How to Transform Internal Communications

🎧 We’ve been experimenting with something new in internal comms… and it’s working! I’m currently running a pilot for a client where we embed short voice notes from leadership into their monthly internal comms email newsletters. No scripts, no studio polish, just leaders speaking directly to their teams instead of dense blocks of text. Our initial research showed that people were feeling disconnected from leadership, siloed, and often unsure why certain strategic decisions were being made. Increasingly, it’s the why people crave, not just the what. So we gave leaders a new way to tell their own stories via short, honest voice notes explaining their decisions in their own words. The tech setup is simple: a mic, a laptop, and a willingness to hit record, and the plan is that leaders will, from now on, be passing the mic around, depending on the business's priorities and who has a good story to tell. And it’s proving to be a real winner so far. I can’t share stats (they’re obvs confidential), but the buy-in from leadership has been fantastic. What’s been fascinating is how the tone changes when leaders speak naturally. Executives who seem distant in text suddenly sound warm, human, approachable, even funny. This is a real step change for employees used to overly corporate-sounding, text-based communication. This small shift makes a big difference. Hearing someone’s real voice, the tone, warmth, humour, and imperfection, builds connection and belonging in a way no written update ever could. It’s also backed by what we’re seeing globally: • Podcasts and audio formats continue to grow as trusted sources of information. Employees retain up to 15% more from what they hear than what they read (Edison Research). • 73% of employees say they’d rather listen to a company update than attend a meeting (uStudio). No surprises there! • And as inbox fatigue deepens, voice is cutting through where text can’t. It feels more honest, human, and memorable. Leaders in this pilot are discovering that speaking directly, not perfectly, brings a kind of authenticity that can’t be faked. It’s helping a large organisation sound smaller, warmer, and more connected. It’s early days, but it feels like the start of something important: using email not just to inform, but to connect. Has anyone else been experimenting with voice in internal comms? I’d love to hear what you’re seeing. #internalcommunications #employeeexperience #leadershipcommunications #audiocomms #digitalworkplace

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 👇👇👇 🍯

Employees tuning out to your communication efforts? Last week, I watched as my client's comms team copied and pasted the same message into Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint.   Again, and again and again.   Each platform required different formatting. Different context. Different approaches.   Her team was putting in double the work - crafting for Teams, rewriting for email, reformatting for SharePoint.   And the employees? Tuning out. Not because they couldn't check everything, but because they were fed up with having to.   I've seen this pattern with organizations of all sizes.   For my client's recent Internal Copilot Prompt-a-Thon campaign, we suggested something different.   We explored Microsoft Viva Amplify together - a tool often overlooked in the Viva suite.   Instead of creating content multiple times, they created it once and let Amplify handle the distribution across channels.   Their objectives remained ambitious: - Build staff confidence with Copilot - Develop practical prompting techniques - Improve organization-wide adoption - Progress employees from beginner to intermediate   But the approach changed completely.   Instead of asking employees to find content, we brought it to them - whether in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, or Viva Connections.   The results were eye-opening. Participation increased 40%. Feedback improved. And the comms team spent less time copy and pasting, reformatting and more time creating valuable content.   After 18+ years of guiding internal comms strategies, I'm still learning alongside my clients. I used to think successful communication was about being everywhere at once.   Over the years this has changed. I see it's about meeting people where they already are.   What communication challenges is your organization facing? I'd love to hear what's working (or not working) for you. #VivaAmplify #Copilot #SharePoint #Outlook #InternalCommunications #HR #Intranet

The CEO hired a six-figure communications director. Three weeks later, she quit. "You want a stenographer, not a strategist." Every message becomes a committee project: Marketing for brand alignment. Legal for compliance. HR for tone. CEO for final sign-off. Weeks pass. The rumor mill moves faster than official channels. By the time employees get the sanitized version, they've already heard three different stories. But here's the real damage: Every approval layer strips out personality. Adds corporate jargon. Dilutes meaning until nobody cares. The communicator gets blamed for low engagement. While being prevented from actually communicating. The fundamental question: if you don't trust the person you hired, why did you hire them? You brought on someone with judgment to handle sensitive communication. Then built a system that prevents them from using that judgment. Companies that succeed at internal communication do something radical: They let communicators communicate. They hire someone with real judgment. Give them direct access to leadership. Empower them to move fast. The result? Messages go out when they're relevant. The tone feels human. People believe what they're reading. Trust isn't built through approval chains. It's built by empowering people to do what they were hired to do. The irony is perfect: Companies hire communication experts. Then systematically prevent them from communicating. And wonder why employee engagement suffers.

