18 Internal Written Communication

Dr. Mani Shreshtha

1.      Module 18: Internal Written Communication

2.      Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, students will be able to

• familiarise themselves with various kinds of internal communication
• communicate effectively within the organization through written communication

3.      Introduction:

When an employee interacts with another employee in the organization, it becomes a part of internal communication. An effective internal communication is as important as an external communication. It is required for the smooth functioning of an organization. During an internal communication employees exchange their thought, ideas, views etc with other employees of the organization. Internal communication happens irrespective of level of the hierarchy in the organization. It includes all the communication among employees at inter and intra departmental level. Internal communication is used to serve different purposes such as giving instructions and orders, offering suggestions, filing complaints, sharing information, and handling situations. A poor internal communication is having a direct impact on the organization’s external communication. There exist a wide range of options before employees for communicating internally. While communicating internally, employees use both oral and written communication methods. When compared, written methods of communication are more preferred over oral communication methods on the grounds of record keeping, legality, standardization, and specificity. Main written communication options used within an organization include memorandum, office orders, notice, circular, newsletters, minutes of meeting, and reports. Each option is having a specific purpose to serve. Depending upon their suitability to situation, a particular option is exercised over the other. Every employee is expected to get familiar with all the options to make their best use for the smooth communication flow in the organization.

4.      Memorandum:

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary a memorandum is:

   A brief written message or report from one person or department in a company or organization to another. 

   A memorandum is used for internal communication. A memorandum is also referred as ‘Memo’. Literally the purpose of a memo is to inform or to reveal. A memo is generally used to provide information to other employees of an organization about a specific issue. It is a written statement, a sender specifically prepares for receivers to appraise or inform them about a particular matter or specific issue. These receivers also belong to the same organization as of the sender’s. The shape of memo can be of a short note. A note that is crisp in terms of its information content. A memo can be meant for a single person or a group or a committee. When colleagues have to communicate within the organization, they can use telephone as mode of communication. But during a professional communication, a situation sometimes demands to keep a record of communication. In that case, memo can be used to communicate for purposes such as requests, instructions, action taken, and suggestion etc. A memo is not used for lengthy communication.

4.1. Format for a Memo: Although a memo serves the purpose similar to a letter but its format is different. Generally companies go for a pre- decided format including all the components of a memo that are fixed or standardised. A memo format consists of following components:

4.1.1. Letter Head: A memo is written on a letter head. A letter head signifies the address of the office of the sender. As the sender and receiver of the memo are from same organization, it indicates the internal communication. In case, a company is having different business units, the letter head conveys inter unit communication.

4.1.2. Memorandum mentioned: Under the letter head, the word ‘Memo’ or ‘Memorandum’ is specifically mentioned to convey the type of internal communication.

4.1.3. Memo number: A memo number is the identity of a memorandum. It differentiates it from other memo and similar kind of communication. This number is also mentioned while referring to a specific communication.

4.1.4. To: It indicates the information about the receivers of the memo. First and last name of a receiver can be mentioned here. If information is meant for the all the members of a department then name of the department can be mentioned. In case, information is for everyone in the organization, a phrase ‘for everyone’ or ‘all the employees’ can be stated.

4.1.5. From: This part of the memo declares the sender of the information. Just like ‘To:’ in ‘From:’ column name of a person, a committee, or a department can be mentioned.

4.1.6. Date: It indicates the date, month, and year of the writing of a memo. A proper date format should be used and usage of abbreviations should be avoided.

4.1.7. Subject: A subject line indicates the specific purpose of writing a memo. Just like a subject line of a letter or an email, it provides a hint about the main content of a memo to the receiver. On the basis of subject line, a receiver generally decides about the relevance of the information.

4.1.8. Main content: It is the main body of a memo that conveys the complete message. All the principles of effective writing can be applied while writing the message. It includes reference to the issue, factual information related to issue, action to be taken or suggestions given related to the issue.

4.1.9. Cc: It tells about all those receivers who must receive the same information. Generally, the name of persons indirectly concerned with the issue is mentioned here.

4.1.10. Signature: Signature followed by name of the sender (in parentheses) is mentioned here. This name sometimes represents a group, committee, unit, or department.

Blank format of a Memo

4.2. Tips for creating a memo: For writing an effective memo, you require fundamental knowledge about principles of effective writing. Apart from that few points must be remembered at the time of drafting a memo. These points are as follows:

· Avoid using salutation. Unlike letter, a memo does not carry a salutation. So do not use dear or respected…

· Avoid using complementary closing. A memo does not include a complementary closure, so avoid phrases like yours sincerely, yours faithfully, sincere regards etc.

·   Always keep your subject line simple and specific. It increases the effectiveness of a memo.

