Internal communication
What is internal communication?
In a business setting, internal communication is everything that gets communicated between everyone in the business, such as managers and employees. Internal communication is everything that gets said and written through all channels like e-mails, newsletters, employee handbooks, intranet, letters and so on.
Some internal communication works best online, where the message can be clearly and widely received. Other communication works best face to face where believability and understanding is easier. It is very important as a business to have good internal communication, so there are no misunderstandings or employees in doubt about something. That can in worst case scenarios have fatal consequences for a business.
As previously mentioned, there are different channels to communicate internally, some of the most essential are described here:
- Personnel policy: This is the business’s rules for how managers and employees should act and treat each other during work hours.
- E-mails: This is a simple, quick, and inexpensive way to communicate with an employee. It can happen formally or informally depending on who in the business you are communicating with. A drawback with e-mails is that they can easily get drowned out in the receiver’s inbox.
- Newsletter: This is an easy way to get information out. The content should be relevant and the newsletter should not be sent out too often, because then the readers will not read it. The content could for example be stories about the work environment, strategies and events.
- Social media: They are an integrated part of most people's daily life, and something that is right in everybody’s hands and can therefore easily be accessed.
- Employee app: It can be an efficient internal platform to share news to employees and send messages. Although it can be an expensive solution and is mainly only relevant for large businesses. An app can strengthen internal dialog and knowledge sharing across departments throughout the business.