Showerthought: Is internal comms really about keeping people informed, or keeping them quiet?

Had a chat with a buddy who works in HR at a different company last Friday. He said most internal comms is just leadership telling you what they want you to hear, not what you need to know. That hit me because my CEO just sent out a happy email about our Q3 numbers, but I know we laid off 12 people in accounting the week before. Are we helping employees or just polishing the boss's image? Has anyone else felt this divide between the message sent and the reality on the ground?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanf666d ago

My sister works in a factory that makes car parts, and their internal comms is completely different. They post the bad news first - production slowdowns, supply chain problems, everything. Their reasoning is that if people find out bad news from the rumor mill first, they stop trusting everything else. The boss there says it's easier to tell people they might lose their job next month than to explain why you lied to them for three months. Maybe the real question is whether leadership is willing to trade short term comfort for long term trust.

rivera.jake6d ago

Damn, that actually changed my mind. Honesty beats comfort every time.