Developing a Career in Internal Communications
I recently caught up with Sophie Moore, an internal communications professional, to discuss her experiences at SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins and her first encounter with a merger and acquisition environment. It’s refreshing to hear from someone who has chosen internal communications (IC) as a profession rather than falling into it by chance.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities
My day-to-day role involves a wide variety of tasks: writing articles, engaging stakeholders, discussing campaign briefs, maintaining our intranet, creating content for our internal social media, analyzing readership stats, advising on webinars, creating agendas for our IC community meetings, and writing even more content!
Lessons Learned
I’ve learned that you have to be in it to win it! To engage employees effectively, you must be passionate about IC. Although the subject matter can sometimes be challenging, if you’re passionate about engagement, you can always think of creative ways to communicate with your audience. This can be through your writing, your choice of channel, and tailoring it perfectly to your audience.
Challenges in Internal Communications
Experiencing a merger and acquisition is challenging due to the uncertainty it creates among employees, ranging from mild concern to anger and frustration. There will inevitably be a lot of change, whether it’s your financial year changing, general day-to-day processes, or restructuring within the company.
From an IC perspective, the main challenges include dealing with demanding employees who want answers you’re unable to provide and coordinating rebrands as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Advice for Aspiring Internal Communications Professionals
To be successful in an IC role, you need strong writing, stakeholder management, and organizational skills. My advice is to work on these until you feel confident in applying them within your role and progressing.
If you’re not currently in a communications role but wish to be, get involved in as many IC activities as you can within your current company. In a small business without an IC team, you could volunteer to create a monthly newsletter. In a larger company, ask the IC team to show you what they do. Showing proactive interest is a great start to get on the right path!
Keeping up to date with the online IC world is also beneficial. There are several good blogs, such as Rachel Miller’s ‘All Things IC,’ which offers plenty of content, including FAQs, interviews with IC professionals, and even an IC job board.
Reflecting on Career Beginnings
Looking back, I would advise myself to become familiar with the channels used, their purposes, and the main audience you are engaging with as thoroughly as possible. I’d also suggest looking externally for new IC tools that may benefit you or your company.
Engaging with communicators both internally and externally is crucial. IC events are a great way to network and meet new people in the industry, keeping you motivated and inspired.
By Kristy Carmichael.
To find out more about how we can help you develop your career in internal communications, please contact Sara Tehrani for permanent opportunities or Matt Gibbs for interim opportunities. To find out about our internal communications practice, please click here.
