The soul of corporate culture
Corporate Publishing: Internal communication and employee magazines are becoming increasingly important.
Corporate publishing Internal communication and employee magazines are gaining in importance. This is the conclusion of a recent study. The study, commissioned by the Forum Corporate Publishing FCP and conducted by TNS Emnid, examined the importance of employee magazines in Germany's top 500 companies. Those responsible for internal communication took part in the survey. The results of the study are summarized in a booklet that will be published by the FCP in mid-April.
The results show that employee magazines are considered to be highly competent in achieving important communication goals. They are better suited than any other medium to communicating restructuring or strategic realignment in a competent and understandable way. This is extremely important in a time of "change management" or "internal branding". For Ulrich Nies, Head of Information Coordination at BASF AG in Ludwigshafen, it is important to use professional communication to encourage employees to use their performance potential and creativity for the success of the company. For the communications experts interviewed, there is no doubt that employee magazines shape and develop the internal culture. Employee magazines are "the true soul of the company", according to the presentation of the study results.
Increased quality standardsJust as the journalistic quality of customer publications has prevailed in recent years, a growing number of companies are now recognizing the need to raise employee communication to a higher level in terms of content: "In-house communication is increasingly a matter for communication professionals and no longer for works councils, HR departments or specialist departments," notes FCP Managing Director Michael Höflich. Employee magazines have long since ceased to be media outlets for nice reports on company events or morale-boosting PR essays from the company management, but are now taking on a leading role in strategic corporate communication. However, this function can only be fulfilled with professionally prepared communication tools that inform employees comprehensively and honestly about strategies and current developments and enable them to share values, goals and ideas with the company.
The results of the study should be seen more as a declaration of intent or wishful thinking on the part of communications managers than as the status quo. When budgets are cut, the red pencil is still hastily applied to internal communications, especially employee magazines. Some people on the carpet still believe that the intranet is completely sufficient for informing employees, that it is much faster and, above all, significantly cheaper. Viviane Laissue, Head of Internal Communications at Swisscom, counters this: "The value of employee magazines is always underestimated. Having a magazine in my hand that informs me about my employer in a critical, in-depth and exciting way cannot be compensated for by sending it by e-mail or posting it on a notice board."
Daniel Steim is a member of the management of the CP agency Medianovis AG.
Daniel Steim
The results show that employee magazines are considered to be highly competent in achieving important communication goals. They are better suited than any other medium to communicating restructuring or strategic realignment in a competent and understandable way. This is extremely important in a time of "change management" or "internal branding". For Ulrich Nies, Head of Information Coordination at BASF AG in Ludwigshafen, it is important to use professional communication to encourage employees to use their performance potential and creativity for the success of the company. For the communications experts interviewed, there is no doubt that employee magazines shape and develop the internal culture. Employee magazines are "the true soul of the company", according to the presentation of the study results.
Increased quality standardsJust as the journalistic quality of customer publications has prevailed in recent years, a growing number of companies are now recognizing the need to raise employee communication to a higher level in terms of content: "In-house communication is increasingly a matter for communication professionals and no longer for works councils, HR departments or specialist departments," notes FCP Managing Director Michael Höflich. Employee magazines have long since ceased to be media outlets for nice reports on company events or morale-boosting PR essays from the company management, but are now taking on a leading role in strategic corporate communication. However, this function can only be fulfilled with professionally prepared communication tools that inform employees comprehensively and honestly about strategies and current developments and enable them to share values, goals and ideas with the company.
The results of the study should be seen more as a declaration of intent or wishful thinking on the part of communications managers than as the status quo. When budgets are cut, the red pencil is still hastily applied to internal communications, especially employee magazines. Some people on the carpet still believe that the intranet is completely sufficient for informing employees, that it is much faster and, above all, significantly cheaper. Viviane Laissue, Head of Internal Communications at Swisscom, counters this: "The value of employee magazines is always underestimated. Having a magazine in my hand that informs me about my employer in a critical, in-depth and exciting way cannot be compensated for by sending it by e-mail or posting it on a notice board."
Daniel Steim is a member of the management of the CP agency Medianovis AG.
Daniel Steim
