Intranets and employee communication: PRbehind the firewall

Marie Murgolo-Poore* and Leyland Pitt

Received (in revised form): 24th August, 2000

*Curtin Business School, Curtin University of Technology, School of Marketing, GPO Box U 1987,

Perth, Western Australia, 6845; tel: +61 8 9266 7762; fax: +61 8 9266 3927

Marie Murgolo-Poore is a lecturer in

public relations in the School of Marketing,

Curtin Business School, Perth, Western

Australia. She holds a BA in communica-

tions from California State University,

Fullerton and an MCom from Curtin

University. Her current research interests

include the use of intranets in organisa-

tions, gender image portrayal in advertis-

ing targeting children, and international

public relations. Before joining Curtin full-

time in 1999, Marie spent 18 plus years in

corporate marketing communications man-

agement and public relations consultancy

roles in the USA and Australia.

Leyland Pitt holds joint positions as

professor of marketing in the School of

Marketing, Curtin University of Technol-

ogy, Western Australia and as Fellow in

marketing and strategy in the Cardiff

Business School, University of Cardiff in

the UK. He has also taught marketing and

electronic commerce on MBA and execu-

tive programmes at schools such as War-

wick Business School, London Business

School, Ecole Nationale Ponts et Chaus-

sees in Paris, the Graduate School of

Business at Columbia University, and the

Graham School of Continuing Studies at

the University of Chicago. His particular

areas of interest in research and teaching

involve marketing and the new electronic

media, the staging of consumer experi-

ences and marketing strategy.

ABSTRACT

The new economy, or knowledge-based era,not only brings with it additional challengesto the employee communication process, butalso inspired solutions. Historically, employeecommunication has been constrained by thelimitations of traditional media. The choice ofmedia for the dissemination of informationhas increased over the years but none has hadthe potential to galvanise broad-sweepingchanges to the process as have intranets. Tomaximise the benefits for their organisations,communicators must become comfortableworking with the new technology, progressup the technology-adoption curve, learn tobalance tech with touch, and be prepared todeconstruct previously held models of commu-nication.

KEYWORDS: Public relations, employee

communication, intranets, internal commu-

nication, Internet

INTRODUCTION

The idea of communicating with andbetween employees is a central tenet oforganisational life. As employeesbecame organised and unionised, orga-nisations had to take on a more pater-nalistic role and provide benefits above

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and beyond wages. Providing informa-tion regarding employee benefits notonly assisted in developing employeeloyalty but also, in many cases, waslegislated. As organisational manage-ment became a theoretically based fieldand the correlation was noted betweenproductivity, profits and employee jobsatisfaction, employee communicationtook on the more sophisticated mantleof internal marketing.1 Internal market-ing presented its own messages which,when added to the operational andhuman resources messages, constitutedoverall employee communication.While organisations have always

communicated with employees, theyhave not always done so effectively.2

One of the reasons for the lack of qual-ity employee communication pro-grammes is that the traditional mediaavailable do not lend themselves toflexible, effective multidirectional com-munication which enables employees toget the correct information where andwhen they need it while providinginformation to each other and to theorganisation.3

The new economy, or knowledge-based era, not only brings with it addi-tional challenges to the employee com-munication process, but also inspiredsolutions. The choice of media for thedissemination of information hasincreased over the years,4,5 but nonehas had the potential to galvanisebroad-sweeping changes to the processas have intranets. Could intranets bethe panacea for which communicatorshave been searching?This paper will review the evolution

of employee communications andexamine the traditional tools and theirlimitations that have bound the com-munication process. It will then exam-ine intranets, explore some issues ofconcern to communicators in the early

stages of intranet adoption, and providean overview of some current internalcommunication uses. Finally, it willpostulate the possible future for com-municators and this exciting medium.

EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

Employee communication has been animportant element to overall employeesatisfaction, productivity and, ulti-mately, organisational success. Baskinand Aronoff reinforced this conceptwhen they stated that the benefits thatresult from organisations’ commitmentto effective employee communicationare many, because well-informedemployees are satisfied and, in turn,more productive.6 These employeesthen interact with the public resultingin positive exchanges with customers,community and investors.Dover identified three eras of

employee communication.7 The firstera, labelled ‘entertaining employees’,was popular in the 1940s; this was fol-lowed by the era of ‘informingemployees’ in the 1950s. The 1960s erawas one of ‘persuading employees’.Grunig and Hunt added to Dover’swork by labelling the 1970s and1980s as a new era of symmetricalemployee communication,8 or ‘talkingwith’ employees.In Grunig’s examination of internal

communication, he discusses theresponsibility for employee communi-cation being either a function of publicrelations/affairs (aka communicationsdepartment) or human resources.9 Hegoes on to review a number of studieswhich show that where the responsibil-ity for the function is located is largelyrelated to the size of the organisation:the larger organisations favouring thepublic relations approach and the smal-ler organisations favouring the humanresources approach. Across the board,

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however, human resources (HR) isnormally responsible for all communi-cation regarding employee benefits,remuneration and orientation.Williams states that HR people are

not specialists in mass communicationsand advanced marketing strategies.10

He tempers this with his belief thatHR people should be involved in theprocess, but in the role of surveyingemployee attitudes. But humanresources is not the department for theoverall process of turning employeesinto organisational reputation market-ers.A strict segmentation of departmen-

tal involvement in employee communi-cation is not the most effective solution.PR practitioners are professional com-municators and should look to formalliances with all internal departmentalmanagers to ensure that professionalcommunication skills are used acrossthe board in all corporate communica-tions. By forming alliances, the practi-tioner can ensure that the depth andbreadth of knowledge about theemployees necessary to develop effec-tive communication strategies are avail-able to him/her. HR managers havethe greatest knowledge of, and mostin-depth database on, employees andby working in collaboration withthem, PR practitioners can benefitfrom this extensive knowledge, just asHR managers will benefit from thepractitioners’ specialist knowledge inthe communications field. In the end itwill be a mutually propitious exchangeand the employees and organisationwill benefit.To underscore the importance of

employee communication, especiallyinternal marketing, in today’s border-less organisational environment, it isuseful to consider Handy and his pro-found question: ‘How do you lead

people you cannot see?’11 Bennis pro-vides an answer when he argues that tolead knowledge workers, one mustbuild trust and mutual respect.12 Peopleare a knowledge/service-based econo-my’s most valuable and, currently,scarce asset. If an organisation is goingto have long-term success it must fosterclear, open, symmetrical communica-tion lines with this valuable asset. In aknowledge-based economy it is neces-sary to lead through mutual trust andrespect, as workers are much bettereducated and informed with higherexpectations and a greater capacity toquestion authority.The important role that trust plays

within an organisation is highlightedby Buzzotta’s belief that trust and peo-ple’s commitment to mission, goal andbottom-line results have a strong posi-tive correlation.13 Buzzotta states that iftrust does not exist, there will not beany risk taking, commitment, empow-erment or collaborative teamwork.How does an organisation engender a

trust-based culture? The element mostimportant to all areas of an organisationis communication — for what is anorganisation without communication?Goldhaber et al. go as far as to suggestthat organisational communication isunlike any other organisational variablebecause it ‘makes all other variablespossible’.14 They believe that if anorganisation does not have communica-tion it will not have motivation, leader-ship, productivity or, even, theorganisation itself.Since Sasser and Arbeit first alluded

to it,15 and Berry coined the term,16

authors such as Kotler,17 Piercy andMorgan,18 and Fisk et al.19 haveendorsed the concept and potentialbenefits of internal marketing. Therole internal marketing plays in thedevelopment of trust through com-

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munication is supported by Thomsonin his look at gaining staff commitmentthrough internal marketing.20 Heargues that good internal communica-tion is necessary to secure staff commit-ment for success. Teather stresses theimportance of communication in inter-nal marketing and the need for anexpertise in mass communication toexecute it.21 This, once again, under-scores the vital role professional com-municators play in overallorganisational success.

