Assign clear ownership for each element of internal departmental communication across the functions involved.
Building Effective Internal Communication Strategies Between Departments
Learn to design, measure and defend your organisation's approach to internal departmental communication.
Course Overview
Silence during a crisis involving internal departmental communication is itself a statement. Internal audiences learn about this aspect of communications and media practice from the news unless you reach them first. The course gives participants a defensible structure for the practice within communications and media practice and the judgement to adapt it. It is designed for mixed groups, so that internal departmental communication is examined from more than one functional angle. What blocks progress on the communications and media practice discipline is usually unclear ownership rather than unclear intent. Mature organisations treat this aspect of communications and media practice as a standing capability rather than a project that finishes. They acquire practical criteria for judging when internal departmental communication is working and when it is only appearing to. The method assumes participants will be challenged on their handling of the communications and media practice discipline and prepares them for it. The final session converts the week's work on the practice within communications and media practice into commitments with owners and dates.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Design the digital and social response protocol for internal departmental communication.
Build a concise communications plan for internal departmental communication that colleagues can follow without further explanation.
Set acceptance criteria for internal departmental communication before work begins rather than after.
Prepare spokespeople to handle hostile questioning on internal departmental communication.
Manage communication with regulators and officials about internal departmental communication.
Correct misinformation about internal departmental communication without amplifying it.
Who Should Attend
Procurement and contracting staff whose agreements set obligations around internal departmental communication.
Public relations and communications managers responsible for internal departmental communication.
Journalists and editors working on stories involving internal departmental communication.
Community relations staff engaging stakeholders about internal departmental communication.
Digital and social media managers handling internal departmental communication online.
Consultants and advisers supporting clients on internal departmental communication.
Course Modules
Internal departmental communication: media relations and the working journalist
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Answering the hostile question about internal departmental communication
- Localise messaging on internal departmental communication without fragmenting it.
- Compare the cost of internal departmental communication with the cost of its absence.
- Plan the sequence in which improvements to internal departmental communication will be introduced.
- Rank the weaknesses in internal departmental communication by consequence rather than by ease of fixing.
Session 2Writing on internal departmental communication so a journalist can publish it
- Debrief after each significant episode involving internal departmental communication.
- Rehearse the briefing on internal departmental communication that would follow an incident.
- Define what success in communicating internal departmental communication looks like, numerically.
- Agree the indicators that will show whether internal departmental communication is improving.
Internal departmental communication: materials a journalist can actually use
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Coordinating internal departmental communication across markets and languages
- Build the internal briefing that explains internal departmental communication to those affected.
- Establish who is informed, consulted and accountable in internal departmental communication.
- Check communication on internal departmental communication against legal and regulatory constraint.
- Agree what will be standardised in internal departmental communication and what will not.
Session 2Closing out internal departmental communication and capturing what was learned
- Confirm that contractual obligations around internal departmental communication are understood.
- Establish what evidence demonstrates internal departmental communication is under control.
- Write the three key messages on internal departmental communication and test them against hard questions.
- Agree who signs off statements on internal departmental communication outside working hours.
Internal departmental communication: internal audiences and sequencing
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Correcting a false story about internal departmental communication without amplifying it
- Sequence internal notification about internal departmental communication ahead of external release.
- Build a stakeholder map for internal departmental communication and the message each needs.
- Identify single points of dependency in internal departmental communication and reduce them.
- Prepare the summary of internal departmental communication that senior management will read.
Session 2Reading the current state of internal departmental communication honestly
- Confirm that reporting on internal departmental communication reaches the people who can act.
- Name the crisis roles for internal departmental communication and confirm authority to speak.
- Review whether coverage of internal departmental communication changed anything that matters.
- Prepare the holding statement for internal departmental communication in advance.
Internal departmental communication: crisis preparation, roles and authority
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Making internal departmental communication work when resources are constrained
- Check that records of internal departmental communication answer the questions likely to be asked.
- Set out the decisions in internal departmental communication that require sign-off and by whom.
- Set the response time target for enquiries about internal departmental communication.
- Prepare the acknowledgement for internal departmental communication that does not evade responsibility.
Session 2Telling staff about internal departmental communication before the press does
- Plan the recovery sequence after a reputational event involving internal departmental communication.
- Configure monitoring that flags coverage of internal departmental communication within the hour.
- Identify the journalists who actually cover internal departmental communication and what they need.
- Map the handovers in internal departmental communication between functions and secure them.
Choose the package that suits you
Silver Package
At least 3 people
- Workshop or Program Participation
- Airport Transfers
- Customized Badge
- Expert Mentorship (Private Sessions)
- Supervision & Secretarial Services
- Accredited Certificate of Participation
- Complete Training Kit
- Coffee Break
- Closing Ceremony
Gold Package
At least 3 people
- 5-night stay in a 5-star hotel
- Workshop or Program Participation
- Airport Transfers
- Customized Badge
- Expert Mentorship (Private Sessions)
- Supervision & Secretarial Services
- Accredited Certificate of Participation
- Complete Training Kit
- Coffee Break
- Closing Ceremony
Complete your registration
We will contact you within one business day to confirm.