What Is the Current State of Internal Communication in Organizations and How Can It Be Better?
Axios HQ, the internal communications company that specializes in AI-powered software, released their 2024 report on the state of internal communications and it was surprising. The report was based on two surveys that were conducted in 2023, one being for communicators and leaders across industries and organizations of all sizes and the other being for employees inside similar organizations. The overarching focus of the report is that there is a large gap in what leaders think is happening in the workplace, compared to what is actually happening. Some of the themes that they’ve found across all of the organizations surveyed include salary waste, alignment breakdown, and retention risk. All of the themes are a result of ineffective communication.
One of the most shocking statistics from the survey, was just three pages into the report in the introduction section: “47% of C-level leaders say it’s hard to know what employees care about most and what they need to hear.” The simplest solution that I can think of, that I feel is overlooked most of the time is just ask your employees. There’s no other way to learn what employees care about other than to ask them directly. Organizations can be creative in the ways that they ask their employees, but they should never assume what the answers are. This is where communication comes into play, because an organization’s ability to stay strong and grow is dependent on its ability “to understand—and address—what’s causing the disconnect” which is usually a result of a breakdown in alignment and communication. If an organization wants to be successful, then they need to make sure that they have strong goals and an engaged workforce that’s able to deliver on those goals.
Organizations need to look at how much time they’re spending, or in most cases, how much time and money they’re wasting on dealing with the impacts of ineffective communication. Salaries are being wasted as a result of employees spending up to two hours each day clarifying details that are needed to do their jobs. What can we do to reduce the amount of time and money wasted? According to the report, most employees are rarely taught how to communicate effectively, so there is a need for training or support from a communication leader. This can be in the form of workshops, guides, etc.
What’s more important than making sure all key figures in an organization are on the same page? In my opinion, nothing is more important, but the report shows just how big of a breakdown there is in alignment. When the survey was being conducted, employees ranked a list of topics according to how critical they are to doing their jobs well and how often they get updates from leaders on these key topics and the two topics that are least critical to them doing their jobs are what they receive updates on most often. This shows how far-removed leaders are from employee’s realities. But even with the information and updates that employees are receiving, they still said that they aren’t effective enough. Besides hoping to get these updates more frequently, employees think that they could be more relevant and insightful. They also would like the opportunity to provide feedback.
To sum up the report in only four words: organizations can do better. They should want to do better for the sake of their employees and for the sake of the organization’s future. Employees want to feel heard and shown that the relationship with the organization isn’t one-sided. Without effective internal communication, organizations risk a lack of engagement and collaboration among employees, which results in a decrease in productivity. Soon after, we’ll see employees leaving. Pretty much any organization no matter the industry they’re in, can use the data discussed in the report to create an action plan to improve their internal communications. Like Axios HQ says in the report, communication is the core of any strategy. “Start with data. Be visible. Stay accessible.”