there is confusion about who should
communicate what information. This confusion causes both overlap and omission,
leading to a situation where some issues are over communicated and others get lost
between the cracks” (Droppers, 2006, p.62).
It was unclear from the interview with Delta whether such descriptions of the
communication management structure existed; however, the literature suggests that
communication role descriptions are invaluable in decreasing miscommunication by
clearly highlighting roles and responsibilities at the management level (Droppers, 2006).
53
Victor
The discussion with the Victor participant resulted in a range of significant findings
concerning internal communication management. Most prominently among them is the
importance of integrating internal and external messages and the gatekeeper role of the
service and sales communication team in controlling information overload and
compliance.
Like Delta, a significant focus for Victor is the importance of integrating external and
internal messages in order to gain consistency of messaging. This is accomplished by the
sales and service communication team working closely with the corporate
communication team which, as noted previously, is advantageous to ensuring consistency
of messages (Dolphin, 2005). In fact, such a collaboration of different departments can
foster an environment for successful innovation (Lievens & Moenaert, 2000) as well as
ensure employees are able to adequately respond to unforseen external issues such as
media interest or a business crisis (Argenti, 2007).
An additional notable finding at Victor is the emphasis on compliance and accuracy,
managed through a gatekeeper role. In order to ensure accuracy and compliance, the
Victor sales and service team has created language guidelines detailing the type of words
and language use required in written documents, online and in emails as well as language
to avoid. In fact, important documents that are disseminated company wide are then
routed through the sales and service communication team who act as a “gatekeeper for
information” (Interview, March 22, 2007). The accuracy of messages is also extended to
customer service in the branches.
54
There is a high level of a need for compliance and accuracy because you’re dealing
with financial transactions and other people’s money. It’s very important that
there’s quite a bit of communication around correct procedure to handle people’s
money and do things right (Interview, March 22, 2007).
The gatekeeper role, as described by the Victor representative, reduces the amount of
information employees receive as well as arrange the most important information into
manageable and understandable pieces. Indeed Droppers (2006) argues that one of the
most common communication mistakes senior leaders make is to communicate with a
complexity and perspective that is of importance to senior management but not
considered essential by other employees “standing at ground level, trying to focus on
what they need to do right now (p.64). Additionally, the Victor participant indicated the
importance of managing the amount of information:
"It's always that there's too much information and we don't have time to read it all
so a lot of the time we are reassuring them all and saying we are only telling you
things that you need to know” (Interview, March 22, 2007).
The Victor sales and service division endeavour to create ground level information while
at the same time ensure that overall management information is available via the intranet
should employees wish to see it. Arguably, their intention is not so much censoring
information as much as prioritising it. This concern is in accordance with the literature
that suggests information overload is major issue in modern business communication. In
fact Quirke (2000) contends:
55
Employees’ ‘brainspace’ – the time and attention they are willing to give to
messages aimed at them - is shrinking. Their capacity to process the information
they receive is also under attack. With more work being done by fewer people,
there is less time for chatting and for social interactions that used to diffuse
communication around organizations (p.17).
A review of the literature suggests information overload or brainspace has become a
major research issue (Quirke, 2000; Thomas et al., 2006), mainly emerging from the
adoption of computer-mediated communication within organisations as previously
mentioned in the literature review chapter.
Lima
The interview with the Lima representative unearthed a variety of findings, including a
lack of internal communication management as well as the challenge of sustaining the
existing organisational culture. At Lima the branch managers are responsible for
communicating necessary information. "In part it reflects the type of organisation we are,
very fast on our feet responsive, not too rigid but it does rely on individuals taking of
responsibility as far as sharing information" (Interview, April 17, 2007). Relying solely
on individuals to share pertinent information is an unusual move expressed by the Lima
participant, because is no guarantee that managers have the necessary communication
skills required, such as listening, feedback, coaching and information sharing (Mayfield
& Mayfield, 2002) all of which greatly impact on the organisation as a whole (Nemec,
2000).
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Shaw (2005) states that communication skills as well as particular leadership styles
influence the internal communication within an organisation and Quirke (2001) contends
that current companies are “discovering the impact a supervisor’s communication style
has on retaining new employees, making them feel part of a team, giving them a sense of
purpose” (p.34). Lima’s reliance on the skill of individuals, without support from a
central communication division, places the full responsibility on managers as well as
employees to ask for feedback when required.
However, Lima has a very “localised and focussed communication” (Interview, April 17,
2007) which, in small businesses, is often a strength and “may take the competitive edge
from larger firms because of their lack of bureaucracy and their more efficient, informal
communications” (Vinten, 1999, p.114). Being a small bank has been a communicative
advantage for Lima with informal discussions between employees and supervisors one of
the best approaches to communication (Argenti, 2007); however this informal structure
may not be adequate in the future as the organisation has plans to expand into other areas
of New Zealand. Indeed, Street and Meister (2004) argue that small businesses need to
anticipate growth and lay the foundation beforehand in that “as small business growth
tests the capabilities of informal communication channels, formal systems become more
essential to fulfil the information needs of an increasingly complex organization” (p.495).
As Lima does not have a formal system for their internal communication, this will be an
area of challenge during their growth period. Vinten (1999) suggests that small
enterprises operate in a reactive way and generally introduce more formal structures of
internal communication when there is a breakdown or misinterpretation of
57
communication. In fact, it is a myth to assume “communication is adequately and
completely fulfilled through informal means” (p.119).
Along with the potential future growth, an additional notable finding at Lima is in the
sustainability of the existing company culture, “specifically service culture and the
employment of people for new national offices” (Interview, April 17, 2007). Indeed, the
literature suggests that employees need to be part of a company culture. Hamm (2006), a
proponent of successful company cultures, asserts that:
In companies with healthy cultures, employees aren’t kept in the dark; rather they
are supported in the belief that they are part of an exciting future. They come to
work with a fire inside them, a result of clearly stated leadership and business
practices that everyone explicitly understands. Every person in the company knows
how to individually contribute to its future (p.123)
As mentioned previously, a healthy organisational culture is beneficial to organisational
success (Hamm, 2006). Lima currently asserts that there is a healthy culture, where
employees are aware of the brand and all that it entails; however, the Lima representative
recognises that future plans to expand may present a challenge in the continuation of the
current Lima culture. Argenti (2007) states that an effective culture should be able to
adapt and drive organisational change, with internal communication playing a large role
in that change- something that is currently informal and flexible at Lima.
