What is internal communications?
What is internal communications?Internal communications, or “internal comms” for short, is the workplace function that facilitates effective organizational communication. Simply put, the role of internal comms is to ensure that everyone in a company knows what’s going on and feels engaged with the organization. But that’s just the beginning! The impact of internal comms goes far beyond broadcasting messages. This article explores the definition of internal comms in depth.
Is there a difference between external communications and internal communications?
It’s all about the audience. While the audience for internal communications is primarily employees, the audience for external communications or external comms is outside entities, including the media, customers, suppliers, investors, and even the general public, depending on the industry. External comms often falls under the umbrella of public relations and marketing and includes a range of social media channels. On the other hand, internal comms leverages internal channels like email, meetings, and intranet pages. Even though there is certainly cross-over between the two, internal comms are composed specifically for employees.
Example use cases for internal and external communications
Use Case |
Internal Comms |
External Comms |
|---|---|---|
| A company publicly announces a new product. | Before the release, education on the why and how of the new product. Post-release stories about who it’s for and how it was built and brought to market. | Press releases, advertising campaigns, social media reviews. |
| A company confidentially informs employees of an upcoming acquisition. | Meeting script, slide deck, and follow-up emails. | A press release on the date of the official acquisition. |
| A company addresses a public relations crisis. | Awareness meetings, positioning and talking point documents, social media restrictions or recommendations. | Public spokesperson, written statements, web pages. |
| A company launches an internal training program. | Email announcements and invitations, Teams channel, chat messages, training guides. | No external comms. |
What’s the scope of internal communications?
The scope of internal communications varies by organization, but some of the most common responsibilities include sharing company news, events, and updates; managing internal communication channels like Teams and SharePoint; helping leadership share updates and visionary messages; fostering employee engagement; and gathering feedback to improve comms strategies.
Furthermore, Industry guides suggest that every business problem is a communicator’s opportunity. Communication breakdowns, such as mixed messages, lack of comprehension, wrong or slow-moving information, or a lack of response, account for most business problems. Therefore, internal communicators will create real value by improving business performance outcomes.
Who’s responsible for internal communications?
Ownership of internal communications often depends on the size of the company and its organizational structure. In a small organization, internal communication may be the responsibility of one person with contract writers and designers or a small team. The team often reports to the VP of HR or the Executive Leader.
Medium-sized companies often have a small team focused on internal comms, with an average of one communications person for every 1,000 employees. This team usually reports to a VP or Director of Corporate Communications responsible for internal and external comms.
Large companies typically have one centralized, organization-wide internal comms team. Numerous communications and personnel are spread worldwide and embedded to support business units, regions, and specific leaders. This staff often works with the Director or VP of internal communications who coordinates efforts with HR and Corporate Communications/PR. This investment of time and talent lets the centralized team focus on more strategic employee engagement and employee experience programs and leverages the broader staff to create and manage content and execute a comprehensive communication strategy and plan.
Why does your company need an internal communications team?
As internal comms is responsible for keeping everyone in the loop, it can impact key outcomes like revenue and performance. A study of 651 organizations across various industries found that companies with highly effective internal communications are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers.
Conversely, the impact of poor communication can be incredibly costly. An Economist survey found that communication barriers in the workplace can lead to project delays or failures (44%), low morale (31%), missed performance goals (25%), and lost sales (18%)—some worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Internal comms can create a sense of belonging, boost morale and productivity, reduce confusion and misinformation, and drive organizational success by keeping employees informed, aligned, and engaged.
How does Internal communications boost employee engagement?
Internal comms play a key role in employee engagement. It helps organizations boost engagement by building trust, fostering human connections, and recognizing accomplishments.
- Build trust. With transparent internal comms that maintain confidentiality, teams can build employee trust.
- Foster connections. Organizations can build community by sharing news, initiatives, and events. Always follow up with recaps, pictures, and stories to encourage future participation.
- Recognize employees. Internal comms has a phenomenal opportunity to create recognition programs and processes. Make space in your newsletter or intranet to recognize individual and team accomplishments.
You can also boost engagement by measuring the results of your internal messaging with internal comms software like PoliteMail. On average, our top 20% of customers increase their readership rates by 84% and engagement rates by 156%.
Leveraging internal comms
Internal comms goes well beyond the news and keeping people informed—it’s key to fostering workplace culture because it builds connections and drives engagement. By understanding internal comms and the true scope of the function, you can maximize the impact of your employee communications programs.
