We recently ran a webinar with our friends at Silicon Reef to explore the how we can supercharge the internal comms experience with design thinking and AI. We’ll be sharing the video shortly. We had great feedback and loads of interest so I thought it would be useful to summarise the key talking points in this blog.
In today’s fast-paced, digitally enabled workplace, internal communications (IC) have never been more critical— or more complex. The era of transactional, one-size-fits-all messages is over. Employees demand communications that are personalized, engaging, and impactful. Enter IC Design: a transformative approach combining the principles of design thinking with the power of AI tools such as Microsoft 365 Copilot to reimagine internal communications.
From transactional to transformational IC
Traditional ‘transactional’ IC often focuses on broadcasting organisational messages: generic updates, company news, or procedural announcements. While functional, this approach rarely inspires or connects. Transformational IC, on the other hand, places employees at the front and centre of the approach, fostering dialogue, enabling behaviour change, and measuring impact through outcomes rather than clicks and likes.
The shift to transformational IC is not just desirable—it’s essential. By embedding design thinking into IC, communicators can design solutions that are human-centred, empathy-driven, and iteratively refined. When paired with AI tools, these solutions can scale rapidly, delivering personalised, high-impact communications efficiently.
What Is IC Design?
IC Design is where human creativity meets AI efficiency. It leverages design thinking principles—collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving—alongside AI’s capabilities to amplify what humans do best.
Key benefits include:
- Amplified creativity: Use design thinking to brainstorm innovative communication strategies, while AI accelerates execution.
- Automated routine tasks: Free up time for strategic work by letting AI handle repetitive tasks like email drafting or data analysis.
- Data-driven insights: AI tools provide real-time analytics to refine your IC strategies.
- Personalisation at scale: Tailor messages to diverse employee groups without extra effort.
- Rapid prototyping: Test and iterate ideas faster using AI-driven prototypes.
- Enhanced collaboration: AI tools facilitate workshops, document outcomes, and contribute ideas.
In the webinar we worked through a practical example: revamping the intranet
Imagine you’re tasked with refreshing your company’s intranet—a common but often daunting IC challenge. Using IC Design, here’s how the process could unfold:
- Understand the current EX: Use employee survey data (e.g., from Viva Glint) to identify pain points and “moments that matter.”
- Empathise: Build personas or pen-portraits to enable the user to be at the heart of the design
- Ideate and prototype: Draft strawman solutions using Copilot’s generative tools.
- Test and refine: Gather feedback on prototypes, analyse insights with AI, and iterate designs accordingly.
- Launch and measure: Generate a personalised communications plan with Copilot and track engagement metrics post-launch.
This innovative approach to IC ensures the intranet meets employee needs, supports organisational goals, and evolves with user feedback.
The Role of AI
AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot are game changers for IC professionals. Acting as your “extra pair of hands,” Copilot integrates seamlessly into familiar platforms, helping you:
- Analyse large datasets (e.g., summarizing thousands of survey responses in seconds)
- Build compelling business cases for leadership
- Generate tailored communication strategies and content
- Facilitate collaborative brainstorming sessions
By reducing the time spent on administrative tasks, AI enables IC teams to focus on work that truly matters—creating connections, driving engagement, and supporting organisational change.
The future of IC is here
The combination of design thinking and AI has the potential to revolutionise internal communications. By adopting IC Design, communicators can move beyond the transactional to deliver transformational, employee-centred communications that align with organisational goals and empower people.
Call for contributors
If you’re a practitioner already using design thinking and AI to transform your approach to internal communications, we’d love to hear from you! Your insights, experiences, and stories could be featured in the book. Let’s inspire others with real-world examples of how IC Design is making a difference.
Interested in contributing? Reach out to me at emma@peoplelab.co.uk or connect with me on LinkedIn to share your story.
What’s Next?
Stay tuned for more insights or join one of our hands-on workshops in Q1 2025 to learn how to apply IC Design principles to your challenges. If you want to find our more get in touch. Together, let’s supercharge internal communications for the modern workplace.
