Life at Blink | Sloan Kendall

Do you encourage employee voice in the workplace? 

By ‘encourage’, we don’t mean ‘tolerate’. We mean: do you actively encourage it? Do you run regular feedback initiatives and act on them? Do you train managers to ask for, accept and pass on feedback? 

A major survey we conducted recently suggests that ‘not being listened to’ is employees’ number one gripe with management – and one that has a significant impact on talent retention. In other words, there could be a huge amount of untapped innovation going to waste, right under your nose.  

With over a fifth (22%) of those who raise issues at work feeling that they receive no advice or support, there’s definitely more organizations could be doing. Here’s how an employee voice strategy could help. 

Voice of the employee – what is it? 

Whenever we’re grappling with important workplace concepts, we can always rely on the CIPD for a useful, easily digestible summary. They define employee voice as: 

“The means by which people communicate their views to their employer and influence matters that affect them at work”

If we were to distill this a little more, our answer to “what is employee voice?” would be

“your employees’ involvement in decision making processes and how you encourage it”. 

What is an employee voice strategy? 

An employee voice strategy is how you encourage your workforce to have their say. 

It’s worth distinguishing between ‘action’ and ‘strategy’ here. Running employee surveys as and when might be a useful action to take, but doesn’t constitute a strategy in itself. An employee voice strategy is a planned and sustained program of activities that encourage your employees to make their voices heard. 

Check out the employee voice examples below for specific strategy building blocks, but make sure everything you create is built on these two key principles: 

• Commitment to a ‘speak up’ culture: if employees consider the risks of speaking up (whether delivering a positive input or a criticism) then they simply won’t bother. Make it rewarding to contribute (even if the feedback is negative) and more employees will do so.

• Commitment to employee-centered leadership: senior management must take the lead in listening to employees and acting on feedback. High-visibility commitment to this at senior levels will increase the success of your employee voice strategy.

What are the benefits of employee voice? 

Employee voice is good for your workforce. Colleagues feel you take their input seriously, and feel happier and safer in their roles as a result. 

Secondly, it’s great for your business! In a nutshell, a great employee voice strategy encourages innovation, boosts performance and rubs off on that all important bottom line.

Employee voice and workplace engagement

Employees like to be involved in the decisions that affect them. CIPD data suggests that employees’ satisfaction with involvement in decision-making is significantly and positively related to their overall job satisfaction.

But employee voice doesn’t just affect how happy employees are at work. It also affects how invested they are in your organization and its long-term success. 

Being able to participate in decision-making automatically draws your employees into the mission of your business. Rather than being there to follow orders, they become stakeholders that actively contribute to key business achievements.

This sense of ownership is called employee engagement, and it contributes significantly to long-term business success.

A pre-COVID Gallup poll found that companies with high employee engagement achieved:

• 10% higher customer ratings
• 17% higher productivity
• 20% higher sales
• 21% higher profitability

Importantly, as the Great Resignation continues to cause staffing issues for many businesses, employee engagement also breeds employee retention, making it that bit easier to hold onto your top performers in a tough market. Regularly surveying your employees to keep your finger on the pulse, and actually actioning the results is a simple employee engagement best practice to follow and help your team invested.

Employee voice and organizational performance 

Why ignore your single biggest pool of ideas for improving your organization’s performance? 

The link between employee voice and organisational performance is hard to ignore. Your employees know the ins and outs of your organization better than anyone. They can tell you better than anyone about which processes work, which don’t, where major silos exist and where slowdowns occur.  

Yet all too often, segments of the workforce – frontline employees in particular – feel as if their input won’t be taken seriously. If you allow this type of sentiment to grow, employees won’t share valuable insights further up the chain. 

You might not find any million dollar ideas here (but hey, don’t rule it out), but you can expect a million smaller bits of feedback that could help your business run that bit more effectively. The sum of all these parts: cost savings for you, increased satisfaction for your employees. Everyone’s a winner. 

Employee voice and compliance

In a recent online poll, a stunning 93% of respondents thought that becoming a whistleblower would negatively impact their career. There are still huge barriers to overcome for employees who witness wrongdoing or poor practice and want to report it. 

Encouraging a genuinely open culture via employee voice initiatives makes it so much more likely that your employees will speak up if they see something wrong. In some cases, this opportunity to fix issues internally can save a huge amount of financial and reputational damage. 

The importance of employee voice and communication

We recently conducted a case study of frontline healthcare workers in the UK. When asked about the one thing they would say to senior management anonymously, their answers were pretty telling: 

“Please answer my emails and questions. I am trying to do my best at work and would appreciate feeling listened to.” 

“Communication please!”

“Listen to us! We have been here long enough to know what works.”

