Internal communication: employees take centre stage, sharing their passions and interests

Before the stadiums and the fame, there was a child sketching out his future on a sheet of paper. Thus, the story of a champion is told through sketches and drawings, transforming a pencil into an object of aspiration. For the FIFA World Cup the historic Ecuadorian stationery and school supplies brand Lancer, which is widely popular in Latin America, has launched the ‘Dreams by hand’ campaign to present Lapigol, the official pencil dedicated to the Ecuadorian footballer Moisés Caicedo. The entire film is composed of pencil illustrations that trace Caicedo’s journey from childhood to international success. This is why the 24-year-old, born in Santo Domingo and now playing for Chelsea, is considered the star player of the Ecuadorian national team.

It’s not enough just to put yourself out there, as demonstrated by the story of Moisés Caicedo, which begins with his long-held dream. Now it’s also about putting your heart into it, sharing the passions that make it beat. Even in organisations of excellence, passions make all the difference and generate engagement, credibility and trust. A narrative asset that enhances reputational capital. This is the boom in employee ambassadorship, with the role of employees who become ambassadors for the brand. This is what emerges from the report on internal communication in Italian companies produced by the Cerc (Centre for Employee Relations and Communication) at IULM University, previewed in *Il Sole 24 Ore*.

Today, 79 per cent of companies have a formal internal communication structure, compared with 56 per cent seven years ago, whilst in 62 per cent of cases, senior management is directly involved in setting communication objectives. At the same time, the Digital Workplace is growing, namely the rate of digitalisation of work environments, which is now well established in 72 per cent of organisations. However, the figure showing double-digit percentage growth is the index of enablement of internal communication – that is, the empowerment of employees: this is the strategy that harnesses their voluntary role as brand ambassadors, and it has risen to 6.9 out of 10. In 2019, it stood at 6.1, meaning the increase is 13 per cent.

In short, people are becoming more influential than official channels in shaping corporate reputation. ‘The role of internal communications is becoming increasingly mature, strategic and crucial to improving the working environment. The role of employees as authentic ambassadors of corporate identity is crucial because the messages they share with stakeholders are credible, contextualised and relevant. In this way, they complement and reinforce communication via official channels. In an era of crisis of trust, this makes all the difference. This changes the mission of internal communication: no longer merely to provide information, but to empower employees to act as strategic communicators in every situation,” says Alessandra Mazzei, Director of CERC-IULM and Professor of Business Communication at IULM University.

From a company that simply communicates to one that fosters conversation and encourages people to pursue their passions. For years, corporate communication has followed the logic of broadcasting: the same message for everyone, disseminated from the top down. Today, that model is showing its limitations, shifting towards the interest media company. This is exactly what has happened to social media. It is no longer the network of relationships known as the social graph that matters, but the ability of content to generate attention and engagement – the so-called interest graph.