All Communication Is External

We’ve seen it played out time and again – an internal company memo leaks, and suddenly everyone is shocked by the contents.

Here’s our question: What is so shocking? 

If it’s the fact that the memo leaked, then company leaders have fooled themselves into thinking they are operating in the 20th century. In today’s world, all company communication has the potential to be external communication – just ask leaders at Apple, Meta, or Twitter.

And, if it’s the content that shocks everyone, then the leaders seemed to have missed that first point. In a time when all communication is potentially external communication, you can’t afford to have two divergent sets of messages.

Savvy companies should pay attention to their internal communications for several reasons. It’s the right way to treat employees. A poor communication strategy internally can turn your biggest potential advocates into your largest source of detractors. Finally, everything internal can become external very quickly in today’s world. 

Social media has sealed the deal on a decades-long convergence of internal and external communications. Executives need to consider that even a personal email may make its way to customers and shareholders. For that reason, you can’t set a different tone or send a different message privately than you do in public.

Plus, the speed of turnaround internally has accelerated. Gossip that used to travel from ear to ear around a watercooler can now cross the Atlantic in a matter of seconds on Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft Teams, etc.

Yet, for some reason, companies – particularly publicly-listed ones – spend tremendous time and resources on external perception and then short-shift their internal communications. Quite simply, they are getting the proportions wrong.

Here are some things you can do to improve your internal communications:

Be authentic

Executives can’t pass the buck when it comes to communicating internally. Employees want to hear from leaders directly. They know immediately when communication does not ring as honest and authentic. 

Companies need to invest in building the soft skills of their leaders so that they can push past natural communication fears and embrace authentic communication. 

Be clear and consistent

Strong leaders send the same message and demonstrate the same company values, whether they are addressing internal or external audiences. They provide a unified front without discrepancies. 

Good internal communication does not rely on nuance or attempts to sidestep an issue. Leaders need to be clear and transparent when delivering news – even bad news – because when they leave room for interpretation, people will misinterpret the message.

Have a strategy

Communication should not be a one-and-done effort. To be effective, leaders will often have to communicate on the same topic with different messages, tones, and modes. All these pieces need to come together coherently.

Ideally, internal communications would have a strategy or roadmap, not unlike those that companies create for marketing campaigns. To be successful, an internal communications strategy needs to include regular communication about the company’s goals and its progress toward those goals.

Start a dialogue

The days of top-down communication are behind us. Employees do not want to be passive message recipients. They want to be heard.

Savvy companies find ways for employees to provide their feedback and ideas internally. They create opportunities for dialogue so that employees do not become external detractors of the message.

Leverage different channels

Emails should never be the sole source of corporate communications. They are easy to misinterpret and apt for sharing externally. They are often impersonal, lacking the human element that employees want to see from executives.

Forward-looking companies explore a wide variety of communication methods, giving preference to those that best showcase the human elements of their leadership. That means giving the strongest preference for communication that allows us to see, hear, and respond to one another.

When companies take the time to create solid plans for internal communication and follow-through, they stay in control of the message. They don’t have to worry about the next leak. They don’t have to worry about employees who will spill the beans on Reddit or Twitter.

If your internal and external communications have been consistent all along, nothing you say will be shockingly new. And if it isn’t new, it isn’t news.