Internal PR

Internal PR - PR tools used to improve the performance of a restaurant. When it comes to PR work inside a restaurant, then, first of all, it concerns the establishment of PR relations between its employees. According to Alexey Noskov, director of PizzaMania LLC, PR is a concern not only of the management, but also of each individual employee, especially those who come into direct contact with clients (waiters, bartenders, hostesses, sommeliers, head waiters).

Internal PR of a restaurant can be carried out in the following ways:

• - employee survey, research and assessment of their opinions about work;
• - personal characteristics;
• - information “from the back door”;
• - guidelines for new employees;
• - open day for family members;
• - free time program;
• - advanced training seminars and reference literature;
• - involving employees in planning and conducting PR events;
• - press reports mentioning the best employees of the enterprise;
• - participation in culinary competitions.

PR events inside the restaurant have two goals:

• 1) Creation of positive PR relations among employees;
• 2) Establishing a trusting relationship between restaurant managers and its employees.

External PR

Community service in restaurants involves establishing relationships with potential customers, the media, partners, suppliers, government agencies, investors, competitors, unions and associations. This work is ensured in the long term by measures to establish PR. This means creating a long-term positive image of the enterprise, including a positive assessment by clients and the public of its significance, prestige, reputation and fame.

Journalists are great helpers in creating PR around a restaurant. It is they, wittingly or unwittingly, who mainly shape public opinion about the restaurant with their publications. Therefore, it is better for a restaurant director to be friends with journalists. For a fee, they can write flattering articles and analytical reviews of the restaurant market about the establishment, where they can present the restaurant in a rather favorable light in relation to competitors. This is what a journalist does of his own free will. And secondly, a hard worker can benefit a restaurant completely by accident. Thus, many restaurateurs are introducing special loyalty programs for this writing fraternity: free coffee, serious discounts, increased attention from service staff, reserving the best table, etc. And quite often, journalists choose the place where they meet with the “star” they want to interview, exactly the restaurant where the loyalty program operates for him. And a “star” in a restaurant is a very useful thing:

• - the “star” will make a stunning impression on the guests of the restaurant (and rumors about this will fly throughout the city, creating positive PR around the establishment);
• - when a journalist begins to photograph a star for his magazine or newspaper, it is quite possible that part of the interior of the guest room will be illuminated in the photograph.

The restaurateur also benefits from his own communication with journalists, because, probably, there are no people more knowledgeable about the situation in the restaurant market than the ubiquitous journalists - you can learn a lot of interesting things from them.

Working with clients, depending on the frequency of clients visiting a particular restaurant, the degree of its “persuasion” has different significance. In this case, it seems advisable to have special employees (in addition to waiters) who form the very “image” of the restaurant, working with restaurant guests, and not only within the framework of PR programs related to the reception of VIP clients - artists, politicians, athletes, etc. Being a tool of communicative marketing, PR activities should not neglect ordinary visitors.

Of course, special employee No. 1 will be a brave security guard. Its type and tasks depend on what kind of guests usually come to the restaurant. In good restaurants, security is polite and observant, and camouflage is a rare occurrence. Security guards, and does not ask guests “what they want here.” And, if security is only engaged in breaking up fights, regularly taking part in them, then this means either a lack of prevention (FACE CONTROL), or the conscious maintenance of such a dashing image of the enterprise by the owners. The security guard is not obliged to please the guests more than his immediate superior.

The doorman is a man in livery, the same one who runs out to meet you in the rain with an umbrella in his hand. And he calls a taxi, seeing him off. And he always has one hand free: for tips. His role is a clever gatekeeper, remembering you, and the good old days, and mutual acquaintances, and...

Wardrobe - you throw off your coat, coat, fur coat, cane, hat, gloves to him, without worrying about their safety. He grabs everything on the fly, he knows everything about you that the doorman knows. His wardrobe is in order, he won’t confuse your fur coat with a child’s jacket, he will carry your gifts to the car (if he can’t manage it, the doorman will help). The wardrobe keeper is the “master of the golden mountain”; people entrusted him with something sacred: what they wore when they went out into the world.

Toilet - in the age of small private restaurants, they save money on this position, but this is not correct. Only an experienced and calm person can react promptly to everything in such a specific place. Napkins, liquid soap, air fresheners, toilets (and everything connected with it), suit cleaners and shoe shines. By the way, until the mid-80s, linen hand napkins were served in toilets. The condition of the toilet determines who the owner of the house is. Accordingly, this? keeper of purity.

Musicians. A restaurant is all about eating, drinking and dancing. All this is a stereotype that has developed over many years. And there is no point in fighting for its abolition. A musical ensemble may irritate someone, but someone, on the contrary, will go to this music, the main thing is to know the limits. Artists are big children, they need to be tactfully but very firmly led. Do not let them drink with guests and try to make sure that one song is not performed more than 25 times in a row.

The bartender is the person behind the counter, always visible. His business is the drinks that he makes in front of people, and this process is not instantaneous, so an inevitable conversation arises about nothing, which develops into finding common topics. By juggling a shaker and performing the ritual of serving a cocktail, the bartender presents himself, and the conversation he is having does not distract him from other matters. Loners who want to chat or, conversely, those who don’t need anyone right now spend their time at the counter. A good bartender will always understand a person by the first phrases. Sometimes the tip after a glass of cognac is equal to the cost of the drink. That's the price of a good, friendly conversation while working.

Sommelier - this position has appeared in “fashionable” restaurants seeking to raise the class of service and their place in the ranking. This is a waiter in the “law”, mastering the art of service in full, a cupbearer, a wine specialist, an expert in the rules of recommending wines and the ritual of serving them. The sommelier speaks with dignity, makes suggestions, can politely express disagreement or approve the guest’s choice, paying tribute to his taste. The phenomenon of a sommelier in itself takes service to a new level: another specialist takes care of the guest.

