Implementation of Internal Communication to Develop Employee Loyalty

Implementation of Internal Communication to Develop Employee Loyalty

Charly Bona Iskandar1

1Communication Department,

BINUS Graduate Program, Master of Strategic Marketing Communication

Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia 11480

La Mani2

Communication Department,

2BINUS Graduate Program, Master of Strategic Marketing Communication

Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia 11480

Abstract:- This study aimed to discover the internal communication implementation of PT BT in developing employee loyalty. This study was carried out using a descriptive qualitative study method through the case study approach. The data collection was conducted via interviews and observations. The study results revealed that the internal communication implemented by PT BTs HRD was by conducting monthly activities for employees to implement internal communication within the company. Non-conducive condition greatly affects employee performance, which results in productivity. What most determines the means in the company are the leaders and the systems that manage the company. The higher the comfort of working in the company, the more influential it is in creating a comfortable condition in the company because they are the ones who greatly affect the productivity of the company.Communication with employees was carried out in several ways, i.e., weekly briefing with the Sales and After Sales division by creating various communication forums using the Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation concept. The communication activity was conducted in person using a regularly held online media forum according to each divisions schedule. Interactions created within the forum grow the sense of togetherness and loyalty for employees. Besides, the company created events to better implement internal communication by conducting internal and external events. If the event was general, all divisions were gathered and selected for the best of the best and was given rewards as an output, such as allowances.

Keywords: Internal communication, loyalty, employee, communication, develop

1. INTRODUCTION

   The automotive industry is a rapidly growing industry. Besides rapidly growing, the automotive industry is also one of the biggest Indonesian industries. Car is a product of the automotive industry favored by many people. One of the developing car brands in Indonesia is Honda. Over time, Honda becomes one of the automotive industry brands that compete strictly with other car brands. Honda always improves its products quality and performance to enhance its annual sales. The increasing sales of Honda cars have been major attention in public. Along with the industrys dynamic and competitive development, insurance service businesses need various devices to increase their competitiveness. The system implementation commitment is absolute for PT. BT. The mechanism conducted during the system implementation aims to regulate and emphasize the relationship, authority, role, and responsibility within the company to improve employee performance, create added

   values for all stakeholders, and prevent and reduce manipulations or errors in managing the organization.

   Loyalty is the employee awareness demonstrated by its faithfulness towards the company, despite its best and worst condition. Many researchers consider that loyalty is crucial and highly influences company performance. An example is a study showing that loyalty positively affected company growth also argued that employee loyalty affected company growth positively [1]. Working experiences affected abilities and skills). Experience enhancement can be conducted through training and development programs. Their leaders can also cause employee loyalty. Employee loyalty towards the leader will emerge if the leader can maintain comfort in their working environment. Researcher asserted that managers played a vital role in influencing job satisfaction, comfort, and employee success in their jobs [2]. Loyalty is the willingness to protect and save one's physical and feelings. This is in line with the definition of loyalty , loyalty is the determination and ability to obey, carry out, and practice something that is adhered to with full awareness and responsibility. This determination and ability must be proven by the attitude and behavior of the employees concerned in their daily activities and in carrying out the tasks and jobs assigned to them.A study explained that leadership provided support [3]. Therefore, employee loyalty affected the companys governance, where if the employee loyalty was good, then the employee performance on the company was also good. It is reinforced stating that employee loyalty made employees wanted to develop, have a career, and work well to improve the company [4],. It can occur because of loyalty, according to Meyer and Herscovits in Oei (2010) . A loyalty attitude is required from members in running an organization to achieve the shared goals; however, in PT. BT, there were many challenges to build loyalty. First, in loyalty meaning, it lacked the comprehension between each member of how they should do their duties in the organization. Second, the system implementation was not understood by employees; hence, requiring an internal communication strategy that fosters employee loyalty. The organizations direction and goals were only dictated by the management as the leader. It is the root of a poor relationship with employees. Many employment problems inevitably arose. A strategy is needed to create a harmonious relationship between the company and employees in preventing such a condition. The company is aware of building a good relationship with employees to support the companys goals. Employees were not only put

