Internal Communications - Is it PR?

I hadn't thought about internal communications as being public relations, until I read a chapter in my text book about employee communication. Internal communications is indeed public relations! It's just a different "public" (a word I still hate when used in this context).

So many tools that are used in external communications (traditional public relations) can be - and are - used for internal communications. And, as a company, who is our most important customer? The employees who work for us, of course. A sentence in my text says, "... well-informed employees interacting with an organization's stakeholders will have significant positive influence on relations with customers, the community, investors, and the media, to name a few important groups." That is so true. You know those rumors you hear in the real public? How often do you think they start with employees? Pretty darned often, I'll bet. So if employees are happy and well-informed (or even simply well-informed), the public will be, too. They will have the facts from reliable sources.

I don't think internal communications is given enough thought in companies today, and the function needs to be re-thought. Another idea from my text book, "People are seeking meaning in their work lives," really stood out to me. I think that too often we think employees come to work, do their job and go home - end of story. Oh - and receive their paycheck. I believe that more importantly, employees want to make a contribution and to feel good about what they do. I know I do.

So let's remember our most important customer and take care of our employees. What would companies have without dedicated, well-informed and satisfied employees? Not success.