Internal Communication in Healthcare: Speak and Let Speak

Today´s blog comes to us from our GLOBALHealthPR partner in Germany, fischerAppelt. 

The reasons and motives for internal communication are as diverse as their possible outcomes. This is especially true in global healthcare organizations, where messages considered clear and straightforward in one region might not be understood the same way in another. For this reason, implementing effective internal communications strategies across multiple locations is crucial.

To find out more on the topic, we interviewed Katrin Frisch, leader of the Employee & Leadership Communications unit for Healthcare at Siemens AG. When we asked Ms. Frisch about the challenges of communication in Siemens healthcare compared to other sectors of Siemens, she responded: “Everything we publish at the sector level is global communication. That means that we have approval processes, which cover the regulatory characteristics of different countries. This takes time to schedule. Our broad reach makes this a challenge, but we are up for it; health is an issue that matters to all of us.”

Tobias Meixner, head of Corporate Communication and Marketing at the Helios Clinics Group in Berlin, agreed. He mentioned that openness, interaction and participation are the keys to success. Mr. Meixner commented: “We are in an industry where traditional management practices are still dominant. For example, one of our Chief Physicians in Schwerin had a misunderstanding with his former boss. His boss asked him, ‘What are you talking about here? If you only see me once a month in the elevator, then you should have two months of information to share.’ This is the understanding of communication and leadership inside many hospitals in Germany.” Helios is trying to change this in today’s age. “The challenge for internal communication with increasing enterprise size will be to communicate credible and substantially relevant information for the local employees. And thereby trying to keep as much consistency as possible,” he concluded.

No matter the issue—changing company processes, transferring knowledge or conveying the business’ values and culture—for all projects it is important to involve employees in order bring the organization’s communications into alignment with its broader goals.

About HealthRadar:

HealthRadar features industry thought leaders who break down critical healthcare issues and share their experiences. Each edition also regularly includes contributions from GLOBALHealthPR partners, such as Neil Crump from Aurora (UK), Priti R. Mohile from Mediamedic (India), John Seng from Spectrum (USA), and Kirsten Bruce from VIVA! (Australia).

After five years, the HEALTHradar has established itself as a successful communication tool in German healthcare space. It also sets the example for other divisions within the fischerAppelt agency. The first nine editions have featured fourteen expert interviews and 7,200 print copies have been distributed.

Click here to read the latest edition of HEALTHradar (in German).