Internal Communications Strategy: How to Plan in 7 Easy Steps

There is a time and place for spontaneity, but not when it comes to building an internal communications strategy.

Planning your business’s internal communication function poorly can lead to uninformed employees, low productivity, and miscommunication.

An internal communications strategy outlines the function of communication within an organization, along with the plan, objectives, and metrics that will guide employee action toward achieving personal and company-wide goals.

The effective use of internal communication software is essential to successfully implementing this strategy. By centralizing communication channels through tools for instant messaging, file sharing, and project management, organizations keep their workforce informed and engaged in real time.

Let's examine what it takes to create an internal communication plan that effectively improves business operations.

Why is creating an internal communications strategy important?

To best answer this question, we must first look at the benefits of internal communication.

Internal communication is responsible for the sending and receiving of information within an organization. A lot of information is shared in business, and keeping employees informed can’t happen without internal communication. However, it also serves other functions that some might not immediately realize.

So, why is an internal communication plan important? It makes all of the internal communication benefits possible by providing a clear framework of the goals, strategies, and tactics for everyone within the organization to follow.

7 steps in creating an internal communications strategy

Now that you know why you should care, let’s get down to business. Grab a cup of java, round up a few colleagues, and follow these steps to create a foolproof internal communication plan.

1. Evaluate your current situation

Take a good look at your current situation. More often than not, when businesses begin to construct an internal communication plan, they either aren’t getting the desired results with their current plan or don’t have a plan at all. Assessing the company's current situation and existing internal communication system is necessary for improvement.

When conducting a situation analysis, a couple of things need to be considered.

What is the organization's present situation?

What are the goals of the organization?

Why is this internal communication plan being created?

How are people currently communicating within the organization?

How will communication among employees help achieve the goals of the organization?

Answer all of these questions as thoroughly as possible. If you wish to improve your current situation, you must first understand it.

2. Consider your audience

Communication theory tells us that two groups affect a message: the senders and the receivers. For a message to be effective, the sender must understand the receiver’s knowledge, communication skills, attitude, and background.

When defining how to communicate with a specific audience, you must first understand that specific group of people. Multiple audiences can exist within an organization, each with its own goals, mindsets, and preferences for communicating. Some groups might need to be targeted more heavily than others, some might prefer a certain communication channel, and some might require a little more background of the message’s topic. Either way, you should ask yourself these questions when considering the groups that will be affected by this internal communication plan.

What is my audience’s current mindset?

What do I want them to do as a result of this plan?

What is the best way to get my desired results from this audience?

Answering those questions will help you understand the best way to target your audiences. You can then adjust parts of your plan to tailor to their preferences.

Considering your audience is especially important when implementing conflict management strategies in the workplace. The relationship between the people involved and the conflict itself can affect which conflict management style is used. 

3. Establish goals

Now that you understand your current situation and audience, it is time to set some goals.

When setting your internal communication plan goals, don’t forget to make them SMART.

Before setting goals for your internal communication plan, you must consider the organization's goals. Once you understand those, consider how effective internal communication can help guide employees in achieving those goals. Here are some examples.

Establish your goals, and keep them in mind throughout the rest of the internal communication plan creation process.

4. Determine strategies and tactics

Determining the strategies and tactics of your communication plan is arguably the most important part of the process. The goals have been set, but now we have to focus on how to achieve them.

Before we move on, we must differentiate strategies and tactics. A strategy is a long-term plan to achieve a goal, while a tactic is a concrete action taken to achieve that goal. The strategies and tactics for an internal communication plan will depend on the audience, content, and desired outcome.

Internal communication strategies break down how you will communicate with your audience(s). The tactics within the strategy include the specific messages you will send and the channels you will use. You must select a strategy before choosing the tactics for the internal communication plan. Understanding the strategy will help you choose the most appropriate tactics to complement it.

For example, if one of your strategies is to keep everyone up to speed on new office policies, a tactic for that strategy would be to keep the information updated in your company's intranet. 

5. Execute

This is where the action happens.

Once you have decided on a strategy to follow and tactics to implement, put them to good use. Use the internal communication strategies and their coordinating tactics to share information amongst the people in your business. If your strategies and tactics are chosen carefully, this should go off without a hitch.

