ABSTRACT
47I considered calling this chapter Effective internal corporate communications but decided that, if I did, it would be to fall into the gobbledygook trap. I’ve heard the phrase internal communications (or its uglier little sibling ‘internal comms’) used about ten thousand times in my life. What meaning it might ever have had – which is practically none – has been entirely washed away. What we actually mean when we talk about ‘internal comms’ is making friends with people at work so you can get the job done. Don’t listen to the head of HR when he or she tells you it’s actually about ‘internal marketing’ to staff. This is rot. Centralised mass communication to employees leads to resentment and low morale. Haughty missives from HR or senior executives never go down well with employees. If they are about something good, they feel patronising. If they are about something bad, they cause acrimony.