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Internal Communication Channels
There are a myriad of internal communication channels available to organisations
including computer mediated channels such as email or intranet, hardcopy publications or
face-to-face communication. The participants of this study utilise a range of channels with
the most common method being the intranet followed by email and face-to-face
communication. Emerging issues with respect to communication channels include
information overload, the management of organisational intranets, and the retention of
face-to-face channels. The following section discusses the internal communication
channels utilised within each participant organisation in relation to the review of
literature, and specifically, with reference to the theory of media richness.
Alfa
The Alfa interview suggests a variety of channels are utilised, with the intranet as the
main tool. As reported, the intranet is used for “announcements, important events and
news, and messages from the CEO. These may be complemented by direct email
messages from the CEO, depending on the importance and relevance/urgency of the
message” (Interview, April 20, 2007). This finding arguably contradicts the literature
which proposes, under media richness theory, face-to-face communication is the best
mode for urgent or important information (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). However, in an
organisation of more than 6,000 employees like Alfa, talking to them face-to-face would
be an insurmountable challenge for any manager.
59
In addition to the use of the intranet, emails are widely used at Alfa, although the
corporate communication team try to implement controls on its use. “We have a pretty
rigid policy in terms of usage… most of our staff are pretty well aware of the fact that
email is a business tool, intranet is a business tool…" (Interview, April 20, 2007).
Monitoring and enforcing policies related to email usage is an important part of internal
communication due to the amount of information that can be passed as well as the limited
amount of ‘brainspace’ that employees have (Quirke, 2000). Quirke (2000) argues that
organisations often confuse volume and value, therefore those organisations that do not
monitor or measure the information content and flow, produce “toxic communication
which consumes time while creating confusion” (p.11).
With regard to senior management communication, at Alfa an annual roadshow is held
where the CEO and senior management team travel to various national locations and
meet with employees to discuss key issues. This showcases the profile of the senior team,
particularly the CEO, and enables face-to-face contact with a range of employees. Alfa
acknowledge that not all of the 6,000 plus employees will meet the CEO during the
roadshow tour; however, they recognise the value of face-to-face communication from
the senior management and endeavour to create as many face-to-face opportunities as
possible. Nevertheless, Quirke (2000) disagrees with the roadshow approach and argues
that “a one-off roadshow by the chief executive may give employees a temporary
awareness of the strategy, but their re-entry into the pressures of the next day’s workplace
may relegate the presentation to a fond, but irrelevant, memory” (p.34). To evaluate any
potential benefits, or lack of benefits as argued by Quirke (2000), measurement of the
effectiveness of the roadshow would need to be taken by employees.
60
At Alfa the main form of face-to-face communication is through regular staff meetings
where managers brief their employees on training, new products and new initiatives. This
reflects the literature which suggests direct supervisors are the best source for information
and the most preferred by employees (Cees et al., 2005; Gamble & Kelliher, 1999;
Quirke, 2000). The benefits of face-to-face meetings include immediate feedback and a
sharing of ideas in a team environment (Howard, 1996), which fosters a closer
relationship between a manager and subordinate (Sheer & Chen, 2004). With regular
branch meetings the employees at Alfa are able to keep up to date on operational
information as well as solicit feedback of any concerns. This emphasises the skill and
value of the managerial role to be able to elicit quality feedback and institute any
necessary changes as suggested by the employees if warranted (Howard, 1996).
In addition to the face-to-face channel, three times a year a DVD from the CEO is sent
out to the business units as well as four videos per year from the managing director.
These initiatives provide a means for discussing strategic changes or other key issues.
Donaldson and Eyre (2000) contend that traditional video programs are unlikely to
disappear from organisational use as the video “remains the mainstay for most production
companies for the time being” (p,32) and indeed, the authors suggest that good visual
communication can inform, inspire and empower employees. The relative disadvantage
of DVD’s and videos, is that they are arguably a lean channel of communication confined
to one-way communication with no access to immediate feedback. The only determinant
of success or failure of this channel is through feedback and measurement which will be
discussed further in this chapter.
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An additional lean channel utilised by Alfa is a quarterly magazine, distributed
organisation-wide, which discusses Alfa employees and events. In the more rural
branches, some managers have also created their own newsletters aimed specifically at
their local issues. The convenience factor of publications has been discussed previously,
the key advantages being that employees are able to read them in their own time and in
their own location (Byrne & LeMay, 2006); however, the cost of such publications has
also been noted in the literature as prohibitive (Charles, 2005).
Echo
At Echo, email and the intranet are the major communication channels utilised internally,
with the intranet being fairly extensive. "We've got an intranet and then we've got
intranets off that" (Interview, March 27, 2007). The extensiveness of Echo’s intranet has
created admitted challenges where it is currently hard to navigate due to the large amount
of information stored in it; although, the Echo corporate communication team is currently
looking at improved navigation tools. “One of our aims is to make the navigation of the
search engine a lot better so it's a lot easier to shove in a word and it will give you five
options” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Additionally, the Echo intranet is also closely
monitored. “It's [the intranet] pretty heavily policed. It's not a blog site. We police it
really heavily (Interview, March 27, 2007).
The large amount of information held within Echo’s intranet is a concern where the
danger of information overload, as suggested in the literature, is a possibility, with
employees sorting through large amounts of information, taking time and energy (Quirke,
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2000). In addition, intranets may be considered a lean channel of communication due to
the lack of feedback; although this has yet to be confirmed in recent literature, and the
amount of information that can be stored and presented in an intranet far exceeds
anything that could be done via face-to-face communication. Quirke (2001) argues that
intranets should not be considered a replacement for face-to-face communication.
Specifically he contends that, of the three challenges that businesses are trying to achieve
via internal communication – providing information and accessibility to information,
demonstrating leadership and direction and building a sense of community and
collaboration - only the first challenge is able to be met using the intranet while the other
two require face-to-face channels.
At Echo, face-to-face communication is limited as it is considered time consuming unless
there is a specific project or focus where actions are a result.
I think the bank has got very good at not doing FYI meetings. A lot of companies
you see they sit there and churn, it's a lot of keeping everybody informed and we've
actually really cut down on those because nobody has the time to do it and if there's
a productive outcome then we can do that by email and keep each other updated and
you read it if it's relevant to you (Interview, March 27, 2007).
