How Internal Marketing Can Improve The Way Teams Work
Team leaders, HR directors and internal communications professionals looking to improve employee retention and build connected, high-performing teams.
What the conversation covers
In this episode of The Internal Marketing Podcast, host Kerry-Ann Stimpson sits down with Jimmy Burroughes to explore how internal communications directly shape team performance and workplace culture. Drawing on his background as a military officer in Basra and his subsequent transition into corporate executive roles, Jimmy recounts how relentless pressure and personal strain led to his own burnout in 2017. That pivotal experience prompted him to study why high performers collapse, ultimately inspiring his playbook on sustainable high performance.
Jimmy highlights the strong overlap between marketing principles and team leadership. He notes that whilst HR focuses on employee engagement and marketers focus on brand advocacy, both aim to build authentic human connection. Using marketing tactics internally allows organisations to communicate vision, celebrate internal successes and clearly outline the tangible value of working at the company. By treating staff with the same care as external customers, leaders can build genuine trust and long-term commitment.
The conversation turns to practical strategies for leaders wanting to evaluate and strengthen their culture. Beyond reviewing engagement surveys and retention figures, Jimmy recommends simple diagnostic exercises like the pizza test and regular check-ins. Rather than adopting an authoritarian approach, effective managers harness team expertise by showing vulnerability and inviting collective problem-solving. This cross-functional alignment breaks down silos, helping organizations improve employee retention and achieve consistent business results.
“Connect with the person, not the position. This stuff comes down to human to human.”
Key takeaways
- Distinguish between people and roles: cultivate genuine human connections rather than treating team members as job titles.
- Establish weekly 10 to 15 minute informal check-ins with each employee to build rapport and psychological safety.
- Conduct the pizza test: bring food to a communal space to observe whether staff connect naturally or scatter.
- Practice vulnerability loops by asking teams what you might have missed to encourage open input and ownership.
- Treat the job as a product by actively marketing internal benefits and career development paths to existing staff.
- Analyse granular employee data, such as absenteeism and one-to-one frequency, alongside high-level surveys to spot culture problems early.
- Foster enterprise thinking by collaborating cross-functionally with HR, comms and operational peers to drive retention.
Where this shows up in your business
The ideas in this conversation come from the Simplify to Amplify method. To see where friction is costing your team time, try the free Leadership Friction Finder, or browse all of Jimmy's guest appearances.
Summary written by JBL High Performance from the episode audio. The episode belongs to The Internal Marketing Podcast and Kerry-Ann Stimpson.