How To Create Your Internal Communications Calendar [+ Template]

Simon Rutter breaks down his tried-and-tested approach to building an effective internal comms calendar, with a free template to boot.

Creating your internal communications calendar can seem a daunting task. There are many business inputs you need to consider, and you have to balance the desire to be strategic and proactive with the pragmatic reality of needing to be flexible and reactive at times. 

In this blog, I’ve highlighted five key sources of information you should take into account when building your calendar. And that’s not all – I’ve also included a handy template at the end so you can get started today. 

Even though we are well into 2024, it’s never too late to create your calendar.

1. Business strategy and planning cycle

The purpose of internal communications is to ensure employees understand your business strategy and their personal role in delivering it. Therefore, your first port of call should be to speak to your strategy and/or business planning department to look at what is on their cycle. You should pay particular attention to: 

• Key strategy updates – for example, Annual and Quarterly Results announcements
• New product or solution launches – so that your employees find out from you first 
• Geographical expansion – new offices, or entering new markets 

This department should also be able to advise you on the schedule of senior leadership meetings – Board, Executive Committee, etc – so you can prepare to update employees after these events. This also enables you to get on the front foot and propose topics for the agenda of these meetings that may otherwise be overlooked (for example, your internal communications strategy). Doing so will give you senior-level buy-in and endorsement, which is critical to getting your plan executed. 

By engaging with your strategy and/or planning function early you will get a helicopter view of your organization, ensure key strategy-related moments are captured in your calendar, and position your internal comms team as a strategic business partner. Win-win-win.

2. Connect with your allies

Here, you need to be strengthening your relationships with those functions who are typically your closest allies and sources of demand. This means your colleagues in external communications/public affairs, HR, and marketing. They are going to give you vital information on the following: 

• External audience-facing events that are relevant to employees – for example, the launch of your new website, or Annual Report 
• HR-led initiatives that affect all employees – Values, Employee Experience (more information on how to get started on this), Wellbeing initiatives, etc 
• Marketing-driven programs and projects – rebranding, advertising campaigns, sponsorship 

The programs and projects these functions work on often impact large numbers of employees and may require employee advocacy. As such, they rely on effective, well-planned internal communications for the achievement of their objectives, and are therefore usually the departments who request the services of internal comms teams the most. 

So, when creating your calendar, you must be in lockstep with these functions. But be careful to balance their needs with those of other parts of your business, who may have equally important strategic communication requirements, yet could need more help with articulating the volume and type of support they need (for example, finance).

3. Change/transformation programs and projects 

Ongoing change and transformation are normal for organizations. However, the failure rates in this space are still astronomical, and one of the biggest reasons is communication (or lack thereof). Very often, this is not the fault of the internal communications team, but it can be avoided by connecting with those who are driving change projects in your business. 
Sometimes this is a centralized function (e.g. a Programme Office) or they can be run by individual departments, or even cross-cutting squads. 

Regardless of where they sit, it’s vital you understand:

• Key project milestones – what’s due to happen, when, and who does it impact?
• Scale of the changes – how many projects are running at any one time?
• Technology changes – what is planned, and when? 

Technology changes are called out specifically as they are a huge proportion of organizational projects in today’s world, and often impact all employees to some degree or other. Information technology is also where many employee experience budgets sit, so it’s critical you understand what the function has on its roadmap. 

Mapping change projects onto your calendar enables you to spot potential timing clashes, avoid employee information overload, and help your people connect the dots with a clear overarching narrative for why the changes are happening, how they all fit together, and what it means for them.

4. Relevant external events 

There are plenty of days throughout the year that enable you to push strategic messaging, show solidarity, and encourage employee participation or activism. For example, International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 is a great day to highlight what your company is doing to advance a more inclusive world for women (for more information check out this blog). 

With so much information out there, it’s hard to know where to start. You could begin by focusing on:  

• International Awareness Days – be sure to pick subjects in which your business has a strategic purpose to be involved with, and a demonstrable track record of delivery against.
• Any communication around such days must be authentic and meaningful. 
• Public affairs events relevant to your business – for example, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos which attracts enormous global press coverage.  
• Speeches being made by your senior leaders – where is your CEO speaking at, when, and on what topics?

While these events are external, they impact employee communications because they highlight prominent issues and debates that are relevant to your business, your people may be reading about them and expecting you to respond, and they are opportunities to reinforce your purpose and strategy. Get them in your calendar – now!

5. Your own drumbeat 

Last but by no means least, include your key ‘owned’ channels in your calendar. These are communication channels you control, and can set the frequency and agenda for. I’m talking about:

• All Hands/Company Town Halls – moments where you are bringing the whole company together for updates on key strategic topics 
• Internal-only events – for example annual kick-offs, leadership conferences, employee awards
• Leadership/line manager calls – important to know so you can feed topics into them, follow up with managers (a crucial channel of communication in any organization), and share outcomes (where appropriate). 

When setting the frequency of these events, it’s good practice to look at any feedback you’ve had from employees and leaders – is there too much, too little? Also, review attendance numbers as you may be able to spot patterns that reveal what drives people to come or not – it could be the topics, dates, times, anything. And if you’re considering making any changes to format, it’s always a good idea to ask your employees (they’re your target audience, after all) for suggestions first (Why employee listening is important). 

Having regular set pieces in your calendar creates a drumbeat that enables you to feel in control, manage the flow of communications, and creates higher levels of engagement through visibility and predictability. 

Final tip – agree the dates with key speakers, get them locked in their diaries, and issue the invites ASAP. The more notice people have, the more likely they are to attend. 

Your internal comms calendar template

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but if you consider these five sources of input, you will have the majority of content you need to create your internal communications calendar. And as promised, here’s your downloadable template to help you get cracking.

Happy creating!