Hostess. Young, beautiful, intelligent Mistress who speaks a foreign language. She is always at the entrance to the hall. The right hand of the head waiter, replacing him at such moments when he has no opportunity to move away from the guests. Like sommeliers, hostesses are a new phenomenon in our restaurants. She shows guests the halls, gives general information on the cuisine and wine list, and entertainment programs. When showing interest in something specific, the hostess calls the appropriate person: chef, sommelier, art manager, etc. The use of hostesses is justified, because only one visitor can take a lot of time, and the head waiter must continuously attend to the guests.

Head waiter. The very courtesy with the guests and the ruthless drill sergeant with the waiters. He answers to guests and to his superiors. The waiters may not like him, but they recognize the authority of his words, his competence. If this is not the case, it is not a head waiter. He controls everything and makes decisions based on experience and the specific situation. Misunderstandings, conflicts, laughter and tears - everything is on it. Under any circumstances, the guest should leave satisfied, no matter how many waiters have to be changed.

Work with clients can also be carried out in writing, by processing information and publishing it in relevant publications, including your own “home” publication. It publishes messages about restaurant programs, the most important events that can interest a certain circle of consumers of restaurant services. As part of the PR program for establishing contacts with customers, discount systems provided by regular customers have a good effect.

PR technologist's work

Here are the main functions of a PR technologist in a company:

• work with internal and external PR;
• strategic planning of PR programs and strategies;
• analysis of the effectiveness of PR strategies;
• organizing presentations and other public events;
• analysis of the cost of carrying out PR campaigns, programs and implementing strategies;
• work with publicity;
• work with investors and creditors;
• maintaining and adjusting the company's image;
• other

Image making and PR

Image making- creating a memorable unique image of a particular entity in the eyes of the public, be it a company, an individual, a party, a country or something else.

In the field of PR, you most often have to work on the company's image. A positive image influences the public’s attitude, inspires respect, positive emotions, they want to work with you, they make concessions to you.

When perceiving the image of a company, a person is primarily based on his life experience, stereotypes, values ​​and certain moral principles.

It is clear that everyone will like it and it is impossible to evoke positive emotions in 100% of the population. The main task of a PR technologist in this case is to reach the maximum possible number of people in whose eyes the image being formed will evoke positive emotions and associations.

PR internal and external

There are two areas of public relations - internal and external.

Internal PR also called intra-corporate. The main task of internal PR is to create favorable and trusting relationships between the company's management and personnel at all levels of management.

In internal PR, corporate culture is of great importance.

Components of internal corporate PR:

• the effectiveness of the system of interaction between departments and employees in the company;
• motivation to work;
• employees are the main potential of the company.

  External PR- work with the external environment of the company: with competitors, partners, investors, customers, clients, with everyone except company employees.

  Internal and external PR are interdependent. This means that in order to achieve success, a company must pay attention to both areas.

On techniques of manipulation using the media

1- Distraction

The main element of managing society is to divert people's attention from important problems and decisions made by political and economic ruling circles, through the constant saturation of the information space with unimportant messages. The technique of distraction is very important in preventing citizens from gaining important knowledge in the fields of science, economics, psychology, neuroscience and cybernetics. “Constantly distract the attention of citizens from real social problems, switching it to topics of no real importance. To ensure that citizens are constantly busy with something and do not have time to think; from the field to the pen, like all other animals (quote from the book “Silent weapons for quiet wars”).

2- Create problems and then suggest ways to solve them

This method is also called problem-reaction-solution. A problem is created, a certain “situation”, designed to provoke a certain reaction among the population so that it itself demands the adoption of measures that are necessary for the ruling circles. For example, allowing a spiral of violence in cities to unfold or organizing bloody terrorist attacks so that citizens demand the adoption of laws to strengthen security measures and policies that infringe on civil liberties. Or: cause an economic crisis in order to force people to accept the violation of social rights and the curtailment of city services as a necessary evil.

3- Method of gradual application To achieve the adoption of any unpopular measure, it is enough to introduce it gradually, day after day, year after year. This is exactly how fundamentally new socio-economic conditions (neoliberalism) were imposed in the 80s and 90s of the last century. Minimizing the functions of the state, privatization, uncertainty, instability, mass unemployment, wages that no longer provide a decent life. If all this happened at the same time, it would certainly lead to a revolution.

4- Postponement of execution

Another way to push through an unpopular decision is to present it as “painful and necessary” and to obtain the consent of citizens at the moment for its implementation in the future. It is much easier to agree to make any sacrifices in the future than in the present.

Firstly, because it won't happen immediately. Secondly, because the mass of the people are always inclined to cherish naive hopes that “tomorrow everything will change for the better” and that the sacrifices that are demanded of them will be avoided. This gives citizens more time to become comfortable with the idea of ​​change and to accept it humbly when the time comes.

5- Treat people like little children

Most propaganda speeches aimed at the general public use arguments, characters, words, and intonation as if they were talking about school-age children with developmental delays or mentally handicapped individuals. The more someone tries to mislead the listener, the more he tries to use infantile speech patterns. Why? “If someone addresses a person as if he were 12 years old or younger, then due to suggestibility, that person’s response or reaction will, to a certain degree, also lack the critical judgment that is typical for children aged 12 or younger years.

6- Emphasize emotions much more than thoughts

Influencing emotions is a classic technique aimed at blocking people’s ability to rationally analyze, and, ultimately, the ability to critically comprehend what is happening in general. On the other hand, the use of the emotional factor allows you to open the door to the subconscious in order to introduce thoughts, desires, fears, concerns, compulsions or stable patterns of behavior there...

7- Keep people ignorant by cultivating mediocrity

To ensure that people become incapable of understanding the techniques and methods used to control them and subjugate them to their will. “The quality of education provided to the lower social classes should be as meager and mediocre as possible, so that the ignorance that separates the lower social classes from the higher ones remains at a level that the lower classes cannot overcome.

8- Encourage citizens to admire mediocrity

To instill in the population the idea that it is fashionable to be stupid, vulgar and ill-mannered...