The previous literature review suggests a range of positive reasons why face-to-face
communication is vital within an organisation (Gamble & Kelliher, 1999; Kahai &
Cooper, 2003): specifically the ability to ask questions, give feedback and opinions on
key initiatives in face-to-face sessions, which have “unique advantages over even the best
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print publications, video programs and email messages” (Howard, 1996, p.12). However,
Echo’s argument that FYI meetings are time wasters is supported by Quirke (2000) who
argues that:
Time is the most limited resource in most organizations, and better use can be made
of precious face-to-face time which is too often used for the wrong purposes – to
tell people things they could more easily read about, in meetings which are badly
run and boring (p.32).
In addition to the intranet and limited face-to-face meetings, rural units at Echo have their
own newsletters which are aimed at their local news. Company wide; however, the
corporate communication team release a quarterly 20-minute video which is an “update
from the managing director and the different business heads about what's happening in
their area, what's the main area focus, which challenges they have had…"(Interview,
March 27, 2007). As mentioned previously, the use of visual communication such as
videos and DVDs to share information has been proven successful in empowering and
inspiring employees to succeed (Donaldson & Eyre, 2000). But recent feedback from
Echo employees about the video suggests that the video/DVD has become dated and not
relevant to everybody; therefore, new technology options are currently being evaluated
for suitable implementation to replace the videos.
Sierra
One of the major channels utilised at Sierra is the intranet which has a mixture of news
and operational information. "We have a number of channels but the intranet is a big
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communication channel for us and has almost been a victim of its own success in a lot of
ways in that it's grown into quite a big beast" (Interview, April 11, 2007). The amount of
information held within an intranet or other channels is a valid concern with internal
communication as, mentioned previously, information overload via the intranet or other
computer mediated communication channels which are able to hold large amounts of
information (Quirke, 2000), can have detrimental results on the effectiveness of
employees (Thomas et al., 2006).
To combat the size and success of the intranet, Sierra has incorporated processes for
expiring content to ensure information does not stagnate and is removed when it becomes
dated. A large part of monitoring the information at Sierra is to simplify.
A big part of going forward for me is about simplification and I think companies are
very good at sticking stuff out there and they evolve things, which is great, but they
never necessarily take stuff away (Interview, April 11, 2007).
As successful as the intranet has become, Sierra also recognises the risks of only utilising
computer-mediated forms of communication. "I think there's always a danger of relying
too much on technology and not thinking about the downstream implications of it"
(Interview, April 11, 2007). This is a valid reflection which surprisingly is not adequately
discussed in recent literature with the focus currently on new technology and the future of
technology rather than the potential impact or the future of historically established forms
of communication such as face-to-face.
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On a quarterly basis Sierra hold a one-day forum for senior management and team leaders
as well as a monthly teleconference. The forum is hosted by their CEO, who is an
advocate for face-to-face communication. These one-day forums may be akin to
roadshows which, as discussed previously, may not necessarily have long-lasting
effectiveness (Quirke, 2000) although measurement would need to be taken to ascertain
the effectiveness.
Surprisingly at Sierra there are no hardcopies of organisational newsletters, as all news is
posted on the intranet, where each business unit has their own homepage. "I think that
newsletters as a communication tool done well can be very engaging. I think the reason,
[or] part of the reason, they became unpopular was simply a cost issue as opposed to an
efficiency or effectiveness issue"(Interview, April 11, 2007). The idea of high costs and
lack of effectiveness is also discussed by Charles (2005); who notes, there is little
empirical evidence to suggest the validity of hardcopy publications or their future place
in organisations.
Like the previous participants, Sierra also sends 15-minute DVDs to their employees on a
bimonthly schedule. This has proven popular with the frontline staff who do not spend as
much time in front of computers or on the intranet. Argenti (2007) notes that in large
corporations keeping employees in touch with recent information can be a challenge and
often depends on the job position of the employees, where some may have no or limited
access to email and therefore would miss valuable information. Therefore, the DVD can
be a useful tool for certain types of employees. An additional bonus of the Sierra DVD is
that it fosters team building where the teams will watch it together and discuss items they
66
have watched. "I've really tried to get our thinking out of the ops stuff and use it as a
storytelling tool because I think it has a lot of scope with supporting our culture in terms
of demonstrating behaviours that we're looking for" (Interview, April 11, 2007). Sierra
has indicated a possible future direction for the DVD in the use of online streaming tools
such as podcasts; however, a concern is that streaming “becomes very individualistic"
(Interview, April 11, 2007) where employees sit at their computers to watch rather than in
a group environment, which is not the intention or the aim of the communication team.
Delta
Delta utilises a range of channels although none have been suggested as a dominant
method. At Delta, the use of the intranet has a somewhat chequered history where
employees have not been enthusiastic about using it or information has been outdated or
missing from pages. The internal communication team updates the news page on a daily
basis; however, the rest of the site is still in need of reconstruction. "A strategy has been
put forward for updating the whole thing and figuring out gatekeepers...Getting some
consistent guidelines" (Interview, April 13, 2007). As suggested in the literature review,
research into intranet effectiveness is lacking (Jacoby & Luqi, 2007); however, one of the
few sources discussing intranet strategy (White, 2006) does suggest that governance and
maintenance of the intranet is a valid concern in relation to internal communication
effectiveness.
With regards to email usage in Delta, it is not generally used for company-wide
communication; however, within departments and teams there is a great deal of
communication disseminated and “only urgent news will go out via email for company
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wide [distribution]” (Interview, April 13, 2007). Sending urgent news via email conflicts
with media richness theory which posits that urgent news should be disseminated through
the richest channel, face-to-face communication; however with staff numbers exceeding
6,000 that approach would not be logical or possible. By constraining the majority of
emails to team or departments, it may be reasonable to conclude that Delta somewhat
curb the possibility of information overload (Thomas et al., 2006).
With regard to face-to-face communication, the CEO of Delta has a regular monthly
presentation in Auckland which is video-linked to employees in Wellington, Hamilton
and Christchurch. In addition, twice yearly the CEO and general managers will embark
on a roadshow to the main centres where the employees hear what's happening. As
mentioned previously, Quirke (2000) suggests that roadshows give temporary awareness
of strategies; however, they are soon forgotten upon returning to the office. In
accordance, Smythe (2004) somewhat negatively argues that roadshows are a type of
“egotainment” where “middle managers are flattered to get a day off to massage the giant
egos of corporate captains at costly events which have as much lasting impact as most
off-site training” (p.27).
In addition to the roadshows, Delta employees are able to see a quarterly magazine-style
DVD which "covers messages from our chief executive and will cover some great
success stories and what's going on in the community…" (Interview, April 13, 2007) and
has garnered positive anecdotal feedback from Delta employees, reflecting the literature
suggesting visual media can be a successful tool for information sharing (Donaldson &
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Eyre, 2000) although as noted previously the inability to give immediate feedback limits
it to a lean channel of communication.
