Microsoft shakes up communications team; CEO Satya Nadella sends memo to employees

Microsoft is changing how it communicates with the outside world. The company is moving its communications team out of its marketing organisation and into the corporate, external and legal affairs group led by Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, according to internal memos from Smith and CEO Satya Nadella. The bigger change, however, may be how Microsoft employees speak for the company. Nadella said the company wants engineers, sellers, partners and other employees who are close to its products and customers to play a bigger role in telling Microsoft's story.“We will likely have more employees and executives acting as part of Microsoft’s public voice, including on social media,” Smith wrote in his memo.Why is Microsoft changing its communications strategyMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella described the communications shake-up as a response to a media environment that has become “increasingly fragmented and noisier than ever.” Instead of relying mainly on a central communications…