By Sophie Drummond, Client Services Director, TheTruthWorks

Join me in fondly remembering the days of internal communication (IC). Those halcyon days when people actually noticed your posters, your monthly newsletter didn’t need eight rounds of sign-off and as long as the canteen menu was up-to-date, your intranet was thriving.

The good old days… Gone, but not forgotten.

Well, write that eulogy, dear editors, because IC (as we knew it) is dead.

Why? Because nothing is truly internal, you can’t control the size or shape of your audience and you absolutely can’t control what happens to the information you’re sending out. Thinking that the work you’re doing in Internal Comms will remain an internal comm is a mistake.

There’s been a societal shift since our industry first found its feet. Now, everyone has a voice and a platform through which to amplify it. Influence is no longer something you earn through tenure or leadership; It’s something that can be gained overnight. Something our industry has worked on for years is now being achieved by individuals armed with a smartphone and a point of view.

Fueled by content creators, bloggers, vloggers and empowered by online activism and citizen journalism, individuals are asserting their voices, sharing opinions and expressing themselves without limitation. They’re creating communications (and communities) that people have the time, headspace and attention span to consume; on the channels that they naturally use. And what’s more, those channels and therefore these voices are always on, placing control in the hands of the receiver not the sender.

So, why do we celebrate the demise of traditional IC at TheTruthWorks? Because these online activists, these empowered people with passionate points of view – these are our employees. These are the people who have the power to hustle for us. To advocate for our employee experiences. To further our purpose. To call out our mistakes.

What an opportunity this is, for brands that truly believe in making employee experiences that are true, that are real and that matter.

What a risk this is, for brands who have double standards; Who believe performative content is enough; Who lack an aligned mission, vision and values that guide their everyday decision making; Who don’t hold their leaders to account.

Glassdoor brought us the concept of glass walls: A direct and transparent view into an organisation from the people who know it best. Today, the thought of those views being confined to one or two channels is a luxury. You can find raw, truthful content on every social channel that you use, including those your kids use. From live-streaming redundancy calls, publishing corporate announcements and sharing trade secrets to publicly calling out toxic work environments – there are examples everywhere.

This sounds scary. And it is. But with great fear comes great change.

We need to continue to leverage the power of colleagues as content creators. We need to step away from formal advocacy programmes towards creating comms strategies that are snackable, shareable and authentic to our purpose. We need to start seeing managers as influencers, with a platform and a following. We need to see ERGs as activist groups that hold credible power and
authority.

We can’t stop the tide. We can’t control the tide. We just have to join it.

Brands today must embrace that their reflection is made up of many voices and many diverse points of view. They must bring together external and internal communications in order to create unified, transparent and interconnected communication ecosystems whilst retaining creativity, freedom and diversity of opinion.

The line between internal and external comms is blurred at best. Now’s the time to accept that this is actually a good thing for us all. IC may be dead, but we’re not grieving. Its impact is more alive than ever.