A few years back, I launched a wiki which, I hoped, would attract internal communications professionals who would collaborate to create the ultimate resource for entry-level employee communicators. There are plenty of courses and books to help a new PR staffer hit the ground running, but woefully few places a new internal communicator can go to get a handle on the fundamentals.

There was an initial flurry of contributions. Since then, the wiki has languished. Every now and then someone will request a password, but the wiki remains too sparsely populated with content to be of much use to anybody.

The apparent surge in importance executives assign to internal communications these days has prompted me to try to reinvigorate the document. From companies recognizing how inextricably linked internal and external communications have become to leaders like the CEO of Commonwealth Bank, who sees employees as a “secret weapon” with whom he can communicate, then turn loose to spread the message, it’s clear that internal communications is gaining a stronger foothold in a lot of companies.

Once the recession passes, I expect internal communications departments to be staffing up, often with new-hires who have no background in the discipline to which they’ve been assigned. I also expect a lot of out-of-work journalists to find a home in employee communications. For all these folks—as well as anyone in need of a refresher—let’s get back to work on The Employee Communications Manifesto.

The Manifesto is divided into a few basic categories; what we collectively make of them is up to all of us:

• Skills
• Knowledge
• Models
• Tactics
• Communication Types

If you’d like to participate, just email me (shel [at] holtz [dot] com), and I’ll send you a password. (There was way too much spam finding its way into the wiki’s pages).