Internal Communications Guide

Communication isn't what you say. It's what everyone hears. And not just what they hear passively. But what action your words inspire in them. If you're leading a team, remember: • 90% of your team didn't hear you the first time • 50% didn't hear you the third time • 10% never will Clear communication requires repetition. When you're sick of saying it, they start to hear it. Here's the pattern the best communicators follow: 1. Create Systems Don't rely on one-off conversations. Build processes that reinforce the message consistently. Different formats for different learners. 2. Embrace Repetition Clarity requires persistence, not perfection. Say it again. Then say it differently. Then say it again. 3. Verify Understanding Check what was heard, not what was said. Ask: "What did you take away from that?" Create feedback loops that close the gap. Here's how the world's best leaders put these patterns into practice: Satya Nadella's "Model-Coach-Care" ↳ Shows the way personally first ↳ Coaches others through the change ↳ Demonstrates genuine care for outcomes "Don't be a Know-It-All. Be a Learn-It-All." Ray Dalio's "Radical Transparency" ↳ Records every meeting at Bridgewater ↳ Makes them available to all employees ↳ Uses real-time feedback tools "Lead discussions by being assertive AND open-minded. At the same time." Andy Grove's "Disagree and Commit" ↳ Encouraged vigorous debate before decisions ↳ Required full alignment after decisions ↳ Made dissent safe, but execution non-negotiable "Let chaos reign, then rein in chaos." Steve Jobs's "Three-Story Rule" ↳ Every product launch told three stories maximum ↳ Repeated the same core message relentlessly ↳ Made complex ideas simple and memorable "Simple can be harder than complex." Reed Hastings's "Context Over Control" ↳ Netflix's culture deck shared widely for transparency ↳ Attracts the right people before they even apply ↳ Replaces rules with shared understanding "Don't tolerate brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high." The best leaders aren't the best speakers. They're the best at being understood. And they never stop until they are. 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more leadership insights. ♻️ Share to help other leaders communicate with impact.

Ever heard of an HR Storyteller? A CHRO asked me that last week if I could help her hire one. She was really asking about an HR Communications specialist for their growing company, but it got me thinking about storytelling inside HR and the way great communication makes the workforce go around. HR Communications is an under-recognized strategic lever inside People Teams. It’s the function that makes people programs make sense by connecting the dots between HR strategy, leadership messaging, and employee understanding. At its best, it’s not just about information… it’s about inspiration. These professionals are the ones who translate complex changes (like reorgs, M&A, or new systems) into clear, human messages. They shape culture and engagement narratives and simplify total rewards so people understand what they get and why it matters. Align internal culture with the external employer brand. Ghostwrite leadership messages that build trust and authenticity. They’re not just sending emails. They’re architecting narratives… helping companies answer: Why does this change matter? Who are we becoming? How do we connect individual contributions to purpose? That’s where the storyteller identity comes in. The words HR chooses shape how employees feel about the company they work for. HR Communications is how culture is built, trust is earned, and purpose is shared. I think this role is on the rise. Leading organizations including Salesforce, Deloitte, Google, KPMG and Spotify already treat HR Communications as a strategic cornerstone. Have you seen this kind of function inside your organization? If so, what kind of impact have you seen when communication becomes storytelling? #HumanResources #EmployeeExperience #InternalComms #EmployerBrand #HRCommunications

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been spending some time in hospital waiting rooms once again, as my mother underwent a hip replacement operation. Sitting in one nondescript corridor the other day, I noticed a small sign with a big message for the hospital staff: “Before you speak, THINK.” T – Is it True? H – Is it Helpful? I – Is it Important? N – Is it Necessary? K – Is it Kind? It struck me how perfectly this also applies to internal communication in organisations. It’s a neat way of focusing on what really matters. Internal Comms teams are often moving fast - sharing updates, cascading decisions, announcing changes. In all that speed, it’s easy to focus on delivery rather than impact. But the THINK framework is a powerful reminder that communication isn’t just about information; it’s about responsibility. Imagine if every email message, town hall, newsletter and announcement had to pass this test: ✔ True – Are we being clear and transparent? ✔ Helpful – Does this support people in understanding what they need to know? ✔ Important – Is this worth their time and attention? ✔ Necessary – Are we reducing noise or adding to it? ✔ Kind – Are we considering the human beings on the receiving end? Good internal comms isn’t just efficient - it’s thoughtful, empathetic and purposeful. Sometimes, it’s worth taking a moment to THINK before we communicate. #InternalComms #InternalCommunications #TeamPerformance #Think