Organisational publications in Delta, considered the leanest channel in media richness
theory, are confined to a bimonthly glossy magazine that “talks about what's going on in
our international banks and anything we need to know about head office over there or the
group…"(Interview, April 13, 2007), as well as a 10 to 12 page weekly information pack
that provides a summary of operational information. There is nothing company wide that
is informal or ‘chatty’; however, regional managers are able to have their own
personalised newsletters.
Victor
Victor uses a myriad of channels depending on the type of information. However, the
biggest challenge suggested by Victor currently is the intranet – specifically document
control and content management.
We have a very big sprawling intranet and it's one of those things that was
developed some years ago and it's had pieces tacked on and content added and they
are just going through a process … so we will have some consistency about
management [of the intranet] (Interview, March 22, 2007).
Management and effectiveness of the intranet is a valid concern, as discussed with Delta,
and entails the use of a formal strategy to keep control (White, 2006) in order to create
the most effective channel for internal communication. This involves the need for
69
measurement to determine what is working effectively and which areas need work
(Hargie & Tourish, 2000).
With regards to face-to-face communication, each business unit at Victor has regular
meetings as well and store managers are able to attend a yearly annual conference in
Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch.
We bring all the store managers together and we talk about the vision, where we are
going and it’s very much the high level picture of what we do. It doesn’t get down
to the detail but it’s about this is what we said we were going to do last year, this is
what we delivered against that, this is what we’re going to do next year and it’s very
high level (Interview, March 22, 2007).
Victor suggests that the conferences are a chance for employees to get involved in
workshops and interactive sessions in order to learn and give feedback on a variety of
specific issues. These conferences are in line with a roadshow style of presentation
which, as stated previously by Quirke (2000) may not be the best avenue for sharing
information; however, Victor asserts that they want to make them as interactive as
possible so that employees are able to play an active role in the event.
One of the largest channels that Victor uses is organisational publications. There is a
printed weekly copy of short articles and key summaries sent to every branch, as well as
an email link to the intranet. There is a fortnightly publication dedicated to in-store
marketing and promotional activity as well as two or three corporate publications
70
published fortnightly and monthly that are issued company-wide and focus on key
financials and Victor employees. As stated in media richness theory, organisational
publications are the leanest channels to use due to their lack of feedback (Salmon &
Joiner, 2005) and the cost of publishing publications can be exorbitant (Charles, 2005).
This suggests that even though employees may be well informed, their ability to provide
feedback is reliant on other channels of communication.
Lima
The main channel utilised at Lima is face-to-face communication noted as the richest
channel of communication (Salmon & Joiner, 2005). Being one of the smaller
participants, Lima is able to organize a great deal of face-to-face communication to
discuss key issues with employees. In fact, Howard (1996) suggests that face-to-face
communication gives senior executives of organisations the opportunity to “hear
firsthand what is on their employees’ minds – the good as well as bad concerns that,
raised and resolved quickly, can avoid becoming major problems”(p.13). The meetings at
Lima are in groups, teams and various shapes and meetings can be “on the spur of the
moment and arranged. It's quite fluid" (Interview, April 17, 2007). This fluid arrangement
in smaller groups has proven to be productive, as suggested in the literature, where
mangers find “employees are more forthcoming when not in a large group setting.
Smaller groups are also more conducive to resolving specific problems” (Argenti, 2007,
p.145).
An additional important factor of face-to-face meetings between supervisors and
employees is the ability for the employees to ask questions of management in an open
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forum (Argenti, 2007) which Lima has created in their company culture. Arguably the
biggest disadvantage of employing face-to-face as the major channel of internal
communication at Lima, involves the time factor (Quirke, 2000) and the need for all
participants to be available at the same time (Hargie & Tourish, 2004)
Lima also utilises emails, written memos and an intranet, which is not considered a main
form of internal communication. In the past there was an organisational newsletter but it
is no longer being issued. In accordance with media richness theory, Lima is the only
participant that utilises mostly rich channels for internal communication indicating that
employees are able to give regular feedback and opinions. This may be due to the size of
the organisation or the organisational culture that has been established, with a preference
from Lima management to maintain communication at a face-to-face level. Nonetheless,
future consideration on integrating new technology was not fully discussed during the
interview.
Measurement of Internal Communication
As discussed in the literature review, measurement of the internal communication within
organisations is fundamental to understanding the overall picture of the organisation as
well as changes that need to be made and future strategies (Hargie & Tourish, 2004). Of
the six participating banks in this research, only one utilised a regular measurement tool
dedicated to the internal communication of that particular organisation; whereas, the
other participants used a myriad of adhoc focus groups, anecdotal feedback and surveys
where some of the questions were related to internal communication.
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Alfa
Alfa admittedly does not do enough measurement of their internal communication and
the majority of feedback is anecdotal and informal. Because there is no formal
measurement of their communication channels, in particular the intranet which was
reported as the main channel for internal communication, it may be reasonable to
conclude that a lack of management knowledge exists regarding Alfa’s internal
communication effectiveness or employee perception of the communication channels.
Hargie, Dickson and Tourish (2004) suggest that like a car, an organisation runs at it’s
best when it is regularly serviced and that managers cannot rely on “their own
perceptions, or upon what others tell them, to give them a comprehensive, objective and
true picture regarding the current state of communications” (p.425)
In fact, potentially one of the few formal measurements undertaken of the internal
communication within Alfa is via an engagement survey. "Every year there's a whole
block of the engagement survey that has to do with communication about how informed
you feel and how much you understand… how well do you feel that you understand the
banks strategy…"(Interview, April 20, 2007). Bernthal (2005), a proponent of
engagement surveys, notes:
Engagement surveys, in their current form, represent the next generation of macro-
level measures of WLP [workplace learning and performance] success. Through
proven statistical relationships to outcomes – such as turnover, productivity, and
profitability – engagement surveys are an obvious lead measure of organizational
outcomes (p.54)
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Although engagement surveys have been noted in the literature as being utilised
throughout organisations, there is limited academic literature available on the possible
effects. Vance (2006) states:
To date, much employee engagement research has been conducted by consulting
firms. Owing to their proprietary status, these studies validating engagement models
have yet to appear in refereed scientific journals. Most of this research is
unavailable to detailed outsider scrutiny (p.19)
As noted previously, the intranet is the main form of communication at Alfa which
suggests that measurement of the effectiveness of Alfa’s intranet is paramount to
determining where any challenges may lie. Hathi (2007) suggests that “monitoring and
evaluating the level of user satisfaction should be a key element of any intranet
measurement program” (p.31) which highlights the need for regular measurement
protocol to be established. In an organisation with over 6,000 staff spread throughout
New Zealand, measuring whether the internal communication is effective and gaining
feedback from employees is vital. In fact, audits and other measurement tools “can effect
profound improvements in communication, internally and externally (Tourish & Hargie,
2000a, p.40) and measurement allows management to connect with employees and gain
critical feedback on all areas of the organisation (Baron, 2005).
