Although much has changed in the business world over the past several years, internal communication remains vital to a thriving organization. Engaging with employees is more than just informative memos, however. In fact, there is a world of opportunity and potential underneath the surface of internal communication.
So, why is internal communication important for business? Our team of writers is here to explain it all. We’ll cover what internal communication is, how internal communication is reflective of your brand tone and voice, and cover some internal communications examples. Let’s dive in, shall we?
What is Internal Communication?
Internal communication is all about cultivating relationships with your employees and staff. Creating key strategies for internal communication instills your employees with a sense of brand representation, ownership, and empowerment. When employees are well-informed and well-cared-for, they will be able to speak to your organization’s critical stances and values when interacting with your clients and the general public.
There can be many forms of internal communication. While the name may suggest it is purely informative, internal communications are any way a company engages with its employees through newsletters, social media, informative emails, employee relations, etc. In this sense, internal communicators are responsible for ensuring their messages reflect the brand identity and uphold the company’s values as a whole.
One of the main goals of an internal communications strategy is to supply employees with the knowledge and ownership they need to communicate effectively with clients. Employees on all levels should be able to articulate the core messages, essential information, and critical values a company holds. With thorough and proper internal communication, employees are able to effectively share that communication with potential customers and create potential relationships.
The Relationship Between Internal Communication and Brand Tone
Just like your external communication, your internal communication is an avenue for communicating your brand tone and voice. Your brand’s tone is everything your organization stands for and the values it upholds. As you craft internal memos, newsletters, or media, it’s essential to recognize how it will be broadcasted through your employees to your clients.
Your employees are the front line when it comes to interacting with your clients. Your internal communication directly impacts how your employees engage with your clients. Implementing a successful internal communication strategy involves understanding the importance of how your employees reflect your brand’s voice. Let’s face it, how you communicate with your employees is often mirrored in how they communicate with your clients.
Any internal communication is brand representation, meaning it must follow the same guidelines and standards required of the employees when connecting with clients. Think about it, everything you communicate internally will eventually become external. Whether it becomes public positively through your employees, or in a negative way, like a disgruntled social media rant, it can largely depend on how you craft your message. That’s why consistency is key for internal engagement.
Internal Communications Examples
As a content writing agency, Bizwrite often creates internal communications for a range of topics, events, and informational newsletters. An example of the inner communication material we recently created was a communications “code of conduct” for a major logistics company. This code outlined the core values and messaging framework for employees to reference.
Our writers helped pinpoint the brand tone and voice, created a valuable list of do’s and don’ts, identified the unique value proposition, and even wrote a handy elevator pitch. In the end, our team delivered an essential resource for consistent client communication across the organization.
Of course, internal communication is not restricted to a code of conduct or policies. Some other internal communications examples may include the following:
- Email newsletters
- Crisis communications
- Informative adjustments to policy
- Social media posts for employees
- Any communications within the company that are intended for the staff
- Informational updates
- Announcements for upcoming events
The list could go on and on. It’s important to note that internal communications are widely varied and not merely informative. Every internal communication is an opportunity to engage with the employees and cultivate a community culture.
Internal Communications Strategy
Transparency in Communication
Honesty is essential for building trustworthy relationships with your employees. Failing to tell the truth in its entirety simply breeds distrust and disloyalty among your staff. Part of the role of internal communications is to relay information accurately, briefings, and situational knowledge about company events and happenings. If internal communications are anything but completely honest and transparent, it fails to provide your employees with the appropriate tools to interact with your clients.
Crafting the Message Perfectly, Even When It’s Bad News
If we’re being honest, not all internal communication is positive information. In fact, negative information, complicated situations, or crisis communications are all significant parts of an internal communicator’s role. Crafting your message when presenting information or internal publications is essential. Negative information can be conveyed to minimize backlash and adverse responses.
The content of your internal communication must be presented thoughtfully to be effective. How you say something is just as important as what you say. Internal communication can be challenging. Crafting a message using the appropriate language, intentional phrasing, and truthful representation is key to communicating bad news correctly.
Of course, there are other things to remember as you craft your message. Here are some important aspects of communicating negative news the correct way:
- Consider how your employees will react.
