Background
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) grew by nearly 50 percent over five years. As the organization expanded, its internal communication environment became increasingly complex, making it more difficult to maintain clarity, consistency, and alignment across teams.
Employees were buried in emails, information was spread across multiple Microsoft Teams channels, and critical resources such as policies, templates, and procedures were difficult to find. What had evolved over time no longer supported the needs of a growing organization.
FCM hired Vision2Voice to refine and strengthen its internal communications strategy, redesign its communications ecosystem, and establish a more sustainable operating model for the future.
The Problem
FCM faced three core challenges:
- too much noise, driven by excessive all-staff emails and overlapping channels
- poor information accessibility, making it difficult for employees to find the right resources
- limited ownership and governance, with no clear accountability for maintaining content across the organization
The result was frustration, duplication and reduced confidence in internal channels.
The solution
Vision2Voice helped FCM transition from a centralized, email-heavy communications approach to a decentralized internal communications model, supported by governance, capability building and a streamlined digital ecosystem.
At the centre of this transformation was a new intranet, AccessHub. This SharePoint-based intranet was built to provide FCM employees with a single source of truth for news, tools, and resources.
A key part of the shift was moving ownership of communication closer to the business. This helped to reduce the load on the communications team while recognizing that those closest to the work are best positioned to share timely, relevant, and meaningful information.
Instead of relying on one central team, each department was empowered to manage its own content through clearly defined roles:
- Content owners who are accountable for information accuracy
- Content creators who are responsible for drafting and updating content
- Content publishers who are responsible for publishing information on AccessHub
These responsibilities were embedded in work plans, creating real accountability and ensuring that communication became part of operational excellence rather than a side-of-desk activity.
To sustain the model, Vision2Voice also facilitated the Internal Communication Working Group— a cross-functional governance body of 25 employees representing teams across FCM.
A key differentiator was the inclusion of monthly micro-learning sessions within each working group meeting. This change-informed approach helped content contributors build their confidence and capabilities in writing, campaign planning, governance, and AI use.
Internal communications strategy
Aligned messaging and priorities to reduce noise and focus communications on what matters.
Channel and governance review
Streamlined channels and clarified rules to cut overlap and improve information flow.
Content model design
Created a single source of truth and efficient content workflows by moving ownership closer to the business.
Roles, responsibilities, and process design
Established clear accountability so content is accurate, up-to-date, and published reliably.
Capability-building and training program
Built staff skills to create better content and sustain the new model.
Measurement framework and dashboard design
Enabled tracking of impact and informed continuous improvements.
Content governance model and six-month audit process
Maintained quality and compliance through regular review and corrective action.
“We were extremely pleased with the service provided by Vision2Voice. Olya and the V2V team were consistently attentive to our needs and delivered thoughtful, high-quality advice and deliverables. Olya’s leadership in establishing and guiding the Internal Communication Working Group was invaluable and ensured the work remained focused and collaborative. The learning components embedded in the working group meetings were particularly strong and demonstrated a clear strategic lens, helping our team build capability while advancing our objectives. We found Vision2Voice to be a trusted and highly professional partner and I would recommend them without hesitation.”
The results
Strategic Impact
Decentralized Communications
FCM successfully transitioned to a decentralized internal communications model that is scalable, sustainable and aligned to the needs of a growing organization. Key outcomes:
- 70+ employees trained on content creation and content governance
- 120+ people leaders enabled on the fundamentals of effective communication
- Ongoing facilitation and capability-building for an Internal Communication Working Group of 25 employees
- Organization-wide adoption of AccessHub as the single source of truth
- reduced reliance on all-staff email
- stronger departmental ownership of communications
- improved access to trusted information
- clearer governance and accountability
Most importantly, the work shifted internal communications from a centralized function to a shared organizational capability embedded across the business.