TRADITIONAL TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Pre-Internet literature about organisa-tional internal communication focusedon traditional tools, ie newsletters andother internal publications such asemployee annual reports, bulletinboards, videos and interactive voiceresponse systems.22 In the present-dayboundaryless knowledge-based econ-omy, employers are faced with addi-tional obstacles to open symmetricalcommunications with their work-forces. Other traditional internal com-munication tools based on face-to-facecommunication such as walking thefloor, large meetings and roadshowmeetings have become difficult orimpossible to coordinate in today’sknowledge-based economy with its vir-tual offices and geographically dispersedworkforce.The profound effect of face-to-face

communication has been well docu-mented from as early as Elton Mayo’sHawthorne studies.23 Nearly two dec-ades ago, Cutlip and Center built uponthis concept with their discussion ofProctor and Gamble’s excellent recordof employee communication based on‘man-to-man’ communication.24 Thesesentiments are echoed by many oftoday’s authors. Bartlett and Ghoshalfound that most successful top-level

managers conclude that face-to-facecommunications based on personal rela-tionships are most effective.25 Others,including Volkman26 and Kessler,27

report findings of studies which ratecommunication tools and list face-to-face as the receiver’s first choice foreffectiveness. Conger adds to this argu-ment by presenting a number of socialpsychological studies that explain thatface-to-face comments have been foundto have a substantial impact on decisionmaking.28 Hence, the value and impor-tance of face-to-face communication isacknowledged and supported, but formore and more organisations today itspracticality and efficiency would be toolow to be used more than sparingly inconjunction with more efficient media.Historically, as organisations sought

efficiencies in markets far from the‘home office’, and employees began totelecommute and job share, the diffi-culties in communicating becameubiquitous. Clarke claims that thenumber of globe-spanning organisa-tions has increased from seven to morethan 45,000 in less than 20 years.29 Inthe Vista Communications survey,employee communication was listed asa major source of discontent in globalbusinesses.30 The same survey showedthat half of the executives from 248large UK companies believed that staffreceived too little information.The breadth and scope of the

employee communication challengecan be highlighted by looking at orga-nisations such as Cathay Pacific Air-ways, which must communicate withits geographically dispersed staff of7,000.31 Ford Motors currently has350,000 employees located across theglobe and the majority of Delta Air-lines’ 72,000 employees spend a vastamount of time away from the homeoffice.32 The US navy has an incredible

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challenge with more than 450,000shore-side (not including at-sea person-nel) internal stakeholders with which tocommunicate.33

Traditional communication media’s

obstacles to success

Time and distance are joined by costs,quality, flexibility, flow and responsive-ness as obstacles to successful communi-cation when using traditional media.The obstacle of time is in both its rela-tive and actual state. In all traditionaltools, time creates an obstacle to whatLawrence et al. refer to as just-in-timeinformation (JITI).34 Production sche-dules and lead times prohibit immedi-ate information exchange and distancecreates a logistical obstacle to distribu-tion of materials. Even in the case ofbulletin boards, which have a shortproduction schedule, transporting pos-ters, etc, between home office and satel-lite offices impedes the timely deliveryof information. Once displayed, theinformation provides one-way commu-nication and may or may not respondto employee needs.Some technological developments

were seen to assist communicators inovercoming these obstacles. The intro-duction of desk-top publishing in 1985and its popular use in the early 1990ssaw a new technology which assisted inkeeping down the cost and shorteningthe production time of communicatingbut added little or nothing new to thecommunication process. The telex andfax responded to time and distance butfell short in quality, flexibility, flowand responsiveness. Obviously, walkingthe floor and other face-to-face real-time communication activities areresponsive, usually of high quality,flexible and facilitate a natural commu-nication flow, but can be prohibitivedue to cost, distance and time obstacles.