Internal comms isn’t about sending updates. It’s about shaping the future. Most internal communicators are stuck in the copy-paste cycle. Your leaders don’t need another newsletter—they need a movement. Stop counting clicks. Start measuring courage. If your work isn’t changing decisions, it’s decoration. To shift from informer to influencer: 1. Align every message to CEO-level priorities. 2. Trade “FYI” for “Here’s why this matters.” 3. Train leaders to repeat strategy, not jargon. We’re drowning in emails nobody reads. But silence on culture costs companies millions. You’re not a megaphone for updates. You’re the architect of collective action. What if your next comms plan included: Killing 3 low-impact monthly reports. Hosting one CEO roundtable on hard truths. Translating metrics into boardroom-ready stories? The C-suite doesn’t care about open rates. They care if comms moves the stock price. What’s one message you can kill today to start leading? Delete it.

I used to think internal comms was about messaging. Now I know, it’s about modeling. Modeling clarity. Modeling trust. Modeling connection. And most of all, modeling what it looks like to show up for your people, consistently and honestly. Leadership visibility is one of the most common requests I hear from employees and one of the hardest things to get right. Leaders are busy. They’re nervous. They’re not sure what to say or where to say it. That’s where comms comes in. Not to script, but to support. We need to give leaders more ways to connect—casual, async, visual, whatever fits their style and meets people where they are. I’ve seen leaders shine when they use tools like Workvivo by Zoom to share updates, kudos, or even just quick thoughts from the road. It’s not polished. It’s personal. And that’s what lands. Because when leadership is visible, communication becomes cultural, not just functional. How are you helping your leaders communicate with more presence and less pressure? #LeadershipComms #Culture #VisibilityMatters

Internal Communications pros, let's ditch being the "email person" and show we're high-impact leaders. Here's how I explain my role to stakeholders: Internal Communications isn't about drafting messages, editing emails, and sending updates. We're leaders. But only if we position our work as strategic, not tactical. 3 ways to reimagine your Internal Communications role to show you're more than a "doer." You're a leader. 1. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 Help VPs become clear, confident communicators. We're more than ghostwriters. We're skill builders. When every executive communicates well: 👉 Business priorities are clear. 👉 Employees feel more connected. 👉 Customers feel the difference too. Turn communications into a business capability. —— 2. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 Great comms pros don’t only execute—they advise. We tie our comms strategy to business goals. We create sustainable systems: 👉 Signature channels that build a leader's reputation. 👉 Scalable approaches to reach the right audiences. 👉 Structures for clarity, alignment, and momentum. Earn your boardroom seat with your strategic chops. —— 3. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 & 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 Product & culture are intertwined. How you build matters as much as what you build. Be the internal journalist: 👉 Go behind the scenes. 👉 Spotlight the humans behind the work. 👉 Bring values to life in a way posters never will. Stories stick. They shape culture. That’s your edge. —— 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: You do a lot. But you're only a doer. You're a leader. 3 vital roles of top Internal Communications pros: 🗣 Communication Coach 📊 Strategic Advisor 📖 Product & Culture Storyteller Focus here and you'll never being seen as 'nice-to-have' around. You'll be seen as the leader you are. 👇 Let’s talk in the comments. 👉 Which role do you lean into most? 👉 How do you position your value with stakeholders?

Nonprofit executives - I've spent 20+ years working in transformational change environments & crisis moments. Here are 3 things that can help you and your team right now: 1 >> Keep Communications at the Table Your heads of external AND internal communications are vital members of any crisis or critical strategy conversations. Often, decisions are made without these leaders in the room and they are brought in too late to contribute their expertise about how best to position challenging information, share meaningful updates, and respond to tough questions. This will make it harder for everyone in the long run. Do yourself the favor and keep communications at the table - as a contributing, strategic member - from the beginning. 2 >> Provide a Proactive Channel for Questions Your team is probably pretty shaken right now. They have questions. And while you may not be able to answer them all right now, it's important to acknowledge them and work toward answers where possible. Provide a proactive way for folks to submit questions (e.g., an email address they can reach out to, a form on your intranet, designated team members throughout the org) and then find a consistent way to provide meaningful responses (e.g., all-staff meetings + a standing document on the intranet that is routinely updated). 3 >> Help Everyone Understand Their Role You and your executive team may be working through scenario planning, major donor outreach, and many other emergent needs. Your team needs to hear how they can play an important role, too. Is there specialized support or research that can be gathered? Should they focus on continuing to provide great service to your community and donors? Help them know how and where to focus their energy - and when that may need to change. Don't assume that they will know to keep following the playbook that was laid out prior to the crisis or big change. What other practical tips do you have for nonprofit executives operating in transformational change or crisis environments? Share in the comments. #nonprofit #leadership #management #ChangeLeadership --- I'm Veronica - I help CEOs and Department Heads at established nonprofits create strategic clarity and lead change well. On LinkedIn, I write about practical approaches to improving the ways we think, plan, and work.