9- Increasing feelings of self-guilt

To make a person believe that only he is to blame for his own misfortunes, which occur due to a lack of his mental capabilities, abilities or efforts. As a result, instead of rebelling against the economic system, a person begins to engage in self-deprecation, blaming himself for everything, which causes a depressed state, leading, among other things, to inaction. And without action there can be no talk of any revolution!

10- Know more about people than they know about themselves

Over the past 50 years, advances in scientific development have created an ever-widening gap between the knowledge of ordinary people and the information possessed and used by the ruling classes. Thanks to biology, neurobiology and applied psychology, the “system” has at its disposal advanced knowledge about humans, both in the field of physiology and psyche. The system managed to learn more about an ordinary person than he knows about himself. This means that in most cases the system has more power and controls people to a greater extent than they do themselves.

Noam Chomsky.

Change is the norm of life of any company, a law of development, an axiom of business. But how they are implemented in a company can be either a catalyst or a brake on change. Many ideas were buried only because they did not find support from employees, were incomprehensible and unaccepted .

According to the classic definition, PR (public relations) is a management function aimed at establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public, on which its success or, conversely, failure depends. Properly structured communications with target groups of the public allow an organization not only to create a positive image of the company, but also to achieve maximum effect from its activities.

When considering target groups of the public, we often forget that in addition to such important groups as consumers, clients, shareholders, competitors, the media, and authorities, there is another community whose attitude towards the company’s activities can literally be decisive for the success of all its activities. These are company employees. It has been proven that company losses from disloyal staff attitudes are on average three times higher than from the activities of competitors or unfriendly media. However, in modern Russian practice, only a few companies consciously work to establish favorable communications with their staff. The goal of internal PR is to develop effective communication with internal audiences, create and strengthen corporate loyalty.

Really working internal PR is a complex activity in which a variety of tools can be used. The main thing is compliance with the goals that your company seeks to achieve by building a system of relationships with its internal audience. Internal PR is designed to increase the level of loyalty and motivation of personnel, and therefore the effectiveness of their activities. In addition, creating a positive image of the company in the eyes of employees affects the company’s image in the outside world, because personnel is one of the channels for transmitting information to the outside.

Contents of internal activities PR

The need for an internal PR system is relevant for medium and large companies. Especially for those that consist of disparate divisions: several offices, industrial complexes and an office building, a chain of stores, a network of regional branches, etc. How to unite these divisions, show that all employees of the organization are one team that works to achieve one goals? It is necessary to fill communication gaps, create uniform standards of behavior, establish a system for informing employees, and create a positive image of the company. And do it in such a way that every employee feels part of the company and is proud of it.

Internal PR is a targeted and structured information impact on personnel, designed to strengthen the company’s image in their eyes. Internal PR is part of the personnel management policy, which should be built within the framework of a single concept and based on the goals that the company faces.

Creating an internal PR system involves long-term work, which, as a rule, consists of four main stages: preparation, selection of funds, implementation of the project and evaluation of its effectiveness.

At the preparation stage, it is important for HR employees who are just starting to think about building an internal PR system to pay attention to two key points.

Internal PR system

An internal PR system will help unite the team, show that all employees of the organization are one team that works to achieve the same goal

First, analyze what is the situation in the company at present? How informed are your employees about the company's development prospects, how effectively do employees from different departments interact with each other, are they satisfied with the current state of affairs? It’s not difficult to find out: personal conversations with employees, heads of departments, observations, including in an informal setting, and questionnaires will help you.

Secondly, assess the scale of the proposed changes. You may need to carry out several specific activities, for example, organize the work of an internal corporate website and promptly inform employees about changes in the company. Or maybe there will be a need to build an entire structure to implement a long-term program: from writing the company’s corporate code to organizing corporate events. When planning changes, remember that the effectiveness of the entire system will always be higher than the collection of its individual elements.

So, having determined the scale of the proposed changes, it is necessary to determine what practical means will be required to achieve them. There are several groups of activities that make up the internal PR system.

Image events include defining the company's mission, creating a corporate code and developing corporate symbols. Their task is to form common standards of behavior and commitment to the company’s values.

Mission- this is the purpose of the organization, its main function in society, its role in a specific market, in any direction of business. The mission statement is the result of the work of the management team, so it is very important that all company employees share its values.

Along with such popular areas as promoting goods and brands, PR projects related to the creation and management of reputation, the formation of corporate culture, philosophy and mission of the company have recently become increasingly important. The areas of internal PR activity have become noticeably updated today. However, today the following statistics are monitored: “no more than 15% of Russian companies consistently and successfully engage in internal PR - building communications between employees, promoting the company’s values,” Sergei Gurov, manager of the Feedback PR agency, is convinced. According to him, in most medium and large companies, internal PR comes down to hosting holiday parties. Susan Walker, head of communications research at British marketing company MORI, agrees. Corporations such as Honda, Boots Group, and Cable & Wireless also make mistakes related to internal PR. “The main mistake of top managers is the reluctance to maintain feedback with employees, the inability to take advantage of the benefits of established contact with them,” Susan Walker told Vedomosti. At the same time, says Victoria Chuprovskaya, director of the Capital PR Agency: “firm managers are reluctant to turn to an external PR agency with a proposal to develop a PR strategy for internal communications. This only happens if serious problems arise (lack of staff motivation, lack of team feeling and, as a result, a decrease in the company’s performance). Not wanting to “wash dirty laundry in public,” the company’s top management, as a rule, tries to solve the problem on its own or entrusts the solution to the PR manager (company employee).”

Public relations management in an enterprise or organization should always be aimed at specific categories of the public whose behavior is important for the successful operation of the company.

The entire public in this or that company can be divided into internal and external. The internal public includes, first of all:

company personnel (main and auxiliary workers, specialists, maintenance personnel, etc.);

heads of structural divisions of the company (divisions, departments, services, laboratories, bureaus, etc.);

shareholders directly and constantly involved in managing the company and resolving the most important issues of its functioning.

