11 effective internal communication examples

In this guide, we dive into internal communication examples and strategies used by industry leaders who’ve implemented exemplary internal communication strategies. 

Research shows 85% of employees are unengaged. And a big part of employee engagement is internal communication.

Yet internal communication is rarely front of mind. For many companies, employee communication is an afterthought, especially when it comes to frontline workers. 

While it can seem the resources necessary to improve communication aren’t there, that’s never the case. In fact, implementing the most effective internal communication best practices doesn’t have to cost a fortune – or time.

When you invest in an internal communications app or team management tool, you empower your teams to communicate better, collaborate quicker, and boost engagement.

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Below, we’ve compiled a list of companies with excellent internal communications. We hope these inspire you when creating your own internal communication strategy.

It’s a fact: organizational communication matters

Before we dive into the list of employee communication examples, let’s examine why some businesses are investing so heavily in their internal communication and organizational communication initiatives.

Launching a new organizational communication initiative can be overwhelming. But you can’t ignore the ROI of enhancing your internal comms:

• Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave an organization as compared to disengaged workers.
• 80% of the US employees confessed to feeling stressed because of incompetent employee communication, as found in a Dynamic Signal study.
• One study found that productivity rose by 25% when employees used online tools to collaborate.

The impact of employee engagement may be tough to measure, but the real financial toll of churn isn’t. Recruiting, hiring, and training one new employee can cost as much or even more than paying an existing employee’s salary for a year. Further research suggests that replacing an employee can cost as much as 3X the person’s salary.

On top of that, you may need to pay your other employees overtime to pick up the slack during the transition, and productivity can slow dramatically while searching for replacements.

In a nutshell: taking organizational communication seriously makes economic sense.

Now that you know why employee communication is worth investing in, let’s take a look at the best employee communication examples from companies with excellent internal communication. Then, all you need to do is create a strategy of your own.

Why is internal comms so challenging to get right?

Though the importance of effective internal communication is clear, it’s often challenging for leaders to get right. There are a few reasons for this:

• Information can easily be lost in the mix of channels used for communication – think noticeboards, letters, and other outdated methods.
• These traditional communication tools also tend to be ineffective, with low reach and engagement among employees.
• There’s no clear or consistent way to gather employee feedback and measure the success of communication efforts.

The struggle for comms leaders to get buy-in and support from senior management can also be a roadblock. However, using an all-in-one internal communication tool, and the right internal comms strategies, can solve these challenges.

As we'll see in our examples below, these solutions can streamline communication channels, increase engagement, and provide insight into the effectiveness of your communication initiatives. This will ultimately add value for both employees and leadership.

How business leaders can use internal communication examples to drive their goals

For some business leaders, especially those in the C-Suite, the idea of investing in organizational communication may seem frivolous. But the best internal communication examples outlined in this article prove that investing in employee communication can drive business goals in a variety of industries, from transit to retail.

The value of enhancing your internal communication can’t be understated, with benefits ranging from cost reduction and employee retention to improved productivity and collaboration. And with the right tools, developing a successful internal communication strategy can be easier than you think.

From communicating the right resources at scale and building trustful two-way conversations to encouraging staff recognition and gathering direct feedback, the companies listed below serve as shining examples of what great internal communication looks like.

Take inspiration from these successful brands and ask yourself: how can we improve our own internal communication strategy? And if you’re ready to start, request a demo of Blink today to see how our all-in-one solution can help streamline and improve your organizational communication efforts. 

11 best internal communication examples: companies getting comms right

1. Stagecoach

Stagecoach knows that employee engagement and good internal communication go hand-in-hand. That’s why they implemented a mobile employee app to reach their biggest asset: their customer-facing workforce.

To contact their 30,000 frontline employees (including 21,000 bus drivers), they adopted Blink. It received phenomenal feedback team-wide.

• 84% used the app within the first week of implementation.
• There was a 32% increase in employee satisfaction and a 26% reduction in staff turnover.

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The Blink app offers a suite of features to enhance internal communication, including one-to-one messaging, company news and updates, surveys and forms, reward and recognition programs, shift information and other frontline-friendly tools.

By taking inspiration from great examples of internal communication from brands like Stagecoach, you too can boost employee satisfaction and engagement through a mobile-first approach.

The takeaway from this internal communication example? Look for internal communication solutions that reach employees where they are. A mobile employee app like Blink empowers all your employees to stay connected and engaged.

This is especially relevant in healthcare or transportation, where critical schedules, timetables, and critical documents should be accessible from anywhere.

2. TED

TED is famous for its deep signature talks. But when it comes to internal communications, they are much less verbose.

Research shows the average person can pay attention to a speaker for 10 to 18 minutes. So at TED, all meetings take 18 minutes or less. Having shorter (or fewer) meetings gives employees more time to focus on the tasks they’re paid to tackle.

The takeaway from this employee communication example? Long meetings are counterproductive. So, consider setting a hard time limit for most meetings at your company. And before you schedule your next meeting, think about whether booking a conference room is necessary.

3. Amazon

Amazon employees dole out internal communication in targeted, snack-sized bites. No memos or long-winded email chains here! The comms team knows most people will stop reading any message after over 100 words.

The end result? Employees get the information they need and no more. This means they’re more likely to read, understand, and reply to the information that comes their way.

The takeaway from this employee communication example? Digital communication happens in real-time. It doesn’t have to be as wordy as old-school memos. Make your internal comms more like social media updates — to the point and snackable.

4. 3M

Innovation can only happen when employees have some breathing room. That’s why 3M instituted a policy allowing workers to spend 15% of their day pursuing fresh ideas in collaboration with colleagues.

