Abstract
As service-orientated entities, customer-facing employees of a financial institution require internal written communication about organisational values, customers' needs and role-related information, to conduct their work competently and efficiently. Yet, within a financial institution, the regulatory environment influences strategic communication and how internal written communication is used to give sense to customer-facing employees. In turn, these employees make sense of the communication to ensure alignment of their communication with customers. Sensegiving is the process used by internal communicators to influence the outcome of sensemaking governed by the financial institutions' risk practices. Through semi-structured interviews, it was found that the three different internal communications departments all follow a structured process that includes the framing of the change and using internal and external cues for sensemaking. Based on these findings, a framework is proposed which includes three important sensegiving actions to be taken when writing an internal communication. The proposed framework for sensegiving by central internal communications departments of a financial institution in written communication for customer-facing employees explains that the framing comes from the organisational brand, its tonality, voice, and external positioning. The framework also shows that internal and external cues must be presented in simple or plain language to the considered audience. Lastly, the framework echoes the regulatory environment in which the financial institution operates and explains that sensegiving in written communication is formed through multiple members providing input and checking the communication.
Key words: Sensegiving, sensemaking, internal communication, financial institution, strategic communication, written communication, customer-facing employeesUU