Internal Communication Terms

Accessible internal communication presents internal information in forms that employees with different access needs can perceive, understand and use.

Asynchronous communication is information exchange that does not require the sender and the receiver to be online or in the same place at the same time.

Cascade communication passes an important message step by step from senior leadership through managers to all employees.

Change champions are employees who try out the new way of working during a specific transformation, guide their colleagues and pass implementation challenges on to the project team.

Change communication is planned communication that helps employees understand, accept and adopt change during mergers, new systems, restructuring or culture transformation.

A corporate narrative is the shared story that connects where an organisation comes from, which need it answers and where it wants to go.

Internal crisis communication is the pre-prepared plan that ensures fast, consistent and reassuring information for employees during restructuring, downsizing, reputation issues or unexpected events.

An employee app delivers news, announcements, HR transactions and interaction on mobile devices, especially for deskless employees.

Employee segmentation is grouping employees by characteristics such as role, working pattern, seniority or channel access in order to plan communication around different needs.

Health and safety communication is the regular exchange of information with employees about workplace risks, protective practices and reporting channels.

Horizontal communication is direct communication between employees or teams at similar levels of responsibility, set up for coordination and information sharing.

HR policy communication is the communication work that tells employees who can use an HR policy or programme, when and how.

Internal communication is the planned, continuous flow of information, meaning and connection between an organisation and its employees; it carries strategy, values and change into everyday work.

An internal communication agency is a specialist partner that supports employee communication with strategy, content, design and channel management.

Internal communication ambassadors are employees who support a regular flow of information and feedback between their teams and the communication function.

An internal communication calendar shows which message goes out on which channel, when and under whose ownership throughout the year.

An internal communication strategy is the annual plan that defines goals, employee segments, key messages, channels, frequency, ownership and measurement.

Internal strategy communication explains a company’s goals, and the choices it makes to reach them, in a way employees can relate to their own work.

An intranet is an internal platform for news, information, documents and collaboration accessible only to employees: the central digital channel of internal communication.

Leadership communication is the planned practice of making senior leaders and managers speak to employees regularly, visibly and sincerely.

A manager communication toolkit is the set of talking points, examples and supporting materials prepared so that managers can pass a topic on to their teams and answer questions.

Onboarding communication is the whole flow of welcoming, informing and connecting a new hire, from offer acceptance to the first 90 days.

Shift handover communication is how the outgoing team passes on the current status, open tasks and changes that need attention to the team taking over.

Special-day communication is the practice of marking calendar moments — holidays, celebrations, awareness days, company anniversaries — in a planned, consistent way aligned with the employer brand.

The first 90 days is the critical period in which a new hire adapts and largely decides whether to stay: the main time frame of onboarding communication.

A town hall is a regular meeting where senior leadership meets all employees to share results, priorities and take questions openly.

Values communication takes company values off the poster and makes them visible in employees' daily decisions and behaviour.