   as supporting actors but also involved in each decision making regarding the companys future. Employees are provided with the right to vote for things concerning the company. Therefore, this study aimed to discover the internal communication implementation conducted by the human resource division with PT employees. BT and the role of HRD in fostering employee loyalty in PT. BT. Researcher explained that first, loyalty to the company as an attitude, namely the extent to which an employee identifies a workplace that is aimed at working and tries to do his best and second, loyalty to the company as behavior, namely the process by which an employee makes a definite decision not to leave the company if he does not make an extreme mistake. Based on the description above, it can be concluded that employee loyalty is the willingness of employees to carry out company duties with full awareness and responsibility so that the company's goals are maximally successful [5], [6].

   Kesuma (2007) stated that a comfortable and safe working environment could influence employee performance improvement and vice versa . One of the factors affecting employee loyalty is working conditions. The working condition is declared good because employees feel content in the company than outside, hence executing their jobs well [7]. The working environment created by employees encourages the company to be more effective, improving enthusiasm and passion [8] . Employee loyalty in a company is demonstrated by employee commitment in the company. Commitment can emerge because of factors from oneself and the organization [9][11]. Improper employee placement can affect employee performance obstruction, especially for those who do not have high satisfaction and productivity. It causes the employee to leave or quit the job in the early months of working [5] [12]. A proper employee placement can be seen from emploee working experiences. The key to performance in the company is working experiences. Working experiences are related to employee placement according to the position requirements affecting job performance [2].

   Employees with low loyalty towards the company can disturb the companys performance, causing its failure to achieve its target. The low employee loyalty can impact the decrease of productivity, high absence rate, and incompliance to the supervisor. If employees are not loyal to the company, they do not have a passion for working maximally and tend not to be responsible for their jobs. The lack of loyalty in a company can disrupt its vision and goals [13][14].

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

System Theory

George Ritzer mapped the system theory on the social fact paradigm. This theory utilization is focused on social problems related to values and social institutions that regulate and implement loyalty to social life. The system itself is a combination of various functional elements that are interconnected and create an established pattern. The relationship between such social elements is reciprocal or two-way.

For instance, a customary law problem that influences the economy of society or traditional fishers. More concretely, if we want to know the influence of nedosa customary law values on societys perception of marriage in Sangihe culture. Therefore, a phenomenon in an aspect will affect other aspects of social life. Various social, political, economic, and educational problems are to be reviewed using system theory.

Functional Structural Theory

This study used the structural functionalism theory, a theoretic concept from Talcott Parsons. Fundamental assumptions and Talcott Parsons structural functionalism theory originated from Emile Durkheims thoughts, where society is seen as a system that contains subsystems, in which each has the function to achieve social balance.

In Parsons functional, structural theory, four functions are available for all active systems. A function is a collection of things to fulfill a particular need or system need. Structural functionalism is a theory in which its social understanding is based on an organic system model. Functionalism means seeing society as a system of several interconnected parts. One part is inseparable from the whole system. Hence, there are several requirements or functional needs to be fulfilled in the functionalism perspective so that a social system can last. These imperatives are adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and latency, or shortened as AGIL.

Organizational Communication

Well defined an organization as a cooperative system of two or more people with the same vision and mission [1], [13]. Then stated that an organization would not function effectively if the organizational structure is not adjusted to the environment. If the organizational environment is relatively stable, the proper structure is mechanistic, i.e., a structure regulated in detail regarding duties, authorities, responsibilities, and working relationships among the organizations units. In contrast, if the environment is unstable, the proper organizational structure is an organic structure where the regulation is flexible regarding the division of duties, authorities, responsibilities, and working relationships among units.

The organizational communication is an information exchange process between people in an organization. Here are for communication stages, according to Arnold and Feldman, encompassing Attention, Comprehension, Acceptance as True, and Retention [15].

