Hey there, I'm Devin!
Most of the time you can catch me deep in the world of internal comms at Workshop (yes, the Happy Mondays folks!), and while I love AI, there are just some comms questions that need a human who really gets it… that’s me!
How’s it going, Devin?
My company is growing really fast, which is exciting — but I’m worried internal comms is going to get overwhelmed with requests, and we don’t have a formal process. What would you suggest we do first to get prepared for this kind of growth?
You know, I’m kind of in the same boat! When I started at Workshop, we had about 65 employees and less than a year later, we’ve nearly doubled. The comms strategy I built at 65 people still works, but there’s definitely room to evolve, because more people = more communication.
Plus, I’m a big believer that not all comms has to come from the comms team. That said, it does mean emails, Slack, and Teams messages are going out way more often than they were a year ago. So my top priority is making sure employees aren’t overwhelmed by the amount of comms they’re getting and that what they do receive is actually relevant to them.
One of the first things I’d put in place is a shared comms calendar. At Workshop, this helps me see what’s scheduled to go out, who it’s coming from, and when. It also lets us set a few blackout days where no non-critical comms should go out from anyone, which has been really helpful as we’ve grown.
I’d also recommend setting up a lightweight comms “task force.” This doesn’t need to be a big production — just a quick, recurring check-in with a few key partners across teams to understand what they’re planning to communicate. It helps comms stay out of a silo and makes it easier to coordinate messages before things start piling up. I do this weekly with our CEO, Cheif of Staff, CMO, and Head of Sales!
Lastly, you’ll want some kind of intake process to help you scale. That might be a simple form or a shared inbox, but the important part is context. Your job isn’t just to push messages out because someone asked, it’s to help shape how and when information gets shared. Internal comms shouldn’t be a megaphone; it should help set the pace, tone, and overall experience of communication as the company grows.
