What Are the Key Types of Internal Communication for Your Company?

Internal communication is one of the factors that predict the success of a company. 

There is a reason why Harvard Business Review refers to it as the silent killer of great companies. And yes, you are right:

• Good internal communication in a small company is feasible.
• Having it in a large company is another matter.

If you want internal communication not to kill your results or your team's morale you have to know the 3 most important types of internal communication that exist:

• Top-down internal communication.
• Upward internal communication.
• Horizontal internal communication.
   

The first type of internal communication: Top-down.

This is the communication present in all companies.

• Management gives instructions to managers.
• Managers give instructions to team leaders.
• Team leaders give instructions to other employees.

In a nutshell: it is all communication from the top down. 

Needless to say, it is almost always a one-way communication. 

Just because all companies do it does not mean that they do it well. 

The keys to achieving this are:

• Make them clear at all times.
• Encourage everyone to participate.
   

The second type of internal communication: Bottom-up.

Just as there is a flow of information from the top down, there should be a flow in the opposite direction.

• From employees to team leaders.
• From team leaders to managers.
• From managers to management.

This communication is not so common in all companies anymore, but it is key to enable innovation and a good working climate. 

A good way to encourage it is the 1 to 1 meetings, in which a member of the team, on a quarterly basis, meets with his or her direct manager to receive and give feedback. 

At efficy we do them and they are great, but they are not the only mechanism:

• Suggestion boxes.
• Live sessions with management.
• Formal requests.
• Etc.
   

The third type of internal communication: Horizontal.

This type of internal communication is almost always the forgotten one. It is the one that takes place between colleagues in a flat way: from executive to executive, from manager to manager, from one team to another, etc. 

In this type of internal communication, there are no hierarchical problems, but if it is not encouraged, it can stagnate. 

Guy Martin, director of Autodesk, talks about a process in his company to avoid this, cross-pollination, which consists of encouraging all employees to participate not only in the communication channels specific to their work performance, but also in other people based on their interests. 

For this to happen, it is important that there are channels in which this is possible and that management encourages their use.
 

All types of internal communication benefit from CRM.

CRM is a useful tool for all types of communication, whether horizontal, upward or downward. 

By keeping all customer information and all employee communications centralised in one tool, communication is facilitated and time is no longer wasted in its most time-consuming forms:

• Emails.
• Meetings.

If you want to start using a CRM, your best option is efficy. 

Do you want to try it? 
 

Get inspired! Here is a free gift for you!

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