subject: Bringing Greater Diversity To Internal Communications [print this page] A recent piece of research with one of the UKs best known companies provided us with a fascinating statistic that only one third of staff prefer to receive communication in a read-only form. Of the rest, over 40% prefer to receive it in an audio-visual form, whilst the remaining 25% want to interact with the content they receive by either discussing it locally with colleagues or more widely with other communities across the organization. But despite this spread of preference, read-only remains the dominant form of internal communication.
Should these findings come as a surprise? We know different personality types take in information in different ways. We also know that people learn in different ways and much help is being given to those who find reading difficult. So what is the case for extending this principle and bringing greater diversity to an internal media mix?
Read-only communication brings potential for discrimination. As a society, we are becoming more tolerant of those with reading difficulties, estimated to include up to 20% of the UK adult population and recognize that an inclusive society means providing those affected with an audio-visual alternative. Indeed, the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995/2005 create a legal requirement for all companies to make reasonable adjustments to their working practices, policies and procedures to ensure that people with disabilities are not at a substantial disadvantage.
So with such a compelling case for diversity, why is it that read-only tends to dominate? Our research suggests there are three significant barriers to building a more balanced mix: time, technology and organizational culture. Ask anyone about the principal constraint to better communication and they will cite a lack of time. The perception may well be that the information is out there but with a demanding day job and limited bandwidth for non-essential information, people want to use their available time effectively. This often means defaulting to read-only as its easy to access and can be picked up and put down. Of course, preparing a read-only communication is usually the most time-efficient method for the sender too.
Until recently, technology (or lack of it) has presented a very considerable barrier with audio-visual communication confined to offline DVDs or videos, usually requiring specialist production. But broadband Internet and third-generation mobile technology have combined to make audio-visual more accessible and helped to remove time as a major constraint. So in a world where audio-visual content can be accessed through the mobile handset, people have the opportunity to use downtime that might otherwise be lost to receive audio-visual content.
The biggest barrier of all remains organizational culture. For all sorts of reasons, people have become very used to relying on read-only as their primary source of communication. Audio-visual is seen as obtrusive, potentially distracting to others and always easy to dismiss as a poor use of company time and money. Opportunities for face-to-face discussion vary greatly across and between organizations, whilst a proportion of managers will always lack the skills or the content to make this work effectively. And a significant proportion of people in any organization remain suspicious of the potential benefits of emerging social media. Clearly, attitudes need to change if organizations are to successfully introduce greater diversity.
So in the face of such adversity, why should we treat the results of a single survey as a call to action? By returning to our purpose for communicating in the first place we have a very clear answer. The purpose of any Internal Communication is to engage the receiver and prompt a desired action. Logically, our greatest chance of success comes if we provide the communication in the form most likely to achieve that objective, be it read-only, audio-visual or discussion-based. Wider societal trends and new technology are accelerating the need for change making it essential that internal communication grasps this opportunity and introduces greater communication. To know more about how to bring greater diversity to internal communications visit http://www.deborahswallow.com/2011/03/16/bringing-greater-diversity-to-internal-communication/
