Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader. This week's question comes from an internal comms professional who asks a short but powerful question: "How can you maximise the impact of internal comms with a very lean team?" This question is powerful because it hits the reality of working in an internal comms role, or at least most roles. Many of you are operating as a team of one or a tiny team of two, some of you are experiencing cutbacks and layoffs and...
12 days ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader. This week's question came from a client of mine who's been wrestling with a dilemma lately. She asked me this question: "I've been in my current role for 2 years and I'm ready for something new, but I'm worried about looking like a job hopper. Will moving companies so soon damage my career prospects?" This is a great topic to talk about because the myth of the ‘job hopper’ is so pervasive and it stops people leaving...
19 days ago • 7 min read
Hey Reader, Before we dive into this week's newsletter, I have an invitation for you. Join me for a free live event on 12th November in partnership with Blink, who are going to put me in the hot seat and ask me tricky, meaty questions about internal comms. There will be hot takes and spicy questions and probably some self-deprecating humour along the way too. Come join me, I'll help you get unstuck on your challenges and give you practical, actionable advice to help you with your job. Did I...
26 days ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I tackle a question from a reader. This week’s question comes from a Senior Internal Communications Manager in a tech company who says: Hi Joanna, Thank you so much for your newsletters - everyone in our team reads them avidly and the phrase ‘as Joanna said...’ often passes between us! One thing that I’m curious about how to handle effective internal communication in an environment of constant change. So, you align your comms strategy to the business...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader. This week's question comes from a Head of Internal Comms in Scotland, who asks: I'm in the market for a new intranet or digital platform but there are so many choices on the market I don't know where to start. It's a bit overwhelming. How do you pick one (the right one)? Where do I begin? Great question, I've been exactly where you are and I made TONS of mistakes and wasted a lot of time. So in today’s newsletter let...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader. This week's question comes from an internal communications manager in the UK who asks: I've dabbled with a few AI tools but I'm not seeing huge time savings. How are other comms professionals actually using AI to make their jobs easier? If you’re asking the same thing, you’re not alone. I hear from lots of internal comms professionals who have tried ChatGPT or Copilot a few times, maybe got some mediocre results, and...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader. Today's question comes all the way from Italy, who says: I work in the HR function. Recently during a career conversation I've been asked to be a more strategic internal communication professional. I've seen your video on where the Internal Comm should sit and I've understood that it would be much better if I would sit in the Communication department. But if this change does not happen - as you can imagine it can't...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Hey Reader, Last week I welcomed a new cohort of students to my Strategic Internal Communication course with the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. We spent our first session defining what internal communication is and how it differs from employee engagement. And I noticed something curious during our discussion: there seemed to be a lot of confusion around the word "engagement". When we talked about engagement in the class, I observed two different definitions at play: Some students...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Each week in this newsletter I tackle a question from a reader. This week’s question comes from an internal communications manager in London who says: “I really enjoy your content and posts on LinkedIn. So glad I finally discovered your newsletter! One of the challenges I'm facing right now is a noticeable drop in engagement - fewer attendees at our town halls and lower interaction on Slack posts. With budget cuts, organisational changes and general uncertainty, I’m finding it...
2 months ago • 6 min read