Internal Communications Skill

Overview

This skill guides creation of professional internal communications that effectively inform, engage, and align employees with organizational goals and updates.

Communication Types

1. Company-Wide Announcements

Use for: Major news, policy changes, organizational updates

Structure:

Subject: [Clear, Action-Oriented Subject Line]

[Opening - Why this matters to employees]

[Key Information - The what]
- Bullet points for clarity
- Specific dates and deadlines
- Who is affected

[Context - The why]

[Action Required / Next Steps]

[Resources / Questions]
- Contact information
- Links to additional details

Example:

Subject: New Hybrid Work Policy Effective March 1

Team,

We're excited to announce our new hybrid work policy, developed based on your feedback from the recent employee survey.

**What's Changing:**
- Flexible in-office days: Choose 2-3 days per week
- Core collaboration hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-3pm
- Home office stipend: $500 one-time allowance

**Why This Change:**
Based on 18 months of data showing maintained productivity and your feedback requesting more flexibility, we're making hybrid work permanent.

**Next Steps:**
1. Discuss schedules with your manager by February 15
2. Submit your preferred days via WorkDay by February 20
3. Order equipment through the new home office portal

Questions? Reach out to HR at hybrid@company.com or join our FAQ session on February 10 at 2pm.

[Leadership Name]

2. Team Updates / Newsletters

Use for: Regular team communications, project updates, wins

Structure:

# [Team/Department] Update - [Date]

## Highlights This Week/Month
- Key accomplishment 1
- Key accomplishment 2
- Key accomplishment 3

## In Progress
Brief updates on ongoing initiatives

## Upcoming
- Important dates
- Deadlines
- Events

## Team Spotlight
Recognition of individual or team achievements

## Resources & Reminders
- Links to important docs
- Policy reminders

3. Policy Memos

Use for: New policies, procedure changes, compliance updates

Structure:

MEMORANDUM

TO: [Audience]
FROM: [Sender/Department]
DATE: [Date]
RE: [Subject - Policy Name/Number]

PURPOSE
Brief statement of why this memo is being issued.

POLICY STATEMENT
Clear, concise statement of the policy.

SCOPE
Who this policy applies to.

EFFECTIVE DATE
When the policy takes effect.

KEY PROVISIONS
1. Provision one with clear explanation
2. Provision two with clear explanation
3. Provision three with clear explanation

COMPLIANCE
What employees need to do to comply.

QUESTIONS
Contact information for questions.

ATTACHMENTS (if applicable)
- Full policy document
- FAQ
- Training materials

4. Executive Communications

Use for: CEO/leadership messages, company direction, culture

Tone: Personal, authentic, forward-looking

Structure:

[Personal greeting]

[Context/Current situation]

[Key message - the main point]

[Supporting details - why this matters]

[Call to action or ask]

[Expression of confidence/gratitude]

[Personal closing]

5. Crisis Communications

Use for: Urgent situations, incidents, rapid response

Principles:

• Speed over perfection (but be accurate)
• Lead with facts known
• Acknowledge what's unknown
• Provide clear next steps
• Commit to updates

Structure:

Subject: [URGENT/IMPORTANT] [Brief Description]

[What happened - facts only]

[What we're doing about it]

[What you need to do / don't need to do]

[When we'll update you next]

[How to get help if needed]

Writing Guidelines

Tone by Communication Type

Best Practices

DO:

• Lead with the most important information
• Use bullet points for scanability
• Include specific dates, names, and actions
• Provide context for decisions
• End with clear next steps
• Keep paragraphs short (2-3 sentences)

DON'T:

• Bury important information
• Use jargon without explanation
• Send without proofreading
• Forget mobile readers (keep formatting simple)
• Assume prior knowledge
• Be vague about deadlines or responsibilities

Subject Line Formulas

Announcements:

• "[Action]: [Topic] Effective [Date]"
• "Introducing: [New Thing]"
• "Update: [Topic] Changes"

Newsletters:

• "[Team] Weekly: [Date Range]"
• "[Month] Update: [Key Theme]"

Urgent:

• "[URGENT] [Brief Description]"
• "[ACTION REQUIRED] [Topic] by [Date]"

Templates

Quick Announcement Template

Subject: [Topic] - [Key Point]

Hi team,

[One sentence summary of what's changing/happening]

**Key Details:**
- [Detail 1]
- [Detail 2]
- [Detail 3]

**Timeline:** [When this takes effect]

**Action Needed:** [What people need to do, if anything]

Questions? [Contact info]

Thanks,
[Name]

Weekly Team Update Template

# [Team] Update - Week of [Date]

## 🎉 Wins
- [Achievement 1]
- [Achievement 2]

## 📊 Metrics
- [Key metric]: [Value]
- [Key metric]: [Value]

## 🔄 In Progress
- [Project 1] - [Status]
- [Project 2] - [Status]

## 👀 Coming Up
- [Event/Deadline 1] - [Date]
- [Event/Deadline 2] - [Date]

## 💡 FYI
- [Important info]
- [Reminder]

Distribution Considerations

Channel Selection

Timing

• Avoid: Friday afternoons, Monday mornings (8-9am)
• Best: Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-2pm
• Urgent: Immediately, regardless of timing
• Consider: Time zones for global teams

Measuring Effectiveness

Track these metrics when possible:

• Open rates (email)
• Click-through rates (links)
• Read time (intranet)
• Questions received (indicates clarity)
• Action completion rates (for calls to action)

Version History

• 1.0.0 (2024-10-15): Initial release with announcement, newsletter, memo, executive, and crisis communication templates