Internal communication tools play a massive role in the policy. Why? Because wasted time means less collaboration. And effective communication is one of the keys to idea generation.

The takeaway from this employee communication example? Make sure that your employees aren’t facing any roadblocks when it comes to comms. There are many ways to identify what’s getting in the way:

• Check your communication software’s usage rate and other metrics
• Conduct an internal audit or feedback survey
• Take one-to-one employee interviews

When people communicate efficiently, they have more time to take a step back from the day-to-day and innovate.

5. Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains wanted to improve communication between leaders and employees. So they implemented a connected, trackable platform that everyone could access from anywhere.

Employees had access to several different apps filled with curated content on their personal phones. This made it easier for their entire workforce to connect, regardless of age or position.

The takeaway from this internal communication example? You don’t have to stop using the applications and programs you love. Blink integrates with the platforms you’re familiar with, so deskless employees can enjoy a delightful communications experience no matter what.

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And if you’re not satisfied with the software you’re currently using? Blink lets users build their own micro apps.

These little systems do pretty much anything you want them to. You can improve payment card systems, streamline project reporting, automate timesheet management, report unplanned absences, or update a product database.

6. Starbucks

“Employees are the true ambassadors of our brand, the real merchants of romance and theatre, and as such the primary catalysts for delighting customers.”
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

Over and over again, Starbucks has invested in the idea of employees as brand ambassadors. The company’s internal communication tools ensure everyone’s on the same page about the brand’s key offerings and core values.

The takeaway from this employee communication example? Supporting workers at all levels with relevant internal marketing pays off. Employees who understand and believe in your mission, vision, and product offerings are more likely to go above and beyond.

7. Netflix

At large companies, organizational communication can become bloated and impossible to manage. That’s why Netflix’s internal communications best practices are all about keeping comms simple.

When it comes to communication between board members and management, most discussions happen in brief online memos. That means quick-fire questions can be asked, answered, and stored for later.

The takeaway from this internal communication example? Do whatever you can to make organizational communication easier for everyone. It’s the little changes that can make all the difference.

Blink, for example, allows workers to log in, view, and contribute to their company’s internal communication even if they don’t have a digital identity, such as an email address or a social media profile. 

8. Royal London

Royal London was looking for a better way to get and then act on feedback from customers, employees, and managers.

They completely updated the way they solicited feedback via surveys and in the process, gave every individual associated with the business a voice. Engagement increased across teams, and the company reaped the rewards.

The takeaway from this employee communication example? Giving your workforce a voice can pay off big time. Employees whose voice is heard in the office are 4.6x times likely to give their best professionally.

The problem with most workplace surveys is that they aren’t anonymous. Employees who feel disengaged may not express that for fear of being seen as less productive or disloyal.

With Blink, however, you can easily create anonymous polls and surveys that make finding and then creating solutions to employee pain points easier.

9. Zappos

One of Zappos’ published core values is “Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication”. It sounds simple enough, but Zappos has actually taken the notion of openness and honesty to the next level in its organizational communication.

At the company, communication is a two-way street and transparency is a big part of what makes internal (and external) comms at Zappos so effective.

The takeaway from this internal communication example? Reveal more than you conceal and make yourself available. Here are the best ways to promote transparent communication:

• Update workers as soon as possible about new pieces of information
• Respond to queries honestly, and promptly. And always tell why.
• Walk the talk. Ensure communications and actions are aligned with the mission.

10. USAA

USAA’s 30,000 employees only had eight minutes a day or less to consume important company updates and news. So it made the strategic decision to update its organizational communication.

It redesigned its internal comms platform and updated its content development processes, which lead to an increase in engagement with key content.

The takeaway from this employee communication example? Use a platform that lets you reach employees without wasting their time. A mobile employee app like Blink puts important information front and center and empowers workers to consume that info without interrupting workflows.

11. Hershey

The Hershey Company had staff working all around the globe and wanted a way to:

• Make employees everywhere feel more connected.
• Make collaboration between teams in different countries easier and more efficient.

So they decided to have all workers use a single platform

The takeaway from this internal communication example? When you take steps to help employees work together, whether in-office or in the field, they’ll be more likely to come up with innovative ideas and to accomplish more together.

With an employee app, employees can create personalized feeds that empower collaboration—both within teams and across departments.

What companies with great internal communications have in common

All of the internal communication examples above have one thing in common — the company identified a specific organizational communications challenge and looked for a tool and a strategy to solve it.

The first step in overhauling your internal communication strategy should always be to analyze what is working at your company and what isn’t. You can invest a lot of resources, time and money in building a custom-branded company intranet. But if it’s not meeting your company’s unique needs, it’s not going to boost your bottom line.

It’s only when you know what communications issues are getting in the way of effective collaboration and stalling productivity that you can identify the right approach. And the employee engagement tools and strategies you adopt in this approach will ultimately become the backbone of a stronger, more effective internal communications plan.

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Internal Communication Example FAQs

What are the different types of internal communication?

There are different types of internal communication, from staff newsletters, staff emails, intranet, employee apps and more. By using a mix of communication channels, organizations can effectively reach all employees and ensure important information is distributed  when and where it needs to be.

What is an example of internal communication?

An example of internal communication would be announcing a new CEO is starting. This would be a coordinated effort across various different internal communication channels, distributed across the whole company.

How can I better engage employees?

There are a few ways to better engage employees, such as creating opportunities for open communication and feedback, providing recognition and rewards for good work, and implementing team-building activities. Read our full list above!

Why are examples of internal communication important?

Having examples of successful internal communication can serve as a guide for creating your own effective communications. It can also help identify any challenges or areas for improvement within your organization's communication strategies, processes, and tools.