·   Organise the matter for main content of the memo on the basis of priority of information.

·   Make sure that the word ‘Memo’ is clearly visible on the format.

·   Try to draft the memo using second person. Instead of saying everyone is expected, say you are expected.

·    Used headings and subheads wherever required to present the information.

·    Always put less important information at the end of a memo.

Example of a Memo

5. Office Orders:

In many instances, an authority has to give certain directions or instructions to their subordinates. For such kind of downward communication, an officer order is passed. Generally, an office order carries certain actions to be performed by its receivers. Non-compliance of an office order may attract a disciplinary action against the receiver of the order. Such orders can be issued in a memo format. As memos can be used for communicating in any direction but office orders are strictly used for downward communication. Some of the reasons for issuing an office order are promotion, increment, demotion, transfer, changes in office timings, shifting of a place, termination etc. Following are the few tips that can be used while drafting an office order:

• An office order should be crisp and short.
• Properly mention name and designation of the person or persons for whom the order meant.
• It should be properly signed by the issuing authority.
• The purpose of the order must be clearly stated.
• Impact of non-compliance of order should also be mentioned.

Example of an Office Order

6. Circulars:

     An office circular or a circular is related to wide circulation of information. It is used to provide information to all or larger number of employees of an organization. The information can be related to opening up of a new facility, inviting suggestions, seeking interest, visit of a specialist, a party, rules and regulations etc. The basic purpose of a circular is to make the receiver aware about a stated issue. A circular is also treated as an advertisement meant for wider distribution. It is like information for each and every one. Following are the few tips that can be used while drafting a circular:

• As a circular is meant for larger audience, a simple and jargon free language should be preferred.
• It should be short and to the point.
• It should be properly signed by an authority.
• It must bear a unique number indicating specific communication.

Example of a Circular

7.      Notice, Agenda, Minutes of Meetings:

Notice, Agenda, and Minutes of Meetings are the three components related to organizing and conducting a successful meeting. All the three components are the part of intra organization communication.

In general, the purpose of a notice is to pass on specific information meant for specific receivers. A notice is always issued by an authorized person. A notice needs to be drafted in a summarized way so that the receiver could understand the information by just having a glance. Notices can also be pinned on the notice board to convey the information to the intended receivers. A notice is also having a legal relevance. For example, in case of ending a contract of employment, a notice is issued. Another more popular purpose of drafting a notice is to notify about a meeting. Before calling a meeting, it is essential to notify all the members about it. This information must be sent to all the members who have a right to attend the meeting. The proper circulation of the information has to be ensured by the secretary in consultation with the Chairperson of the meeting. Such a notice must mention information about the day, date, time, and venue of the meeting. If decided, agenda items may be mentioned in the notice or attached separately. It has to be ensured that notice reaches all the members within reasonable time before the meeting.

Minutes of the meeting are the official record of discussions and decisions at the meeting. The minutes of the meeting are generally written by the secretary in consultation with the Chairperson. It is always good for a company to company keep a record of minutes of meeting. In certain cases, it is mandatory under the law to maintain minutes of meeting. The minutes mention the main points of discussion and decision taken thereof. The person drafting minutes of meeting should doubly check the facts and decisions before making it public. It is advisable to circulate a pre final draft of the minutes among the concerned members for their observations. Minutes become effective only when they have been read at the next meeting.

Agenda of a meeting states the activities that will take place during the meeting. An agenda provides a guideline for the members to think and prepare about issues to be discussed. It steers the meeting towards completion. An agenda also ensures that no issue is left unattended during the meeting. Generally, similar format for writing agenda is adopted by organizations. For example, first agenda item for most of the meetings is ‘confirmation of minutes of the previous meeting’. Similarly, the last agenda item is ‘any other matter with the permission of the Chairperson’. Rest of the agenda items are put on the basis of their priority. A little modification can be made in the standard format as per the requirement.

In order to have detailed information about notice, minutes, and agenda, the module on Meetings can be referred.

8. Suggestions and Complaints:

In the normal course of an organization, every staff member at one point or the other has to give suggestion or file a complaint for a grievance. Both suggestions and complaints help the organization in its smooth functioning. Many companies even encourage such kind of activities to identify the flaws in their system. Broadly, suggestions are invited from staff members for solving a problem and grievances are encouraged to improve the employee-employer relationship. As such there is no standard format for writing a suggestion or a complaint. Still the writer must keep in mind the basics of letter writing. Although less formal in nature, suggestions and complaints should be written with utmost care. The words should be carefully selected and the matter should be conveyed in the fewest possible words. Also, an employee should keep in mind the formality of employee-employer relationship while suggesting or complaining.

