5 essentials every internal communications function must have to deliver maximum value to the business

Kyle Dierking is head of client service at The Grossman Group.

Internal communications teams must navigate a constant state of ambiguity. As change accelerates within organizations and in the external environment, internal communicators are challenged not only to keep pace but also to be strategic partners to the business to help navigate these transitions.

Against this backdrop of rapid evolution, internal communications face their own persistent challenges — insufficient resources, limited budgets and difficulties in being recognized as a strategic business partner.

After more than a decade working in-house for Fortune 500 companies and several years in consulting organizations on effective communication, I’ve identified five essential components that, when executed well, allow internal communications functions to have the greatest impact on business performance even amid constant change.

1. Develop a clear narrative
   If you take away just one thing from this article, make it this. A narrative serves as your communications north star and should answer these key questions:

• Where are we today?
• Why do we need to change?
• What are we doing about it as an organization?
• Where do we need employee support?
• What behaviors drive success?

The most effective approach to developing this narrative is gathering input from key stakeholders running your business – C-suite members, strategic leaders and those with a pulse on organizational priorities. This collaborative process creates an alignment document that stakeholders can adopt as their own.

For practical application, keep this narrative accessible as you craft communications, allowing you to pull consistent phrases and sentences that reinforce your messaging. Leaders should also use it in their communications, driving message discipline and clarity about where the business stands and where it’s headed.

2. Orchestrate with a purpose
   When you orchestrate effectively across your organization, you become the center of gravity for the business. This means you have visibility into what’s happening enterprise-wide and you can provide strategic counsel on planning and sequencing change that’s happening throughout the organization.

To have a pulse on what’s happening, start by identifying your information sources – the key people who know what’s coming down the pipeline. Establish regular check-ins with these contacts, regardless of your team size. These conversations should be two-way exchanges: share what you know is coming over the next 30-90 days and learn what’s happening in their areas during the same timeframe.

This information allows you to maintain a master calendar of activities, identify potential collision points, plan where your team’s resources are most needed, and make recommendations to stakeholders about necessary adjustments, positioning you as a truly strategic partner.

3. Optimize your channel set
   Periodically step back and ask:

• Who is consuming our content?
• Do employees know where to find the information they need?
• Do we have clear standards in place for what content belongs in which channel?
• Are we upholding the standards that we’ve put in place for each channel?

Not everything warrants a standalone mass email or feature spot in a company-wide town hall. Establishing and maintaining clear standards for your channels helps manage stakeholder expectations and ensures the right information reaches the right people at the right time. It also creates predictability for the employees consuming your content.

4. Build meaningful two-way dialogue
   Many organizations have two-way dialogue opportunities, but where most fall short is in demonstrating that they’re listening and acting on feedback. Consider the typical employee engagement survey cycle: there’s a major push for participation, results are shared, but then… silence until the next survey.

The critical step many miss is connecting the dots for employees between their feedback and subsequent organizational actions. Build consistent approaches for listening, create genuine dialogue, and most importantly, “put points on the board” by clearly showing that you’re acting on what you’ve heard. This builds trust and encourages more open sharing of ideas and concerns and ultimately surfaces ideas that can turn into solutions that benefit employees and the business alike.

5. Measure to make adjustments
   While most internal communications functions track channel performance (e.g., open rates, clicks, page views, the number of people who attended your town hall), there’s also a dual opportunity to monitor sentiment. Regularly assess areas like how well employees understand your strategy, their confidence in the company’s direction, and their clarity about their role in moving the organization forward.

Pulse surveys conducted several times per year provide insights that enable you to make smart adjustments, closing key sentiment gaps through targeted communications efforts and aligning your resources with the areas of greatest need. This is also a significant way to demonstrate internal communications value to the business by showing leadership that your work is closely tied to the outcome of how employees are adapting to changes to drive the business forward.

The last word
Whether you currently have some, all or none of these essentials in place, consider focusing on just one or two areas where you see the greatest opportunity for growth. The impact of internal communications ultimately comes down to both the foundational elements you’ve established and your team’s execution of them.

By strengthening these essentials over time, your communications will become increasingly valuable to the business, which is precisely what makes internal communications such a powerful driver of organizational success.