INTRANETS EMERGE

The technological advancements thathave rocketed organisations into thenew economy also provide the solutionto many of these obstacles. Watson etal. sum it up when they state ‘electronicspeed has fuelled and facilitated the col-lapsing of space and time in all media.Many traditional media are unable tokeep up.’35

Authors such as Watson,36 Lawrenceet al.,37 Holtz38 and Learn39 defineintranets as the principles and protocolsof the Internet applied to a private net-work which enables people withinorganisations to communicate. Securityfor intranets is of utmost importance, assensitive organisational and/or personalinformation would be accessible onintranets. Organisations utilise firewallsto protect their intranets fromunauthorised access from outsiders. Thefirewall is both the hardware and soft-ware that provides a security barrierbetween intranets and the Internet. Thiscontrol and security is what enablesintranets to be of value to open internalcommunication.

Evolutionary path

The literature, which includes intranetsas one of the internal communicationtools, indicated that the mid-1990s isthe period when these mechanismsgained recognition. Sprout and Coxt-eter highlight this point when theyrefer to the intranet as ‘new computernetworks called internal webs’ andexplained that these intranets were pre-viously found only at leading-edgecomputer companies but, in 1995,could also be found at some of themajor firms in the petroleum, clothingand pharmaceutical industries.40 In thesame 1995 article they make the pointthat the Internet is getting all of theattention from the media, but in actual-

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ity it was intranets that were drivingsales of Web software.Hence, intranets are in their infancy

and although they are being employedby a great number of organisationsacross a broad range of industries, theactual uses range from just anothermedium on which to publish informa-tion to fully developed knowledgemanagement systems. This is high-lighted in McCormick’s four phases ofa company’s intranet development,namely, posting documents such aspolicy manuals, providing access topersonal data, enabling one-way trans-actions and employee-to-employeeinformation sharing.41

The progression through the phasescan be explained by the technology-adoption curve.42 Holtz makes thepoint that the technology-adoptioncurve suggests that new technology isfirst used to duplicate existing techno-logy’s functions. It can be inferred thatthis is the case with intranets. Organisa-tional communicators, both public rela-tions and human resource professionals,are using intranets as tools for publish-ing and broadcasting. Holtz purportsthat once communicators become com-fortable with the new technologythrough the existing usages they willthen develop innovative applicationsthat go beyond existing technologies’capabilities.43

Day and Schoemaker’s examinationof challenges for incumbents of emer-ging technologies presents anotherinsight into the phenomenon of slowand simplistic adoption of intranetusage.44 The authors explain that newtechnologies disrupt the status quo, thusrequiring the development of a new setof competencies. They go on to high-light the fact that, in its earliest stagesof development and implementation, itis difficult to infer if the emerging

technology will achieve its desired out-come and provide any advantage overexisting technologies.One concern presented by Holtz is

that communicators fear that the keymessages presented on the organisa-tion’s intranet will get ‘lost in the tidalwave of material that a many-to-manyenvironment can produce’.45 This high-lights the need for professional commu-nicators, who understand how to bestframe and present messages, to beactively involved in the developmentof the organisation’s intranet.Access, another main concern, was

reported in the International Founda-tion of Employee Benefits Plans(IFEBP) survey.46 ‘Lack of employeeaccess to computers and the Internet’was cited by the majority of respon-dents (66 per cent) as their main con-cern with using intranets. Two otherconcerns, each cited by 42 per cent ofrespondents, were ‘lack of employeefamiliarity with technology’ and ‘secur-ity of data’. Some organisations aretackling these obstacles head on. Inresponse to the access issue, Ford MotorCompany is offering its 350,000employees use of a computer, Internetaccess and a printer for US$5 a month.Delta Airlines is offering its 72,000employees a similar package. Otherorganisations such as ConEdison, whichhas 14,000 employees of whom 8,000to 9,000 have online access, is establish-ing kiosks in workplace locations forthe 5,000 to 6,000 employees who donot.47 Black & Decker is also installingkiosks within its worksites for employ-ees who lack access at home or work.48