The external public of the company can, in turn, be conditionally divided into close and distant. The main groups of the close external public that have a significant and constant influence on the work of the company:

suppliers of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products, components, assemblies, parts, spare parts and other initial components of manufactured products (works, services);

enterprises and infrastructure organizations that ensure the normal functioning of the company (energy, transport, supply, trade, intermediary, consulting, legal, financial and credit, insurance, utilities, etc.);

shareholders who are not directly involved in the management of the company, but own a significant number of shares;

consumers of products (works, services) produced by the company;

state control and regulatory bodies authorized to carry out various inspections, issue orders, impose fines, etc.

The main groups of distant external public that have an indirect indirect impact on the work of the company:

the company's competitors;

local authorities;

population living in the areas where the company's main production and sales divisions are located.

The characteristics of certain categories of the public must be taken into account when building an appropriate communications management system at an enterprise or organization.

In this work, as noted in the topic, we will consider only the internal public and one of the ways to work with it - the stages of organizing and holding festive events.

So, within a company, PR performs a number of functions that are vital for modern business:

assistance to employees and specialists in familiarizing themselves with the goals, capabilities and traditions of the company;

clarification of the general policy of management and the principles of its work with personnel;

meeting the needs of staff for information about events in and around the company;

ensuring and stimulating two-way communication between the company’s management and its employees;

promoting the development of positive motivation for each employee in relation to the company and high quality work;

formation of organizational culture and corporate identity;

educating employees as representatives of the company, bearers of its image and culture.

Correct implementation of the listed functions is possible only if the company’s management provides for various types of support for the public relations management process: ideological, personnel, logistics, financial, regulatory, technological, information, etc.

The main task of in-house PR work is to ensure two flows of information: “from above” and “from below”. In the first case, we are talking about information coming from the top officials of the company, which should be systematically communicated to the staff. Each employee has a need for a “sense of leadership”, for knowledge about the intentions of management, the results and prospects of the company’s activities, the state of affairs, and the validity of rumors. Equally important is the counter flow - from staff to managers. Moods, opinions, decisions, assessments, attitudes, possible proposals for improving things - a manager can only learn about all this directly from employees. Therefore, it is extremely important for the company’s management to have a “feeling for every subordinate.” If the top officials of the company do not organize this flow of information, it begins to develop spontaneously and is also not at all beneficial to the business. Both of these flows of information, both creating a “sense of a leader” among subordinates and creating a “sense of a subordinate” among management, are ultimately aimed at achieving a single goal - the formation of a “sense of We”, involvement in a common cause. And here an important role in the formation of positive motivation is played by correctly structured selection and placement of personnel, carefully adjusted technology with a focus on information.

It should also be remembered that literally everything in the company is indirectly related to internal PR - the way employees greet each other, the way their workplaces are decorated, and even the color the office walls are painted.

In practice, there are a number of methods for working with the internal public - such as collegial meetings between company employees, (preferably) with the participation of company management, meetings, conferences, seminars, conferences, collection and analysis of proposals, wish books, newsletters, annual reports, registration stands, wall newspapers, notice boards, permanent and temporary exhibitions, articles and letters in the media, the use of photo, film and video materials, printed materials (reference books, instructions for beginners), holding joint weekends, celebrating professional and national holidays , as well as the “sacred” – the company’s birthday.

“For any business structure operating in modern market conditions, it is necessary to create a system of intra-company communications between company employees,” since these interactions form its organizational culture. And if such a mechanism of internal communication is established, then sympathy arises between the participants in communications, the psychological climate is harmonized, the level of mutual assistance and mutual assistance in work increases, responsibility increases, and the level and severity of conflicts decreases. The development of corporate relations contributes to improving the economic performance of the organization. Control over them is helped by the so-called “internal PR tools,” which we will consider in the next section.

Internal PR tools

“To implement internal PR tasks, public relations specialists have a number of tools at their disposal. These tools can be divided into informational, analytical, communication, organizational and crisis (post-crisis) response tools.”

So, let's briefly look at the tools of each group:

Information tools are means of one-way communication. They are intended to inform company employees about current events as part of public relations.

The main information tools of internal PR include:

Internal publications – information (corporate) newsletter;

Other printed products intended for internal distribution: congratulations, condolences, individual correspondence, copies and extracts from official documents (reprints), reports, etc.;

Corporate web resource (page, website, portal);

Cable broadcasting (radio, TV, internal computer network)

Analytical internal public relations tools are a means of one-way (reverse) communication designed to study the opinions, sentiments and responses of enterprise employees.

The main internal corporate PR tools of this type are:

Monitoring responses and feedback from enterprise employees to information previously disseminated among them;

Comprehensive analysis of survey results, survey results, etc., conducted among enterprise employees.

Communication tools for internal public relations have the main advantage of direct contact, personal communication between employees and management.

The main activities here are:

Management speeches;

Open interviews;

Open letters;

Questions and answers evenings;

Oral communications from management;

Announcement of management orders.

Tools for crisis and post-crisis response are means of increasing the effectiveness of the use of PR tools and techniques. This is facilitated by:

1) A thoughtful and balanced attitude to every word addressed to the employees of the enterprise is emphasized: “The word is not a sparrow - it will fly out, you won’t catch it!”

2) Work “proactively”, intensification of information exchange in both directions;

Particular attention to the response, manifestations of opinions and sentiments of employees, maximum flexibility in matters of public relations.

Organizational tools of internal PR are represented by a set of special events held for enterprise employees with the direct participation of management. Among these events we note:

meetings and sessions (as a rule, timed to coincide with national memorable and solemn dates);

evenings of rest;

competitions (And “here it’s not so important whether it’s a chess or football tournament, the main thing is the desire of the participants themselves and the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and qualities during non-working hours.”)

internal corporate holidays (company birthday, Open Day, Young Professionals Day, Veterans Day)

The main purpose of the listed events is to strengthen the corporate spirit among the company’s employees in an informal, festive atmosphere.

Stages of internal PR

Setting the objectives of the corporate myth. For example, employee loyalty, increased motivation, improved relationships, popularization of management, etc.

Studying the current internal mythology of the company.

