Emerging Issues in Internal Communications

This article points out the importance of how generational shifts affect internal communications. Two-way symmetrical communication will positively influence employee engagement. While some communications involve the human resources department, this study examines the use of the public relations department for internal communications. Consider what the study says about establishing commitment from employees and how expectations about communication are changing.

Discussion & Implications

Limitations and Direction for Future Research

While this study provided new insights, the sample was limited to 32 employees in 26 companies or organizations, so the results cannot be generalized. However, the sample did vary on key dimensions such as organizational size, sector, and geography, which is consistent with the goals of qualitative research in portraying the range of depth of the phenomena to develop theory. Another limitation associated with interviewing business elites is their accessibility due to time and status constraints as well as the "instinct to protect against intrusion into potentially sensitive matters". For these reasons, it is difficult to interview business executives for more than an hour, with interviews averaging about 40 minutes. 

Additional research should be conducted using surveys to allow for generalization and ethnography for organizational context. Issues that deserve further attention include how common the integrated communication approach is used for internal communication versus dedicating specific employees to internal communication. The two employers in this study that have been featured on Fortune's list of best employers were evenly split between the two approaches, so it is difficult to determine which approach is better or which factors organizations should consider when choosing between the two. 

A second area that deserves more attention is the rise of internal social media channels. Because these channels are new, it is too early to identify the range of challenges they present in managing internal communication. Areas that deserve more attention include policies for use of the channels and identifying effective uses for internal communication.