internal-comms

name	internal-comms
description	Draft high-clarity internal communication for announcements, incident updates, org changes, all-hands notes, policy rollouts, and leadership messages. Use when users request internal copy for teams or company-wide audiences. Trigger phrases include "internal announcement", "team update", "all-hands", "incident update", "staff update", "org change", and "leadership message".

Internal Comms

Write clear, accountable internal messages that are easy to act on.

Scope

• In scope: internal announcements, incident/status updates, recaps, policy changes, organization changes.
• Out of scope: external PR statements, legal counsel, or investor communications unless explicitly requested.

Message Types

Type	Audience	Tone	Length
General announcement	All company	Neutral/positive	150–300 words
Incident update	Affected teams	Factual, calm	100–200 words
Org change	Affected teams	Empathetic, clear	200–400 words
All-hands recap	All company	Energetic, inclusive	300–500 words
Team newsletter	Team	Casual, conversational	400–700 words
Policy change	All company	Direct, professional	200–400 words

Decision Rules

• If urgency is high: lead with status, impact, and next update time.
• If change is sensitive: lead with empathy, then specifics.
• If action is required: include explicit owner, deadline, and channel.
• If uncertainty exists: state what is known, unknown, and when next update arrives.

Announcement Template

Subject: [Clear, specific subject line — no clickbait]

Hi team,

[Opening: context or hook — 1–2 sentences. Why are you writing this now?]

[Body: the key information — what changed, what it means, when it takes effect]

[Impact: what this means for the reader specifically]

[Action items if any:
- By [date]: [what someone needs to do]
]

[Closing: where to ask questions / who to contact]

[Name / Team]

Incident Communication Template

Use during and after service incidents or operational issues.

Initial Notification

**[INCIDENT] [Brief description]**

We're currently investigating an issue affecting [what/who].

**Status**: Investigating
**Impact**: [What users/systems are affected and how]
**Started**: [Time and timezone]

We'll post updates every [15/30/60] minutes.

— [Team Name]

Policy Or Process Change Template

Subject: [Policy/Process] update effective [Date]

Hi team,

We're updating [policy/process] effective [date].

**What's changing**
- [change 1]
- [change 2]

**Why now**
[1-2 lines of rationale]

**What you need to do**
- By [date]: [action]

Questions: [channel or owner]

Resolution Update

**[RESOLVED] [Brief description]**

The issue affecting [what] has been resolved.

**Root cause**: [Plain language explanation]
**Duration**: [Start time] – [End time] ([X] hours)
**Impact**: [Who/what was affected]
**Fix**: [What we did to resolve it]
**Next steps**: [Post-mortem scheduled for X / monitoring for recurrence]

We apologize for the disruption. Full post-mortem will follow by [date].

— [Team Name]

Org Change Communication

When announcing reorgs, role changes, or leadership changes:

1. Lead with the person/people, not the structure
2. Explain the reasoning — people need "why"
3. Be concrete about what changes and what stays the same
4. Give a timeline — when is this effective?
5. Invite questions — name a specific way to reach out

Subject: Update on our team structure

Hi [Team],

I want to share an update about how [Team/Org] is organized.

Effective [Date], [Name] will be [new role/responsibility]. [1–2 sentences on why this change makes sense — business context, strategic focus, etc.]

**What this means:**
- [Specific change 1]
- [Specific change 2]

**What isn't changing:**
- [Thing 1]

[Name]'s focus will be on [priorities]. [Any reporting changes if relevant.]

Please reach out to me directly with any questions.

[Signature]

All-Hands / Town Hall Recap

**[Company/Team] All-Hands — [Month Year] Recap**

Thanks to everyone who joined [live/async]. Here's what we covered:

**Highlights**
- [Key announcement 1]
- [Key announcement 2]
- [Metric or milestone worth celebrating]

**What's coming**
- [Upcoming initiative or milestone]
- [Q[N] focus area]

**Q&A themes**
The most common questions were around [topic]. [Answer or pointer to more info.]

**Recording & slides**: [Link]
**Questions?** Drop them in [channel].

Tone Guide

Situation	Tone
Celebration / milestone	Warm, energetic, genuine
Bad news (layoffs, incident)	Direct, empathetic, no spin
Policy/process change	Clear, respectful, factual
Routine update	Efficient, friendly

Always avoid:

• jargon-heavy corp-speak
• vague reassurances without facts
• passive accountability language ("mistakes were made")

Output Contract

Include in every draft:

• clear subject line
• audience-appropriate body
• explicit timeline and ownership
• call to action (or explicit no-action-needed)
• escalation/contact channel

Examples

examples/general-announcement.md — product launch announcement examples/incident-resolved.md — service incident resolution notice examples/org-change.md — team restructure message

Validation Checklist

Before delivering internal comms output:

• Subject line is clear and specific (no clickbait).
• Audience is identified and tone matches the message type table.
• Timeline is explicit: effective date, deadline, next update time.
• Owner is named for any required action item.
• Escalation / contact channel is provided.
• No jargon-heavy corp-speak or passive accountability language.
• Incident messages include: status, impact, started time, next update cadence.
• Org change messages lead with the person, include "what's changing" and "what isn't".

Failure Modes

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Readers don't know what to do	Missing action items or owner	Add explicit "By [date]: [action]" bullet with named owner
Incident message causes panic	Vague impact statement	Quantify impact: "X% of users in Region Y cannot access Feature Z"
Org change message feels cold	Led with structure, not people	Rewrite: open with the person's name and what they bring to the new role
Policy change ignored	No deadline or consequence stated	Add "Effective [date]" and what the expectation is after that date
Message is too long	No length discipline applied	Trim to the word count range in the message type table; move detail to a linked doc

Anti-Patterns

• Vague reassurances without facts: "Everything is fine and we're working on it" without status/impact data erodes trust. State what you know and when the next update arrives.
• Passive accountability: "Mistakes were made" or "it was discovered that" — always attribute clearly or use active voice.
• Corp-speak: Phrases like "leverage our synergies" or "circle back on this" reduce clarity. Write plainly.
• Burying the action item: Required actions must appear visually distinct (bullet list) near the top or in a clearly labeled section — never hidden in paragraph prose.
• No next-steps for unresolved situations: If the situation is ongoing, always close with a next update time and contact channel.

Examples

Good incident opener: "We're currently investigating an issue affecting checkout for customers in the EU. Approximately 15% of orders are failing. Started: 14:32 UTC. Next update: 15:00 UTC." Bad incident opener: "Hi team, we are aware of some issues and are looking into it." Good org change opener: "I want to share that Maria Chen will be leading our Platform team starting June 1st." Bad org change opener: "Effective June 1st, structural reporting changes will be implemented."