The choice of carriers of the corporate myth: idea, ethics, charismatic leader, common good cause, way of life, fight against common evil, great prospects, etc.

Determining the content of a corporate myth.

Development of a systemic concept of corporate myth (culture).

Establishment of the main and supporting subsystems of the corporate myth.

Identification of main (necessary) and additional (desirable) elements.

Determining how the explicit and implicit benefits of the organization's employees will be linked to adherence to the Corporate Myth.

Development of standards, rituals and intra-organizational PR events.

Based on system relationships, determining the implementation sequence.

Stages of Internal PR: events

Building an organizational subsystem of internal PR based on human resources and marketing departments with the direct participation of senior management.

Systematic implementation of the implementation steps from point nine. Internal press releases, writing a book-appeal from the manager, general holidays, operational awards for “our people” and other incentives, loud keeping of promises, etc.

The launch of formalized courses to instill corporate mythology in newly arrived employees and regular PR campaigns for existing employees, trainings on the implementation and maintenance of corporate standards. Development of long-term measures.

Monitoring the current state of the company's myth, maintaining employee files, prompt response, proposing additional actions, preparing texts, scripts, documents and using circumstances.

Depending on the size of the organization, work on the project can take from several months to one or two years.

Training of employees of the internal PR department

The creation and implementation of the Corporate Myth can be carried out by attracted specialists. It is better (and cheaper) to entrust the maintenance of an effective and strong company myth to specially trained company employees.

Training of such employees can take place both at special seminars and in the process of direct work on developing a corporate culture together with a team of professional office technologists.

Formation of internal image as one of the tasks of internal PR

Striving for the success of the organization in the foreign market, the company's management takes care of the formation of an external image in the eyes of clients and partners, which is created by effective advertising of the company, modern design of premises, quality of goods and services, level of service, etc.
At the same time, it is very often forgotten that managers and employees themselves, when communicating with each other, set certain standards of attitude towards work, towards colleagues, and towards the process of customer service. Thus, the internal image of the company is formed, that is, how its employees see it.

Typically, the external and internal image of a company differ sharply from each other. Here's how employees might describe the most common organizational problems:

Our main problem is that management does not see the employee as a person, as an individual. They look at us as robots who should only perform narrow tasks...

We have no idea what senior management and line managers expect from us...

No one knows what we should be doing, both as individuals and as a company as a whole. We have never taken part in setting goals, we don’t know where our company is going...

In such a situation, it is difficult to expect employees to work with full dedication. Usually this process is unconscious and spontaneous. A tough management style, rudeness, and lack of respect for subordinates shown by management affect the motivation of subordinates, or rather the lack thereof. In turn, ordinary employees exhibit the same qualities when working with colleagues and clients, as the safest objects on which to take out their aggression on the manager.

Thus, the lack of value of dialogue, quite often conveyed by managers in our culture, leads to the fact that the efforts spent on attracting customers are negated by disloyal and unmotivated staff.

The task of the HR manager is to identify and convey to the manager what kind of informal attitude towards the organization has developed in the team. How can I do that:

Conduct an anonymous survey of employees (collect their feedback on the company’s personnel policy);

Conduct interviews with dismissed employees;

Check how company employees meet new partners and clients unfamiliar to them;

Observe how employees spend their temporarily free time from work (playing computer games, translating English or something else);

Listen to what stories and jokes employees tell;

How they welcome newcomers, what information they are given about the company.

If the company's management strives to create a customer-oriented organization, then the first thing to start with is the formation of staff loyalty to the organization (internal PR). In order for service personnel to look for the meaning and reason for their work in the client, they must be able to enter the role of another person, understand their positions, and see the situation through their eyes.

Such value in the work of employees will appear when senior management and immediate supervisors treat them as individuals, understand and respect their needs for information about what is happening in the organization, positive feedback (support), optimal work tension, safety and etc.

Thus, the successful development and implementation of internal PR begins with the formation of a positive image of managers and leads to a sense of faith and pride among employees in their company.

Internal PR methods

Internal PR methods are practically no different from those traditionally used in the field of public relations. The only difference is their specificity, dictated by your audience.

Internal media- the most common internal PR tool.

The volume, variety, frequency and circulation of the media are determined by the size and needs of the audience, as well as the technical capabilities of the company.

Example. In a large industrial enterprise (more than 1,000 employees), it becomes advisable to create an internal radio station, and in an office with no more than 100 people, a weekly newsletter or monthly magazine is sufficient.

Don't forget that we are lucky enough to live in the 21st century, so use electronic media. Train your staff to communicate on the intranet, create electronic internal media.

Corporate Culture Guide.

These guidelines should address aspects of behavior both inside and outside the company. Management must be accessible to employees of all grades. When writing a corporate bible, it's best to avoid dogma and be creative in the process. Don't be afraid to use non-traditional genres. After all, most employees will not read a boring textbook on business etiquette, but will prefer an ironic detective story with neatly written norms of behavior or a collection of stories about the interaction of neighbors in the stairwell.

Form style.

A very powerful visual communication tool. Try to ensure that every employee of the company wears products with the symbols of your organization with pride and can always distinguish a fake from the original. Staff knowledge of the main differences (color, logo, office design, signs, etc.) helps unite the team based on their belonging to something specific. Create symbols - this is the oldest way to unite the masses.

Public events(sports, art, tourism, etc.).

It all depends on your imagination, but don’t get carried away. If you have dreamed all your life of learning to water ski or your boss loves opera, it does not mean at all that the team is also ready to listen to “The Tsar’s Bride” in 4 acts, even at the Bolshoi Theater.

Choose activities that can involve as many people as possible.

Example. Football championship between branches (divisions) of your company.

If the event you came up with seems brilliant to you, the working group supported you, you were allocated a budget, but some of the employees do not support you, do not despair! If the project succeeds, with each subsequent project the number of opponents will decrease, and the internal PR rating will increase.

Gossip

Rumors are much easier to use in internal PR than in traditional PR. Firstly, in the company you can create a kind of tree of spreading rumors and achieve 100% awareness of employees and stimulate conversations on the topic you need. Secondly, you can get immediate feedback and manage the process from start to finish.

