5 questions to ask about your internal comms strategy

Ask executives if their organizations communicate well, and chances are you’ll hear a resounding yes. But ask those a little lower in the ranks, and you may hear otherwise.

I’ve yet to discover a senior leader who doesn’t say that “people are our most valuable asset” or “communication is vital to our success.” Yet employee surveys reveal multiple communication breakdowns:

When confronted with these obvious communication disconnections, executives scratch their heads in disbelief: “What do employees mean when they say, ‘There’s no communication around here’?” We bombard them with information. We put things on the intranet. We put customer information on the web. We had a teleconference on that very issue last week. They have 800-numbers to call. We have monthly staff meetings. I don’t see how we could possibly give people more information. What do they want?”

My response: Information is not communication. Information is not a message. Information is not a connection. Information does not translate to execution. Information does not drive sales or profits. The difference between information and communication is the difference between an X-ray and surgery. Real leaders understand the differences between the volume of information and its significance.