As an employee experience agency, we know a thing or two about internal comms. Or, in this case, the four things powering your strategic communications that can be the different between a good and bad employee experience. So, read on to see how you can break down your messaging into four aspects so you can piece together your ideal internal communications that keep your people in the know – because who doesn’t like being in the know? 

The What – Get the message 

Arguably the most important aspect of any internal comms is what’s actually being said. It might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how often messaging can miss the mark because it doesn’t properly consider its audience and your organisation as a whole.  

For your audience, you need to resonate with their needs, concerns and motivations. Understanding how people may react to a message will help you temper the tone and words you use, helping to mitigate negative reactions and boost positive sentiment around your employer brand.  

For your organisation, it’s all about the bigger picture - the goals, values and wider culture you possess. Whatever you say needs to also align with these to feel authentic and fulfil your objectives. If transparency is one of your values, then your communications need to reflect that. The same goes for positivity, ambition, integrity, and so on. 

That can feel like a lot of elements to balance – which is why you need an internal communications strategy that has them all baked in. The principles and processes within your strategy will guide how you should write to achieve whatever objective lies behind your latest communication:  

• Audience analysis can breakdown the different employee segments, giving you an understanding of what channels best resonate with each and can highlight diverse needs (e.g. frontline vs. office workers, different languages, etc). 

• Content planning allows you to set out regular communications through an editorial calendar, so you can balance top-down and bottom-up communication. 

• Tone of voice guidelines makes sure everything sounds on-brand, with a message development process working in tandem so all communications feel authentic. 

• Governance structure helps set out roles and responsibilities for different communications, including approvals processes for clear accountability.  

• Measurement frameworks let you monitor how effective different internal communications are, whether that’s open rates on emails or delving deeper with regular surveys for employee sentiment analysis. 

This is where partnering with an employee experience agency can be incredibly valuable, as they can plug into any area of your internal communications strategy. This can bolster your capabilities, so you can create your messaging with even more confidence. 

When this all comes together, you can trust that your audience will really get your message. It’ll speak to their mindset, reflect their understanding of your business, and help to make the employee experience more fulfilling. 

The How – Everyone loves a good story 

Stories have been part of our societal fabric for millennia. They’re powerful devices for engaging people and embedding a message within a compelling narrative. But stories aren’t relegated to the realm of fiction. By bringing a narrative into your internal communications, you can add depth, personality and emotion – all of which can make your audience more invested in what you have to say. 

Rather than simply telling employees that you’re invested in furthering their development, you show them that their personal success powers their proudest moments – and you want to create more of them. It’s by threading that storytelling through your internal communications, showing rather than telling, that makes your messages more relatable, empathetic and impactful.

The strength of an organization lies in its people, and effective communication is what brings their potential to life.” 

This humanises what you’re trying to say too. It helps people resonate with what you’re saying on a deeper level, so they’ll pay more attention to what’s being said as it has greater personal relevance. And with that comes more meaningful connections between your employees and your organisations values, mission and culture. There’s even more that storytelling brings to the table too:  

• It can increase buy-in, given that employees are more emotionally engaged and more likely to act on the message. It’ll also be more memorable, which can be helpful for prompting longer-term behavioural shifts. 

• It helps build community, as people can see their experiences reflected in the stories being told. Even better if you can then encourage people to share their own, which can then be used for user-generated content to inspire others in your organisation. 

• It clarifies complex messaging, helping to make trickier topics like changing initiatives or policies more tangible. Narratives bring content to life, rather than relying on detailed instructional information. 

Ultimately, the power of storytelling in internal communications lies in its ability to connect. It takes what you want to say and turns it into something people want to hear. And that’s what can make the huge impact on creating a positive workplace culture. 

The Where & When – Change the channel 

If you’re looking to reach your people, you’ve got to know where to speak to them. The trouble is that modern workforces are rarely in one place – and what might work for location A won’t fit location B. The good news is that, with the right support, a multi-channel approach lets you talk to everyone in the way that works best for them.  

The other up-shot of firing across multiple channels is saturation. Blending digital and offline communication methods gets all eyes on a consistent message, so everyone feels like they’re part of the conversation. 

When employees feel heard and valued, communication transforms from a task to a tool for engagement and empowerment.” 

Digital channels go hand in hand with hybrid or remote employees, bringing your employer brand direct to their desk. Your organisation may have multiple digital channels like email, a company intranet, Slack, Teams, etc. These can keep you connected to employees in real-time regardless of location, but too many channels might make people switch off all together. Pick the ones with the highest cut-through and focus your efforts to maximise everyone’s time. 

Traditional communication channels are typically offline but offer a different strength – immersion. Although confined to your office setting, you control this environment and can put your message wherever you see fit. Poster, desk drops, even face-to-face meetings make your message tangible and bring those employees who don’t have regular access to technology into the conversation. Keep the volume of messaging tasteful – too much might cause people to sour on what you’re saying. But the right balance keeps your words consistently front of mind. 

Internal communication is the heartbeat of a thriving organization — it keeps everyone connected, informed, and aligned.” 

Bringing in an employee experience agency like ourselves means getting a fresh perspective on the channels available to you. There may be fresh opportunities that’ll unite all your audiences, or insights to uncover which channels are providing the biggest return on investment. Here are just a handful of examples that could prove useful for giving your employee engagement a little boost.  

• Internal social media platforms: Built on peer-to-peer interactions, tools like Slack or Yammer keep things casual while building an authentic sense of culture. Even better, employees may have the mobile app to amplify the reach of your messaging through notifications. Adding a channel here for announcements means people can receive updates as soon as possible. 

• Digital signage: Screens in your office can be regularly updated with your latest messaging, rotating through a range of key assets throughout the workday. These assets can mirror what’s on your intranet or email channels too, meaning your message is more likely to land with a large audience and keeps everything consistent. 

• Town halls & webinars: Nothing can really replace a real-time dialogue with your leadership, especially when it comes to strategic updates. While you may have employees all over the country, having a livestream with satellite sites can still bring people together so people can ask questions – whether attending in-person or virtually. 

• Video communications: For a more personal touch to internal communications, video campaigns can convey complex messages in a more engaging way. Even better if you can get the C-suite involved to show a wider buy-in, strengthening whatever needs to be said. This can then go across multiple internal channels for maximum saturation. 

• Surveys & polls: A two-way conversation is essential to a top-tier employee experience. Quick feedback tools let you understand employee sentiment, then address any concerns within future messaging and adjust your strategy accordingly.   

At the end of the day, a good employee experience centres on feeling included. That means messages that reach people’s ears regardless of location, keeping them connected to both the company culture and wider conversations. So pick the channels with a wide coverage and solid engagement within your organisation to build a strong foundation for your internal communication. And if you need support to uncover these insights, help is never far away. 

A well-balanced communication strategy, built on both digital and traditional channels, strengthens connection, fosters inclusion, and ensures that all employees are informed, engaged, and aligned with organisational goals.”  

So, why do you need strategic communication? 

When everything is said and done, whether people paid attention is decided by strategic communication – using the what, how, when and where to form effective messaging. Without it, you’ll find employees disconnect from your brand or actively decide to stop listening. Either is a serious cause for concern. 

Given you can track the impact of internal communications, looking at engagement metrics, employee sentiment and so on, you can likely see whether what you’re doing is working. If you’re finding that your message isn’t landing, getting an outside perspective can help you pick up on where you can improve. 

As an employee engagement agency, we have specialised expertise and strategies designed to help you with these exact issues. We’re here to get you and your employees on the same page, so you can turn a new leaf and start your next chapter together.