Alfa recognises the need for “rigid policy in terms of usage” (Interview, April 20, 2007)
of their email; however, with few measurement protocols in place, arguably it may be
74
reasonable to question how the corporate communication team know that policy is being
adhered to or in fact that employees are even aware of what the policy indicates.
Echo
As opposed to Alfa, Echo has undertaken a fair amount of measurement practices to
determine the effectiveness of their internal communication, although not necessarily on
a regular basis. "We've just finished an internal communications research programme and
it's really good because our department is still relatively new and we are still finding our
feet and what areas do we need to dig into and give some help and support to" (Interview,
March 27, 2007). The research involved an e-survey, invigilated and interpreted by an
external company to gain objectivity. The results were fairly positive for Echo.
Basically we were sitting in our comms team thinking it’s easy to sit here in head
office and think - well how are people in Dunedin finding this and how’s a rural
manager in Invercargill, how’s a mobile manager in Palmerston North, how do
these people find the intranet, what are they using, what do they find rubbish …
Basically the really good news was that it’s not broken. They are actually pretty
happy with it (Interview, March 27, 2007).
The positive results from the internal research undertaken by Echo have enabled them to
continue with their current strategy and in some areas make changes dependent on the
feedback received. This finding highlights the necessity for undergoing measurement of
internal communication. Prior to the recent e-survey research, Echo undertook a similar
measurement activity approximately ten years ago; however, this was before the
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popularity of the intranet and email was still relatively new, with the organisation being
more paper based at the time. Consequently in the last ten years, Echo relied on general
feedback to gain insight into employee perceptions of the internal communication which,
as previously suggested, is not necessarily an accurate nor reliable form of internal
communication measurement (Hargie et al., 2004). The growth of the organization has
impacted significantly on the measurement of internal communication.
We have grown so quickly… ever few years we double our asset base…. We are
growing … we’ve been going so busy keeping this big engine rolling and getting
bigger but nobodies sat down and said hang on hang on… it’s like an octopus.
There are all these things out here and we need something to pull it all together and
say is this the best way and actually have a bit of thinking around that process
(Interview, March 27, 2007).
Echo does not intend to undertake an e-survey every year although their intention is to
carry out a series of focus groups, related to changes being undertaken, to ensure that
those changes are understood and satisfactory to the employees. “We want to be very
sure that any changes we do make, do make things better. Because it's really easy for us
to sit here and think "ooh that's perfect"” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Dickson (2000)
suggests that focus groups can provide a richness of knowledge that surveys cannot.
In addition to the focus groups, Echo is also involved in the Gallup organisation that runs
international surveys on staff satisfaction. “We just constantly top their charts as far as
staff satisfaction goes. It’s a really good gauge. And if we don’t then that’s promising too
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as we need to know where we aren’t going well” (Interview, March 27, 2007). Overall
Echo acknowledges the importance of measuring the health of their internal
communication and endeavour to utilise surveys, focus groups and research for a
prognosis in the future.
Sierra
At Sierra measurement on internal communication was undertaken a few years ago but at
present the reliance is on informal discussions with employees, gaining anecdotal
feedback, to find out if there are any issues. "We haven't done an official audit but I
always make a point of talking to people and getting anecdotal feedback and stuff”
(Interview, April 11, 2007). As highlighted previously, there is little reliability on
informal anecdotal feedback (Hargie et al., 2004) and in fact Tourish and Hargie (2000a)
argue that formal feedback is a key issue in business success where examinations of
performance aren’t necessarily negative but can garner positive evaluations towards
management, the organisation and the company culture which “should be published,
celebrated and built upon” (p.37).
Feedback on internal communication channels as well as general feedback should be a
key part of corporate strategy to gain insight into the market and improve employee
morale (Kling, 2000). In fact regular feedback through measurement tools such as
surveys can give quantifiable information that may not be possible through informal
channels thereby giving a fairly accurate gauge of company performance over a period of
time (Kling, 2000)
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At Sierra the measurement of internal communication has not been a focus; however, it is
being considered for the future.
I think a lot of our tools have been in place for quite a while and one of the big
things for me to do is think about another audit. Think about evolution. They've
served us real well but there are a whole lot of new emerging technologies for us to
be thinking about (Interview, April 11, 2007).
Delta
Delta has endeavoured to engage an annual employee survey which contains a few
questions on communication; however, notably the last e-survey was completed
approximately 18 months ago where “no changes appeared from the results” (Interview,
April 13, 2007). Reliant on informal feedback, one area that Delta has received anecdotal
evidence around is the annual roadshow with senior management with suggestions
managers appreciate the face-to-face time. Recently Delta has also run focus groups as
part of a broader channel review to gauge the perceptions of the employees on all of their
communications. Initial feedback has been mixed with some areas of the internal
communication adequate and others, such as the intranet, needing work.
An additional concern for Delta is the concept of internal communication being difficult
to measure. "Internal comms can sometimes feel a bit nebulous… how do you measure
that?" (Interview, April 13, 2007). In agreement Argenti (2006) states that “the value
corporate communication brings within a company has been difficult to determine”
(p.365); however, even with the difficulty of quantifying the success or failure of internal
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communication, Zetterquist and Quirke (2007) note that “internal communication
departments that don’t examine the value they add, will soon find themselves being
examined by the finance function who, while they may not understand communication,
do understand the cost and value” (p.18).
Victor
Victor was the only participant to undertake regular measurement of their internal
communication – both content and channels. A sample of employees at Victor undergo a
formal e-survey on a yearly basis “measuring relevancy, the timeliness, accuracy and just
the amount of information and then we get some feedback and some freeform feedback"
(Interview, March 22, 2007). In the initial stages Victor researched a variety of surveys
and survey tools to adapt and create one that fits Victor’s business requirements.
The e-survey has proven successful in measuring how employees feel about the
information they receive – usefulness and amount, the channels used to receive the
information – hardcopy or electronic and any changes or preferences the employees have.