It is more difficult to deal with unwanted rumors. Here you can use the same “crowbar” - i.e. refuting rumors or your internal official sources of information with the help of statements by authoritative persons on a topic of interest to staff. This will have a much greater effect.

Bulletin board.

A bulletin board is an open source of information that encourages discussion and, therefore, facilitates communication between people in a team. Even if you have an electronic bulletin board, it is advisable to leave the traditional board and place it in the place of the greatest traffic flow (dining room, smoking room, entrance).

Hall of Fame.

This old tradition should not be considered a relic of the past. A company that is proud of its employees deserves to have employees proud of it. And for many, especially not young teams, honor boards remained very strong motivators.

Trainings.

Trainings in interpersonal communication, working in groups, working in conditions of company restructuring, etc. will help maintain a favorable climate in the team in a difficult situation. Don't forget that even the most talented employees sometimes need help. Trainings are best carried out with the assistance of an external specialist. HR specialists should organize and conduct trainings, and the working group should determine their feasibility and role in the overall internal PR strategy.

Meetings.

Depending on the specifics of your team, these could be quarterly meetings in assembly halls with reports on the work done, or weekly five-minute meetings in departments, at which the manager sets a task, distributes work and sums up the previous week.

Social programs.

Necessary, but must be economically justified. Try not to shift the entire burden of costs onto your organization. If you use the funds allocated for these purposes correctly, you can partially participate in several projects rather than fully implement only one.

Only classic PR tools are listed here, but your creative thought can change them beyond recognition. The main thing is not to overdo it and listen to the advice of your colleagues. When forming your own internal PR strategy, use only tools that are acceptable for your organization. The better they are adapted to solve the tasks assigned to you, the faster you will feel the results of your work.

Conclusion

Internal PR activities are aimed at the organizational culture of the company. All PR work is directly related to the formation of this culture.

The basic principles of public relations management at an enterprise or organization include: scientificity, systematicity, complexity, efficiency, continuity, objectivity, legality, flexibility, constructiveness, efficiency.

To implement internal PR tasks, public relations specialists have a number of tools at their disposal. These tools can be divided into informational, analytical, communication, organizational and crisis response tools. A corporate holiday is one of the communication tools of internal PR and is of great importance for the formation of organizational culture.

12. Novikov V. Increase in bonus. Holidays for employees have become an integral element of corporate culture. Expert North-West. 11/12/2001.

13. Newstrom J.V., Davis K. Organizational behavior. St. Petersburg, 2000.

14. Ozhegov S., Shvedova N. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language: 80,000 words and phraseological expressions. M., 1995.

As practice shows, the specificity of the functions and goals of HR departments is such that, regardless of the type of activity of the company, its size and scale of business, the establishment of public relations with employees falls under the responsibility of HR specialists. Let's consider what tasks related to internal PR can be solved by representatives of the HR service.

Marina Evstafieva, Ph.D. psychol. Sciences, HR Director, SoftBalance Group of Companies, St. Petersburg

The SoftBalance group of companies was founded in 1993. It specializes in information technology, including 1C: franchisees. The number of personnel is 200 people.

The concept of internal PR

To understand what tasks related to internal PR can be solved by the personnel service, let us turn to the literal translation of the phrase public relations (English) - public relations, public relations. If we consider the company’s personnel, or rather its team, as a kind of public united within the organization, then the area of ​​responsibility for PR work with employees rests with the HR service.

Unlike HR department employees, PR specialists focus on tasks related to creating a positive image of the company in the perception of external clients. As for internal PR, these functions are often divided between the marketing department and the HR department (or are completely transferred to the latter). This is especially common in small companies, whose management often prefers to do without a PR service. Thus, internal PR can be considered as an area where the interests of human resources and public relations specialists coincide (see table).

Let's take a closer look at the areas of intersection of the functions of these two departments: as you know, the main direction of PR (both internal and external) is the formation and maintenance of the image of the organization. The image of a company can also be both external and internal, and in this regard, the main goal of the activities of PR and HR services comes down to the formation of a consistent, holistic positive image of the organization.

As part of the implementation of the public relations management function, the interests of the mentioned services coincide in relation to communication groups. Strategically, the company’s employees become an internal resource for organizing an effective external communication space, and, as practice shows, strong external PR is a powerful tool and the so-called HR brand of the organization, helping to attract the best specialists to the company.

An effective strategy for interaction between the two departments under consideration can be the synergy of techniques and tactics from the PR and HR arsenal.

In practice, in companies, the division of responsibility for internal public relations depends on the following factors:

• organization size;
• stage of development of corporate culture;
• competence of specialists in public relations and human resource management.

In American theory, PR is generally defined as a management function of establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public, on which the success or, conversely, failure of a company’s business depends. Internal PR is traditionally understood as a set of events (corporate holidays, annual reporting meetings with the announcement of employee achievements and rewarding the best, publication of corporate media, broadcast of success stories, etc.) aimed at creating a positive image of the employer among staff and thus allowing increase the efficiency of people's activities. Let us note that the phenomenon of internal PR lies in the fact that it can simultaneously be considered both as a result and as a process. The goal (and, if achieved, the result) of internal public relations is the establishment of stable functional interaction between HR and PR departments and the team, facilitating the implementation of personnel policies in the life of the company. Such cooperation is expressed in delivering the necessary information to recipients and receiving timely feedback. Internal PR as a process includes the phased implementation of the company's policies and technologies for creating a positive image of the organization in the eyes of its employees.

To carry out PR functions, namely the formation and maintenance of the company’s image, management of internal communications, organization and conduct of corporate events, the personnel service needs well-established communication channels. In communication theory, they mean:

• a set of means of communication between the source and receiver of information - telephone, radio broadcasting, computer, etc.;
• frequency band, transmission time and other air resources allocated in communication systems for message transmission.*

2. Establishing external relations, establishing contacts with representatives of the public.
3. Analysis and systematization of information about consumers.
4. Preparation of texts for speeches, presentations, press releases, publications, etc.