- Take into account your staff, their needs, and the company values before creating a publication.
- Avoid over-dramatization or exaggeration.
- Present information thoughtfully and truthfully.
- If the information will negatively impact your staff, let them know.
- Utilize inclusive language.
- Convey a team/community mentality.
- Provide the necessary details, but keep it brief.
- Focus on potential positives while explaining how the negatives can be developmental opportunities.
Presenting news that will negatively impact your staff can be challenging. However, the way you present the information can make a significant difference in how your employees respond.
Internal Crisis Communications
When tragedy strikes, your internal communication is responsible for responding to employees’ questions and relaying information on how the organization plans to respond. A crisis could be considered anything that would damage a company’s reputation, diminish its bottom line, or impacts the organization negatively. Because situations often have high stakes, internal communicators must respond quickly and thoughtfully. More often than not, it is the response of internal communication that changes the course of how a company responds to a bad situation.
When creating a crisis response for internal communication, it’s crucial to have a plan in place. This plan is developed with a thorough understanding of the company values, brand tone and voice, and the expectations of responsibility. Developing a crisis communication plan involves careful, strategic thought and analysis. An organization must thoroughly understand how it will respond when a problem strikes.
A few things to bear in mind when formulating internal crisis communication are:
- Respond quickly.
- Explain the situation and the expected response.
- Promote positive reactions and interactions with clients.
- Provide the necessary information while keeping the publication brief.
- Explore potential client reactions and how to manage them well.
In this day and age, a crisis is a genuine possibility. Have a plan in place for how your organization will respond before you get caught off guard.
Best Practices for Internal Communications
When preparing internal communication, it’s crucial to have a plan. Whether it’s a company-wide email, newsletter, or social media post, creating internal communication must be well thought out and adhere to your company’s standards. Let’s review some of the best practices to follow when publishing any internal material.
Keep the Employees Your Focus
At its core, internal communication is written for the employees. Everything published must be tailored to your staff and their needs and preferences. This means highlighting company-specific information and creating engaging material on the employees’ level. Meet your employees where they are in terms of language, values, and impactful information.
Every internal publication, newsletter, or social media post should be written with the employee in mind. Much like external communication is geared to engage your target audience, internal communication must be tailored to your staff.
Keep Your Clients in Mind As Well
Everything internally communicated can become externally shared. Bear in mind when you engage with your employees, it will likely come up in their external communication. This means that your internal communications must uphold the same standards, brand tone and voice, and honesty you expect from your employees to your clients.
Provide Relevant, Concise Information
Within internal communication, brevity is a virtue. There’s no need to ramble on and on when truthful information is sufficient. Of course, when more complicated publications need to be created, like company policies, mode of operation procedures, and reports are sent out, don’t undercut the information your staff needs to know.
Bridge the Gap for Employees
A significant role for internal communicators is to bridge the gap between the CEO and the staff. In order to accomplish this goal, writers must understand both sides and present honest information in a manner that cultivates collaborative endeavors. This can be challenging at times, but it’s important for the company morale and atmosphere to build bridges, not walls.
Praise Your Staff When They Do Well
Everyone wants recognition for their hard work and wins. When your employees perform their best, show viable improvement, or go above and beyond for your organization, recognize their accomplishments. Internal communication should recognize when employees are doing an excellent job. Whether it’s in the form of shout-outs, award recognition, or email newsletters highlighting specific employees’ accomplishments, internal communication should be praised when employees do well.
Encourage Improvement
On the other side of the coin, internal communication often needs to correct or provide insight into future adjustments. When the company is not performing as it should, internal communication should encourage improvement and remind employees of their company goals and values.
Internal Communications Tools
The Covid-19 virus illuminated the need for effective internal communications tools. The sudden shutdown led to the rise of countless internal communications tools, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. Naturally, internal communications tools go beyond video chats and instant messaging, like Trello, which helps with project management. There are countless tools to help improve your internal communications, streamline your project management, and help communicate your brand voice with your employees.
Let Bizwrite Help Your Team Communicate
At Bizwrite, we are here for your team. Our team of writers and communications experts helps create internal communications through effective written content. Your content will be tailored to your team, communicate your company values, and be composed with your voice. Talk to us about writing internal communications today.