The 8 rules of internal communication

Talking to your workforce compasses almost every communications skill—and a few unique to employee communication. Writing, event management, message planning, design and advising leaders must supplement an understanding of line supervisors and coping with the darker corners of HR.

We recently wrote a book explaining internal communication. It’s the guide we wish we had when we started in the field. While we were writing it, we quickly realized what a massive task we’d taken on!

Painfully aware we were bound to miss something vital, we covered our backsides by writing what we thought were the rules of internal communication. We’d love to know what you think:

1. It’s about results and outcomes—not activity.

Every conversation in internal communication begins , “What do we want people to do?” No matter how exciting a beautiful brochure, leadership conference or intranet site, what’s the point if nobody works differently?

2. It’s about the business.