The another argument that rganizational communication is an organization's regulatory behavior that occurs between people within the organization and how those involved in such a process interact and provide the meaning of what happens . In the organizational communication contexts, information management and processing have five crucial factors, to be considered so that the organization runs effectively, namely [16]:

1. Information media quality

   Information media quality is related to publications, written guidelines, reports, e-mails, conference videos, voice messages, facsimiles, computer bulletin boards, and other media used in the organization.

2. Information accessibility

   Information accessibility is related to the extent of such information available to organization members from various sources in the organization. The information sources in the organization are coworkers, subordinates, direct or indirect leaders, direct supervisor grapevines, and written information.

3. Information distribution

   Information distribution is related to the extent to such information distributed to the organization and how is the acceptance of information within the organization.

4. Information load

   Information load is related to such an extent organization members perceive that they receive more or less information than they can handle or need to function effectively.

5. Information fidelity

Information fidelity is related to the extent (bits) of information known by organization members regarding particular information compared to the actual bits of information. Information fidelity in organizational communication relates to accuracy. The extent of organization members understands the number of information distributed to them according to the actual number of information in a certain message.

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal messages conveyed to others are the result of choices made. In out interpersonal lives and our interactions ith others, we are served with various choices. That is, the moment when we should create a choice of whom to talk with, what are we going to say, what we should not say, what phrases to say, and others. Interpersonal communication choices and their reasons, in some cases, are choices selected to work better than the others.

interpersonal communication is:

1. Interpersonal communication is communication involving two individuals or more that are inter dependable.

   Typically, interpersonal communication is a communication between two people or commonly called dyadic communication, such as the communication between a child with the father. However, interpersonal communication also refers to communication among small groups, such as a family. Despite being in a family, communication occurs in a dyadic communication form between the mother and child.

2. Interpersonal communication is inherently relational. Due to its inter dependable nature, interpersonal communication is inevitable and vital. Interpersonal communication plays a role in a relationship that affects the relationship and its meaning. Communication in a relationship is a part of the relationships function. Therefore, the way of communication is primarily defined by the relationship type among us and others. It has to be understood that the way we communicate and interact will influence the type of relationship built (read: Agriculture Communication).

3. Interpersonal communication is located in a continuum.

   Interpersonal communication is in a long continuum extending from impersonal to a higher personal point. On the impersonal point, we communicated modestly between strangers, such as sellers and buyers. Meanwhile, on the higher personal point, communication occurs between closely related people, such as a father and the child.

4. Interpersonal communication involves verbal and nonverbal messages.

   Interpersonal communication involves message exchanging of verbal and nonverbal messages. Words we use in in-person communication with others are commonly accompanied by nonverbal signs, such as facial expressions, eye contact, body gesture, or body language. We receive interpersonal messages through the five senses, such as hearing, seeing, smelling, and touching. Even when we act silent, we send an interpersonal message. Messages delivered mainly depnd on other factors involved in the interaction.

5. Interpersonal communication happens in many ways. Interpersonal communication commonly occurs in person. For instance, when we talk to our mother or father. In the communication technology advanced era, interpersonal communication occurs via the computer network. The internet's presence as a communication media and other modern communication media enables interpersonal communication to occur via electronic mails or social media. Recent interpersonal communication is real-time; that is, messages are sent and received simultaneously as in face-to-face communication. Messages sent and received through various social media in interpersonal communication influence social media to the interpersonal relationship built [17].

Employee loyalty

Interpersonal messages conveyed to others are the result of choices made. In our interpersonal lives and our interactions with others, we are served with various choices. That is, the moment when we should create a choice of whom to talk with, what are we going to say, what we should not say, what phrases to say, and others. Interpersonal communication choices and their reasons, in some cases, are choices selected to work better than the others.

loyalty is a commitment held deeply to buy or support the favored product or service in the future, although the marketing situations and efforts may cause customers to shift. Factors affecting employee loyalty to the job are job characteristics, opportunities for other jobs, individual characteristics, and employees treatment [18].

