Defining Internal Communication

If you ask most organizations about their internal communication efforts, you’ll probably hear the following responses:

We have a monthly employee meeting.
We send a department newsletter to employees.
Our department meets weekly.
We have an intranet.
Our president sends e-mails once in awhile.

The problem? Tactics are the focus and it’s an extremely narrow view of internal communication. The online world has made it easier – but, as Shel Holtz often points out, it has led to lazy internal communication programs. Instead of leading with strategy and the most effective tactic or channel, it’s too easy and convenient to send a mass e-mail or post an announcement on the intranet.

We must think bigger about internal communications, and Australian blogger Lee Hopkins has posted an excellent overview about what it is, why it’s important, and how to structure effective efforts. He effectively summarizes how electronic communications and decreased employee loyalty have created a new internal communication landscape:

Smart employers realize that in environments where employees are able to move from one employer to another with relative ease, it is in the company’s best interests to retain the smarter and more productive employees; doing all they can to communicate with them, inform them, influence them and enter into some sort of psychological contract with them is a wise move.

If you increase dialogue, and ensure that your tactics are grounded in strategy, improved employee engagement will follow.