How to Create Clear Internal Messages

Despite companies blasting out updates via Slack, email, and town halls, half the workforce still misses key information. That’s not just a communication gap; it’s a performance issue. When employees don’t get timely, relevant updates, they can’t align with priorities or feel motivated to act. And it’s not just frontline employees who are left out. Engineers deep in code, marketers across time zones, anyone not looped in at the right time or in the right way can also miss out. From my experience as a CHRO across global tech firms, I’ve learned what actually drives inclusive and effective communication. Here are tactics that work: -Morning standups with talking points from leadership -Digital messaging in an easy-to-find app -Physical communications (lunchroom posters, desk drops) for offline teams -Short video messages via QR codes -Targeted updates on Slack, mobile, and email -All-hands meetings that foster connection, not just information I loved this Nectar HR guide on inclusive internal comms: https://lnkd.in/g58S5syU One key stat: 89% of employees say regular leader communication boosts engagement. That’s material. Tactics matter, but true impact comes from a thoughtful strategy: segment messages by team, role, and language, and choose the right formats. When comms fall short, alignment and engagement suffer. People assume, check out, or move on. As leaders, we must do more than check the box—we must ensure everyone hears what matters, when it matters. What’s really working in your internal comms strategy? #InternalComms #EmployeeEngagement #InclusiveLeadership #HRTech #PeopleStrategy

Framework Friday!  Keeping people in the loop. I had a great question recently from a coaching client about communicating things to the team. They had recently whiffed a bit on communicating something important to the team and were interested in helping themselves avoid this mistake in the future. I’ve found over the years that there are broadly four categories of things that require proactivity around how to communicate them.  Those four things are 1. Money - from big deals to new logos to financing and exit events. Money is never the purpose, but it is the oxygen. It’s what allows the business to operate, and people generally want to know what's up. 2. Initiatives - projects, new initiatives, or focused buckets of work that impact the company at large or big pieces of your organization. These efforts are usually spun up for a reason, and it’s critical to have a plan in place to help folks understand why and what we expect. 3. Products - new products, adjustments to products, product deprecation. Communicating when and why helps everyone feel fully a part of the team. 4. Leaders - new leaders or departures. These are probably the most likely to be speculated about and to fire up the rumor mill. The rumor mill absolutely sucks. Get out in front of these always. So now that our consciousness is raised about the kinds of things that will likely require us to communicate, what does a communication plan even look like?  A straightforward proposal: - What is the message - what are we actually going to say and why are we saying it? Generally speaking it’s best to make clear what’s changed, then to focus on the future - ie what will things look like as a result of this change, and to do your best to tell people why things are changing or happening. Be sure every word has a clear purpose. - Who needs to know - not everyone needs to know everything. Sometimes choosing to communicate more broadly represents a distraction for adjacent parties or groups. That said, always bias toward inclusion. Better to make the over-communication mistake than the under-communication one. Also, be conscious of the order of operations. For a C Level change, for example, first notify the C Level group, then notify that new C Level’s team, then perhaps an affected region or function, and then the whole company.  - What are the channels - in the above example, we probably want to notify the C level group and the new C Level’s team in person. After that, we can use more scalable communication channels like all-hands meetings, email, and internal message boards. Assume any email will be forwarded. Overall, the goal is to be conscious and intentional about choosing the message, the audience, and the channel. I've found that creating a shared document with relevant stakeholders in which each of these things is made explicit through documentation and collaboration, is probably the best way to bring this framework to life. What would you add, subtract, or change? #WTWYW

Internal communications and change management professionals: if you could only give ONE piece of advice on effective messaging, what would it be? Mine is something I frequently turn back to and has stuck with me since completing Prosci's certification program in 2021: your message is for your audience; write it for them, not for you ✍🏻 In change management terms, that means answering the question, "What's in it for me? (WIIFM)" (amongst many other questions that teams should address through multiple communications and channels during a change. I don't want to downplay the importance of a complete change management plan in this context.) However, leveraging WIIFM is undeniably beneficial when walking folks through changes that impact them and putting the change into the context of their role and day-to-day processes. But even when you aren't working with a significant change, internal communications aren't about or for the person drafting them (or the person requesting the draft). Too often, it's easy to find ourselves drafting communication we think we should give or writing to make the sender look or feel good.  In multiple rounds of revisions, we may tweak a message on behalf of the sender's requests, only to be left with a message that's no longer effective or will resonate with the audience. When working through narratives and communication planning, define your audience, understand their perspective and context surrounding the communication, and be the strategic partner that reminds leaders, managers, and other senders to whom they're writing.  Write it for them. #internalcomms #changemanagement #comms #workplaceculture