Kling (2000) contends surveys can be:
Valuable tools even when day-to-day communication between managers and
employees is good. Sometimes you want the sort of quantifiable information that
you can’t get informally, and a regular ongoing feedback mechanism can give you a
gauge of company performance over time (p.1)
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Victor contends that the survey is a measurement tool for not only the internal
communication of the company but also the work of Victor’s sales and service
communication team in evaluating their usefulness. Argenti (2006) argues that the
majority of communication assessments measure quantity or efficiency of output rather
than changes in performance outcomes; however, Victor has created a survey that
“measures not only my performance- it's part of one of my performance measures, but
also it gives us some good feedback in time to make any changes or tweak anything we
need for the next financial year" (Interview, March 22, 2007). Initial feedback from the
most recent survey indicates that employees like the publications they receive; however,
the amount of publications may be changed in the future reflecting that of the six
participants in this study, Victor has the most organisational publications (approximately
five) disseminated to employees.
In addition to the annual e-survey, Victor also receives anecdotal feedback from all parts
of the business via telephone calls as well as emails and, like Delta, consider internal
communication a challenge to measure and quantify the value of in that it’s "intangible to
match the happy people to the business results" (Interview, March 22, 2007).
A survey can do it but what you're measuring is very much about how people feel
about what they get, which is a great measure and is very important measure for us,
obviously people feel engaged and they know what's going on, but in terms of what
it's worth to the business... it's very difficult to put a figure on (Interview, March 22,
2007).
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Even with the intangibility as described by Victor, Likely (2004) contends that it is
possible, through evaluation of communication effectiveness, to link communication with
the bottom line thereby determining return on investment although admits that this is still
an under-researched field requiring more definitive study.
Lima
Lima was the only participant who did not have a formal communication department
responsible for overall governance. Additionally they do not undertake surveys or
measurement of their internal communication. "We don't research that kind of thing, we
don't audit… on the face of it things aren't broke" (Interview, April 17, 2007).
Hargie, Dickson and Tourish (2004) propose that:
Just because things seem calm on the bridge and the ship is moving ahead, it does
not mean that the journey will be smooth. The Titanic operated successfully for
most of its only voyage. It is better to chart and circumvent the icebergs than to
hope that your ship will miss them (p.423).
As Lima does not measure their communication channels to test for effectiveness, it is
reasonable to conclude that there is no current overall picture of what is working or not
working efficiently although informal feedback is received. As noted previously (Argenti,
2007; Vinten, 1999), smaller businesses have a distinct advantage over larger operations
with internal communication able to be done informally; however, this does not mean
that small businesses should not measure the effectiveness of their internal
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communication or that the current structure will be able to handle future growth, in fact,
the groundwork should be done prior to any organisational growth (Street & Meister,
2004). Tourish and Hargie (2000a) argue that:
The job of management is not to preside over complacency and inertia. It is to
improve the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness. This means seizing every
opportunity to identify those areas where it is possible for everyone, including top
managers, to do better (p.37)
Even with no measurement undertaken or currently planned, Lima admittedly sees a few
challenges with feedback and state "I think we could do better on the two way front"
(Interview, April 17, 2007). Tourish and Hargie (2000c) argue that “open communication
without feedback is like a ladder without rungs. It will never move organisations from
where they are to where the marketplace tells them they need to be” (p.313).
In addition, Hallowell, Schlesinger and Zornitsky (1996) contend that organisations must
identify, measure and manage the internal communication in order to deliver high levels
of customer satisfaction; therefore, without feedback from Lima employees it would be
difficult to identify the current internal communication, measure it for effectiveness or
determine what areas of the organisation need addressing. The key result of an audit or
other measurement technique is the chance for employees to give feedback which
Tourish and Hargie (2000b) argue should be “institutionalised into organisational
decision-making, in order to avoid the emergence of a ‘collective’ consciousness
characterised by drab uniformity – and profits which sink in tandem with staff morale”
(p.12)
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As mentioned previously, the reliance at Lima is on individual unit managers to
adequately inform employees about strategies, changes or any other pertinent
information. One of the ways to determine the success of management communication is
by measurement tools such as surveys. Sinickas notes:
If supervisors are expected to communicate well and frequently in your
organization, using surveys to measure their current effectiveness can be helpful –
not only to the supervisors and their own employees, but also to your training
department in order to help them develop priorities and agendas (p.12).
Lima does not have current plans for measurement techniques on their internal
communication; however, with expansion plans being considered and underway this may
be an area of future consideration.
Overall, the participant interviews revealed a myriad of findings related to the channels
used for internal communication within each organisation, specifically how internal
communication was managed, what channels were utilised and what measurement was
undertaken for effectiveness. The results suggest that most participants relied on informal
forms of measurement such as anecdotal feedback to gauge effectiveness which, as noted
in the literature, is arguably an unreliable tool to rely on (Hargie et al., 2004). However,
two participants, Echo and Victor, both use established measurement channels, with
Victor’s a regular annual event. The implications of the overall results will be explored
further in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate three key aspects within the field of internal
communication: internal communication management, the channels used for internal
communication and measurement tools used to determine effectiveness of internal
communication. In order to research dimensions of international communication practices
within organisations, six participants were recruited from the New Zealand banking
sector, providing the basis for the findings of this study. This chapter will summarise the
major findings according to the three key research themes mentioned previously and
discuss future research implications as a result of those findings.
Internal Communication Management
The primary focus of this research was to investigate the internal communication of
organisations in the financial sector. Interviews with participants drawn from six New
Zealand banks highlighted a range of key issues involving internal communication
management. Specifically the diverse range of departments responsible for internal
communication was a key result as was the emphasis on cross-collaboration between
internal/external departments. Additionally, the importance of senior management
involvement in internal communication and the significance of organisational culture on
internal communication were also key findings.
The results of the participant interviews suggest there is no unanimity across
organisations regarding which department should have overall responsibility for internal
communication. This finding reflects the current literature that also indicates a lack of
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conformity in the governance of internal communication (Kalla, 2005; Quirke, 2000). It
seems unlikely at this stage that a move towards a business consensus regarding
responsibility for internal communication will be made. However, based on the findings
of this research and recent literary studies, the corporate communication department
seems the most popular option with three of the six participants from such departments.
There were two rather unique findings in the area of internal communication governance.
One was the responsibility of internal communication at Victor, placed within the sales
and service division, a resulting structure not cited in the literature nor reflected in the
other participant organisations. There are no clear implications as to whether this
configuration enhances or detracts from the effectiveness of internal communication.
