Internal communication plan template to double your readership levels in 90 days
As you know, internal communications are much more than posting random company updates. They’ve got to support your company’s overarching objectives, build relationships amongst your team and drive engagement.
Yet those are all easier said than done.
Trying to get your busy employees to notice what you have to say can seem near impossible.
You try to explain your struggles to the senior leadership team, but they’re not interested. They just want to see engagement levels rise and don’t care how you achieve it.
If you feel like you’re hitting a brick wall and you’re becoming frustrated at your lack of progress. It’s time to implement an internal communication plan template.
We’ve put together a huge template comprising different internal communication areas so you can choose the most relevant sections to your B2C sales business.
When followed correctly, you can see your readership levels double in just 90 days. Why? Because it gives you the structure, you need to plan your content, measure its success and refine your strategy. This is the key to any successful communication plan. Download yours to save for later below, or read on to see what’s included.
Internal communication plan template
Goal
Clearly state the goal of your internal communication plan. This could be something like increasing employee engagement, improving collaboration across departments, or sharing important company news and updates. Here are a few examples in more detail if you’re struggling to come up with your own:
Increase Employee Engagement
Engage employees through effective communication to create a sense of belonging, ownership and loyalty to the organisation.
Foster Collaboration
Facilitate collaboration among different departments, teams or units to encourage knowledge sharing and teamwork.
Improve Readership of Company News and Updates
Disseminate important company news, updates and announcements, such as new product launches, changes in management, or upcoming events.
Improve Company Culture
Use internal communication to help build a positive company culture and reinforce the organisation's values and mission.
Enhance Employee Satisfaction
Use internal communication to communicate organisational policies and provide resources to help employees feel supported, informed and satisfied.
Increase Productivity
Foster a productive work environment by ensuring that employees have the information and tools they need to perform their jobs effectively.
Manage Change
Use internal communication to effectively manage change within the organisation, such as a merger, acquisition, restructuring or changes in processes and procedures.
Promote Diversity and Inclusion
Use internal communication to promote diversity and inclusion within the organisation and foster a culture of respect and understanding.
Encourage Innovation
Use internal communication to encourage employees to contribute innovative ideas and suggestions, and promote a culture of creativity.
Promote Health and Wellness
Use internal communication to encourage employees to take care of their health and wellbeing, such as providing resources for mental health, physical fitness, or healthy eating.
Audience
Identify who your audience is. Are you targeting all employees or just specific teams or departments? Are you communicating with managers, executives, or staff members? The more you can refine your customer persona and then segment your content in line with each audience type, the better chance you’ve of writing content that gets them to engage.
Channels
Decide which channels you will use to communicate your message. This could include email, newsletters, intranet, instant messaging, video conferencing, or other tools. Below we’ve listed the popular channel types and what our clients typically use them for.
Email is a common and effective channel for internal communications but we’d suggest using it alongside other internal comms channels. Our clients typically use email strictly for business topics which means your employees know that whenever they get an email from you, it’s serious, and they should take notice.
Intranet or Digital Comms Platform
Intranets are great for information your employees might need to refer back to more than once. For example, if you’re sending out a new returns policy or product update, we’d recommend using a digital comms platform with a knowledgebase. This will make it easy for them to refer back to the comms they need in the moment.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging platforms, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, can be used to facilitate real-time communication and collaboration among employees. These are great to use in collaboration with intranets or emails. They can easily cut through the noise and get urgent messages noticed in a timely manner.
Social Media
Social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook Workplace, or Yammer, can be used to share company news and updates, and to foster employee engagement and interaction. However, we’d be wary of using these to share important comms because they get lost in the noise. Clients usually use Workplace or Yammer to share more social ‘out of work’ updates and then they use our digital knowledgebase, Engage for important business updates.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing tools are great for when certain things need to be said out loud. Sensitive content or humourous comms tend to translate much better when they are spoken. You can use platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams for this.
Newsletters
You can use a company newsletter to share important updates, events, and news with employees. They’re a great way to round up important info into one easy-to-read document. It can be distributed via email, intranet, or other communication channels.
Bulletin Boards
Bulletin boards can be placed in high-traffic areas, such as break rooms or cafeterias, to share important news, updates, and announcements.
Face-to-Face Meetings
Town hall meetings provide an opportunity for employees to hear from management and ask questions. They can be held in-person or virtually and can be recorded and shared for those who are unable to attend.
Employee Feedback Platforms
If you’re struggling to know whether your comms are targeted enough it’s a great idea to use employee feedback platforms. You can use ones such as SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to gather employee feedback and suggestions.
Mobile Apps
Mobile apps such as Engage can be used to give your employees everything they need to stay updated in one place and the mobile format makes it easy for employees to keep checking in.
Don’t forget to download your internal communications plan template to save for later.
Message
Craft your message carefully. Be clear and concise, and make sure your message is relevant to your audience. Use a tone that is appropriate for your organisation's culture and values.
Here are some tips on how to write the best internal comms, which will boost engagement in your B2C sales business.
Frequency
Determine how often you will communicate your message. Will it be a one-time announcement or an ongoing campaign? Will you send updates on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis?
Metrics
Decide on metrics to measure the success of your internal communication plan. This could include things like employee satisfaction surveys, open rates for emails or newsletters, or engagement levels on social media. Let’s dive into these in a bit more detail below:
Employee engagement surveys: These surveys can help organisations measure how engaged and connected employees feel with the company's mission, values, and goals. It can also provide insights into how effectively internal communication channels are being used.
Message open rates: Organisations can track the open rates of emails, newsletters, and other internal communication channels to gauge how often employees are engaging with the information being shared.
