Even experienced senior managers continue to underestimate the value of carefully planned two-way communication with internal stakeholders. Yet, employees are an essential audience when it comes to enabling smooth day-to-day business operations, driving organizational change, and responding to challenging situations.
At C4CS®, we take an inside-out, top-down approach to internal and external communication. For our client partners, top-down begins with the board of directors or company owner and also includes the executive team, other layers of management, and the entire employee base. Externally, we start closest to the organization by focusing on employee family members, customers and clients, suppliers and providers, the media, and the general public.
Next, our internal communication strategy includes a thorough assessment of all of the channels and tools available for communications, mapping them to the specific stakeholders, and also taking an inside-out approach. These might include the organization’s intranet site, internal email systems, and memos, as well as employee town halls, conference calls, blast telephone messaging, and texts.
The key is to communicate openly and frequently in order to keep employees apprised of what they need to know, how they may provide feedback and ask questions, and what they should do. C4CS® also strongly advocates the implementation of a One-Voice Policy so everyone in the company knows what to do when inquiries from internal or external stakeholders come in. Furthermore, identifying and training spokespersons and a process for working with internal and external stakeholders including employees and media representatives are essential. An article about "10 Tips for Effective Employee Communication in the Time of Covid-19" includes advice that is applicable across industries and geographies. Additional information is available by accessing sections on Executive Communication Coaching, Media Relations, and Media Skills & Spokesperson Training.
For more information, please contact us by e-mail at or by phone at (412) 421-0433, and click here if you wish to access our complete Contact Information. We look forward to hearing from you.