Those organisations that have zeal-ously embraced technology butneglected the face-to-face human ele-ment of communication may riskseverely limiting the overall effective-ness of the communication in order to

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maximise its efficiencies. McDermottalso strongly supports this argumentand highlights it with the case of soft-ware engineers who established acommon database of their system docu-mentation only to find that the data inno way enhanced their knowledge;they needed to understand each indivi-dual’s thought process that went intothe development of the systems.49

The cumulative effect of the ‘desiredadvantage over existing technologies’,the ‘technology-adoption curve’, com-municators’ concerns regarding infor-mation overload and access issues have,up to now, tempered the expansion ofInternet utilisation. Gantz presents find-ings that show the initially tentativeembracing of the use of intranets to beshort term.50 He reports the findingsfrom International Data Corporation’sannual survey of technology adoptionshowing that the percentage ofemployees accessing intranets will jumpfrom 18 per cent in December 1999 to69 per cent by December 2000, whichmeans more than half of the (US)workforce will get intranet accesswithin that 12-month period.

Some sample uses of intranets

Currently, organisations are developingintranets to enhance communicationwith remote employees; provide train-ing; provide benefits documentation;minimise costs associated with tradi-tional media; provide sensitive in-formation; give links to pertinentinformation; have a 360-degree infor-mation exchange tool with naturalflow; and establish a sophisticatedknowledge management system.Because of the time it will take toensure all employees are online andtrained and for communicators to com-plete the learning curve, many of thetraditional communication tools are

being used in conjunction with intra-nets. This will also give practitionerstime to strengthen internal alliances,especially with human resources andinformation technology, to ensure thattheir organisations have the best intra-net possible for their employees. Themedium and messages are there not forPR, HR or IT, but for the employees.Cohen51 and Kochaniec52 see the use

of intranets in the HR area as a solutionto the departmental rationalisationwhich resulted in fewer people per-forming an increasing number of func-tions. Cohen adds that employersencounter many obstacles in providingthe clear communication of (USfederally legislated) required benefitsinformation.53 The legislation of organ-isations’ responsibility to disseminateinformation brings with it a minefieldof associated problems of consistencyacross a geographically dispersedemployee base. Black & Decker’s vice-president of benefits, Raymond Brusca,explains that prior to the organisation’suse of an intranet to disseminate bene-fits information to its 12,000 employeesacross the USA, there had been a lot ofconfusion because so many differentpeople were explaining it to employeesin the country’s numerous locations.54

The benefits for HR internal commu-nication not only includes efficiencies inthe use of resources but the ability toenable employees to access informationregarding areas such as mental health orpolicies on other sensitive healthissues.55 Many intranets provide usefullinks to healthcare providers, benefitplan administrators and other usefulresources for employees.Kochaniec makes the point that

despite the ever-increasing need forconsistent, easily accessible information,most employers use the same mediumto communicate with their increasingly

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diverse workforce.56 The IFEBP surveyreinforces this point with the findingsthat only 29 per cent of the 433responding employers use the Internet/intranet for communicating employeebenefits information to employees.57

This leaves 71 per cent who do not; ofthese respondents, 66 per cent reportedthat they would be using the technol-ogy in the future. The Watson Wyattsurvey of HR technology issues foundthat, in 1996, 27 per cent of companiessurveyed used intranets for deliveringHR services; this increased to 50 percent in 1998 and 79 per cent in 2000.58