Feedback and response rates: By encouraging employees to provide feedback and respond to internal communication messages, organisations can measure how well their messages are resonating with the audience.
Social media engagement: Many organisations use social media platforms to communicate with employees. Measuring engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments can help organisations understand how effectively they are using these platforms to communicate with employees.
Time spent on the company intranet: By tracking how much time employees are spending on the company intranet, organisations can gauge how engaged employees are with the company's internal communications and resources.
Performance metrics: By measuring employee performance, organisations can understand how effective internal communications are in promoting the desired behaviours and outcomes.
Ultimately, the most effective metric for measuring internal communications will depend on the specific goals and objectives of the organisation. It's important to regularly evaluate the chosen metrics and adjust them as needed to ensure that they are providing meaningful insights into the effectiveness of internal communications efforts.
Timeline
Create a timeline for your internal communication plan. This should include deadlines for creating and sending content, as well as any key milestones or events that you want to communicate about.
The specific timeline will depend on the goals and objectives of the organisation, as well as the type of communication being delivered. Here is an example of a possible timeline for internal communications:
Monthly communication: A monthly newsletter or email communication can be sent to all employees, providing updates on company news, upcoming events, employee recognition, and important policies or procedures.
Quarterly town hall meetings: Every three months, the organisation can host a virtual or in-person town hall meeting, providing updates on the company's performance, upcoming initiatives and answering employee questions.
Annually performance review: Each year, the organisation can conduct performance reviews for employees, providing feedback on their work and goals for the coming year.
Weekly team meetings: Weekly team meetings can be held to ensure that employees are on track with their work and to address any issues or concerns that may arise.
Onboarding: For new hires, a communication plan can be developed that includes a series of emails or meetings to help them understand the company culture, policies, and goals.
Emergency communications: In the event of an emergency, such as a natural disaster or security breach, the organisation can develop a communication plan to inform employees of what is happening and how they should respond.
The above timeline is just an example, and the specific communications plan will depend on the organisation's unique needs and goals. It's important to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the communications plan and adjust it as needed to ensure that employees are receiving the information they need to be successful.
Responsibilities
Assign responsibilities to specific team members or departments. This will ensure that everyone knows who is responsible for creating and sending communications.
Here are some steps that can help in delegating responsibilities to an internal comms team:
Identify the goals and objectives: First, it's important to identify the specific goals and objectives of the communications team. This will help in determining what tasks and responsibilities should be delegated to the team.
Determine the skills and expertise of the team: Understanding the skills and expertise of the communications team will help in identifying the tasks that can be delegated to each team member. For example, if a team member has strong writing skills, they may be responsible for drafting communications materials.
Develop a clear plan: Once the goals and objectives are identified and the team's skills and expertise are determined, a clear plan can be developed outlining the specific tasks and responsibilities of each team member. It's important to be clear about the timelines and deliverables and to communicate these clearly to the team.
Set expectations and provide resources: It's important to set clear expectations for the team and provide the necessary resources to complete their tasks effectively. This can include access to tools and software, training opportunities, and ongoing support from management.
Monitor progress and provide feedback: Regularly monitoring the progress of the team and providing constructive feedback can help to ensure that they are on track towards achieving their goals. This can also help in identifying any potential issues or roadblocks and addressing them in a timely manner.
Encourage collaboration: Encouraging collaboration and communication among team members can help to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals and objectives and can help to identify opportunities for improvement.
Evaluation
Schedule a time to evaluate the success of your internal communication plan. This will give you an opportunity to review your metrics and make any necessary adjustments to your plan. If you’re unsure of how to measure your internal communication metrics have a look at the steps below for guidance on what you need to do.
Identify goals and metrics: The first step in evaluating the success of an internal communications plan is to identify the goals and metrics that will be used to measure success. This can include metrics such as engagement rates, open and click-through rates for emails, feedback and response rates, and social media engagement.
Collect data: Once the metrics have been identified, it's important to collect data on them over time. This can be done through surveys, polls, feedback forms, and analytics tools.
Analyse the data: Once the data has been collected, it's important to analyse it to identify trends and patterns. This can help to determine what is working well and what needs improvement.
Compare against benchmarks: Comparing the data against industry benchmarks or past performance can help to provide context and determine whether the communications plan is performing well or not.
Seek feedback: Gathering feedback from employees can provide valuable insights into how they perceive the communications plan and whether it is meeting their needs.
Adjust the plan: Based on the data and feedback collected, adjustments can be made to the communications plan to improve its effectiveness.
Monitor ongoing performance: Ongoing monitoring of the metrics and adjustments made to the plan can help to ensure that the plan continues to perform well and meets the needs of employees and the organisation.
Continual Improvement
Use the results of your evaluation to continually improve your internal communication plan. This could include adjusting your messaging, changing your channels, or altering your frequency of communication.
Never stop refining your strategy because internal communications is a constant process which should adapt to external and internal changes which affect how your audience engages with your messages.
Now it’s time to put your internal communication plan template into practice. Follow the steps to double your readership levels in 90 days.
Download your savable internal communication plan template below, so you’ve got it handy to copy when drafting up your comms strategy 👇
If you want to make it easy for your employees to engage with your internal comms, we’d suggest using a leading internal communications platform like Ocasta Engage.
Engage is used by Virgin Media O2, Next and Tesco Mobile to keep their sales associates on track with what they need to know to succeed. Cut through the noise with effective sales comms and ensure your sales team always knows what’s changing in your company with a personalised news feed and instant alerts. Check it out below:
