Background
The given assessment will primarily focus on the Australian internet provider Internode, and its key business activities are centered around the provision of internet services, which are primarily comprised of Internode NBN Fibre Plans. It is headquartered in Adelaide, Australia, and the key founder is Simon Hackett (Internode, 2021). The company was founded in 1991 in South Australia (Internode, 2021). Organizational learning is an intricate process, the effectiveness of which is determined both by the quality of its management and by the activity, as well as the engagement of all participants involved in this process, who act as subjects.
Given the multiplicity of forms in which organizational learning takes place, one can focus on the different levels of its subjects, such as individual and group, and the variability of these subjects. The total number of employees at the company is equal to 430 (Internode, 2021). The SMART objective is centered around a process of developing an outstanding talent at the company, which is achieved by improving communication skills among all staff members.
SMART â To conduct effective communication training among customer support, field experts, and technical experts in order to increase each communication metric by 50% on Graphic Rating Scales within three months to promote open and transparent work culture.
Strategy
It is important to note that Internode is a unique company within its industry. The company was ranked as an internet provider with the highest level of customer satisfaction but occupied a relatively small market share compared to its competitors (Roy Morgan, 2019). Although Internode has a superb communication capability when it comes to communicating with its customers, the major problematic area, which requires improvement measures, is internal communication. Communication barriers are present between field experts, technical specialists, and customer support, which is based on the fact that the company is struggling to increase its market share despite having high customer satisfaction.
The central strategy is encouraging organizational learning through effective communication training for these three groups, which will be supported by policy adjustments in order to promote unhindered information flow and collaboration between the target groups. The performance evaluation will be conducted with the use of Graphic Rating Scales prior to, in the middle of, and at the end of the three-month training period, where the âmethod lists several traits and a range of performance for each trait; then, employees are graded by aligning the score that best describes their level of performance for each traitâ (Walter and Rodriguez, 2017, p. 211). In other words, the internal communication development will be structured and measurable.
Policy
Internal Communication Policy
Purpose
Internodeâs success relies on collaboration and cooperation, and thus, it is convinced that internal communication is a core element in order to create a learning environment where both customers and our employees are satisfied. We believe that the latter twoâs satisfaction levels will reciprocally improve each other, which is why we are committed to enhancing internal communication among different professional groups at the company.
Scope
The given policy is only applicable to Internodeâs customer support, field experts, and technical experts.
Definitions
Internode: Internode Pty Ltd.
Objectives
Our goals are to:
- Ensure the maintenance of the shared mission and vision
- Improve our experts with feedback on the overall performance
- Provide our experts with succinct and direct expectations and standards for their work
- Equip our employees with the knowledge and information necessary to perform effectively
Methods of internal communication
Internode understands that there are a number of variables to factor in, which is why we are committed to constantly improve our platforms and methods of communication.
Training
Internode is committed to empower and develop our employees through extensive communications training, which will feature top experts in the field of internal communications. The training will last for three months and will be scheduled conveniently for our professionals.
Expectations
We expect that at the end of the training, our field experts, technical experts, and customer support specialists will implement the proposed frameworks of communication thoroughly and fully. We also expect that our employeesâ Graphic Rating Scales scores will increase by 50%.
As a field expert, you should:
- Regularly update on the field situation to both technical experts and customer support.
- Notify of any delays from the assigned schedule.
- Communicate intricacies and specificities of each customerâs case.
As a technical expert, you should:
- Communicate in a manner that is understandable and comprehensive to a technically non-proficient individual.
- Upload your reports on technical details on the companyâs joint platform.
- Assist customer support with technicalities in regards to customer requests.
As customer support, you should:
- Coordinate the information transfer between the groups.
- Communicate clearly customer-specific information.
- Aid our customers at every step of the process.
Implementation
- The policy is to be implemented on 11.11.2021.
- Internal communications experts to be hired by 15.11.2021.
- A final schedule to be developed with input from participants by 15.11.2021.
- Graphic Rating Scales evaluation to be taken by 18.11.2021.
- The three-month training process to be initiated on 22.11.2021.
Organizational Learning
It should be noted that the overall strategy is centered around internal communications development strategy through organizational learning and improvement. It is stated that there is a strong correlational link between the level of internal communication and job engagement, which is evidenced by the notion of interrelationship and roles of employeeâorganization relationship (Lee et al., 2021).
Depending on the situation, the subjects of organizational learning are managers, HR staff, training managers, individual employees acting as learners, training groups, and the workforce. Corporate learning is a process of interaction between its participants. The nature and effectiveness of this interaction are determined by the characteristics of its subjects. Speaking about the individual subjects of organizational learning, it should be noted that in this context, they act as subjects of activity, the content of which is organizational learning.
Consequently, the important characteristics of such subjects are the position and role in organizational learning, the characteristics of mental processes, the characteristics of the motivational sphere, and the specificity of the required competencies. Company employees as subjects of organizational learning can be characterized from different sides that determine the specifics of interaction during the educational process. First of all, employees are adult learners, which determines the specifics of the choice of organizational learning methods.
Based on this, let us turn to the identification of essential characteristics of the social and psychological development of employees as adults. The task of the subject in a broad sense is to identify the correspondence of his or her capabilities and his or her own limitations in accordance with the requirements and conditions imposed by the situation and activities. It should be borne in mind that the subjective qualities of a person can manifest and form only in the process of activity, in a system of various relations, and the process of interaction.
Method of Meeting Learning Needs
The selected method of meeting learning needs is coaching through training and in-house courses. It will also involve certain mentoring elements from the experts in the field of internal communications. The evaluation method will be Graphic Rating Scales, which will be used to measure the overall improvement of the employees through the three-month training. These efforts primarily adhere to the operational strategy since internal communication is directly tied to the company’s operational effectiveness.
Reference List
Internode. (2021) About Internode. Web.
Lee, E. et al. (2021) âExploring the interrelationship and roles of employeeâorganization relationship outcomes between symmetrical internal communication and employee job engagementâ. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 1, 1-12. Web.
Roy Morgan. (2019) Internode tops for satisfaction and customers least âlikely to switchâ. Web.
Walter, K., and Rodriguez, J. (2017) âThe importance of training and development in employee performance and evaluationâ, World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(10), pp. 206-212. Web.