Thus, communication channels are lines of communication (contact) through which a message is transmitted from the communicator (sender) to the recipient. To date, many classifications of channels and means of communication have been developed (horizontal and vertical, formal and informal, etc.). We list the information transmission channels that are most interesting to HR specialists:

1. Telecommunications - telephone, teletype, telegraph, fax machine, video communication, Internet (e-mail, ICQ, social networks), etc.
2. Interpersonal - conversations with employees, interviews.
3. Indirect - transfer of information through documents, corporate publications, etc.

To ensure effective functioning of communication channels, HR representatives should:

1. Organize a communication space in which employees can speak out and exchange opinions without fear.

Example

In a computer information system (CIS) recently implemented in an organization, a tool such as an anonymous survey was created. The first study, which examined how employees understand and trust management's policies, included only a small percentage of employees, and the responses were socially favorable. During personal conversations with employees, representatives of the personnel service found out that the team doubted the anonymity of the “mysterious tool.” It was decided to purchase mailboxes and install them in the company’s office premises. Employees were asked to fill out electronic survey forms, print them and put them in their mailboxes. This contributed to obtaining an adequate picture of the situation in the company.

2. Eliminate “interference” in communication channels (breaks in the communication chain, errors in the construction of statements, violation of logic, etc.).

Example

A foreigner who does not speak Russian was appointed production director of a large company; in turn, the production staff of the enterprise did not know the language spoken by the new manager. His interaction with his subordinates was structured as follows: the director spent almost all his working time in the workshops and intervened in the technological process, while expressing himself very emotionally in his native language. After some time, employees began to feel stressed when their boss appeared, which significantly reduced the efficiency of production processes. The HR service made a proposal to “transfer” the production director to the office and focus him on strategic tasks. In the workshops, his ideas were to be carried out by the chief technologist who spoke Russian. This solution eliminated the problem.

3. Establish mechanisms and a process for management to receive feedback from staff in order to analyze the effectiveness of ongoing internal events (meetings, holidays, organizational development sessions). Information can be collected using electronic surveys, and the number and nature of the ratings received will become a source for studying the current situation in the company.

Internal PR tools

• informational(media, website, stands, leaflets, messages) - are created, first of all, to form a single information field in the company;
• analytical(anonymous mailboxes, surveys, conversations with individual employees and groups of employees, monitoring) - used to receive feedback from staff, create a communicative space in the enterprise, encourage initiative, express opinions;
• communicative(corporate holidays, training*, adaptation training, professional competitions, etc.) - are used to form an internal positive image of the company, create in employees a sense of involvement in its activities, joint victories and failures;
• organizational(meetings, conferences, management speeches, development and implementation of corporate standards, etc.) - are used to clarify the positions of management, policies and strategies of the organization, and convey information to staff about its successes.

PR tasks of the HR department

When implementing an internal PR strategy, the ideal role for HR specialists seems to be one in which HR department employees set tasks for the PR department in a unique way, and its employees, in turn, act as a “mouthpiece” and convey information to the internal public.

Let’s look at what PR tasks HR specialists can solve:

1. Formation and maintenance of a positive internal image of the company and its distribution to the close circle of employees (family, friends, etc.). As part of this function, HR specialists work with management as an important transmitter of the company's image (preparing texts for speeches, explaining the need for direct dialogue between top managers and staff, organizing meetings between bosses and subordinates, etc.); disseminate information about the achievements and successes of the organization.

The position of representatives of the HR service plays a special role in this process, since it is their behavior that often becomes an indicator for the internal community of everything that is happening in the company. In this regard, the behavior of personnel department specialists must coincide with the declared one. In addition, it is necessary that all benefits promised to employees are implemented; if the HR department systematically violates its obligations, then people will stop trusting them, and any information coming from HR managers will be perceived with skepticism, which will ultimately lead to a decrease in staff motivation.

2. Translation of the company’s values, its mission, traditions and norms of corporate behavior. At SoftBalance Group of Companies, the most important aspects for the company are conveyed by HR service specialists to hired employees in a cycle of induction activities. So, during a conversation on the eve of a newcomer’s start to work, the HR manager tells him about the behavior accepted in the organization, cites success stories, outlines prospects and expectations from him; At the welcome training, the employee gets acquainted with the company code, masters the ethics of treating clients, corporate traditions and customs.

In addition, representatives of the HR service publicly explain management decisions to staff. At the same time, they rely on the basic principles - accessibility of information, its maximum openness and explanation from the point of view of accepted rules and regulations in the company, corporate culture.

Example

The decision to reduce the salaries of employees of one of the company's divisions was conveyed to them as follows: the emphasis was placed on the fact that this measure was temporary and was being introduced in order to retain the entire team of specialists. Since every employee is important to the company’s management, and they feel a social responsibility for the families of their subordinates, it was decided to abandon the option of cutting even one job in order to maintain salaries. In addition, it was brought to the attention of the majority that salary growth will directly depend on the contribution of each person to the success of the organization - if he tries to work more efficiently in his place, the situation will soon improve, and the enterprise will come out of the crisis.

Another PR task solved by HR representatives is declaring acceptable (or unacceptable) corporate behavior. The function of personnel officers in this case is to convey information about the achievements of a distinguished employee to other employees of the company through internal media, e-mail, corporate information system (CIS), bulletin boards, and public speaking. Likewise, in cases of unacceptable behavior: it is recommended not only to make them as public as possible, but also to explain why such actions are unacceptable.

Example

The company has a “Confidentiality Statement”. At the same time, the organization’s corporate values ​​are trust in employees and openness of information. Over a period of time, one of the employees systematically passed on confidential information to the company's competitors. Representatives of the personnel service decided to part with this person and, in order to prevent similar actions in the future, convey their opinion to others. To this end, representatives of the HR department turned to the general director so that he, on behalf of senior management, voiced the official position of the company and prepared an information letter addressed to all personnel. The appeal explained that openness and trust still remain the main values ​​of the organization, but they should not be used to the detriment of the employer; violation of the confidentiality regime will lead to termination of the employment relationship.

