Thank you to everyone who entered our Valentine’s Day competition to win a bundle of All Things IC stationery.
It was wonderful to read all your responses, showing a full range of reasons why we love our career as internal communicators.
The lucky winner is Marleen van Willigen, Head of Internal and Client Communication, selected at random, who shared ‘I love internal comms because it allows me to make a difference in my colleague’s lives by helping to provide clarity and prevent confusion – every day.’
We also want to give a special shout-out to Judith Smith, Internal Communications Manager for her creative entry:
V – variety
A – aligning business functions with the corporate strategy
L – liaising with every level of the organisation
E – extra creative
N – nurturing relationships
T – the thrill of a successful campaign
I – impactful comms that make a difference
N – no two days are the same and we wear many hats
E – employees are at the heart of everything we do.
Here’s the full list of entries. You can share your reasons in the comments at the end.
‘I love making a difference in employees’ lives through engagement, creativity, and problem-solving. Being their voice and fostering a positive work culture is incredibly rewarding!’ Mel Western.
‘What I like most is creating a buzz about the place. We’re so busy in our individual or team silos, we rarely get to know each other or what we’re working on. IC shows that this work matters, and reveals the people behind it.’ Marijana Urbany.
‘I love the impact internal comms can have on an organisation and its people when people recognise it is important. My favourite analogy is imagine seeing a load of advertising and good PR for a car company, and you go in with the intent of buying a new car. You get there but it’s clear that they haven’t done good internal comms. You get a disengaged salesperson who doesn’t know about their company policies, the features and benefits of the car, and they don’t feel proud of the organisation they work for. Chances are you’ll leave empty handed. Now imagine a company that does good internal comms. Your salesperson is engaged, can confidently talk you through the car you want to buy, can answer your questions, is happy and engaged. You walk out happy with your experience, whether you decide to buy or not.
‘Good internal comms doesn’t just benefit your people, it benefits your organisation, your customers and your communities.’ Danielle Starling, Internal Communications Business Partner.
‘Listening. Listening to leaders, teams, shop floor workers. Feeling their vibration, energy and interpreting this into engaging comms that have impact.’ Chris Love.
‘What I like most about working as an internal communicator is getting to know my audience. In external comms, one relies on personas. But in internal comms, we know that we communicate with Mary, Joe, or Alex, and these are our colleagues. It makes the interaction more personal and rewarding.’ Natalia Graur, Senior Manager Internal Communications.
‘What I love is being the conduit that sparks the light in a reader’s eyes when they ‘get’ what we’re communicating – not just on the surface of understanding what they read or viewed, but buying into, believing, and reflecting it in their actions.’ Tom Cooke, Internal Communications Business Partner.
‘First, there’s the stakeholder management component which requires tact and skill in ensuring we leverage our emotional intelligence and compassion with stakeholders who are keen to communicate but struggle with articulating the “so what” of what they want to convey. Second, I love the challenge of showing up to conversations with my colleagues who often presume my role will be limited to wordsmithing what they are desperate to say or prettifying a presentation and discovering my role will be to enable them to hone and refine their key messages, identify their (real) audience (often not “All Staff, of course!) and convey their calls to action in clear terms. Last, I love that working as an internal communicator means my value add lies at the very heart of organizations: I get to dive deep into my organization’s inner workings by connecting the head and heart of what we do every day.’ Usha Selvaraju, Internal Communications Manager.
‘I love that no matter how long I’ve been working in comms/marketing, I learn something new every day! And the community is full of supportive, innovative people.’ Lisa Walters, Communications and Student Recruitment Manager.
‘It’s a cliché, the people. I feel really fortunate to meet people throughout the business that in any other role, I wouldn’t get to meet. The CEO, COO, Marketing Manager, Data Engineers, Facilities Managers, Housekeeping, the Chef in the canteen. When you are helping them solve a problem or bring something to life, you quickly build relationships and become friends.’ Kelly-Marie Evans.