Although the exact figures do not cor-respond, both surveys highlight the factthat the adoption of intranet use israpidly increasing.Facilitating training, enabling multi-

directional internal communication,reducing costs, providing easy access toinformation, automation of routinetasks and knowledge management arelisted as some of the things a wellplanned and thought out intranet cando.59 Rabkin and Parent showed howCisco utilised its intranet to manage itsrapid growth rate that saw more thanhalf of its 11,000 employees hired in afour-year period.60 The intranetenabled Cisco to facilitate employeeacculturation, training and communica-tions while lowering business costs.McCune also believes that intranets canhelp build unity and promote bettercollaboration.61 She also stresses thecost benefits that come with intranetuse, in both its establishment comparedto other networking options and its useas opposed to other media.Organisations that have overcome

the concerns, progressed through usingintranets in the same way as existingmedia, and have reached McCormick’sfourth phase, labelled information shar-ing, are at the present leading edge of

intranet usage: knowledge manage-ment.62 Knowledge management is anexample of moving beyond existingtechnology, as no other mediumenables the management and sharing ofinformation as does an intranet.KPMG’s quest to develop an all-encompassing knowledge managementsystem shows the importance of such asystem to an organisation whose ‘pro-duct’ is its accumulative knowledge.63

The success of KPMG’s intranet lies inplanning and forethought. Raffoni alsostresses the importance of professionalplanning in the development and main-tenance of intranets.64 Alternatively,McDermott questions the focus on thetechnology in building knowledgemanagement systems.65 He believesthat, although technology has beeninspirational in this area, knowledge isbased on people, thinking and commu-nity. McDermott asserts that ‘knowl-edge is different from information’ andit takes the ‘human system’ to realiseit.66 Communities with diversity mustbe developed and maintained to shareknowledge and ‘encourages thinkingrather than sophisticated copying’.

FUTURE

The future is presenting even moreflexible options with wireless technol-ogy and more and more sophisticatedtechnology emerging at light speed.Communicators must have the back-ground necessary not to just keep upwith the changes but to lead in theseareas. Earl and Feeny argue the needfor CEOs to be ‘believers’ to lead theirorganisations into the information tech-nological age.67 This should also be thecase with communicators. Believing inthe benefits and expanding on the cap-abilities of technology for the benefit ofthe organisation can enable communi-cators to be a driving force in the orga-

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nisation’s future success. But, asMcDermott68 put forward and Cag-giano69 supports, the importance of thehuman element and face-to-face inter-action cannot be underestimated.Touch and tech must work together toprovide the balance which will enablecommunicators to maximise all interac-tions and exchanges: this will be thefuture challenge for communicators.

CONCLUSION

It is firstly important for communica-tors to understand intranets, how theyare developed, how they are currentlybeing used, future applications andsome of the concerns regarding theiruse. The implications for public rela-tions practitioners are that intranets arenot the wave of the future but of thepresent, and they must become skilledor be left behind. Practitioners mustbecome comfortable working with thetechnology, progress up the technol-ogy-adoption curve, build upon eachphase mastered, be gracious withacquired expertise, work in alliancewith HR, IT and all other departmentsto assist in the communication processand be prepared to deconstruct pre-viously held models of communication.There are a number of directions for

further research that can be pursued. Apriority should be given to the areas ofcommunication and management. Itwill be necessary to explore intranets’impact on the actual communicationprocess and outcomes. Does the newmedium so greatly affect the messagethat it becomes more important thanthe information? Is it the case withintranets, as Marshall McLuhan con-tended about traditional tools, that ‘themedium is the message’?70 Are employ-ees and employers modifying theirlevel of candidness, tact and convictionbecause of the medium? If communica-

tors want to know the true effectivenessof intranets, acceptable evaluation toolsmust be developed. Evaluation is a vitalpart of the modern profession of publicrelations and has been a significant issuefor more than 20 years. The develop-ment of a scale to measure effectivenessof intranet-driven employee communi-cation provides a challenge for futureresearch.A further direction for research could

be in the implications for managers. Isthe use of intranets the future of inter-nal communication or just a passingfad, a gimmick or the most appropriateand effective means to communicatewith staff? How should managers pre-pare themselves and their workforce toutilise the medium best? How willintranets impact organisational struc-ture? Will they ultimately shift powerfrom management to the employee asthe Internet appears to be doing in therelationship between the seller andbuyer?71 If so, how will this affectinternal relationships?The applications and opportunities

intranets afford communicators arebound only by humankind’s ingenuity.

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