At a Crossroads? An Ethical Framework for Internal Communication

Dr Kevin Ruck head and shoulders pic. Kevin is wearing a pink shirt and suit jacket
Author: Kevin Ruck, Director
15th October 2025 2 min read

About the author

Kevin is one half of the husband and wife team behind PR Academy. Along with Ann Pilkington, he set up the business in 2007. After a career in BT that spanned customer service, community engagement and internal communication, he developed a special interest in internal comms and employee engagement. He saw the need for a qualification in this topic and initiated and developed both the internal comms certificate and diploma courses for the CIPR. Kevin leads our CIPR Internal Communication Diploma and certificate courses and is a regular speaker on internal communication and employee engagement. He is the editor and co-author of Exploring Internal Communication, published by Routledge and now in its 5th edition. He also sometimes likes to relate internal communication to Clash songs (having been into punk rock back in the day).

The beautiful library building at Lund University, Sweden where I shared my presentation on an ethical framework for internal communication
The beautiful library building at Lund University, Sweden where I shared my presentation on an ethical framework for internal communication

The world is said by some to be in a polycrisis state. This is when economic uncertainty, geopolitical pressures, wars, populism and last, but not least, technological disruptions such as AI collide.

I have managed, taught and researched internal communication for more than 25 years and there have been many pivotal moments in that time.

It feels like we are again at a crossroads. This time it is one that has so many concurrent challenges that it might prove to be the major transformation point in the evolution of internal communication.

In September I was in Lund in Sweden for the annual EUPRERA Congress.

Rita Men kindly asked me to be part of a University of Florida Internal Communication Research Hub (ICRH) panel presentation with Ana Tkalac Verčič , Hongmei Shen and Coni Judge, PhD .

The theme was “How environmental shifts influence long-standing internal communication issues”.

In my short presentation, I revealed for the first time real (anonymised) ethical issues that practitioners are reporting in their CIPR Qualifications Internal Communication Diploma assignment work.

Our guide to internal comms courses

Some of the accounts are shocking (such as CEOs lying to employees) and may reflect a leadership retrenchment into old school tactics in the face of seemingly overwhelming challenges.

So, how can internal comms managers respond to these challenges?

The answer is to think of internal comms as relationships, listening, human connection and engagement.

This is, of course, not new – but it is now more pressing than ever. The danger is that internal comms also retrenches into its “safe haven” of broadcast channel management only, which leads one way – to terminal decline.

I’ve shared my presentation slides below. Let me know what you think, drop a  comment on my LinkedIn post.

Discover more

Who's Listening? Reports
Guides & Research 10.05.23

Who’s Listening? Research

The ‘Who’s Listening?’ research explores how organisations listen to employees - essential reading for anyone wanting to improve listening inside their organisation.
Lady smiling in classroom.
COURSES

Internal Communication Diploma

A strategic internal communication course leading to a CIPR diploma.
COURSES

Internal Communication Certificate

Take this course and make your internal communication have impact.