Lessons Learned Tips on Internal Messaging

• Share information with all staff on a consistent, regular basis. Consistent, regular messaging needs to be communicated to all staff, in order to ensure that all staff members are on the “same page” with the same information about your agency’s current status and future plans, programming information etc…

• Share information with all staff on a consistent, regular basis. Consistent, regular messaging needs to be communicated to all staff, in order to ensure that all staff members are on the “same page” with the same information about your agency’s current status and future plans, programming information etc.

• Use intranets to post materials and for internal dialogues. To keep these sites alive, ask management to take leadership and populate them with new materials and use the site themselves to dialogue with staff.

• Ongoing orientation of staff is necessary in order to ensure that everyone is familiar with the full scope of your agency’s programs and services – this is crucial to their effectiveness as “ambassadors” in the community to both community partners and potential clients.

• Ensure that staff are aware of all of the messaging that is provided externally so that they can be prepared to respond.

• Invest time in ensuring that staff have sufficient information so that they understand the context in which they are operating.

• Ensure that all managers are providing a consistent message to staff.

• In times of turmoil, prevent speculation among your staff by being open and transparent about the issues. Instil confidence; don’t sound the panic alarm, and maintain a ‘business as usual’ approach.