Communications seminar, Meriden, UK, 6 February 2009

Citation

Birkett, L. (2009), "Communications seminar, Meriden, UK, 6 February 2009", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2009.37208dab.010

Communications seminar, Meriden, UK, 6 February 2009

Article Type: Event reviews From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 8, Issue 4

The British Association of Communicators in Business central region team (CiB Central) brought together six speakers to explore what lives at the heart of communications and what effect the economic downturn is having on organizational communicators.

Whether they were talking about the kind of language used within organizations, the employer brand or talent management, the common theme that ran through all the speakers’ presentations was “trustworthiness”. While the concept of trust lies at the heart of the employer-employee relationship, in large organizations there is usually a layer of middle management that lies between the employees and the leadership team. Steve Knight, who runs many of CiB’s training courses, including the newly-launched diploma, questioned the incentives for middle management to use straight-forward English when they are trying to prove their credentials by showing off their flair for business-speak. However much the leadership team and employees might appreciate clear, easily understood communications, until middle managers are given incentives to follow suit, it seems unlikely the issue will be resolved. Professor Jo Andrews from Birmingham City University explained that lack of trust has an impact on engagement with the employer brand as it inhibits emotional involvement. Contrary to the beliefs apparently held by many middle managers, it is not the making of mistakes that matters – it is how those mistakes are handled that determines an employer’s trustworthiness.

Two speakers – Domna Lazidou, a tutor at both the Kingston Business School and Cranfield School of Management, and Gary Muddyman, managing director and CEO of Conversis – gave presentations on aspects of culture. Both have carried out or commissioned research in the field of cultural communications and both have come to the conclusion that solely looking at culture in terms of nationality or race is overly simplistic. Gender, profession, religion and even aspirations all have their part to play in a complex mix that sees people responding to a range of cultural cues. One example given was of the India-based HR manager in a global corporation who felt he had more in common culturally with his peers in London or the USA than with his countrymen who were not HR professionals.

According to research carried out by Lesley Allman, from Allman Communications, the good news for communicators in the economic downturn is that organizations do see the need to carry on communicating with employees. This is a change from attitudes in previous recessions where internal communications were deemed a luxury rather than a necessity. Most respondents reported that budgets had been frozen and that, consequently, they were looking at ways of doing the same – or more – for less money. As a result, there is likely to be a greater emphasis on face-to-face and electronic communication over the coming months.

Louise BirkettBased at CiB Central.