How can we improve communications about organizational change 🤔 📣 Communications play a pivotal role in people-centric change. High quality communications about what the transformation means for individuals and teams can help to address questions such as: Why is the transformation necessary? Who will the transformation affect? What is going to change and When? How will I be affected by the change? Some of the practical ways to ensure high quality communication about organizational transformations include (but are not limited to): ▶️ Engage in dialogue throughout the transformation process.  Creating a safe space for conversations about change can help people to rasie their concerns, hopes and fears. ▶️ Know your audience Have a firm understanding of the audience’s perspective and what information they already know and what questions or concerns they have.    ▶️ Focus on Visualization Things that people see are more likely to evoke emotions than things they hear or read. Use a variety of communication channels include videos, pictures and images. ▶️ Deliver the message with the appropriate tone and style using: ✴️ Compassion: Show the audience that you care about their perspectives and inform employees as soon as possible about the transformation including: Why, When and How the process will evolve and within what expected time span. ✴️ Clarity: Communicate clearly and repeat key messages. Just because you have communicated the message once does not mean that individuals will have heard it, internalised it or made sense of it. ✴️ Conciseness: Ensure that the message is short enough to internalize. Long, complicated sentences make written ideas hard to understand because they demand more concentration. Keep communications short, clear and concise. ✴️ Connection: Connect emotionally with the audience and provide opportunities for employees to give feedback by: ensuring appropriate channels for employee voice  and that different groups feel able to access them; actively seeking people’s ideas; and take action on feedback. ✴️ Candor. Admit what you don’t know, for instance, if an employee asks you whether there will be redundancies, and you are not sure whether they will happen or not. Your response might be: “I wish I could tell you exactly what is going to happen. We will give you updates as soon as we know them.” ▶️ Avoid overcommunicating A word of caution is required because most organizations overcommunicate about change which can lead to confusion and disengagement. Rather than overloading people with formal communications especially email build in time for conversations. Source: Hodges, J. (2024) People-centric change: engaging employees with business transformations. Kogan Page Publishing, London - Chapter 5 Joe Ferner-Reeves Lucy Carter Emma Dodworth Laura de Ruiter, PhD Lisa Cardow Inga Grigaliunaite Durham University Business School

Kill All Email Newsletters? Shell Did. What if your CEO was the only person allowed to send company-wide emails? At Shell, this wasn't just a bold idea - it was our reality. As Transformation Change & Communication Lead I witnessed and participated in this radical decision that transformed internal communications and employee engagement and saw business productivity and collaboration soar on the wings of a social media platform. In partnership with Silicon Reef, a people-first Microsoft 365 consultancy, I share the #story of how Shell brought in Viva Engage to solve real pain points, overhaul cross-silo #collaboration and boost #productivity. I've offered a two lens perspective - as someone who lived through the #change daily, sprinkled with a bit of advice as a #strategist: 🔹 How to turn email chaos into business value 🔹 The 3-pillar strategy that won over 70,000 employees 🔹 Real ROI metrics that convinced the C-suite 🔹 Critical lessons for Communications leaders If your team is eyeing Microsoft Viva Engage and you're thinking ... the platform promises a lot, but 🔹 Where do we start? 🔹 What should our adoption plan look like? 🔹How will we measure success? Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/dK6ubSXv because this isn't just another #platformimplementation story - it's a #blueprint for meaningful #digitaltransformation. 👉 Are you a leader grappling with email overload and engagement challenges? I'd love to hear your thoughts! A special thank you to Alex Graves and Emma Prowse for partnering with me to share this story. Their expertise in building #digitalworkplaces using Microsoft tech made them the perfect platform to reach organisations who aim to solve real #painpoints and deliver business value alongside engagement through platforms like #VivaEngage. #InternalComms #EmployeeEngagement #DigitalTransformation #VivaEngage #WorkHappy