Satisfied employees have high loyalty to the organization. The lack of job satisfaction encourages employees to not commit to the organization, injuring the organization by declining work achievement, low working enthusiasm, or declining discipline level. Factors contributing to organizational loyalty will differ for newcomers, after undergoing a long working period, and for employees who work in long stages who consider that the company or organization has become a part of their lives. The factors affecting employee loyalty are (1) Personality;

(2) Job characteristics, such as position scope, challenges in the job, role conflicts in the job, and difficulty degree in the job; (3) Structure characteristics, such as the size of the organization, organizations form (centralization or decentralization), the presence of labor union, and the controlling level of the organization to employees; (4) Working experience. Working experience highly affects employee loyalty levels to the organization. Employees who have worked for only several years have different loyalty levels from employees who have worked for tens of years [15].

3. RESEARCH METHOD

The study type was a descriptive study, where this study aimed to create a systematic, factual, and accurate description of the facts and properties of a particular population or object. The paradigm used in this study was the constructivism paradigm. The constructivism paradigm is a paradigm where the truth of social reality is seen as a result of social construction, and the truth is relative.

The data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews and literature studies. Interviews conducted in this study were semi-structured. Interviews were initiated from issues included in the interview guideline, where the question sequences were different for each participant, according to the interview process and answers of each individual. Informants in this study were six people, i.e., one person of the PT. BT Commissioner, one person of the HRD Head Division, three people of HRD Staff, and one person of HRD Admin.

1. Results and Discussion

   To actualize a developed company with high competitiveness, PT. BT has developed a structure and system by considering principles according to the applied rules and regulations. Therefore, PT. BT conducted internal communication implementation with its employees through:

   Periodic Events

   To implement internal communication, PT. Bangun Tripatriajati conducted several activities or events as the implementation form of such internal communication. PT. Bangun Tripatriajati utilized many ways to improve the companys loyalty. Employee working activities are inseparable from working loyalty and attitude. Hence, employees are always performing their job excellently. Employees perceived deep enjoyment in their jobs. One of the internal communication implementation forms is by conducting periodic events for employees as a process to improve internal communication implementation in the company. These periodic events have been conducted well on each determined period, where each employee is obligated to attend and plays a role in it.

   The communication techniques to employees were performed in many ways, i.e., weekly briefing with the sales and after sales divisions, particularly on Thursday. This briefing activity administered motivations to employees in executing their jobs and responsibilities. On Saturday, a meeting was held with each Division Head to discuss productivity, achievement, and problems. With these

   meetings, each employee understands the problems that occurred each week and discussed the solutions to overcome such problems.

   Create online-based forum

   Besides these events, PT. Bangun Tripatirajati also used a system to ease its employees in performing internal communication in the company. It is implemented by providing online media conducted by PT. BT to implement and promote internal communication implementation. The online media engaged by the company is an online-based forum accessible by all employees. The online-based forum was established to help create a place for each employee to interact with others, discuss, exchange ideas, and share experiences. This forum was created, hoping that employees can open their minds and think about the solution for each problem that occurred in the workplace.

   In implementing internal communication, the HRD division is obligated to participate in the forum activity to interact with each other. It is one of the implementation forms of internal communication in PT. BT. Besides face- to-face, internal communication was carried out by implementing the companys regulation of memos and papers. This regulation was created so that each employee can interact regularly and responsibly.

   Conduct events or activities

   The company conducted events as the internal communication implementation in the workplace with employees to strengthen the good relationship between the company and employees. According to [19], open and transparent communication and the presence of workshops or events will make employees more comfortable so that the company can run well. Effective communication will make employees satisfied and productive, enhance the achievement of the organizational goals, and enhance the relations within the workplace [20][21]. Besides, the event is also useful for refreshing the situation of the work environment and employees. The events that are held can be in the form of internal and external company events. Internal events are usually held directly from the company and are intended only for employees who work within the company. External events are usually held by partners or organizations outside the company and can be open to the general public or only provided to company employees. All employees from various divisions are given the opportunity to attend and participate in every company's event.

   Some events are opened for all divisions, such as gathering employees from all divisions and selecting each employee who has the best achievement (best of the best). At this event, employees who excel will be given rewards that benefit their employees, such as allowances or additional income. This event also provides enthusiasm and motivation for employees to work every day. Employees will feel that a job they do well every day will always be appreciated. The award also makes employees more inovative and communicative in doing their job at the company.

