In recent years, internal communication (※1) has been attracting attention from the perspectives of corporate globalization, M&A, and work style reform. Many companies are probably facing the challenge of how to ensure that their management philosophy and goals are understood and disseminated to employees at overseas and regional offices, as well as those working from home. In this two-part interview, we will be speaking with guest Masamichi Shimizu, visiting professor at Tsukuba Gakuin University, who co-authored the book “Internal Communication Management” in February 2019, about why internal communication is attracting so much attention right now and the importance of internal communication. ### **The target audience was around 10,000 salespeople, but when we opened the door, we found that the company newsletter wasn’t being read** **Brightcove (BC) Ohno** Thank you for taking the time to come to our office today. We have also been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about using video for the purpose of internal communication, and I read your book “Internal Communication Management” with great interest. Before we talk about the content, could you briefly tell us about your career and the motivation behind publishing this book? **Professor Shimizu** I had originally hoped to work for a newspaper company, but my wish was not granted, and in 1973 I joined Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company as a new graduate. At first I worked in the Personnel Department, but after a year and a half I was transferred to the Public Relations Department. There I was in charge of internal public relations. **BC Ohno** You’ve been in charge of internal public relations since 1974! I’m surprised. **Professor Shimizu** It was just by chance, but soon after joining the company I proposed to the head of the personnel department that we produce a recruitment guide book for students. I was put in charge of the project, and I think the fact that the guide book I put together with the editorial team of new employees was well received within the company led to my being selected for the internal communications department. After my transfer, I was put in charge of producing an in-house newsletter, but the target audience was the 10,000 life insurance sales ladies at the time. However, when I opened the magazine, I found that it wasn’t being read very much. When I went to the sales offices, I found that the magazines were being thrown in the trash (laughs). I felt that a fundamental reform of the company magazine was necessary, so I read a weekly magazine for women every week and reviewed the articles in the company magazine. I focused on articles that summarized the lives and work of life insurance sales ladies in a reportage style. This was very well received, and even the president at the time took notice. This was the start of my involvement in internal communication. In 1977, I moved to the Japan Management Association, where I worked as an editor and reporter for a business magazine. In 1989, I became the head of the Public Relations Office, and then the general manager, and I was involved in public relations for a total of 13 years. After that, I worked as an environmental management consultant and then taught courses on environmental management and public relations at a university. **BC Ohno** In 1993, you published a book called “Corporate Culture and Public Relations” with Nikkei Publishing, but could you tell us how that came about? **Professor Shimizu** When I was working at the Japan Management Association, I took part in writing a series of five books on public relations to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs. At the time, there were new trends in internal communications, and we interviewed 80 companies and published the book under the title “Corporate Culture and Public Relations”. **BC Ohno** Of course, the term “internal communication” didn’t exist at that time, did it? **Professor Shimizu** At the time, it was called “internal public relations”, but because the content was a little narrow, we used the term “corporate culture” to include management principles and visions, and wrote a book about successful cases of internal public relations. After that, we published a book on administrative reform in the US called “Administrative Reform”, which was highly acclaimed by everyone. In 2002, we also published a book called “Corporate Communication Strategy”, and since then we have continued to publish a book every year, including co-authored works. ### ****The idea of implementing external communication based on internal communication**** **BC Ohno** Actually, within our company, we use the term “corporate communication” rather than “internal communication”. This is because it is now necessary to share awareness and goals not only with employees, but also with partners, franchisees and suppliers. **Professor Shimizu** That’s right. In “Corporate Communication Strategy”, we positioned all communication carried out by a company as corporate communication. In “Internal Communication Management”, we focused on inside-out-style public relations. This is a way of thinking that aims to improve external reputation based on the results of initiatives within the company. In the book, we feature Itochu Corporation as one example of a successful case. **
Okafuji spearheaded a reform of working practices from 2013 with the aim of raising the status of the trading company business, which is generally difficult to understand. Specifically, the company aired TV commercials showing real-life videos of how the lives and work of employees had changed as a result of the introduction of measures such as the morning work system, health management, and no-suit days. In addition, the company communicates the work of the trading company to its employees through the “Top Management” section of its intranet. In Japan, the “Prime Minister’s movements” are also made public in newspapers and on the “Prime Minister’s official website”, right? At this company too, President Okafuji makes public to the company all his movements, including who he has met and what he has said. Through these measures, the company is expressing the image of the often-difficult-to-understand work of a trading company through the actions and lives of its employees. Furthermore, because it is video, it also expresses the movement of emotions. I call this “inside-out” management. ### ****The reason for publishing “Internal Communication Management”**** **BC Ohno** I see, so you are using the initiatives you have taken within the company externally as well. This is a good example of how corporate communication leads to corporate branding. I think there are some similarities with the Toyota Times, which is currently making headlines. So, could you tell us why you decided to publish “Internal Communication Management” again? **Professor Shimizu** I had always been interested in internal communication, but the direct trigger was when I heard a manager say at a reception at a general meeting in 2013, when I was appointed as the chair of the Japan Public Relations Society, that they were putting a lot of effort into internal communication. At the time, Japanese companies were actively carrying out M&A and business restructuring with overseas and domestic companies. However, even several years after the merger, I heard that the internal systems had not been unified, and that there were many problems with getting the two companies to agree on things at meetings and so on. I thought that there might be issues not only with the integration and review of information systems and personnel systems, but also with internal public relations measures, so I organized a study group and conducted interviews with 23 member companies of the Japan Public Relations Society about the current situation and issues. The results were varied, with each company responding differently to questions about issues such as language and security issues associated with globalization, the use of internal company websites and social networking services, etc. The issues faced by each company were diverse, and the discussions within the research group also went in many different directions, but in the end we decided to narrow down the theme to “management philosophy” and carry out research activities. When it comes to internal company PR, the PR department is usually in charge, but in order to get the management philosophy across to employees and encourage them to take action, the PR department alone cannot do it. It is necessary to conduct interviews with the management planning department, the human resources department, and the management team. So, with the cooperation of seven major companies, we conducted interviews to find out how corporate philosophy is communicated and shared with employees. ### ****The president himself devotes more time than other executives to interacting with employees**** **BC Ohno** As a result of the interviews, were there any patterns of success in companies where corporate philosophy is well-established? **Professor Shimizu** Yes. Companies where the top management actively engages in dialogue with employees tended to have a strong sense of corporate philosophy among their employees. The top management themselves are willing to spend more time than other executives to create opportunities to talk with employees. In addition, we found that in order to make the management philosophy “personal”, it is very effective to provide opportunities for employees to take independent action, set up opportunities for presentations, and reward excellent initiatives. It is not enough to just share the management philosophy, it is necessary for all employees to act in accordance with the same philosophy.
**BC Ohno** I see. It’s no use just sharing the corporate philosophy with employees if they don’t put it into practice. Is this the difference between internal PR and internal communication? **Professor Shimizu** That’s right. It is important to create a new corporate culture. To do this, it is necessary to get the cooperation of not only the public relations department, but also the human resources and training departments. It is also important for the management planning and CSR departments to encourage employees to act in line with the strategy. The top management of the company needs to understand the significance of ensuring that the corporate philosophy is understood by employees, and the relevant departments, such as the public relations and human resources and training departments, need to work together to support the actions of employees, with the support of the heads of each department. That concludes the first part of the interview. Professor Shimizu, who has been involved in internal communications since 1974 and has researched and analyzed the process of internal communications evolving, had a lot to say. In the next installment, he will talk about the core of internal communications: understanding the management philosophy, making it your own, and putting it into practice. *1 Since “inner communication” is a Japanese-English term, we have used “internal communication” in this post.
