What Does "Good" Internal Communication Look Like?
If you’ve never seen it done well, how would you even know?
This is the challenge for so many internal communication professionals—and the people we partner with. When the bar for success is just “Did the email go out?” or “How many messages did we push?”, it’s no wonder strategic comms feels elusive.
In some cases, it’s not even leaders who define success this way—it’s the comms team. Not out of laziness, but because they’ve never seen another model. When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
And so the cycle continues:
Leaders never experience what good comms can do.
Employees never know what it’s like to feel truly informed and connected.
Comms professionals never get the chance to go from good to great.
So what’s the difference between a good and great internal communication professional?
Here’s my take:
Good
✅ Writes a communication plan (objectives, audience, channels, key messages, measurement)
✅ Uses a comms calendar to work proactively
✅ Sorts real urgency from fake fires
✅ Makes the complex simple
✅ Connects employees’ day-to-day work to the bigger picture
Great
🌟 Knows the difference between a plan and a strategy
🌟 Measures both outputs and outcomes
🌟 Educates others to be better communicators across the organization
🌟 Knows the business inside and out—and aligns comms accordingly
🌟 Clearly demonstrates value
🌟 Is seen (and sought out) as a strategic business partner
Not an internal comms professional? You’re still an internal communicator.
Every people leader, HR partner, team lead, and project owner is part of the internal communication ecosystem. If you talk to employees, you’re shaping their experience—intentionally or not.