However, the findings from the Victor interview did reveal a strong measurement focus
that, arguably, could be attributed to the sales and service background of those
responsible for internal communication.
The second unique result regarding internal communication management was at Lima,
who did not have a person or department responsible for the overall internal
communication management. The literature clearly highlights the importance of internal
communication management and the extent to which organisational success is tied to
internal communication (Hargie et al., 2002; Zetterquist & Quirke, 2007), yet this was
not an acknowledged major focus for this organisation. Nevertheless, Lima has indicated
a pattern of successful growth which contradicts in many ways the evidence of the
literature. This confounding result may in part be due to the strong organisational culture
that has reportedly been created and the use of rich, face-to-face communication channels
85
that seems prevalent within the organisation. However, as noted in the literature the
challenge for most small businesses is being able to sustain effective communication
during a growth or change period (Street & Meister, 2004; Vinten, 1999), something that
Lima is currently undergoing.
One of the strongest themes reflected in the findings for nearly all of the participants
(excluding Lima), was the integration of internal communication with other departments
or those responsible for external communication (external public relations firms). This
parallels the literature which suggests a relationship-building approach to internal
communication should be utilised with external and internal communicators and
employees on all levels of the organisation (Argenti, 2007; Dolphin, 2005; Droppers,
2006; Quirke, 2000). The implications for a lack of cross-departmental communication
can arguably include the effect on the external communication, including the possibility
of miscommunication between branches around customer accounts. Interestingly, the
Asif and Sargeant (2000) study of two major clearing banks in the United Kingdom,
found that internal communication was considered an information tool rather than a
relationship building tool, which was not the case in this study as most participants
emphasised relationship building and not just information sharing.
The major issues for each participant ranged widely, highlighting the diverse nature of
internal communication. Two participants, Sierra and Lima, were strongly interested in
the evolution and retention of organisational culture. This priority featured widely in the
literature, particularly evidenced in previous studies of financial institutions (Asif &
Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003). The recognition of the importance of internal
communication on organisational culture has been noted in this research and the
86
literature; however, it has only been reflected in two of the six participants, although
arguably, the other participants may also consider organisational culture a concern;
however did not mention it during the interview.
Surprisingly the issue of trust, a strong theme within the literature, did not emerge in the
participant interviews. This could be interpreted to mean each organisation implicitly
assumes the employees have trust in their management or, in fact, there is little interest in
determining if trust is prevalent or not. In addition to trust, further exploration into the
importance of internal and external integration of communication messages may be a
possible area of future study, considering its strong presence in this research.
Investigation of the internal communication management provides a clear indication that
there is no template for the governance, structure and content of internal communication.
In light of the literature and the participant findings, the future implications suggest there
may never be unanimity across organisations; although, similarities such as those found
in this study may exist.
Internal Communication Channels
A second question of interest to internal communication concerned the channels used by
the banks. The results clearly indicate the main channel utilised by the participants in this
study was the intranet. All of the participants utilise an intranet, although there is
apparently no agreement between the participants on management, content or structure.
The academic research on the effectiveness and use of intranets is still to be fully
explored (Jacoby & Luqi, 2007); however, based on the interest from the banks in this
87
study, and the widespread use of intranets in other financial organisations (Bottazzo,
2005; Sablosky, 2005), further research may surface in future academic publications.
Overall, there were two major challenges with respect to the use of internal
communication channels with most participants. The first was the challenge of effectively
utilising face-to-face communication in light of the advances in technology and size of
the organisations. Effective face-to-face communication was an expected challenge for
the larger organisations that were geographically dispersed throughout New Zealand;
although surprisingly Lima, who also has employees in different regions, did not seem to
have any major challenges with retaining face-to-face communication. The initiatives
used by many of the participants included roadshows or conferences, showcasing senior
management and organisational visions. These were often limited to senior employees or
those able to attend, although, as measurement was limited in most organisations the
success or failure of the roadshows is yet to be determined. Additionally, all of the
organisations established regular branch or unit meetings; however, it appeared that the
only cross-departmental communication derived mainly from those employees
responsible for internal communication.
The second major finding with respect to the use of internal communication channels was
the effective use of current technology and the possible adoption of new technology.
Most participants in this study expressed a desire to investigate new ways to
communicate information and research the potential that new technology may offer. For
example online streaming was mentioned by a few of the participants as a potential new
direction. The discussed advantages of streaming included the cost savings of not using
88
videos/DVDs or the expense of sending them out to each branch. One suggested
disadvantage, posited by the Sierra representative, was the individualistic nature of online
streaming. Instead of the whole team watching and discussing the DVDs together, which
is the current practice at Sierra, staff members may end up sitting at their desk to watch
without any real discussion with other members about the content.
Even with the expressed interest in online streaming from some of the participants,
adoption of communication technologies such as blogs, podcasts and instant messaging,
may be adopted more slowly. Whether this is due to budgetary concerns, technological
skill or whether the organisation feels the need for such advanced technology remains an
issue to be explained.
Internal Communication Measurement
Overall this study highlighted the lack of measurement currently undertaken within the
sample banks, which lead to the generalised conclusion that banking organisations and
potentially others do not currently test the effectiveness of their internal communication.
Many participants discussed an organisational requirement for effective communication,
or having policies or procedures in place for particular communication areas; however,
without measurement it was unclear as to how they could determine the success of those
policies. Admittedly, most of the participants did undertake some form of informal
feedback or in the case of Echo, focus groups and intermittent research. However, only
one participant, Victor, annually measured the effectiveness of the content and the
channels for internal communication, via a self-designed research survey, in order to
compare activities with performance results and business goals. Interestingly, Victor was
89
also the only participant whose internal communication was managed by the sales and
service division, which may possibly have some bearing on the result.
Despite the literature on the importance of measurement and the international studies
concluding that internal communication measurement is vital to organisational
performance (Asif & Sargeant, 2000; Lennon, 2003; Moorcroft, 2006), there is still a lack
of awareness within organisations of the importance of effective internal communication.
This lack of awareness also extends to the determination that effectiveness can only be
achieved through adequate measurement. As indicated, the relative implications of
ineffective internal communication are numerous and can include high staff turnover, low
quality of service, increased absenteeism and low levels of innovation (Argenti, 2007;
Clampitt & Downs, 1993; Hargie et al., 2002; Quirke, 2000). Arguably, regular effective
measurement practices may indeed reduce the possibility of the aforementioned results.
