Most businesses spend significant time and money perfecting how they communicate with customers, but don't dedicate the same resources to internal communication.
This means a business might have a beautiful website and an excellent customer service team, but internally, issues arise constantly. And as a business owner, you know that a polished marketing message isn’t going to save you from a miscommunication between sales and accounting.
Information gets lost between departments when internal communication systems are left to chance. This means that even the best external messaging can fall apart because your internal team just can’t keep up.
The good news is that internal communication can be treated like other business systems. You can observe it, document it, and improve it. Your team can implement automation and systemization that prioritize smooth handoffs, solve edge cases, and build a strong internal culture.
Below, we will look at why a solid internal communication structure matters and share an overview of how to build one.
Why Internal Communication Systems Matter
Any business has many irons in the fire. Teams across departments do their jobs, from sales to production, accounting to quality control. Everyone has a role, and most employees will do their best to fulfill that role. In our experience, most employees want to do a good job and provide you with their best work.
So, when internal systems fall apart, it’s often because something is missing. It’s not because your team isn’t pulling their weight.
One area where things can easily fall apart is internal communication systems. If your company doesn’t have an established communication structure, each moving part in the organization may start operating with only sporadic coordination. This means sales might be incredibly productive, and production may be supplying customers, but accounting isn’t receiving the information it needs to invoice clients. That one communication error can make your entire company fall apart.
Another example is customer service. Let’s say several defective products came off the line and now customer service is dealing with the fallout. They not only need a way to escalate the concern, but they need a system for communicating about the defect to production so that the problem can be solved at the source.
If your company doesn’t have an established communication system, then problem resolution may rely on employee memory, scattered emails, or scrolling through pages and pages of messages.
Building an internal communication system ensures the right information reaches the appropriate people, at the right time. This does two important things for a business:
- It keeps priorities clear, so employees don’t simply react to whatever feels most urgent in the moment.
- It helps teams collaborate more effectively, since departments can trust that the information they receive is accurate and complete.
When these two elements are in place, employees become more efficient, and their morale improves. Plus, the business can use these systems as a foundation for growth.
Five Steps for a Working Internal Communication System
Building a working communication system is often very simple. It requires documenting the systems you have, establishing the type of communication system you want, and then identifying where those two things don't align.
- Establish your ideal communication system.
Ask yourself what you’d like your team to get out of such a system. How would they solve problems? What kind of documentation would be preserved so that the same fixes can be applied to future issues? How would they elevate or communicate interdepartmentally? Is there a standard you’d like to set?
- Document the existing system.
Your business has a communication system, even if it’s haphazard. Document what you have so you can improve it.
- Compare and contrast.
What’s missing between your ideal communication system and what you have?
- Determine the fix.
You may want to use an API or build a series of communication policies. Some employees may simply not know the best way to reach people in other departments. Some communication, like an invoice from sales sent to accounting, might be something that can be automated.
Determine the right fix and then implement it.
- Document and monitor.
Document the changes you made and monitor the rollout. Some glitches will come up, and because you are monitoring things closely, you can make sure everything gets sorted out so the system runs smoothly on its own.
Internal communication is the structure that enables your teams to work together. Putting in the effort now to establish an effective communication structure will pay off in the long run.
If you are ready to build effective communication systems and document your business policies and processes, we are here to help! Get in touch with the systems experts at Business Success Consulting Group for a free initial evaluation.
