Templates for company updates

Copy and paste templates for company updates that people actually read

Company updates fail for one simple reason. They are vague, long, and unclear about what happens next. These templates fix that. Copy, paste, and publish updates that are easy to scan, easy to act on, and easy to find later.

This page includes written templates, decision formats, change communication templates, and internal podcast episode outlines. Use them as your default to reduce meetings and increase clarity.

How to use these templates

These templates are designed for modern teams that work across time zones, roles, and tools. They are intentionally short and structured. Structure is what makes updates scalable.

Before you publish an update

  • Write a one sentence summary first. If you can not, your message is not clear yet.
  • State what changed, why it matters, and what happens next.
  • Include one clear ask, or explicitly say “no reply needed”.
  • Link to one source of truth, do not paste the full doc into chat.

You can use these in Slack, Teams, Notion, Confluence, email, or anywhere you publish internal communication.

Templates included on this page

Start with the basics: weekly updates and leadership announcements. Then add decisions and change communications. If your team uses internal podcasts, the episode outlines help you publish consistent audio updates with minimal effort.

1. Weekly team update template

Best for: team level alignment, async standups, and keeping stakeholders informed without meetings. Keep it short. If your update becomes a novel, split it into two: status and deep dive.

Weekly update

Use in: Slack thread, Teams post, Notion page, email summary

[Update] Weekly, [Team name], [Week of YYYY-MM-DD] Summary (1 sentence) - [What happened this week in plain English] Highlights - ✅ Shipped: [1-3 bullets] - 📈 Progress: [1-3 bullets] - 🙌 Wins: [optional, 1-2 bullets] Blockers / risks - ⚠️ [What is stuck and why] - ⚠️ [What could derail next week] Next week focus - 🎯 [Top 1-3 priorities] Need from you - [No reply needed] OR [Please reply by Thursday with X] OR [Decision needed by date: choose A/B] Links - Source of truth: [link] - Dashboard / tracker: [link]

2. Leadership update / company context template

Best for: leadership updates, strategy context, progress against priorities. Publish it regularly. Consistency beats “big announcements”.

Leadership update

Use in: company channel, internal newsletter, intranet post

[Update] Leadership, [Month / Week], [Topic] Summary (1 sentence) - [What matters most right now] What changed - [1-3 bullets on facts and decisions] - [Optional: what is not changing] Why it matters - [Impact on teams / customers / priorities] - [Trade offs or constraints] What we are focusing on next - [Top 1-3 priorities] - [What success looks like] What I need from you - [No reply needed] OR [Please send questions in this thread by date] OR [Managers: cascade this by date] Links - Strategy / doc: [link] - FAQ / Q and A: [link]

Short version for chat

Use in: Slack or Teams as a pointer to the full update

[Update] Leadership, [Topic] TL;DR: [one sentence] Key points - [bullet] - [bullet] - [bullet] Full update: [link] Questions here: [link to thread]

3. Decision announcement template

Best for: keeping teams aligned after a decision, avoiding re-litigating the same topic, and making ownership clear. The most important line is “what we decided”.

Decision announcement

Use in: decision log, project channel, company channel if broad impact

[Decision] [Topic] Decision - We decided to [clear decision in one sentence]. Why - [Reason 1] - [Reason 2] - [Reason 3, optional] What we are not doing - [Trade off 1] - [Trade off 2] Impact - Affects: [teams / customers / systems] - Starts: [date] - Risks: [1-2 bullets] Owner - [Name], responsible for execution and updates. Need from you - [No reply needed] OR [Please flag issues by date] OR [Managers: align your plans by date] Source of truth - [link to doc / tracker]

4. Change communication template (process or policy)

Best for: internal changes that can create confusion. The structure reduces anxiety. Be explicit about “what stays the same” and “when it starts”.

Process or policy change

Use in: handbook update + announcement in main channel

[Update] Change, [Process / Policy], effective [date] Summary - We are changing [thing] to [new approach] starting [date]. What is changing - [bullet] - [bullet] - [bullet] What stays the same - [bullet] - [bullet] Why we are doing this - [reason 1] - [reason 2] What you need to do - [Action 1, with deadline] - [Action 2, with deadline] Support - Questions: [where to ask] - Office hours (optional): [time] - Documentation: [link]

5. Launch announcement template (product or initiative)

Best for: new initiatives, internal launches, and “here is how to use it”. The key is to include “who it is for” and “how to get started”.

