In my experience conducting communications audits, the most common recurring finding is poor internal communications within the communications office itself. It's somewhat ironic that communications teams often fail to communicate internally, but its a critically important element to get right.
Communications offices are so focused on setting external communications strategies that they can ignore communications needs within their organization. They sometimes don't have the right approval processes in place or maybe don't have the right workflow tools. If they do have good workflow tools, they might have a low adoption rate. No matter what the internal communications issue, it always is detrimental to the communications goals of the organization.
Effective internal communication is the cornerstone of a well-functioning team and is crucial for delivering impactful external messaging.
Here are some common internal communications issues we find in our communications audits:
Lack of Clear Processes
Clear communication protocols and well-defined workflows ensure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities. When processes are streamlined, efficiency increases, and tasks are completed more effectively.
Siloed Mindsets
Departments within the communications office can operate in isolation, leading to missed opportunities for collaboration and synergy. If teams within the larger communications offices are not collaborating effectively, it is impossible to provide communications leadership for external teams or stakeholders.
No Internal Knowledge Base
Communications offices produce enormous amounts of content but sometimes don't have a master planning or messaging document for their own office. All teams need an internal knowledge base that provides strategy and messaging direction.
Workflow Confusion
There are a million workflow tools. It's critical for communications teams to select the right tools to make their work easier, but it can be easy to overthink and over plan your workflow tool selection. The best tool is the one that gets the highest team adoption.