Why is internal communication important and what are the advantages that this managerial process can determine for an organization? Many studies show that an effective internal communication process can yield many positive outcomes both at an individual level and at an organizational level, like employee’s commitment, engagement, motivation, sense of belonging, organizational success and business results.
The benefits of an effective employee communication include higher productivity, reduced absenteeism, higher quality of services and products, increased innovation, fewer strikes and reduced costs. The quality of communication among people within an organization can then be considered a crucial source of competitive advantage. And many researches confirm that companies with highly effective internal communication programs have significantly higher market premiums and shareholder returns than companies in the low-communication-effectiveness category.
Furthermore, studies that analyze the relationship between internal communication and corporate reputation show that employees are important stakeholders in corporate reputation and influence business results. Employees in turn are themselves positively influenced by good corporate reputation. The employee is the leading stakeholder carrying the banner of corporate reputation, be it good or bad. Corporate reputation influences employees as well. If the company is seen as a good place to work, employees tend to be happier and more efficient and the company can recruit and retain talented employees. Key employees can be seen as agents who can support or derail strategic change. They may be direct conduits to customers and other constituencies as carriers of the corporate brand and reputation. Thus, employees count as assets to be nurtured rather than liabilities to dispense with in difficult times.