Internal stakeholders are groups within the Club, such as members and staff. 

Knowing how and when to communicate with these groups will increase accountability of the Management Group but also ensure that the membership feel engaged, thereby encouraging them to remain involved for longer. This should have an effect of increasing participation and membership.  

By effective communication, the Management Group becomes more effective, relevant and make more informed decisions that benefit the wider membership and Club as a whole. It in effect, ensures that the decision making of the Management Group is legitimate.   

In theory, most people understand and see the benefits of effective communication with members and support the idea of being transparent. However, in practice it can be difficult to achieve for several reasons. Some information is not suitable to be publicised, such as commercially sensitive information. Finding the right balance between transparency and confidentiality can be challenging. For the Management Group to be transparent you need to be able to share information with members and other stakeholders. Some organisations will struggle to find the right media or the right time to share the information.  

It is recommended that there is a named member on the Management Group who is responsible for communication and a Club’s Management Group should develop a clear communication strategy that separates how and when it will communicate with both internal and external stakeholders.