Limitations
Most research, this one included, is influenced by various limitations. Most notably the
methodological approach chosen, the participants of the study and the form of analysis
utilised. The qualitative design of this project required subjective data to be collected and
analysed which in itself can be the challenge of a qualitative approach where there are no
specific rules about how to analyse the data, as opposed to quantitative data (Collis &
Hussey, 2003). Through a qualitative approach the amount of data collected can be fairly
substantial and in fact the task of reducing that data towards the final conclusions is
entirely dependent on the subjective nature of the researcher.
90
The limitations of the participants have been previously acknowledged; however, in most
cases this study was able to obtain valuable rich data of which was able to be analysed in
accordance with scholarly literature in order to satisfactorily answer the research
questions.
Future Research
There are several areas within this study which could be considered for future research
including the new innovations in technology, the efficacy of face-to-face communication
in light of new technology and internal/external integrated communication. Of these the
most notable is perhaps the influence of future technology on internal communication.
The current literature suggests that the future direction of internal communication may in
fact be the area of podcasting (Vogele & Townsend-Gard, 2006), wikis, blogs and instant
messaging within teams (Holtz, 2006). In fact, Vogele and Townsend-Gard (2006)
indicate the rapid growth in technology by highlighting the increased interest in podcasts.
They refer to a September 2004 Google search on the word ‘podcasts’ resulting in just 24
hits and a following search in August 2006 resulting in 44.9 million hits. Today, August
11
th
2007 a similar Google search undertaken by this researcher on the term ‘podcasts’
resulted in 126 million hits. This is a phenomenal speed for new technology adoption and
clearly illustrates the possibility for future research regarding the application of such
technology in the internal communication environment.
Conclusions
This research project investigated the use of internal communication within organisations
in the banking sector. More specifically, the focus of this research was on the internal
91
communication management, the channels of internal communication utilised and the
measurement of effective internal communication. As a result, it has been determined that
internal communication is a growing area of interest, both in academia and within
international organisations which are reliant on effective management, effective channels
and effective measurement of communication. This study suggests that even with
international interest, all of these areas remain somewhat misunderstood within the New
Zealand context and require further scholarly research in order to fully understand the
implications on New Zealand businesses.
92
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Appendix 1
Interview Schedule
This is a general interview schedule for participants who agreed to be interviewed.
Additional questions were asked dependent on the direction of the discussion.
• Could you give a brief background of your organisation with regards to employee
numbers and locations
• How do you see your role as the “Internal Communication Manager” in the
organisation?
Where in the organisation is your position / department situated?
What do you consider your main responsibilities?
• What are the main channels used to communicate within your organisation?
Intranet?
Internet / email?
Face-to-face meetings?
Newsletters?
Organisational meetings (whole teams / bonding)?
Online Streaming?
• How does your organisation measure the effectiveness of your internal
communication? Surveys? Audits? How often?
• How does your organisation see internal communication fitting within the
organisational structure?
Is there anything else you would like to tell me?
105
Appendix 2
Information for Participants
THE MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF EFFECTIVE INTERNAL
COMMUNICATION
Tena Koe, Talofa Lava, Hello!
I am a final year Master of International Communication student at Unitec. Part of my degree
programme involves a thesis on a subject of my choice. My research topic looks at the
management and measurement of internal communication in the banking sector. I am doing the
research at your organisation and have the preliminary approval of the organisation to carry out
the research.
What I am doing
I would like to find out how different banking organisations manage their internal
communication and how they measure for effective internal communication.
What it will mean for you
I would like to interview you and talk about:
• A brief background of your organisation with regards to employee numbers and
locations
• How you see your role within the organisation
• The channels used to communicate within your organisation and their effectiveness
• How your organisation sees internal communication fitting within the business plan
• Key goals for your organisation with regards to internal communication.
The interview will last between 35 and 45 minutes and I will audio record the interview which
will be transcribed later. All features that could identify you or your organisation will be
removed and the information on the tapes used will be erased, once the transcription is done.
You are free to withdraw from this project for whatever reason within two weeks of the
interview.
What will I do with this?
The information I receive will be written up as part of my thesis research.
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Consent
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to sign a consent form. This does not stop you
from changing your mind if you wish to withdraw from the project. You can also ask to be
withdrawn. However, because of my schedule, any withdrawal must be done within 2 weeks
after I have interviewed you.
Please contact me if you need more information about the project:
At any time if you have any concerns about the research project you can contact my
supervisor:
Kylie Horomia
[email protected] , 021 036 2404
At any time, if you have any concerns about the research project you can also contact my
supervisors:
Dr Donna Henson Diana Mead
School of Communication School of Communication
Unitec New Zealand Unitec New Zealand
(09) 815-4321 ext 8119 (09) 815-4321 ext 8542
[email protected] [email protected]
Confidentiality
Your name and information that may identify you will be kept completely confidential. All
information collected from you will be stored on a password protected file and the only access
to your information is myself and my supervisors.
Thank you!
This study has been approved by the Unitec Research Ethics Committee from (March 2007) to (August 2007). If you have any complaints or
reservations about the ethical conduct of this research, you may contact the Committee through the UREC Secretariat (Ph: 09 815 4321
ext.7254). Any issues you raise will be treated in confidence and investigated fully, and you will be informed of the outcome.
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Appendix 3
Consent Form
THE MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF EFFECTIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
This consent form will help us get information for a research project looking at the management and
measurement of effective internal communication within a banking organisation
I have had the research project explained to me and I have read and understand the information sheet given to me.
I understand that I don't have to be part of this if I don't want to and I may withdraw within two weeks of the
interview process.
I understand that everything I say is confidential and none of the information I give will identify me or my
organisation and that the only persons who will know what I have said will be the researchers and their supervisor.
I also understand that all the information that I give will be stored securely on a computer at Unitec for a period of
5 years.
I understand that my interview with the researcher will be audio taped and transcribed.
I understand that I can see part of the finished research document.
I am aware that I may contact the Supervisor, Dr Donna Henson at Unitec, (09) 815-4321 ext 8119 if I have any
queries about the project.
I have had time to consider everything and I give my consent to be a part of this.
Participant Signature: …………………………………………. Date: …………………………
Participant Name: ………………………………………………………………………………...
Project Researcher Signature: ……………………………….. Date: ……………………………
Project Researcher Name: …………………………………………………………………………
This study has been approved by the Unitec Research Ethics Committee from (March 2007) to (August
2007). If you have any complaints or reservations about the ethical conduct of this research, you may
contact the Committee through the UREC Secretariat (Ph: 09 815 4321 ext.7254). Any issues you raise
will be treated in confidence and investigated fully, and you will be informed of the outcome.
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