What are the most common challenges and barriers to effective internal communication?

Effective Communication takes more than just sending information. No matter how simple and direct your language, if you’re not checking for comprehension and mutual understanding, misalignment will still happen. Communication is information received, not information sent.

One of the things to avoid lack of clarity is making sure communications is streamlined not just within a single team but also cross functionally through teams. Clarity means not only using simple language but also, have protocols in place to clearly mitigate the risk of unclarity.

Stating clearly the WIIFM (what's in it for me), business value/importance to how X contributes to the business strategy, for example, and necessary actions for the reader.

Coordination between communication senders will help ensuring the same audience isn't being overloaded at the same time. Also, very clearly state actions necessary for the end user to take. Use bold, underlined, highlights, red fonts, bullets, etc. to make it really clear and consider so the use knows exactly what to do and when to do it by.

We are inundated with messages all day long and everywhere we turn. Even our watches send reminders to breathe! It makes our jobs as Internal Communicators difficult but is the reality of the attention economy. How we craft messages significantly impacts their chances of breaking through and being retained. Some quick tips: - Short, not shallow is the way! - Ditch the jargon & speak like a human - Increase message stickiness through storytelling - Self Edit: ask "does this add noise, or value?" and act accordingly

Getting relevant metrics should be the first step in solving information overload. Using tools that will help measure your audience's engagement behavior beyond simple and open click rates can you help you identify which channels your employees use the most, what kind of communication they prefer, and what time of day they are most likely to engage. Having communication benchmarks can establish if you initiatives are working or not.

I agree. Often leaders simply forward articles and fill up their team's inboxes with content (most likely) they've already read. I also see leaders sending messages late at night or over weekends, even when the agreement is "no emails between 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Monday." Because of this overload, people begin to tune out messages and may miss the truly important ones coming from the leader.

The most common barrier is distribution of messages from the originator and ensuring it reaches everyone. Why does this occur? Typically, they send the message in a cascade approach that first goes to leadership, then managers, and ultimately to independent contributors. The space between middle manager and independent contributors is where it usually fails. This approach does have its value in that it allows leaders/managers to be informed first. This means they can be prepared when their team has questions. We know that managers are the first person that you go to when you have a question or are seeking to understand what it means to you. To mitigate this, a 2nd email should be sent to all employees. Do not rely on the original.

If there is no awareness, then the outcome is confusion. The result then becomes myths, folklore, and legends that are created due to the different levels of understanding. You can minimize the resistance with some key CM levers: - initial message to include the what, why, why now, WIIFM, and next steps - stakeholder identification to understand their response to the change - stakeholder engagement to connect , listen, and learn from them why they have the blockers - communicate on a regular cadence to keep them updated. Do not wait until you have a perfected answer to everything with a pretty bow on it.

One of the easiest ways to approach this is to offer diversity in messaging, custom tailored for a diverse audience. Never rely solely on email. Host short, in person and informal engagements where people can come learn and discuss issues in real time, then record it and make it available for others who can’t attend. Use channels, visual story telling and graphics. Create a campaign the keeps all messaging consistent but offers a variety of methods for engaging with it. Allow staff to ask questions and offer feedback anonymously AND in Q&A sessions and through other suggestion mechanisms. By creating a messaging campaign that diversifies the way people can receive information you’ll have a higher likelihood they’ll understand it too.

To solve for unique differences, you can draft the core of the message and then leave extra space. This is then used to augment the message with a localized approach to include key elements needed. Then once it is polished, you can translate it to the local languages that your business operates in based on legal requirements.

IF “there is a lack of access, reliability, or compatibility of the technology tools and platforms that are used for communication”, then that is the reason for failure. This is not about a Communications Strategy or platform. This is about having a remote strategy with the proper technology for your employees to succeed. Part of your culture should include a library of messages and meetings in a centralized location so they are able to be accessible.

In my experience, producing and disseminating a weekly e-newsletter helps foster internal communications via empowering different teams or divisions with key information updates about each “silo” to promote collaboration. This may include sections on daily activities by team members, such as presentations, speeches, meetings on specific topic areas. Another section may include weekly accomplishments by specific team members in different knowledge areas. Another section may include upcoming activities and/or pending projects, etc. Other “deliverables” can be internal comms blogs, intranets and podcasts by subject matter experts. Empower employees to communicate, collaborate and contribute to the mission by knowledge sharing across silos.

We have found that the most critical element, which is also the biggest challenge, is the manager's understanding of and role in communication. The manager seems to have the biggest impact on employee experience. The manager's ability to support awareness, reinforce the message, but also apply to the employee's day-to-day reality, is critical. Our focus on the manager has really started to pay off; despite continued challenges with everything listed above.

Information asymmetry is a common problem in larger organizations. Internal communicators cannot know about all topics worth telling and are dependent on a good exchange between the specialist departments. One possible approach would be to set up a decentralized editorial or communication network to break down "communication silos"

All of the above contributors are right about the importance of communication. What I have noticed in education is the use of Microsoft Outlook and the use of Google email. For most this is not easy. What I believe is important is consistency in using one email. Please speak, or type in a clear and simple form. In the communication ask for feedback that you received and understand what the person is looking for or needs. Finally if it is an assignment, please say what the expectations are and when it is due. This is my style and I find it works.