   There are events outside the company that involves the company and its employees to participate in it. The

   company selects every employee who has good achievements to participate in the event and carry out product promotions during the event. One of the events outside the company that was participated in was the Motor Show. The event was held for the general public at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE), Sentul, and BSD. Companies are given a limited quota to bring in employees and products to be promoted. High-performing employees are sent and given additional work to promote the company's products. It is a new challenge for employees who excel, where their performance can be directly assessed during the event. Employees who can work and sell products properly and responsibly will be given cash rewards as additional income or bonuses.

   Other events that have been held to improve internal communication quality include companies holding sports events or tournaments. Every employee from various divisions interested in this event may join and participate in enlivening all activities during the event. An event is a place where employees can express all their informal skills. With this sports event or tournament, employees will feel that this forum is one of the facilities they need. Finally, they will have high loyalty to the company. Also, the company can provide all employees with comfort in communicating during the event.

   Other activities as an application of internal communication are holding religious events. The support from both the company and the board of religious activities will make employees feel comfortable. Religious activities can be of various kinds, and some are adapted to religious holidays. One of the activities often held by companies with good coordination from the activity committee is the recitation study. This recitation activity is carried out once a month, and employees can participate freely. The benefit of this religious activity is to provide opportunities and time for worship to every employee who adheres to that religion so that employees' spiritual activities can be filled properly.

   With events that support internal communication, such as tournaments and others, the relationship between employees and company management, will be better. This activity increases every employee's loyalty to the company because many of them will believe that the company can provide motivation and rewards for employee performance every day. Employees will give their best performance without having to accept excessive pressure. Internal communication can run well within the company if every employee is also fulfilled with every informal facility, such as an event that provides refreshment. Other facilities, such as sports events, will form a bond of togetherness between employees and company management. Besides, religious activities can also strengthen employee ties with the company where employees, together with company management, can respect each other and be open to each other in their work environment every day.

   5. CONCLUSION

   Implementation of communication by PT. BT in fostering the loyalty of its employees is by holding various activities. The implementation carried out by HRD in growing employee loyalty includes :

   1. First, make monthly activities. Monthly activities can motivate employees to carry out the work for which they are responsible. On Saturday, a meeting was held with each Division Head to discuss productivity, achievements, and including the problems that exist in it. The total number of meetings held in one month was four meetings. With this meeting, every employee knows each other's obstacles every week and discusses solutions to solve problems together.

   2. Second, creating an online-based forum. Online- based forums are usually used by employees to share many things every day. In implementing internal communication, the HRD division and the IT division created the forum for employees so that employees can discuss and share experiences and knowledge in the field of work. Internal communication runs better through various topics discussed in the forum. Employees also show their appreciation more in their opinion on every topic in the online-based forum.

   3. Third, holding events or activities. With events that support internal communication, such as tournaments and others, the relationship between employees and company management, will be better. This activity increases every employee's loyalty to the company because many believe that the company can provide motivation and rewards for employee performance every day. Employees will give their best performance without having to accept excessive pressure. Internal communication can run well within the company if every employee is also fulfilled with every informal facility, such as an event that provides refreshment.

Implementation of Internal Communication of PT. BT, the implementation stage of internal communication has had a positive and significant effect on its implementation by proving that the number of employees is increasing or decreasing every year. The implementation carried out by the HRD of PT. BT, among others, made various program activities with its technical employees through various means, namely briefing once a week with the Sales and After Sales division, internal communication online forums within the company, online media forums to communicate between divisions and various events that can foster loyalty to employees of PT. BT.

The role of HRD in fostering employee loyalty where in PT. BT's, HRD provides direction to employees to become good employees for PT. BT. What HRDs do is usually make an activity in a communication forum such as training for employees by providing instruction when the forum has been updated, training employees to respect and respect one another, explaining procedures on how to be the best employee, and providing teaching from experts to achieve the desired target and will always be guided to success.

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