25 Ways to Improve Internal Communication and Culture

Elevating and improving internal communications should be among your top imperatives. This strategic focus not only enhances trust within the organization but also cultivates a strong rapport among team members. In this article, we dive into 25 methods that you can leverage to improve internal communications and create a positive company culture. 

• What is internal communication? 
• Why is internal communication important? 
• 25 ways to improve internal communication 

What is internal communication? 

Internal communication refers to the exchange of information, messages, and ideas within an organization among its employees, departments, and levels of hierarchy. It encompasses various channels such as meetings, emails, memos, newsletters, and other digital communication tools. Internal communication plays a crucial role in aligning employees with organizational goals, promoting transparency, fostering collaboration, boosting employee morale, and ultimately enhancing overall productivity and performance within the company. With the increase of remote and hybrid work environments, meetings are a vital opportunity for team members to communicate with one another. Leveraging technology, like Fellow, the all-in-one AI meeting transcription and management software, can help maximize their effectiveness for remote teams.

Why is internal communication important? 

Internal communication is vital for organizational success. It facilitates the flow of ideas, information, and directives across all levels and departments. It ensures alignment with goals and objectives, fostering unity and purpose. Strong communication channels empower employees, enhancing productivity and satisfaction. Clear communication is particularly crucial during times of change, guiding transitions and reducing resistance. Regular feedback mechanisms enable continuous improvement and adaptation to evolving circumstances.

How internal communication affects company culture

Internal communication plays a pivotal role in shaping company culture by fostering transparency, trust, and collaboration among employees. Clear and open communication channels facilitate the sharing of ideas, values, and goals, helping to align employees with the organization’s mission and vision. Effective communication encourages an inclusive and supportive environment where team members feel valued, heard, and empowered to contribute. Furthermore, it promotes a sense of belonging and camaraderie, strengthening employee engagement and morale. By nurturing a culture of communication and collaboration, organizations can cultivate a positive work environment that drives innovation, productivity, and long-term success. Ultimately, internal communication serves as the foundation upon which a thriving company culture is built, influencing employee satisfaction, retention, and overall organizational performance.

25 ways to improve internal communication 

• Start with yourself 
• Assess the current strategy
• Schedule employee check-ins 
• Record videos
• Use voice notes
• Be consistent 
• Share the good and the bad
• Repeat yourself 
• Try asynchronous (async) communication
• Have an open door policy
• Encourage watercooler chats
• Document everything 
• Use a wiki 
• Create an internal language 
• Use meeting agendas
• Publicly acknowledge a job well done 
• Use the right channels
• Engage as much as possible 
• Share goals
• Keep it simple
• Stay within work hours for work-related topics
• Listen and act on feedback
• Have a backup plan
• Get to know everyone’s preferences
• Use integrations

1 Start with yourself 

Set the standard through your actions. Begin by assessing your own communication abilities and identifying areas for improvement, thereby establishing a positive model for your team. By emphasizing communication and fostering an inclusive environment, you increase the likelihood that the organization, including other leaders, will emulate your behavior.

2 Asses the current strategy 

In the hustle and bustle of daily routines, it’s easy to overlook the broader perspective. Yet, taking just a few moments to evaluate the effectiveness of your actions can be invaluable. Consider whether your team is flourishing and delivering their utmost effort. Are they equipped with the necessary tools and resources for peak performance and inclusion? Asking yourself these fundamental questions serves as an excellent initial step towards ensuring your team’s success and well-being.

3 Schedule employee check-ins 

One-on-one meetings are a great way to check in with your employees or team members. These meetings serve as a platform to realign objectives and provide support if any concerns are raised. Dedicate time to understand their current projects and challenges so you can offer assistance and guidance effectively. By actively engaging in these one-on-one discussions, you demonstrate your commitment to their growth and success within the team. Leveraging tools like Fellow can streamline the process, ensuring that these meetings are productive and impactful for both parties.

4 Record videos 

Breaking the habit may seem challenging, but it’s essential to recognize that not every communication requires a meeting. If you believe your message won’t effectively translate through email or Slack, consider utilizing a tool like Loom to record a brief video. Videos have the power to convey emotions and nuances that written words often cannot capture. Plus, with tools like Fellow, you can seamlessly integrate these videos into your meetings for attendees to watch before or after the meeting, enhancing comprehension and engagement across the team. Embracing this alternative method of communication can enhance clarity and connection within your team, fostering deeper understanding and engagement.

5 Use voice notes 

Embracing voice notes empowers you to convey complex ideas and emotions effectively, further strengthening connections and engagement among team members. This real-time expression fosters a more natural and authentic form of communication, enhancing understanding and collaboration within the team.

6 Be consistent 

Consistency is key. Those who prioritize consistency in their communication demonstrate strong leadership qualities and set a positive example for their teams. Simple tactics like showing up for scheduled one-on-ones go a long way when it comes to building rapport. If your teammates can’t rely on you to be consistent, they’ll be less inclined to reach out and prioritize communication. 

7 Share the good and the bad

Transparency is extremely important. It’s crucial that your teammates know they can rely on you to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Being a transparent leader is a great way to build rapport and trust. For instance, if your teammates have to hear bad news from an external source, they’ll be less likely to trust you as their leader. 

8 Repeat yourself 

As a leader, you’re responsible for ensuring everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. Sometimes, it takes a few tries to drive the message home. Repetition in leadership communication is essential for ensuring that important messages are understood, retained, and acted upon effectively within the organization.