My AI lesson of the week: The tech isn't the hard part…it's the people! During my prior work at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), we talked a lot about how any technology, whether a new drug or a new vaccine or a new information tool, would face challenges with how to integrate into the complex human systems that alway at play in healthcare. As I get deeper and deeper into AI, I am not surprised to see that those same challenges exist with this cadre of technology as well. It’s not the tech that limits us; the real complexity lies in driving adoption across diverse teams, workflows, and mindsets. And it’s not just implementation alone that will get to real ROI from AI—it’s the changes that will occur to our workflows that will generate the value. That’s why we are thinking differently about how to approach change management. We’re approaching the workflow integration with the same discipline and structure as any core system build. Our framework is designed to reduce friction, build momentum, and align people with outcomes from day one. Here’s the 5-point plan for how we're making that happen with health systems today: 🔹 AI Champion Program: We designate and train department-level champions who lead adoption efforts within their teams. These individuals become trusted internal experts, reducing dependency on central support and accelerating change. 🔹 An AI Academy: We produce concise, role-specific, training modules to deliver just-in-time knowledge to help all users get the most out of the gen AI tools that their systems are provisioning. 5-10 min modules ensures relevance and reduces training fatigue.  🔹 Staged Rollout: We don’t go live everywhere at once. Instead, we're beginning with an initial few locations/teams, refine based on feedback, and expand with proof points in hand. This staged approach minimizes risk and maximizes learning. 🔹 Feedback Loops: Change is not a one-way push. Host regular forums to capture insights from frontline users, close gaps, and refine processes continuously. Listening and modifying is part of the deployment strategy. 🔹 Visible Metrics: Transparent team or dept-based dashboards track progress and highlight wins. When staff can see measurable improvement—and their role in driving it—engagement improves dramatically. This isn’t workflow mapping. This is operational transformation—designed for scale, grounded in human behavior, and built to last. Technology will continue to evolve. But real leverage comes from aligning your people behind the change. We think that’s where competitive advantage is created—and sustained. #ExecutiveLeadership #ChangeManagement #DigitalTransformation #StrategyExecution #HealthTech #OperationalExcellence #ScalableChange

Communication is not about saying what we think. Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean. Internal communications is about making employees feel good, engaged, informed, & connected. 🚙 It’s the engine behind culture, alignment, & business success. 🔗 It’s the bond that holds the teams together. 🩵 It’s about influence, not control. 📘 It turns corporate strategy into something real for the people. 💪 Internal communications is imperative. However, if everything is hyped to the max, then what is truly important? If all things are A+#1, then which one is truly first among equals? Thanks to technology, we can reach pretty much all employees all the time with everything that ever needs to be communicated. ❌ Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. ✔ We should limit broadcasting & embrace narrowcasting. Segment messages based on employee roles & locations. Defining clear segments & working groups for communication allows you to quickly send a message to the right individuals at any time. ✔ Make communication asynchronous. One example would be a post made on an employee App that others can respond to at any time. Asynchronous communication can be particularly effective for remote teams & those working across multiple time zones or languages (‘inline translations’ is a must). ✔ Move from broadcasting to conversation (interactive channels, Q&As, polls, surveys, feedback loops). ✔ Include your frontline workers. They hardly complain about too much communication. They miss it & too often miss out. ✔ Put in meaningful efforts to truly understand what your employees want. There is no bottom-up communication fatigue … as long as people don’t feel that their voices fall on deaf ears. ✔ Adopt an internal communications platform to connect with your employees at the right time, with the right information, & where they want to receive it. A platform that allows employees to opt in or out of certain information & updates.  ➡️ What has worked for you to reduce internal comms fatigue? Share your tips 👇👇👇 🍯

“Marketing used to be seen as order takers,” explained the CMO from a $190m services firm, “but after several years, we’re now seen as business drivers.” Several years! And that’s your internal audience. Imagine how long it takes to change external perceptions. Like it or not, marketing leaders must devote time to marketing their marketing. Not once at an “all hands” town hall. Not twice via follow-up emails. Relentlessly. Fearlessly. Consistently. Across all possible channels. Personally. And via surrogates. Why is this so important? Marketing often gets a bad rap in the C-suite which trickles down to disrespect across the org. Disrespect that manifests as unsolicited advice on all aspects of marketing. Advice that can derail your well-conceived plan especially if it is centered on tactics.  Marketing is not a snowball fight. You can’t just gather your ammunition, and hurl it at your target one toss at a time. Well, you can try. But that approach inevitably fails to leave a lasting impression. Instead, think of marketing as the ball of snow rolling down a mountain, gathering girth and speed (i.e. force = mass x acceleration). Marketing is the cumulative impact of all your activities over time – starting with your internal audience. Here are several sure-fire ways of marketing your marketing internally: 🐧 Involve employees in your repositioning work. 🐧 Field and share quarterly employee surveys 🐧 Own and indoctrinate BDRs 🐧 Help employees build their personal brands 🐧 Orchestrate innovation days 🐧 Create an entertaining “this week in marketing” update Involve employees: If you expect employees to believe in the brand, make them part of the process from Day 1. Keep them updated throughout the process. Before launching publicly, create a brand certification program (easily done now with GenAI) that all employees must pass. Quarterly surveys: Don’t leave this to HR. Surveying is too important. Measure eNPS. Ask if they are proud to work for your company. Include at least 2 open-ended questions. [I’m happy to share a sample survey] Indoctrinate BDRs: Half the CMOs in CMO Huddles “own” BDRs. Ensuring that Marketing delivers qualified opportunities to Sales, BDRs also become marketing evangelists once they move up and around the org. Enable personal branding: Employees are “free” brand ambassadors and can be awesome advocates if properly trained. By teaching employees how to build their personal brands, you’re helping their careers and your company. Orchestrate innovation days: Ask your employees to work together in small teams to develop innovative solutions to your biggest challenges in one day. Have a panel of judges. Offer prizes. Implement winning ideas. Count the smiles. Update weekly: A pithy yet entertaining weekly update will educate employees on how Marketing is helping to drive the business. After a few weeks, employees will look forward to your reports.    What’s your approach to marketing the marketing?