Example of a Suggestion letter

9. Newsletters:

Another important intra-organizational communication tool is an employee newsletter. A news letter is just like a news paper but for the employees only. All the news mentioned in the newsletter has a direct relevance for the employees. Employee newsletters are used to provide specific information for different purposes such as guiding, educating, increasing morale, establishing a sense of belongingness, and updating the workforce. An employee newsletter provides news from all sections of the organization irrespective of department, designation, or unit. While creating a newsletter, it is important to ensure that the information included in the letter is worthy and of interests of the readers. For drafting a newsletter following points need to be kept in mind:

• Develop all the matter of the newsletter by keeping employees in mind.
• A newsletter should not be too long. A tabloid with four pages is generally sufficient for a fortnightly newsletter.
• Keep the language as simple as possible. Matter should be informative not directive.
• Design the newsletter on the basis of certain themes.
• Decide the regular sections to be included.
• Fix the place of each section and maintain consistency for all editions.
• The sections can mention about safety and human resource, corporate social responsibility, career advancement, retirements, company policies, relevant world news etc.

Sample of a Newsletter in practice

10. Reports:

    As a part of intra-organizational communication tool, a report is generally prepared by middle management employees to appraise the senior management about the state of affairs. The purpose of such kinds of reports is to provide the information supported by facts and figures to the senior management, so that a timely strategy can be formulated. Major purpose of creating internal reports is to support decision making. A report can be a letter writing report or a schematic report. The difference is of way of presenting information. Following steps can be followed to compile information in the form of a report:

• Collection phase: Collect the relevant information. It includes news items, surveys, pictures, figures, documents etc.
• Planning phase: Keeping in mind the purpose of the report, importance of the collected material is decided. A logical sequence of presenting the information is also decided. All the information is arranged on the basis of relevance and importance. Planning is also done regarding which pictures or illustrations to use.
• Drafting phase: It is the report writing phase. All the planned sections are written and main body of the report is created. A conclusion is also presented at the end.
• Editing phase: In this phase the prepared draft is examined on the grounds of grammar, sentence structuring, style etc. It is also checked that whether the report is serving its purpose or not. If allowed, always let someone qualified to go through the report and suggest. Finally, incorporate any changes if required.

Reports can be of various types like financial report, marketing report, sales report, internal quality assessment report, market survey report etc. Depending upon the purpose a report can be written. For detailed information about report writing, a module on report writing can be referred.

11. Summary:

An internal communication is required for the smooth functioning of an organization. During an internal communication employees exchange their thought, ideas, views etc with other employees of the organization. Internal communication happens irrespective of level of the hierarchy in the organization. It includes all the communication among employees at inter and intra departmental level. Internal communication is used to serve different purposes such as giving instructions and orders, offering suggestions, filing complaints, sharing information, and handling situations. There exist a wide range of options before employees for communicating internally. Main written communication options used within an organization include memorandum, office orders, notice, circular, newsletters, agenda, minutes of meeting, and reports. Each option is having a specific purpose to serve. Depending upon their suitability to situation, a particular option is exercised over the other. Every employee is expected to get familiar with all the options to make their best use for the smooth communication flow in the organization.

Few important links to learn more about Internal Written Communication:

• http://tippie.uiowa.edu/bizcomm/how%20to%20write%20a%20memo.pdf
• http://www.yourletters.net/circular-letters/how-to-write-office-orders-and-circular-letter-with-4-samples/593
• http://www.pinecrestmcf.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SampleNewsletter.pdf
• http://www.zsme.tarnow.pl/jezykiobce/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/writing-letters1.pdf
• http http://www2.icpak.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Internal-Audit-_-Report-Writing.pdf.pdf

Did you know?

• 10 common communication mistakes:

1. Not Editing Your Work
2. Delivering Bad News by Email
3. Avoiding Difficult Conversations
4. Not Being Assertive
5. Reacting, Not Responding
6. Not Preparing Thoroughly
7. Using a “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach to Communication
8. Not Keeping an Open Mind When Meeting New People
9. Assuming That Your Message has Been Understood
10. Accidentally Violating Others’ Privacy

For details access the source.

Source: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/common-communication-mistakes.htm

Points to Ponder:

• An internal communication is required for the smooth functioning of an organization.
• Internal communication happens irrespective of level of the hierarchy in the organization.
• It includes all the communication among employees at inter and intra departmental level.
• Internal communication is used to serve different purposes such as giving instructions and orders, offering suggestions, filing complaints, sharing information, and handling situations.
• Main written communication options used within an organization include memorandum, office orders, notice, circular, newsletters, agenda, minutes of meeting, and reports.
• Each option is having a specific purpose to serve.
• Every employee is expected to get familiar with all the options.