Linking Internal Communication and Organisational Performance During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction

Organisations find themselves in extremely competitive environments, the result of their presence in global and constantly changing markets, which, combined with the current economic situation, leads to the need for companies to explore ways of becoming more effective (Corrêa, 2005). One of the resources that enable the differentiation of organisations and, consequently, the gain of competitiveness, is Human Resources. However, it is not enough for organisations to have a set of talented and competent employees. If the communication process is not the most adequate, the company will never be able to maximise the potential of these resources. In an era in which knowledge is rapidly disseminated and shared, knowing how to manage the communication process becomes one of the greatest competitive advantages of companies (Michel, 2013). Thus, internal communication has been gaining increasing importance within organisations to the extent that managing the organisation internally is as relevant as managing the organisation’s performance and relationships with the outside (Almeida, 2013).

Alongside this context of organisational changes, a serious worldwide public health situation emerged in 2020, designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the new coronavirus pandemic, which brought unprecedented changes to the world economy and the world of work. One of the many consequences that have redefined the ways of working and the work experience of employees (Workplace, 2021), forcing organisations to rethink their priorities and bringing a series of challenges to be overcome. This scenario tested communication professionals who saw their ability to solve problems and adapt to change in record times highlighted, enabling them to overcome these increased challenges (Knowles, 2020), while producing messages of hope, clarity and unity (Gallagher, 2021).

The objective of this research is to understand and analyse how the satisfaction and motivation of Natixis in Portugal employees are perceived, according to the internal communication actions developed, in face of the current health crisis scenario that we are going through and that had strong implications in the companies’ management, and also to understand how the Communication Department reacted to an unexpected crisis. With a view to a better understanding of the effects that this pandemic brought to organisations in the scope of internal communication and organisational performance, this research is a case study of the Communication Department of Natixis in Portugal.

The research question that this study seeks to answer is: What was the impact of internal communication on employees’ organisational performance during the COVID-19 pandemic?

To this end, the paper is divided into three parts: (1) Theoretical framework, where one seeks to understand and review concepts, namely the function of internal communication, the influence that internal communication can have on employee satisfaction and motivation and, finally, the challenges that internal communication faces in the 21st century, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) Methodology, in which the research methodology is presented, based on a quantitative perspective. Data collection is based on the literature review, the completion of an online questionnaire to Natixis employees in Portugal, and the analysis of results. The questionnaire was one of the most important parts that led to the conclusion of this research work; and (3) Discussion and conclusions bring this study to a close, with the results discussion, conclusions, research limitations and proposal for future studies.