The Ericsson management team has tightened its grip on internal information. The staff magazine "Contact" has been severely pruned and management now speak to employees every week through the internal television news program 5 Minutes.
Elektroniktidningen notes how Ericsson's Swedish staff magazine "Kontakten", which is also published in English ("Contact") and Spanish, has changed its tone during the recent market development. Up until recently, the Swedish edition, which is also circulated externally, included articles dealing with subjects not directly in line with Ericsson's business interests, for instance comments about colleagues and employment at other companies.
Today, the magazine is different. Its contents have been streamlined so that it more clearly reflects management opinions. Ericsson has also recently started to broadcast intranet news flashes to employees in all the over 140 countries in which it operates. Every week, members of the management team present their views on events and developments in the news program "5Minutes".
Ericsson's head of information Henrik Brehmer, at head office in London, agrees that the company's internal information is under tighter management control than before.
Elektroniktidningen has also spoken to other companies, among them Nokia, which do not intend to follow in Ericsson's steps.