Bringing free information to the HR sector, HR Gatewayís latest e-book, Interviews on Communications and HR brings a wide variety of opinions from experts and everyday HR professionals on where the two disciplines sit in terms of interaction (for list of interviewees see below).
Quite where HR fits into an organisation's communications function is a matter of debate. For some the two should be intertwined while for others they should rarely meet:
'I brought communications into my group to ensure that all our people were totally connected to the overall vision of the company. When the role was in marketing it was so buried as to make no sense,' Steve Harvey, group director of people, profit and culture at Microsoft told HR Gateway's latest e-book, Interviews on Communications and HR.
However, for Ceri Lewis, HR & QESH manager of BFP Wholesale Ltd, communications needs to be approached from a 'multi-disciplinary' angle:
'Communications...will be totally unsuccessful if we consider it to be anything other than a multi-agency approach. By that, I mean that it requires people from many disciplines to champion the communications cause if we are to find success - maybe even Accounts,' he said.
For some within the Internal Communications profession, linking with HR gives comms the ability to see the needs of employees in the messages they are creating:
'Internal Communications without the skills, experience, knowledge and structure of a formal Human Resources structure is limited in the value it adds to an organisation.
'It is not impossible for the Internal Communications function to operate outside of a formal HR structure, but it does make it easier if youíre in rather than looking in,' states Iain Adams, internal communications adviser for Bombardier Aerospace.
Whatever your view on where HR and Communications fit together this collection of seven interviews and comments - such as those quoted above - should help you make up your mind.
As part of HR Gateway's remit to bring quality content to HR professionals for no cost, all seven interviews are in the first person to allow the interviewees to speak in their own words about the issues that they see as important in today's business environment.
Coming from a range of backgrounds and with a wide set of opinions, we hope that you find the e-book useful and informative.
The seven interviewees are:
1. Tracey Connage - assistant director of best practice: Employersí Organisation (EO) for local government
2. Tom Harvey - head of internal communications: Nationwide Building Society
3. Nicola Hunt - chief executive: NHPR
4. Mike Johnson - author and associate: Johnson Associates
5. Dr Joni Johnston - clinical psychologist, CEO and president: Workrelationships.com
6. Alasdair McKenzie - principal consultant: Penna
7. Jane Sparrow - senior consultant: Sony Professional Services
To access the e-book go to the home page of http://www.hrgateway.com and click on the e-book image.
HR Gatewayís latest e-book
Interviews on Communications and HR
