#19: For more than internal use only
The internal <> external marketing and communications pipeline is real
One of the most overlooked parts of any business is internal communications. This type of communication focuses on sharing information within an organization for business purposes. It seems simple. Straightforward.
But in practice, internal communication is often an afterthought. That’s why I was excited to chat with an expert on the space, Kait Lagalante. She has led internal communications for organizations of all sizes, ranging from 25 employees to 50,000+ employees – after spending years as an external marketer for tech and social good companies.
Let’s get to learning!
What happens to a business (tangibly) when there's no (or bad!) Internal comms?
Many companies increased their focus on internal communication and the employee experience during the pandemic when remote work was broadly utilized, but are now shifting away from that investment as they focus on the bottom line during harsh macroeconomic conditions. This is a shortsighted move because employee communication and retention are more important now than ever.
A company’s most valuable asset is its employees. To do their best work, it’s imperative for employees to feel connected to the company; to understand the why behind the work they do, and how their contributions impact the company as a whole. This stems beyond benefits updates and performance management. Regardless of their department, every employee should know their company’s mission and vision and understand the product(s) inside and out.
Internal communication facilitates this understanding. Without this two-way communication, you’re all but guaranteed to see an increase in quiet quitting, poor performance, and poor morale.
What should organizations look for in a great internal communications (IC) pro?
If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to invest in the strategic lever that strengthens brands, retains top talent, solves critical business challenges, and steers an entire organization’s culture forward.
A great internal communicator should view employee communication through a marketer’s lens. After all, your employees are your customers. IC bridges the gap between marketing and your HR/people teams, and touches all aspects of the organization. Your IC Manager should be very comfortable tracking and measuring the performance of communications they send.
This is particularly true for remote work environments where employee engagement is vital. Email tools like Workshop and all-in-one intranet and messaging systems like Firstup can enable measurement to improve the performance of employee communications.
Executive comms also play a large part for communicators in this internal role, as employees want to hear from their leaders. Your IC Manager must be confident connecting with leadership in all levels within your organization.
What’s your advice for anyone who wants to get better at internal communications if they’re already a PR or marketing practitioner?
There are so many transferrable skills that marketers and PR professionals likely already possess that can be apple to internal communications. If your organization has an internal comms team/individual, try to partner with them as closely as possible to ensure both internal and external comms are in lockstep with one another. If your company has an internal mobility program, see if there are opportunities to shadow IC Managers. This lateral career move tends to be easier to do at bigger companies, which is how I made the leap from marketing/customer engagement to internal comms at Capital One.
Practitioners working in smaller organizations wear more hats, and there’s a high likelihood you’ve already been exposed to IC work even in a traditional marketing role, just as I was earlier in my career.
If your company doesn’t have any dedicated resources for internal comms, partner with your HR/people team and assess the current state of employee communications. Use your marketing cap and see what could be streamlined or improved.
In today’s world, I think many of the artificial lines marketing has drawn for itself: paid, performance, consumer, B2B, and internal/external, all are continuing to blur. Yes, specialities will always exist, but without a strong investment in effective internal communications, businesses will see other parts of their businesses fail.
One of my favorite things about participating in communications communities like The Comms Network or Comm(s)unity is the exposure to professionals throughout the marketing funnel. It’s how I met Kait, and how I discovered she has a delightful illustration business.
Here’s an adorable example, to kick off your week to a good start.
As always, let me know your feedback and if you want something else covered in a future newsletter.
Respectfully, I disagree with Ms. Lagalante's position that IC should be viewed through a "marketing lens." I've written a little bit about the differences between the professions. (After all, there's a reason why the two are separate college majors.) https://mistereditorial.substack.com/p/content-creation-internal-communications
Some of my thoughts from that article:
For internal communications, storytelling is supposed to support a business goal.
Sometimes that goal is to increase sales, but just as often it’s not directly about profit-making. For example, storytelling can support diversity and inclusion initiatives, philanthropic efforts, or cybersecurity awareness.
For marketing, storytelling’s ultimate goal is to sell a product or service. According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
...
Internal comms folks who genuinely love their job do so because they find meaning in helping their colleagues achieve something great, overcome a physical or psychological barrier, connect with each other, and ultimately build belief in the company they work for. They are people-driven.
There’s a certain nobility in the role. (Please, I don’t think this is god’s work.)
Not to say that content creators in the marketing department don’t find meaning in their work. But the ultimate goal of content marketing is not to build a belief in a higher cause; it’s to sell something for a profit. They are profit-driven.