Four Pillars
It's easy to fill pages.
Whether you need a magazine, an intranet site or an annual
report, we can certainly find something to fill it – and
we've got the talented writers and designers to make
it happen.
But we want to do more.
What makes us
different – or
so our clients tell us, anyway – is that we really
think about the content we create.
'Thinking communication' looks
beyond filling good-looking pages with great copy to ensure
that business messages connect with, engage and inspire people
to build better businesses.
At the heart of this approach
is our understanding of the 'four pillars' of
internal communications best practice.
In 2001, we published
the results of a two-year study that we'd carried out
with the International Association of Business Communicators
(IABC). We wanted to know, in effect, if following internal
communications best practice makes a company more successful.
The study revealed four competences – or pillars – that
are present in all successful companies and initiatives:
• Clarity
of purpose. This does what it says on the tin. It's
about employees understanding the big picture and knowing
how they fit in to it.
'How can I find out how
to contribute
to the
company’s goals?'
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• Effective
interfaces. This one's about building trusting relationships,
whether between leaders and employees or the business and
its customers.
'How can I find
out what
our customers want?'
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• Effective information
sharing. This covers
the sharing of best practice – making sure that people
have the information they need to do their jobs.
'How can I find out
about – and
learn from –
similar projects?'
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• Consistent leadership
behaviour. Leaders are role models of good communication, so their behaviour
should be honest and consistent.
'How can I find out whether
senior managers are practising
what they preach?'
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We use the four pillars as the foundation
for all the work we do with our clients.
http://iabcstore.com/IABCRFRpts/ccbussuccess.htm
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