House Organ

One of the most commonly used product or service in Internal Communication Management is the House Organ: a Magazine or Newsletter for the internal publics that contains information about the Organization and aims to inform while promoting the development of a sense of belonging and cohesion of the members of that Organization, thus encouraging participation.

Before making the decision to develop a House Organ a thorough analysis to evaluate its feasibility, viability and relevance in the organization should be carried out, as this particular publication is a tool that demands a lot of time, commitment and work. Before taking on the "adventure", it would be appropriate to assess the problem areas at the internal communication level that are operating and determine suitable courses of action.

A communication planning fails if it does not contain a correct diagnosis which identifies and considers the history, strengths, weaknesses and explicit and implicit needs of the targeted Organization Several communication management processes are useless, when they are launched indiscriminately to implement standardized communication products such as the House Organ, if they do not reflect the true image of the organization and the following aspects are not considered:

Language and cultural skills of its members.

Actual distribution channels and possibilities of reaching everybody

The organization’s history in relation to its internal communication.

The way actors of the organization use media and communication channels.

The commitment of managers or boards to openly communicate information about goals and objectives of the business plan.

Last but not least, the endorsement of managers or boards to develop an internal communication management process is required; otherwise, the targets would not be achieved.

Once the conditions for the development of House Organ within the organization are given, some basic questions should be considered:

Using simple colloquial written language, not too technical so that it is accessible to all internal publics.

Distribution should reach all members of the organization without exception, even outsourced employees.

Determine Fixed and Variable Sections.

Incorporate management guidelines and objectives data.

Include personal information about the members of the organization and key events in their lives such as weddings or births. In some cases, if there is space for it, birthdays of the month, fortnight or week may be added.

Call members of the organization to participate by providing information about possible articles or participating as editors of some of its sections.

Establish tools to evaluate feedback and the level of satisfaction of the public regarding the House Organ, such as printed and / or electronic surveys.

Respect the organization’s profile in terms of design style, fonts, colors, isologotypes , etc.

Countless other ideas can be added as including a page of classified ads, sections talking about hobbies or members’ private activities, community service campaigns and safety procedures at work or health advice.

However, it is essential to remember that the House Organ is just one of the available tools of internal communication that will help to solve the problems involving management and participation of the members of an organization.