Dimensions of Internal Communication for Organisation Engagement: The Role of Co-Worker Trust

Abstract

The organisation is continually confronting challenges to remain and successful, which compels organisation to regularly re-evaluate their strategies, structures, policies, processes, operations and culture. Managing change effectively is however a main challenge in the change management domain because of massive human involvement. Thus, managers and change agents are eager to know how to encourage and effectively prepare employees for change situation. Engagement can be seen as one of the more popular concepts in various social sciences, including psychology, organisational behaviour, human resource management, and of course, public relations, and one of the effective strategies in encouraging and preparing employees for change. Numerous researchers have mentioned reasons for the importance of employee engagement in organisation, recognising the strong connection between engagement, employee performance, and business outcomes. Although organisation is competing to develop engagement strategies to reach the purpose of engagement, studies report that these efforts may not be working. Internal communication is a part of the organisational context in which employees are engaged or disengaged. Studies have consistently shown that various internal communication elements, such as innovative corporate communication initiatives, open channels of communication, constant feedback, and information sharing, are positively associated with work engagement. This empirical study proceeds with a systemic review of literature that led to the development of a conceptual model. The data were collected from a sample of employees by using survey questionnaires. Data were analyses using descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis runs on the statistical package for social sciences and applied analysis to assess the model fit of the study and hypotheses testing. This study may contribute to the literature on employees‘ engagement, particularly for Saudi Arabia, and may assist the management, change management strategies and practitioners of human resources.