3. Informing staff about events, innovations, decisions. As you know, the same event, management decision, or incident can be reported in different ways. For example, when organizing a cleanup day on the territory of an enterprise, it is advisable to send out original invitations to employees with an appeal to take part in this event, make the world around them a little more beautiful and cleaner, and work physically in the fresh air in a team of like-minded people. With this approach, people will want to understand and support the employer. If you simply issue an internal order to hold a cleanup day and oblige all personnel without exception to appear for it, the employees will express dissatisfaction and, at best, will take a formal part in the event, without showing enthusiasm; at worst, management's instructions will be deliberately ignored.

The result largely depends on the form chosen by HR specialists for conveying to staff the information received from the heads of the company. Moreover, sometimes it is important to pause - this will help later correctly present the necessary facts. Also, HR officers should not forget that the decision made by management may be canceled, or circumstances in the company will change, so sometimes it is worth waiting.

Please note that it is unlikely that a negative reaction will be completely avoided. However, when communicating unpopular decisions, certain rules should be followed that will smooth out the dissatisfaction of the team:

• it is necessary to transfer information to those persons whom it directly concerns;
• this should be done in a calm atmosphere, not “on the run”, explaining the motives and positive aspects;
• offer compensation mechanisms where possible;
• communicate unpopular decisions in advance so that employees have time to come to terms with expected deterioration of conditions;
• use generally accepted communication channels; if, in an unfavorable environment, non-traditional means of transmitting information are used, then the very fact of their use can sow panic in the team;
• formulate thoughts clearly and unambiguously;
• first convey information to line managers, to whom subordinates will subsequently turn with questions, and only then to staff.

Information about the company’s achievements also requires special presentation, creating in employees a sense of participation in corporate successes and a sense of pride in the organization. As a rule, such information is communicated to the team by the PR department, but if there is no such department or this task is assigned to the personnel service, then HR specialists must promptly use all available channels (bulletin boards, corporate press, email, radio, planning meetings, “fly meetings”, “five-minute meetings”), communicate positive news to employees.

4. Maintaining a positive attitude among employees. This function within the framework of internal PR is aimed at encouraging people and maintaining a good mood. This is especially important during periods of economic and industrial downturn, when the condition of employees is unstable. Let us note that it is somewhat easier for HR officers to maintain a positive attitude among employees than for immediate managers: as a rule, a representative of the HR service and an individual employee are not bound by current operational tasks, as a result of which a person is able to impartially evaluate the information received from an HR specialist.

Activities aimed at developing a “fighting spirit” among staff often do not require additional financial investments from the heads of the company or the creation of local regulations. These could be informal conversations between a HR specialist and employees in an informal setting (in the corridor, elevator, cafeteria, etc.), mass mailing of an optimistic letter encouraging people to perform their duties better, making proposals to improve the situation in the company, not intended in a business style.

5. Organization of corporate events. The development of the idea, concept, goals and objectives of these events can be attributed to internal PR and the area of ​​​​responsibility of the HR department (depending on the scale of the event, specialists from the marketing, PR and administrative departments are also involved in its organization and implementation). With the help of this tool, HR managers can achieve the unification of employees from different departments, create in them a sense of team, a sense of unity and cohesion of the team. Internal events, when properly organized, contribute to the development and strengthening of corporate culture, increase staff loyalty, maintain a positive attitude among employees, in other words, they allow solving most internal PR problems. In addition, the effect of novelty is important: it is advisable to make annual calendar holidays different from each other. And company employees should be involved in developing the concept and holding events and encouraging their activity. Thus, the SoftBalance Group of Companies decided to declare April 1 “the Day of Confusion and Ironic Assessment of the Content of its Activities.” The holiday helps create a positive mood in people, create a sense of unity with colleagues, involvement in a common cause, and sometimes rethink their work.

PR project in action

In conclusion, we give an example of an internal PR project implemented by the HR service of the SoftBalance Group of Companies together with the marketing department (the start of the project was March 2009, the end was December 2009). The purpose of the event is to convey to the organization’s personnel one of the main corporate values: “Our company is one big family.” The emphasis on this value was due to the increased number of new employees and the desire of management to create a family atmosphere in the team.

As part of this project, the participating services needed to solve the following tasks:

1. Maintaining warm (family) relationships in the company, creating a comfortable psychological climate.
2. Demonstration of management's concern for the families of employees, in particular their children.
3. The internal project naturally had to become an external PR event demonstrating the importance of the family institution for the company.

The project was implemented as part of the company's traditional annual children's holiday dedicated to June 1: children of employees were invited to submit drawings on the theme “Our hometown - St. Petersburg.” It should be noted that the families approached the competition task creatively: the older and younger generations together enthusiastically created images of the city, colorfully and soulfully depicting little-known and beloved corners of St. Petersburg.

The best works were exhibited in the halls and corridors of the office, as well as in areas visible to the company's clients. Later, these drawings were used to create a corporate calendar for 2010. The authorship of all works was preserved - the “artist” and his age were indicated on each of them.

The company's management presented these calendars as New Year's souvenirs to business partners and clients of SoftBalance Group of Companies (external PR campaign). Since the organization’s corporate culture involves maintaining a family atmosphere in the team, one of the traditions is the annual development of a calendar layout through the efforts of employees. Typically, its topic is chosen by the marketing department together with the personnel service, and all interested company employees are directly involved in the formation of the layout: they make comments and suggestions, and prepare illustrative materials. As a result, through joint efforts, a literally “corporate” calendar is created.

Special large-format souvenir calendars were prepared for young project participants and their parents as memorable gifts for the New Year 2009. This event brought people together and turned out to be an opportunity for newcomers to get acquainted with the team and corporate culture of the company, and by becoming an external PR campaign, the internal project demonstrated to the partners and clients of Soft-Balance Group the importance of the institution of family for the management of the enterprise.