Internal Comms: Why they break and how to improve them
One area that seems to be eternally broken in companies is internal comms. I’ve heard countless complaints about this topic over the years, and have certainly contributed to the complaints myself. Teams complaining of information overload or of not having enough visibility or context. There never seems to be a Goldilocks moment where comms are just right (or perhaps it’s just a case that we don’t appreciate them enough when they are).
Internal communication is a critical component to the smooth running of an organisation, particularly as it scales. It’s what enables stakeholders to understand the status of key projects and know when to mitigate risks. It’s what enables teams to highlight and celebrate successes, increasing morale. It can help keep people engaged and excited about the future of the company. It’s how culture is operationalised. Most importantly, it’s a key factor in ensuring that the most important work gets done and gets done well.
Below I dive into why internal communication tends to break and suggestions on how to improve it, whether you work at a small startup or a large corporate.
Why do internal comms break?
Internal comms tend to break due to differences in expectations, preferences and ownership:
Unclear Expectations: One source of angst amongst some people is that they are unsure how much they should know. They devour every Slack message, Notion update and email and yet have a constant feeling of FOMO as it’s unclear if they are on top of the relevant information. On the opposite side of the spectrum are the people who never seem to proactively engage with an update unless it is shared with them verbally and directly. They require a spoon-feeding of knowledge. Internal comms tend to break (or at least feel broken) when the responsibility lines between what an individual is expected to know and be proactive in sourcing versus what a team/workstream owner is responsible for ensuring there is clarity around is unclear.
Differing Individual Preferences: People tend to prefer to absorb information in different ways. Some people prefer visual updates and videos. Others prefer a long form read. People have varying preferences between sync and async comms. If your organisation hasn’t established consistent comms norms and clear expectations around this, then people tend to default to their personal preferences, leading to a sense that comms processes aren’t optimal.
Lack of Ownership: If nobody is proactively thinking about internal comms at a team, function and company level then it is highly unlikely that information is being shared effectively. Good comms don’t just happen. They need to be cultivated.
How to optimise internal comms?
I’ve come to the conclusion (although am happy to be proven wrong) that internal comms will never be perfect. This is partly due to the individual preferences conundrum mentioned above, and also due to the fact that to do comms well, like really well, it takes time, effort and hella good copywriting skills. Unless you have an Internal Comms team at your disposal it’s unlikely you’ll reach excellence. However, by focusing on the three C’s below, I believe that most teams can achieve a “good” level of internal communication:
Consistency: Establish cadences. Make it easy for your teams to know when they should expect to receive certain types of comms and where to find them e.g. critical org updates are always shared weekly at all-hands, X metrics can be found on this dashboard, product updates are always outlined on Confluence, leadership updates are always sent by email on Fridays etc. Communicate comms norms and include them as part of your onboarding process e.g. we share X types of update on Slack and use Loom for Y and always communicate Z in team meetings. Provide curated overviews of key updates where possible e.g. team newsletters or intranet/Notion pages.
Content Quality: What is meant by good quality will vary depending on the context. Sometimes good is a concise Slack update. Sometimes it’s a thoughtful email that includes a TL;DR. Sometimes it’s a well told story during a company wide presentation. Comms can be functional or entertaining. They should always be engaging. It’s important to know which style to flex and when. Keep your target audience in mind and tailor the message to them. As a manager, you should aim to set the bar for what good looks like for your team. People tend to copy established formats so it’s worth creating a baseline good approach that people can follow. Highlight good communication examples e.g. a particularly well prepped all-hands presentation. Reward useful comms, not just visible ones. In fact, make a point of culling pointless updates and invest in helping those who aren’t currently reaching a good comms bar in upleveling their skills.
Clarity of ownership: Build good communication practices as an expectation into people’s job descriptions. Ensure it’s clear what level of team and cross-functional communication is expected in each role. Highlight who is responsible for maintaining internal documentation where applicable.
How to think about meetings
I couldn’t write about internal comms without touching on meetings. For many of us, meetings occupy a substantial portion of our day. Many of us also waste hours every week in low value, uninspiring meetings that could’ve been an email/slack message. Generally speaking, I think there are 5 valid reasons to have an internal meeting (customer meetings are an entirely different ball game):
Ideating - coming together to discuss ideas e.g. brainstorm new products
Decisions - coming together to make a decision e.g. finalise H2 goals
Relationships - coming together to strengthen bonds e.g. 1:1s
Inspiration - coming together to get excited about what we’re creating e.g. all-hands
Learning - coming together to share knowledge e.g. lunch and learns
Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Sometimes it is valuable to have a read-out/update orientated meeting e.g forecasting reviews. Where possible, these should be kept short and sweet. Sometimes it is valuable to get everyone in a room (virtual or otherwise) to discuss a topic that could’ve been agreed in written form, to ensure alignment and strong buy-in.
Evolution of internal comms
Your organisation’s comms requirements will evolve over time. What works at a 50 person company will likely break at 200. Equally, as your company scales you will likely hire people whose primary job it is to ensure teams have the relevant information they need to be successful in their roles e.g Sales Enablement, Product Ops, Knowledge Management. It’s unlikely you can predict all future requirements so the best place to start is to identify what good looks like for your company at this stage of its lifecycle and aim to build a workflow that meets your team’s current needs and those in one iteration of growth. Also, try to hunt down the people in your org who are really into this type of stuff. They will love taking ownership of it!
I’m always interested in hearing other points of view so if you agree or disagree with any of the above let me know. Also, if there are any topics you would like me to dive into in future get in touch!