Internal communication is necessary for efficient collaboration. If you want to achieve your business’s long-term goals, you’ll need to polish and document your internal communications strategy. So how do you do it?

The Goals of an Internal Communications Strategy

You're going to have a much easier time creating your internal communications strategy if you understand its purpose within your organization. The main goals of an internal communications strategy usually boil down to the following:

·       Direction and guidance. Having an internal communications strategy that's both formalized and readily available to your staff provides them with direction and guidance. They're going to understand how to communicate with each other effectively and they're going to have clear instructions for how to conduct themselves in different work environments. This reduces ambiguity, improves performance, and helps employees feel more confident about their communication.

·       Unity. Paying attention to internal communications also gives you a pathway for better unity within your workforce. Instead of being plagued by departmental silos or seeing a split between your in-person and remote teams, you can find a way to unify your employees and make sure they all have the same communication experience.

·       Consistency. Similarly, putting an internal communications strategy in place is a way of achieving consistency throughout your organization. If all your employees are following the same protocols for better communication, they should have an easier time communicating with each other – and your partners and vendors will all have consistent communication experiences with your brand as well.

·       Measurement and analysis. How do you know if your communications strategy is working? If you have a clear plan laid out from the beginning, you should have goals and milestones to help you figure out whether or not your directives are working. In other words, you'll have clear metrics for success and you'll know when it's time to take intervening action.

Planning Your Internal Communications Strategy

So how do you plan your internal communications strategy from the beginning?

·       Start with your high-level objectives. Don't get in the weeds right away. Instead, start with your high-level objectives. What are you hoping to achieve with your internal communications strategy? How do you hope communication in your organization will improve as a result of this document? Are there any major concerns you have with the current communication within your organization?

·       Gather and consolidate the right tools. Next, figure out how your employees are going to communicate with each other. Chances are, your organization already uses a wide range of different tools to facilitate better internal communication. For example, your employees probably use project management platforms, email clients, and even social media to talk to each other. With digital signage software, you can streamline communications across different environments and different mediums, displaying motivational messages, real-time data, and almost anything else you want in both a physical workplace (with the help of digital screens) and online. Take inventory of all the tools you're currently using and all the tools that could facilitate better communications within your organization and document how they should be used.

·       Incorporate communication core values into your culture. Organizations host better internal communication when all their leaders and employees are aligned with the same core values about communication. Does your organization pride itself on openness and transparency? Do you value clarity and conciseness? Take a look at your existing core values and consider adjusting them to support even better internal communication.

·       Create unambiguous communication policies. Create clear protocols for your employees to follow to become better communicators. These can be loose guidelines or strict rules, depending on your communication philosophy. What tools should employees be using, and when? What constitutes an appropriate message? What tips and guidelines can employees follow to communicate more consistently and successfully?

·       Offer training and education to your employees. Communications training is one of the best ways to improve communication within your organization, since it gives employees the knowledge and experience they need to be better communicators. Don't assume that following a handful of rules can instantly transform your employees; instead, hire or appoint a teacher to work directly with them and help them develop.

·       Prepare to lead by example. Your employees will be much better communicators if they have effectively communicating leaders to follow and model themselves after. It's vital to train and support your leaders in strong communication if you want your employees to succeed.

Improving Communications

Putting together an internal communications strategy document is a great first step, but it's not going to guarantee that your organization is going to improve its internal communication. You'll still need to take the following actions:

·       Identify opportunities for improvement. Always be on the lookout for opportunities for improvement. Is there a communications platform that isn't working as well as it used to? Maybe it's time to find a new one. Is there an employee who consistently struggles with some specific aspect of communication? Perhaps a mentor or coach could help them thrive. Even small upgrades and improvements add up.

·       Stay flexible. Your communications strategy shouldn't be chiselled in stone; it should be flexible and malleable, capable of evolving with your needs. Accordingly, your organization and your employees should stay as flexible as possible. As you learn more about this environment, be willing to adjust your internal communications strategy both in writing and in practice.

·       Ask for feedback. Gather feedback from employee surveys and reviews. How satisfied are your employees with your current communications strategy? Do they have any ideas or recommendations for how you can improve further? Are there specific communication tools they would prefer to use? Do they feel like their communications training was adequate? Is there anything else that could give them a better collaboration experience within your organization?

Mastering the art of internal communication is a long-term investment, so don't be discouraged if you don't see the results you wanted immediately. Keep refining your internal communications strategy documents, learn from your mistakes, and don't be afraid to adapt to your organization's unique needs.