I’ve talked about several things that public relations practitioners can do to maintain proper and successful internal communications within a company. Adrian Maguire discusses Do’s and Don’ts of internal communications in his blog, “Don’t PR Spin Your Workforce.” While he does focus on some positive aspects PR can bring to internal communications within this blog with examples such as using relevant channels and engaging and involving the employees, he also discusses some negative Don’ts that can occur when public relations professionals make mistakes within employee/internal communications.

One of the first Don’ts he gives is “”Don’t Keep People in the Dark.” It’s very difficult for employees to be successful within the company if they aren’t kept well-informed of the goings-on inside as well as outside. If information is not distributed within the company properly, employees are given the opportunities to create their own opinions and beliefs of what’s going on in the organization. If you are distributing information among your employees, you need to make sure it is the complete truth. Don’t spin information given to your employees because that doesn’t illustrate a feeing of trust within the company. If you trust your employees enough to allow them to represent the company, you should trust them enough to give them the honest truth about situations and issues that can affect them and the company.

Another important Don’t that he discusses is “Don’t forget feedback.” It’s sometimes easier for an employee who is not directly involved in the situation to see things from a different perspective and provide valuable insight that can be beneficial for the company. It also builds morale among the employees because they feel that they are contributing to the company and that their ideas are appreciated and taken seriously.