Each piece of internal communication acts as a form of internal marketing. Make sure your messages reflect not only the plan but also the company culture. 

6. Evaluate plan

Evaluating the progress of the internal communication plan directly correlates to your SMART goals. To determine if your plan was effective, ask yourself these questions.

Was our specific goal reached, or did we achieve something else?

Did we get the measurable results we wanted?

Did we attain what we wanted, or was it too far out of reach?

Are these results relevant to the objectives of the business?

Did we reach our goal by the time we suggested?

Hearing from the team is necessary when evaluating the progress of your plan. Distribute a survey in your employee newsletter to get some feedback. Everybody in a business communicates, and getting comments and criticisms from all levels and across all teams is necessary for effective leadership communication. 

7. Modify the plan if necessary

If you are disappointed in the results of your internal communication plan, change it. If a specific tactic didn’t send a message as well as you expected, choose a different one. If you chose the wrong strategy for a particular audience, go about communicating with them another way. If your team easily surpasses your goals, aim higher.

Simply accepting that your plan performed well or didn’t isn’t the right attitude. No matter your results, find the right ways to improve them.

Developing a crisis communication plan

Organizations must be prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to crises. A well-defined crisis communication plan is a critical component of an internal communications strategy, ensuring that employees are informed, supported, and engaged during challenging times.

Here’s how to create an effective crisis communication plan:

• Identify potential crises: Begin by identifying potential crises that could affect your organization. This could include natural disasters, public relations issues, financial challenges, data breaches, or health emergencies. Not all crises carry the same level of risk. Prioritize scenarios based on their likelihood and potential impact on the organization.
• Establish a crisis communication team: Create a crisis communication team responsible for managing internal communication during a crisis. This team should include representatives from leadership, human resources, and relevant departments. Clearly outline the roles and responsibilities of each team member to ensure a coordinated response.
• Create clear communication protocols: Establish protocols for crafting clear, concise, and transparent messages. Messages should provide essential information without causing panic or confusion. Identify the most effective communication channels to disseminate information during a crisis, such as email, intranet, or instant messaging platforms. Ensure these channels are easily accessible to all employees.
• Craft templates: Develop pre-approved message templates for different types of crises. This allows for quick adaptation and dissemination of information while ensuring consistency in messaging. Ensure that these templates address the situation, provide guidance on the next steps, and reassure employees about their safety and well-being.

After a crisis has passed, conduct a thorough evaluation of the communication response. What worked well? What could be improved? Gather input from the crisis communication team and employees.

Use insights from the evaluation to refine the crisis communication plan. This continuous improvement cycle ensures that your organization is always prepared for future crises.

Internal communications strategy best practices

By implementing these best practices, organizations can enhance their internal communications, resulting in improved employee morale, increased productivity, and better alignment with business objectives. 

• Know your audience: Understand the diverse needs and preferences of different employee groups (e.g., departments, seniority levels). Create targeted messages that resonate with each audience segment to ensure relevance and impact.
• Utilize multiple channels: Use a mix of channels (emails, intranet, newsletters, social media, town halls, etc.) to reach employees where they are most comfortable. Ensure that all communications are accessible to all employees, including those with disabilities.
• Encourage two-way communication: Create opportunities for employees to provide feedback, ask questions, and share ideas. Regularly solicit employee feedback to gauge understanding and satisfaction with internal communications.
• Be transparent and authentic: Keep employees informed about organizational changes, successes, and challenges. When issues arise, be honest and transparent about them to build trust.
• Create a consistent brand voice: Develop a style guide to ensure that messaging is consistent in tone, style, and branding. Equip leadership with the skills to communicate effectively and embody the organization's values.
• Invest in employee training and development: Provide training sessions on new tools or platforms to enhance engagement and usage. Offer workshops or resources to improve employees’ communication skills.

Let's get planning

A business cannot survive without effective internal communication, and roughing it is not the way to go. Creating an internal communication plan will ensure an informed workforce that can better work towards the goals of the company.

Check out our resource on the best internal communication methods and the role they play in business. 

This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new information.