Continuing on from [Part 1] (https://www.brightcove.com/ja/resources/blog/interview-internal-communication-1), Professor Shimizu, author of “Internal Communication Management”, will talk about the core of internal communication: understanding the management philosophy, making it your own, and putting it into practice.
## By combining it with your past experiences and feelings, you will be able to speak in a deeper way
__Brightcove (BC) Ohno__ Are there any other important factors besides creating an organization that transcends departments that can help to spread management philosophy and make it personal?
__Professor Shimizu__ It is necessary to share not only cognitive culture but also emotional culture within the company. Cognitive culture is about understanding using words. However, there is a risk that this will narrow the scope of understanding. If you are not careful, you will just end up repeating what you have heard. What is important is to be able to understand with your own head and speak in your own words.
In order to do this, it is important to be able to speak in a deeper way by combining the information you have recognized with the emotions of the management and employees, such as joy, kindness and anxiety, and to be able to put this into action. This is probably the main difference between traditional internal company PR and internal communication.
In the West, internal communication is defined as “the systematic planning and implementation of communication activities that systematically influence the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of employees”, and it is distinctive in that it includes not only knowledge but also actions such as demonstrating attitudes.
In the book we have just published, we have defined internal communication management as “top management perceiving internal communication activities as one of the core corporate activities of management, and effectively implementing management strategies by incorporating them into the day-to-day management mechanisms (mechanisms)”.
## There is a need to place more importance on two-way, direct communication
__BC Ohno__ I see. So you’re saying that we need to expand and change from traditional internal PR to internal communication, and that we need to create a system that leads to action?
__Professor Shimizu__ That’s right. In order for employees to move from understanding something with their minds to actually changing their attitudes and behavior, we need to place more importance on two-way, direct communication that can express emotions through facial expressions, gestures, and hand signals, rather than just one-way, indirect communication such as internal magazines and internal emails (newsletters).
In internal communication, you should not simply apply mass media theory. Mass media has fulfilled its purpose once it has been printed or broadcast, but you should not do the same thing.
### The difference between internal communication management (IC management) and traditional internal communications
| |__Internal communications__|__Internal communication management__|
| — | — | — |
|__Target__| Inside-in: employees + employee families, retirees (viewing employees as a group) Inside-out: employees → stakeholders (viewing employees as diverse individuals and communicators)
|__Purpose__|Communication/sharing of management information, raising awareness of participation|Medium- to long-term improvement of corporate value (benefits)|
|__Target__|1 month to several months|Several months to several years (vision): Long-term span related to annual/medium- to long-term plans|
|__Evaluation__|Output (e.g. amount of information/communication efficiency) |Outcome (e.g. rate/amount of change in awareness/behavior) *Alternative indices such as “corporate image”, “employment rate”, “employee satisfaction” etc.
|__Management Functions__|Communication (media coverage), explanation, archive |Promotion of management action + communication (media coverage), explanation, archive
|__Technology__|Communication technology related to media, commentary and archiving|Utilization of organizational communication technology and management technology|
|__Media__|Language and visual media|Face-to-face and various performances and visual and language media|
|__Organization in charge__|Public relations department or general affairs organization overseen by management-level executives|Organized according to management strategy: management planning, general affairs and personnel, public relations, CSR, IR, etc. Staff organization organized directly under the top management of the organization|
*Reproduced from the Japan Public Relations Society Innovation Forum 2019 “Management Communication Study Group and ‘Internal Communication Management’ – What have we observed, learned and tried to communicate?”, created by Professor Masamichi Shimizu
It is also important to understand the methods of internal communication that are emphasized in line with the company’s growth process. In the start-up phase, there are few employees, so face-to-face work such as meetings is emphasized. As the company grows, the number of employees increases, so internal communication aimed at briefing employees becomes necessary. During the maturity stage, internal communication through various project groups, such as internal newsletters, thorough compliance, and reviews of management principles, increases. During the decline stage, there is a possibility of layoffs due to M&A, etc., so internal communication that shares feelings is necessary to dispel the anxiety of employees.
## Due to the large amount of information, videos are effective for promoting an understanding of management principles
__BC Ohno__ Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Finally, our company provides a cloud service for securely distributing videos within companies, but how can videos contribute to internal communication?
__Professor Shimizu__: Compared to text and still images, videos have a lot more information, so they are effective for promoting understanding of management principles. It can also be a convenient medium from the perspective of speed, as it is sometimes difficult for top management to visit overseas or regional offices frequently. Personally, I think that the tone and inflection of the voice of the person in the video, as well as the video itself, can affect emotional understanding. However, I think that many companies in Japan are not producing videos that take this into account.
__BC Ohno__ It’s true that in the past, we also saw videos where the performers were reading from a script in a monotone. Recently, I feel that there has been an increase in the number of emotional videos where the top management appeals to the emotions of the employees. Young employees are a generation that is familiar with videos and has a discerning eye, so I think that creating videos that can be viewed with a sense of familiarity by this generation will be a challenge for the future.
Professor Shimizu: That’s right. It’s true that it’s easy to make videos now using smartphones and other devices. However, it’s not enough to just show them. It’s necessary for employees to discuss the knowledge and impressions they gained from the videos with their superiors and with each other. If the leaders of each department take the initiative to share the information and impressions they gained from the videos, not only will there be cognitive understanding among all employees, but there will also be emotional understanding, and the effects of internal communication will be seen.
__BC Ohno__ I see, so even when using videos, it is necessary to have an emotional culture. I have learned a lot. Thank you very much!
This concludes the interview. For more detailed theories and case studies related to internal communication, please refer to the book “Internal Communication Management” (https://www.keidanren-jigyoservice.or. jp/pub/cat/7da17c0fb70764ce57bf985e24d784d068e13805.html)’, which is published by Keidanren Publishing, contains detailed information on the theory and case studies of internal communication. There are also many case studies using video, so please take a look!
