4+1 Examples of Internal Communication to Inspire You

With these examples of internal communication, 4 good and 1 bad, we want to highlight the differences between organisations that do it well and those that don't do it so well. 

(Good) internal communication is one of the keys for companies that systematically achieve their objectives and have good performance indicators. 

It is not by chance that the examples of good practice in the article are provided by companies such as:

• MGM resorts
• Pixar
• Autodesk

I'm sure you'll get ideas for your own business from these examples of communication, so let's get down to business right away.

One example of bad internal communication.

In this example, taken from one of Harvard Business Review's communication reports, we don't quote the company for obvious reasons. 

What we do highlight is that they made a textbook mistake: trying to cover too much and, in the end, achieving nothing. 

You see, the company in question, an American technology company, defined a new business strategy during the planning of a new year. 

Determined that this change would permeate the entire company and all employees, they prepared a detailed company-wide report that ended up being a failure: No one heard anything. The report consisted of:

• 11 corporate priorities.
• 1 list of core competencies (each with several templates).
• 1 set of corporate values.
• 1 dictionary with 21 key strategic terms.

What was intended to be a detailed analysis of the company's new direction turned out to be an impossible-to-understand amalgam that did not resonate with the company. Fortunately, a year later, they pivoted.

4 good examples of internal communication.

The Autodesk case.

One of the most difficult tasks in the field of internal communication is to measure whether or not it is effective. 

Or at least that's what Guy Martin, director of open source at Autodesk, thinks. That's why his firm came up with a very interesting method to assess it and called it cross-pollination. 

Cross-pollination would refer to the time spent by each employee communicating outside their assigned teams: general communications, other teams or even other departments. 

The key to making this work is to create groups for employees' job functions but also for their personal interests and to encourage communication. 

This is especially valuable for companies, because, as Martin says: "We are no longer in a world where you specialise in something forever. 

To have a long and prosperous career you need to learn, grow and interact with a wide variety of people".

The Pixar case.

In an interview with Slack, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmul told Slack how the open-door policy alone doesn't work. 

So as the studio grew and he couldn't personally ask everyone for feedback, people contributed fewer and fewer ideas. 

Lack of means to do so and a growing hierarchical structure were to blame. 

The way Catmul solved this was to implement regular brainstorming meetings between all members of the team. In such meetings, phrases such as:

• That's not true.
• I don't think it's a good idea.
• I don't agree.

Should be banned. 

The key is to create a climate of psychological safety in which all ideas are valid.

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The case of MGM Resorts.

A few years ago, the MGM company decided to turn its brand around: From a casino company to an entertainment and resort company. 

According to Lilian Tomovich, the firm's CMO, she and her team knew they needed internal collaboration to do so and orchestrated an ambitious internal communication plan: 

They called it SHOW, which was also an acronym for an idea they wanted to convey:

• Smile and greet guests.
• Listen to their stories.
• Possess expertise in your tasks.
• Wow guests.

To convey this idea, they held a summit for 7,000 company officials in which they conveyed the concept and how they had, each of them, to convey it to their 77,000 employees. 

They also orchestrated a communication campaign from other angles to ensure that a simple idea like SHOW filtered through every pore of the company.

The case of efficy.

I'll leave my favourite example of internal communication until last: Our own! 

Communicating the successes of the team to the company and publicly pointing out the successes of colleagues is an ideal way to keep morale high. 

And that is precisely what we are trying to achieve :) That's why, when a team meets the objectives set for a period, we send an email to everyone telling them about it and congratulating those involved. 

Here's an example: 

The data is cut out, I'm a bit embarrassed to show so much :D It's a simple practice that is very useful to keep the team motivated - start using it!

And start using a CRM too.

The most important tool to be an example of good internal communication is a CRM. 

It allows information to flow, facilitates teamwork and unifies all company data. And the best CRM is efficy. 

Not for nothing do we have more than 2,500 customers in 33 countries. 

If you want, you can try it right now. 

Learn more about:

Improve Your Corporate Communication Strategy  
How to write an effective and successful business plan 
How to use open-ended questions to sell more?