9Try asynchronous (async) communication 

Async communication is all the rage: some teams use automated bots that prompt teammates to share daily updates in Slack, and asynchronous meetings have been increasingly gaining traction. Teams can meet asynchronously using tools like Fellow, which provides a timely hub where everyone can share their updates by a certain time instead of meeting in real time. 

10 Have an open door policy

If your teammates don’t feel comfortable coming to you, you won’t be able to create a positive culture or build trust. Having an allotted time every week when teammates know they can drop in and chat is a great starting point. And this open door time could be done in person or virtually! If you offer the time virtually, have your teammates schedule a video meeting or phone call with you during the allotted time period. 

11 Encourage watercooler chats 

Watercooler chats are a great way for remote teammates to pause and reconnect. If you don’t have the luxury of chatting with your team around the office, scheduling a weekly watercooler where teammates can drop in and chit chat virtually is a great alternative. Additionally, you can set up random Slack channels that don’t pertain to work. Try making the most of your teammates’ interests or of trending topics. These chats are a great way to engage your team and prompt non-work-related conversations and connections. 

12 Document everything 

Documenting everything is crucial for fostering transparency, improving communication, facilitating remote work, and enhancing decision-making within teams. Fellow provides a centralized place for capturing meeting notes, action items, decisions, and other important details, making it easier for team members to access and reference them later.

I have what I call the rule of three, which is the first time that I do something, I don’t document it. The second time that I do something, I think about how I’m going to document it. And then the third time, I absolutely do document it. And the reason why it’s the third time and not the 100th time is you lose some of the details inside of that documentation.

– Liam Martin, Co-Founder of Time Doctor 

13 Use a wiki 

Leveraging wikis makes it super easy to centralize information. Wiki also enables you to create a truth for your processes, policies, and communication best practices. The great thing about this tool is everyone has the opportunity to manipulate pages and edit information accordingly. 

14 Create an internal language 

Creative initiatives like developing your own internal language are a great way to improve internal communications while building workplace culture. Sharing gifs, Slack reactions, and acronyms are all great tools that you can leverage to spice things up and have fun with your teammates. 

15 Use meeting agendas 

Preparing thorough meeting agendas is a great way to improve internal communication. Not only does doing so help you centralize information, but it also ensures no key information is lost or forgotten when it comes time to meet. You can also circulate the agenda beforehand to make sure everyone is on the same page. If your teammates have feedback or comments, they can add them to the agenda before the meeting. 

16 Publicly acknowledge a job well done 

Publicly acknowledging a job well done is a great way to boost morale. A great initiative that you can kick off right away is simply prompting your teammates to share shoutouts in Slack. You can lead the way by giving a shoutout and tagging another manager to do the same. Everyone on your team can participate by adding uplifting reactions. Communication doesn’t have to be complicated; it’s the little things that matter most. 

17 Use the right channels 

Using multiple challenges or modes of communication can be confusing, especially if you don’t take the time to define their purpose. Having a reason behind every tool you’re using is a quick and easy way to improve internal communication. 

18 Engage as much as possible 

If you want to improve internal communication, you have to actively engage with and be an active member of your team. Check in on Slack, send group updates, and host weekly team meetings or one-on-ones. You can’t expect to boost engagement if you aren’t leading by example. 

It’s really important to get to know your reports on a personal level, learn about them and whatever comfort level they have with sharing their personal lives. And then also giving feedback because I think showing that you’re invested in someone’s growth by giving them helpful, well worded feedback is a really good way to show that you have their best interests at heart and you care about them.

– Alexandra Sunderland, Senior Engineering Manager at Fellow.app

19 Share goals 

You can’t build a positive workplace culture without making employees feel like they’re part of something bigger. Sharing goals (big or small) is a great way to make everyone feel included in the process from start to finish. If they buy into the vision, they’ll be more inclined to be team players. 

20 Keep it simple 

It’s time to go back to the basics. If you need to share extensive information, think about what platform is the best, or book a meeting so everyone is aligned and ready to move forward on the same page. 

21 Stay within work hours for work-related topics

Staying within working hours is important, not only for your schedule but also for the teammates you’re including within your communications. Use pre-scheduled messages if something is happening after hours. You could schedule the message ahead of time or note it in Fellow for the corresponding meeting. 

22 Listen and act on feedback 

Feedback is a gift, and it should be treated as such. To improve internal communications and build a positive workplace culture, you need to be willing to seek and act on feedback. As a leader or manager within your organization, you should have self-improvement as one of your main goals. 

23 Have a backup plan 

What would happen if your primary communication tool broke down or was no longer available? It’s always important to have a secondary means of communication that everybody on your team has access to. You should have your basis covered, especially in a remote landscape. 

24 Get to know everyone’s preferences 

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to communication, and learning the ways your teammates prefer to communicate is extremely important. Maybe one of your teammates prefers video chats, and maybe another prefers an autonomous style and thrives when they only have to communicate asynchronously. What’s most important is identifying their preferences and making changes accordingly. 

25 Use integrations

To seamlessly blend into your workflow, Fellow integrates with the tools that your team already uses. If your team uses Slack to improve internal communications, then connecting Slack with Fellow is a great way to integrate Fellow into the way your team already works. 

Improve internal communication in your organization today 

You now have everything you need to improve internal communications and build a positive workplace culture within your organization. These initiatives and strategies will ensure you have everything you need to communicate efficiently while impriving organizational efficiency. With the help of Fellow’s AI meeting transcription and management software, you can elevate team collaboration, streamline discussions, and ensure everyone’s voice is heard by staying focused on the important conversations.