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. Over the years, in leadership conversations across organizations, I’ve noticed something interesting. When results are strong, teams celebrate strategy. When results falter, teams blame execution. But rarely does anyone pause to ask a deeper question: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨? Not just talking. Not just presenting slides. But communicating in a way that is 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹. I once worked with a leadership team that was facing growing internal friction. Targets were being missed, teams felt unheard, and leaders felt their instructions were not being followed. On the surface, it looked like a performance problem. But when we dug deeper, we discovered something else. Leaders believed they were being clear. Teams believed they were being misunderstood. Some leaders spoke 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁, not to align. Some teams listened 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱, not to understand. The result? Meetings were happening. Conversations were not. And that’s the subtle leadership trap. In times of growth, poor communication gets masked by momentum. In times of pressure, it gets exposed brutally. Which is why 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻, 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. The ability to: • Say difficult things with respect • Align people around clarity, not hierarchy • Listen beyond words • Replace assumptions with dialogue Because strategy may set direction. Talent may build capability. But 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀. In my experience, organizations don’t fail because people aren’t capable. They fail because 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. And the leaders who recognize this early build something rare: Not just high-performing teams. But 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. #LeadershipDevelopment #Communication #LeadershipMatters #WorkplaceCulture #PeopleLeadership #LeadershipInsights

Here's something you learn about working in marketing that no one tells you: A huge part of your job description isn't written down anywhere. And that's internal marketing. And the more senior you get, the bigger this becomes. As a junior marketer, you're focused on tactics and execution. As a marketing leader, you're constantly selling the value of marketing internally. Here's the problem most of us face: We're amazing at doing this for companies we work for, but terrible at marketing ourselves internally. We focus on external campaigns while neglecting our internal audience, and struggle to communicate our impact to leadership. This matters more than you think: It determines your budget, headcount, and strategic influence. Leadership's perception of your work shapes every decision about your team. If you don't control that narrative, someone else will. Marketers who succeed in the long term understand this. Your external marketing can be perfect, but if your internal marketing fails, your career stalls. Start treating your internal audience with the same strategic focus you give your external customers. Your job depends on it.

What is the actual goal of a corporate communications team? 🔍 If you stripped away all the emails, webinars, and intranets, you'd find one common goal at the center of all our work: building and maintaining trust. Internal communication is the engine that drives that trust within an organisation. It’s not just about sharing information; it’s about creating a reputation internally that matches (or exceeds) your reputation externally. When internal comms is done well: - It drives the attraction and retention of top talent. - It builds a culture where employees feel like advocates for the brand. - It ensures leaders are supported in their own communication strategies. Trust is hard to earn and incredibly easy to lose. Strategic internal comms is the insurance policy that keeps that trust intact. In your opinion, what’s the biggest "trust-builder" for a team? Let's discuss in the comments. 🤝 [Image description: Green tile with black and white headline text that reads: Corporate Comms Teams' role: Build & maintain trust. Below is a white box with a list of items with ticks beside each one: Drive attraction and retention of top talent; build a culture of employee brand advocates; support leaders in their own comms strategies.]

A CEO asked me why his team was disengaged. I responded with just one question: "How does communication work around here?" He says: "When we decide something, we cascade the information down." That's the problem. Cascading creates the illusion of communication. In reality, it creates distortion, delay, and silence. The important stuff never gets discussed. No pushback. No questions. Cascading is a one-way street to disengagement. W. Edwards Deming said every system is perfectly designed to get the results it produces. If your people are disengaged, you don't have a people problem. You have a system problem. I suggested to the CEO that we redesign theirs around my preferred system for internal communication: push, pull, exchange. 1/ 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡: 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞. Town halls. Weekly updates. No middle layers filtering the message. "Here's where we are, where we're going, and why." 2/ 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥: 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. Not annual surveys. Continuous pulse checks. What's working? What's not? What are we missing? 3/ 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Leaders out of their offices. Coffee chats. Walking meetings. The kind of dialogue where people actually talk to each other. Communication isn't a cascade. It's a system to create engagement, shared understanding, and strategic alignment. If your strategy isn't landing, it's not because people don't care. It's because they were never part of the conversation. How does communication work in your organization? - - - - ♻️ Repost to help your network. 📌 Follow Oliver Aust for daily strategies on leadership communication.