An Assessment of the Role and Impact of Internal Communication on Employee Engagement: A Case Study of National Trust Holding Company (NTHC) Limited

Abstract

According to Soeters (1999:58), "internal communication is an important, maybe even the most critical, factor in an organisation". Employee engagement thrives in an environment where employees' personal values are in sync with the organization, as well as transparency and integrity. It is therefore critical that organizations pay attention to the communication culture that exists within them. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of internal communication on employee engagement. The study surveyed 100 management and non-management staff of the NTHC Ltd to ascertain the internal communications arrangements at the company and their impact on employee engagement. Six management members were also interviewed in-depth for the study. The study found that employee engagement within NTHC is high. It was also found that the internal communication arrangements within the organization were generally effective, but face challenges including delay in response to corporate emails; reliance on grapevine information and lack of openness, thereby hampering open communication exchange among teams. The study therefore recommends that the management of NTHC takes steps to conduct a comprehensive communications audit of the company and draft a communication policy to guide the company's communication engagements. Also, the company should invest in information technology, such as webinars and other cloud services with the aim of improving performance and engagement.