If you work in internal communications, you already know the most dangerous sentence in the corporate universe: “Can you send this out?” It arrives innocently enough – usually via Slack, sometimes accompanied by a cheerful emoji – but it carries the weight of a thousand unasked questions.
Because here’s the truth: Sending the message is the easy part. Making sure it actually lands? That’s where the magic (and mild panic) happens.
Two recent Ragan pieces – one by Marissa Luznar Doyle and another by Sean Devlin – offer a helpful reminder that employees aren’t just passive recipients of corporate updates. They’re humans with workloads, opinions, anxieties, and inboxes that resemble archaeological dig sites. So before you hit send, here are five questions every internal communicator should ask… with a little humor to keep you caffeinated.
What do employees need to know, feel, or do?
Organizations love telling employees things. Employees, however, love knowing only the things that actually matter to them. HR may want to announce a policy update. Employees want to know:
- Am I personally affected?
- When does this start?
- What do I need to do?
- And can someone please explain this in fewer than 17 paragraphs?
Before drafting, identify the real goal: Awareness, understanding, action, compliance, reassurance, or behavior change. If you don’t know which one you’re aiming for, your message will wander like a toddler in a department store.
Who exactly is impacted?
Employees are not one giant, monolithic blob. They’re groups with different needs, roles, and levels of caffeine dependency. Some need immediate action. Some need general awareness. Some don’t need the message at all (and will resent you for sending it). Map your audiences:
- Who’s directly versus indirectly affected?
- Who needs to know first?
- Who needs extra context?
- Who needs a totally different version?
If you treat everyone the same, your message will land about as well as a surprise fire drill.
What questions or resistance should we expect?
Employees read announcements through the lens of their own reality: workload, trust in leadership, past experiences, and whether they’ve had lunch yet. Every message carries implied questions:
- Why is this happening?
- Why now?
- Will this create more work?
- Is this another initiative that will vanish in two months?
- What aren’t they telling us?
Anticipating these questions isn’t pessimistic – it’s strategic. It’s also the difference between “Thanks for the update!” and “What fresh chaos is this?”
What do managers need to reinforce the message?
Employees trust their managers far more than senior leadership: 73% versus 50%, according to Devlin’s reporting. But managers are also strapped for time. Many spend less than 30 minutes a day communicating with their teams. So if you want your message to stick, managers need:
- Context before the announcement goes live
- Clear talking points
- FAQs
- Guidance on what not to speculate about
- A sense of what questions to escalate
Managers are your secret weapon—just don’t leave them unarmed.
What channels will reinforce the message?
The email is not the plan. It is merely the opening act. Employees absorb information through different channels depending on role, location, schedule, and personal preference. Some love email. Some live in Teams. Some only read things if they’re mentioned in a meeting. Some only notice updates if they’re printed on a poster near the coffee machine. Ask yourself:
- Where will employees actually see this?
- Which channels do they trust?
- Does this need a follow-up reminder?
- Should it be reinforced in a team meeting?
- Do we need an FAQ or intranet page?
If the message matters, it needs more than one touchpoint. Think of it like marketing but with fewer jingles.
Internal comms isn’t about sending messages. It’s about helping employees understand their world at work – especially when that world is changing fast. Asking these questions before hitting send isn’t just good practice; it’s how communicators build trust, clarity, and maybe even a little calm in the chaos. And if all else fails, remember: Everything feels more manageable after a snack.