The Kennedy Moment
From The Body Shop to the Magic Circle, James Harkness explains what good internal communications look like and the challenges communicators will face.
Good internal communication is evident when people understand how their day-to-day work contributes to the firm’s goals. It’s called the Kennedy moment. When in 1962 Kennedy visited NASA for the first time, he asked a janitor carrying a broom what he did, to be told “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
Now this is easier said than done when strategies, vision and values often seem to be ten a penny, change constantly and, for many employees, are more like corporate wallpaper than relevant to the work they do. Connecting people with what your firm’s plans are is not an easy task.
As well as making a connection between the vision and purpose of the organisation, there are other essentials to be found when there’s good internal communication.
Leadership communication is evident. That means not only is there a narrative, but that it is articulated consistently by all leaders and people managers. Leaders know it’s not about communicating at people, it’s about communicating with them and listening to their concerns. It is a conversation.
There is upward communication, where leaders are in touch with not only how their messages are landing but also know what the ‘feeling’ is like on the ground floor. People can ask questions and offer suggestions for improvement and are listened to.
Communication channels enable cut-through and provide opportunities for dialogue. It is important, particularly now, that channels work for remote colleagues and third parties, including contractors and consultants critical to the firm. A channel strategy is essential so people know what they should be looking at and for what.
Time to measure
There is measurement, not just of outputs (clicks, likes and the usual) but of how outcomes are being achieved.
Measurement is critical and, in a data-driven world, knowing how you’re doing is key for internal communications to be treated as a strategic resource and partner, rather than a crafter or drafter, or even worse, simply a post box to get messages out. Too often, I see measurement tacked on at the end and focused on outputs – how many views, how many likes etc.
Undertaking a review of internal communications can provide an opportunity to capture what is working well and what can be improved. It can enable people, from the managing partner to the front of house, to engage with the internal communication that they find most effective.
Measurement also helps really understand your audience. This is essential if you wish to target and segment who you are communicating with.
Segmentation has evolved in recent years from simple partners versus staff or geographic splits. Increasingly, groups of people, such as associates in law firms, are identified as requiring bespoke communications. Similarly, those who work hybrid or remotely on client sites.
The challenge of not always having a clear line or people manager creates a vacuum in some professional services firms, particularly where people have multiple leads dependent on the client or matter they are working on.
We are all so well used to targeted communication in our personal lives (whether it’s Facebook or Netflix) that having a ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ in the corporate world doesn’t really cut it. We encourage our clients to segment as much as they can, but likewise, only to segment their audience to the level that they can do something about it.
It sits where?
People often ask where internal comms should sit. I have seen it sit in all kinds of places, from corporate communications, business development, HR and the managing partners’ office. My view is, and always has been, this discussion can be a distraction.
Good internal comms needs to be aligned to the people agenda, and internal and external comms need to be joined at the hip. But what it needs most of all is leadership commitment and support. Where it sits is frankly not so important. Having an effective cheerleader and champion for internal comms is much more critical.
Doing internal comms in a professional services firm can be a lonely job. Often it is done by a single person (or a small team in the bigger firms) who is trying to please a number of demanding stakeholders and focused on communicating with well-educated, high achievers.
Getting stuff done, rather than being constantly rewritten, can be a challenge. So too is ‘air traffic control’, where managing partners want to communicate more and practice heads want to share their area’s success, leaving people in the firm to complain of being overloaded.
Being part of a professional network, such as the PM Forum, can often help by providing opportunities for hearing best practice and sharing common challenges.
Internal comms in professional services firms is not always an easy gig. But when you help create those ‘man on the moon’ moments, where people identify with where their firm is going and how they contribute to its success, it is enormously satisfying. You’ve helped engage, support and motivate people in what is a changing and challenging world. I know I couldn’t do a more rewarding job. ■