Internal communication departments: 10 reasons why communication effectiveness is often impeded

published 2002

There’s hardly an organisation that has come through the last two to three years with an unchanged internal structure.  Mergers, acquisitions, divestments or new services have seen many department functions alter.  And in many cases, internal communication functions have not been aligned to these new organisational challenges.

So, what is impeding the effectiveness of your organisation’s communication?  It might not be your communications resources or skills.  It could be a host of reasons more connected with organisational structure, reporting lines and management issues.

Here are ten reasons why some communication functions - call it public relations, public affairs or whatever ­- aren’t as effective as they could be:

1.       The nature of the organisation has changed (by expansion, new services, acquisition etc) but the communication role, function and resources hasn’t been reviewed to reflect these changes.

2.       The reporting lines are wrong.  The communication function is caught in an organisational structure that is inappropriate for the task required, and increasingly expected, of it.

3.       The balance between centralisation and de-centralisation is wrong.  It might be fine for operational reasons but not be as effective for communication.

4.       You’ve merged with another organisation and no-one has yet addressed how a new streamlined department could, or should, function more effectively.

5.       Communication has ‘just grown’ over the years, responsibilities and people have simply been added and  no-one has ever formally reviewed the contribution, structure and its effectiveness of the department or area.

6.       The staffing balance needs reviewing.  Staff have come and gone over time and there is a range of skills and resources that need to be assessed; plus job specifications are either out-of-date or don’t exist.

7.       There is no strategic objectives and performance measurement criteria for the department to be assessed.

8.      The organisation has just been through a major change and while the operational aspects of the organisation have been re-focussed there has been no-one with the skill or expertise to help the communication department through this change management process.

9.      The departmental structure was set-up several years ago and its current focus, structure and modus operandi doesn’t reflect today’s electronic focus.

10.     Senior management doesn’t understand or appreciate what communication could do for the organisation and won’t take internal advice.

Note: The author of this article is a senior Sydney-based independent corporate PR consultant who advises, coaches, and mentors PR Managers and undertakes PR audits of PR Department structure and programs as well as helping review or select PR agencies. In addition he also provides specialist corporate PR and communications advice where issues or change are impacting on an organisation. He also blogs regularly on PR and communciations topics similar to those in this article.