Launch announcement

Use in: internal newsletter, intranet, company channel

[Update] Launch, [Name] Summary - We launched [thing]. It helps [who] by [benefit]. What it is - [1-2 lines describing it] - Audience: [who it is for] - Availability: [where it is available] Why it matters - [impact] - [what it replaces or improves] How to get started - Step 1: [action] - Step 2: [action] - Step 3: [action] Need from you - [Try it by date] OR [Share feedback in this thread] OR [Managers: roll out to your team] Links - Documentation: [link] - Demo / walkthrough: [link] - Feedback form: [link]

6. Incident update template (transparent and calm)

Best for: outages, security incidents, customer escalations, operational issues. Keep the tone calm, factual, and provide next update time.

Incident update

Use in: incident channel + follow up summary in main channel if needed

[Update] Incident, [short title], status: [Investigating / Identified / Monitoring / Resolved] Summary - We are experiencing [issue]. Impact: [who is affected]. Started: [time]. Current status - What we know: [bullet] - What we are doing: [bullet] - What we do not know yet: [bullet] Workaround (if any) - [workaround steps] Next update - We will post another update by [time] or sooner. Owner - Incident lead: [name] - Comms: [name] Source of truth - Incident doc: [link]

7. Q and A / mailbag template

Best for: collecting questions asynchronously and answering them without forcing everyone into a call. This works exceptionally well paired with an internal podcast episode.

Collect questions

Use in: company channel after a big update

[Discussion] Q and A, [Topic] Summary - Drop your questions about [topic] here by [deadline]. We will answer them on [date] in [format: thread / doc / internal podcast]. Guidelines - One question per message. - Add context if needed. - If your question is sensitive, DM [name] and we will anonymise it. Deadline - Please post by [date and time].

Answer questions (written)

Use in: thread or FAQ doc

[Update] Answers, [Topic] Top answers 1) Q: [question] A: [clear answer, 2-5 lines] Link: [optional] 2) Q: [question] A: [answer] Link: [optional] What happens next - [next step] - [next update time]

8. Internal podcast episode outlines

Internal audio updates are one of the highest leverage company communication formats. They carry nuance, feel human, and work across time zones. The trick is to keep them structured and short.

Episode outline: leadership update (8 to 12 minutes)

Use when: you want to publish context without a meeting

Title: [Leadership update], [Month / Week] 00:00 Intro - What this episode is about (one sentence) 00:30 The one thing that matters - [priority / focus] 02:00 What changed - [2-3 bullets] - Why it changed (short) 05:00 What we are doing next - [top 1-3 actions] - What success looks like 09:00 What I need from you - [one clear ask] OR [no reply needed] - Where to ask questions 10:30 Close - Next episode date / cadence

Episode outline: announcement (5 to 8 minutes)

Use when: a change needs clarity and tone

Title: [Announcement], [Topic] 00:00 Summary in one sentence 00:30 What is changing 02:00 Why we are doing this 03:30 What you need to do 05:00 What stays the same 06:00 Where to get help and ask questions

Episode outline: team spotlight (15 to 20 minutes)

Use when: you want cross team understanding and recognition

Title: [Team spotlight], [Team name] 00:00 Intro, what the team does 02:00 What you shipped recently 07:00 The challenge, what you learned 12:00 What is next 15:00 How others can work with you 18:00 One ask, where to follow up

How Brandscast helps you ship company updates consistently

Templates are only half the solution. The other half is having a channel that scales. Brandscast helps teams publish private internal podcasts that employees can listen to anytime, anywhere.

With Brandscast you can

  • Create private podcasts for company wide updates, managers, or teams.
  • Invite listeners easily with a simple access flow and a web player option.
  • Control access and revoke it fast when someone leaves.
  • Use AI transcripts so updates are searchable and skimmable.
  • See listening analytics to understand reach and engagement.

The result is simple. Fewer meetings for broadcast updates, more clarity, and a more human communication layer.

Start publishing better updates with Brandscast

Copy these templates, publish your next update, and if you want a scalable channel for context, start an internal podcast. You can create a private podcast in minutes and invite your team today.

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Tip: keep your first internal podcast episodes under 10 minutes.