Tips for having good internal and external communication

It is important to understand the communication needs of the organisation while drafting a communication plan.An organization should always ensure effective internal and external communication for healthy operations.

It is important to ensure consistency and transparency in communication between management and staff. An effective communication will occur if there is a two way feedback system. Providing information to the staff is not enough, an organisation should ensure there is a two way channel by which staff can communicate too. Internal communication can be done through notice, emails, meetings and conferences and organisation can run programs to encourage the staff to share what they feel. However, it is not advisable to overload the organisation with communication but the flow of information should be free.

External Communication

For an effective external communication, the organisation should identify whom it wants to communicate and how. Different communication plans should be made keeping in mind the roles of stakeholders and clients. Digital media can be used to pass the information as it is fast and has a wider reach than other forms of communication. It is significant to make the clients and stakeholders feel important and worthy. The tone of the communication should align to the voice of the company but at the same time, it should be friendly and relatable. There should be an official spokesperson for delivering important information to the external stakeholders and press releases should be done frequently to inform people about new developments. Again, transparency and consistency is the key in ensuring effective communication.

Crisis

A crisis communication plan helps in controlling the damage. It should include all the necessary contact information so that the accurate person can be called and the crisis is reduced. The organisation should appoint an official spokesperson in advance and a team of few including the CEO, the eye witness, lawyers, communication managers, safety in charge and the people involved should be appointed immediately. The external communication should be minimised and anything that could bring disrepute to the organisation should be avoided.

Evaluation

It is important for any organisation to evaluate their communication strategies but when it comes to community service organisation, the need for evaluation increases. It is because they highly depend on participation and interest of general public and to generate that, you need a good communication strategy. While evaluating a communication campaign, one learns the outcome and realizes what could be done in future to expand their reach and encourage more people to join them. A community service organisation not only relies on fundraising but they also need active participation and for that, having a good communication strategy is important.