‘The thing I love most is making a difference – being an internal communicator through the pandemic was HARD, but as an organisation providing essential services we worked throughout those tough times. As a team, we were responsible for the daily updates to all employees, giving them the latest Government updates and how that applied to them/our industry. The feedback from these daily emails was some of the most positive I’ve had in my 10+ years as an internal communicator. Outside of the pandemic comms, being able to tell people about the great things the company is doing – from the benefits available, to improved family leave, or the programmes we’re running to make the workplace more inclusive. I want to make a positive difference to people’s lives, and this role gives me that ability (most of the time!).’ Freja Cooper, Senior Employee Communications Executive.
‘For me, it’s the fact that you have access all areas. No one questions you being there, because Comms should be there. You’re a trusted confidant, who gets stuff done and keeps people connected – regardless of their role or position within the business. As an internal communicator, I’m able to work alongside all teams, all departments. A privilege that not only ensures I can confidently communicate the news my colleagues need to fulfil their role but my knowledge about our business is constantly growing. I’ve been working within Communications for over ten years and I still feel privileged to be able to do the role.’ Helen Hill, Employee Communications Manager.
‘I love seeing other people gain the recognition they deserve knowing I’ve played a part through tactics and editorial support. I get a huge sense of satisfaction seeing the impact colleagues have on one another’s morale through sharing their stories (with a bit of IC fairy dust!).’ Martin Stubbs-Partridge.
‘What I love most about internal communication is the capacity of this role to transform the lives of our colleagues/employees. There’s even research done on this, that internal communication at its best can be a source of life satisfaction (Ćorić et al. 2020) and is key to achieving happiness (Lalić et al. 2020). I featured this in my own research on internal communication and belonging. It is fascinating to see how internal communication has evolved before and after the pandemic. Recent surveys (Gallagher) show that internal communication’s role is now being seen as imperative in the culture and belonging spaces of an organisation. And what an honour, isn’t it? To be seen as the role that has capacity to make people feel valued and bring their best selves to work. Isn’t that what we all need universally (I’ve been doing a lot of work in the DEIB space recently and this feeling of being valued and that one matters seems to cut through all other elements of diversity)? And since organisations are made up of people, it means that we have the power to drive organisations towards positive change.’ Chared Verschuur-Ballo, Communication Consultant.
‘I love working with people, I love helping people solve problems and organisations tell their story with impact. For me it’s about being able help create more rewarding experiences at work. The right information at the right time, humanising the relationship with leaders and supporting managers to communicate more effectively.’ Becky Williams.
‘The thing I love most about internal comms is the breadth of people you get to meet within the organisation. Not only do you get to learn about different business areas, you also learn as much about the people that make them tick. I’ve discovered many fascinating career journeys and secret talents as a result!’ Christian Hann.
‘What I love most about working in internal communications is the opportunity to be a link between our employees and executive leaders. There are few opportunities for most employees to connect with senior leadership, but through the work of our team, we can keep employee feedback top of mind for our executives. We also help shape the content and flow of information to ensure it is relevant and meaningful to our colleagues.’ Kristen Tate.
‘I love the variety, the limitless excuse to stick my nose into everything that’s happening and the constant challenge of trying to make things more engaging!’ Laura Wager, Head of Internal Communications.
‘Crafting messages that inform, engage and inspire staff can sometimes feel like conducting an orchestra – bringing diverse voices into beautiful harmony. Seeing colleagues collaborate, innovation bloom, and a shared vision come alive – that’s the magic of internal communication. It’s not just a job, it’s about building bridges, igniting potential, and shaping the future, one well-chosen word at a time. It’s more than just communication, it’s the lifeblood of any thriving organisation, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world!’ Michael Cambell, Internal Communications Manager – Academic (Teaching & Research).
‘Being able to give colleagues a voice and a platform they don’t think they can have access to. I love the positivity photos and well done pieces generate and how that inspires others to share as well. How do you know if it’s been successful? The avalanche it generates!’ Michelle Baillie.
‘I love finding ways to connect people with the information they need — when and where they need it — to do their best work. I also love learning why people are passionate about their work and then sharing their stories to help build connection.’ Amanda Swennes, Owner & Principal Consultant.
‘Impact companies by changing the organizational culture, making employees the most passionate ambassadors of a company/brand.’ Camila Corsini.
Thank you to everyone who entered our competition and for sending us your thoughts.
We share your love of IC!
Dan
Post author: Dan Holden
First published on the All Things IC blog 20 February 2024.
