Create a Successful Internal Communications Plan

Many organizations prioritize their external communications over internal communications. While external communications with customers, donors, partner organizations, and other key stakeholders are important, internal communications are essential to foster a transparent work environment, ensuring employees are well-informed and happy. So how do you develop an internal communications plan that keeps employees engaged, happy, and enhances collaboration?

Below are a few ideas on how to get started.

Determine who is responsible for sending the communications. 
Who owns the internal communications? Is it HR? The communications team? Be sure it is clear who is responsible for owning the lists, collecting content, and updating/sending out communications.
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Define your goals.
First, clearly define the goals of your internal communications plan. Is the goal to keep employees engaged? Share company updates? Celebrate employees’ wins? Knowing what your goals are prior to creating the plan will ensure your plan stays focused.

Identify your target audience.
Would the communications go to all employees? Would there be different segments or content for specific groups? Knowing who your target audience is will help you to better organize your communications and ensure they are valuable for your teams.
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Select the right communication channels.
Just because one platform works for another organization does not mean it will be effective for yours. Survey or talk to your employees to see how they’d like to receive company news and internal communications—whether it’s through email, Slack, or an intranet.
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Create your key messages.
Are there specific messages you’d like to include? Internal communications are a great place to share department wins, provide talking points, or highlight brand guidelines. Any key messages should align with your organizational goals and values, and internal communications provide an excellent platform for ensuring everyone at your organization is using similar key messages when speaking with external audiences too.

Establish a regular cadence.
Determine the frequency you’d like to share internal communications. Perhaps internal emails go out every other Friday? Determine a regular schedule and ask for employee content contributions by a certain day.

Include engaging and valuable content.
Include a mix of updates, success stories, and important announcements. Keep the content fun and engaging, and don’t forget to include multimedia.

Encourage feedback.
Be sure to ask for suggestions/content ideas and include surveys. These foster two-way communication, which boosts employee engagement.

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs).
KPIs are valuable to measure the effectiveness of your internal communications. For example, KPIs could include employee survey responses, email open rates, or verbal feedback from team members.

As always, be flexible. 
The key to any successful communications and marketing plan is to be willing to pivot or try new channels or tactics. If your internal communications are falling flat, ask your employees what they’d like to see. Flexibility is key.

Need help getting started on your internal communications plan? Email [email protected]!  

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