Creating an employee voice strategy formalizes two-way communication so that it’s not left to individuals to follow up. An organizational commitment to communication ensures that people feel heard on a personal level, whilst providing senior decision-makers with the tools to keep the conversation going. 

Employee voice examples

Employee voice can be direct or indirect, formal or informal. 

Direct employee voice involves speaking directly to senior management, line managers and other decision makers with feedback and suggestions. Indirect employee voice does this through an intermediary, such as an employee committee, representative, or union rep.

Formal employee voice is expressed through official, codified channels, such as employee surveys. Informal employee voice can be expressed wherever and whenever – a quick email to a line manager or dropping in for a conversation during a senior exec’s office hours are both good examples. 

As you build your employee voice strategy, you’ll likely use a combination of all of these to make sure your workforce truly feels heard. Here are a few examples of employee voice initiatives that you could start in your business. 

• Regular ‘pulse’ surveys with a process for gathering and acting on feedback
• Training on workplace practices and how to flag up when they aren’t being followed
• Regular one-to-ones with line managers for two-way feedback and suggestions
• Open office hours for senior managers and key decision makers
• Open forums or meetings for discussing new initiatives and proposals
• Transparent communication about company news and developments

You can extend the scope of your employee voice strategy using the right software tools. Arguably this is hugely beneficial for all businesses now, and for remote, hybrid and mobile teams this is essential. 

An employee app with an instantly updated newsfeed, two-way content creation and the ability to support employee-generated content is a must-have, as is employee survey software,

Final thoughts on employee voice

Your employees are brimming with great ideas! Why lock that away? 

It’s on you, as a workplace, to actively encourage employees to share these ideas. Don’t sit back and hope people come to you – shout about how receptive you are (and mean it) and how much you value ideas and contributions from across the business. 

You’ll need: 

• The drive to create a culture where everyone feels able to speak up
• A commitment at senior leadership level to open communication and two-way dialogue
• The willingness to take the negative feedback along with the positive

Use the ideas above to get started. Focus on meaningful sustainable change and commit for the long term and you’ll get results. 

Blink’s newsfeed, social sharing and two-way publishing features help you encourage employee voice. Book a free demo to find out how.

IM Flash Technologies, a semiconductor factory with a large frontline workforce, was struggling with its worst turnover in decades.

As a last resort, they turned to employee engagement surveys.

Senior leaders spent the next year collecting insights and making the changes their employees asked for.

By the next year, they'd reduced turnover by 50%.

Clear, actionable data is the key to making informed decisions about your workplace culture and internal communications: the good, the bad – and the ugly.

And what’s your best bet to get this data? Extract it straight from the source: your people.

Senior managers have been using the trusty annual employee engagement survey for the past 30+ to ask workers how they really feel.

And fair enough. When done right, an annual employee survey can get you some solid insights. But it’s not going to cut it in today’s world. At least not on its own.  

In this post, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of conducting an employee engagement survey, why it may or may not work for your company, and the employee survey alternatives you can start using right away. 

What is an employee engagement survey? 

An annual employee engagement survey is a set of questions shared with workers once a year. The answers help gauge employee sentiment, identify issues, and contribute to (possible) solutions. 

mployee engagement is crucial for any organization’s growth. Teams with highly engaged members sell over 20% more than groups with low engagement, according to a PeopleMetrics study. Engaged workers have the potential to get your company more customers, while disengaged workers increase expenses and reduce profits. 

So an annual employee engagement survey measures the extent to which workers feel valued at your organization. 

With that in mind, here’s a rundown of how you’d typically go about conducting a yearly employee engagement survey in an organization. 

How to run an employee engagement survey

Figure out your goal

Before creating and distributing a survey to your workers, you need a crystal clear idea of what you want to measure and why. This will help you generate the right questions and get data you can actually use. 

For example, your purpose for conducting an annual employee engagement survey could be:

• Help find ways to transform a toxic workplace culture
• Generate ideas to enhance the employee net promoter scorer (eNPS)
• Identify how to increase employee engagement throughout the company
• Come up with ways to improve employee retention
• Develop two-way communication between managers and workers

Plan your survey questions

Asking great questions is the key to getting to the heart of workplace issues. The right questions will get better answers from workers. And the better responses you get, the easier for your company to identify areas of improvement. 

Here are the best questions for an annual employee engagement survey. These are a baseline – but a solid one!

• What is your favorite thing about working at our company?
• What is your least favorite thing about working at our company?
• What’s the most important thing we should do to make things better at our company?
• Do you feel like a valued member of our company or just a number? Why?
• What can we do to foster better internal communication at our company?
• Do you get constructive feedback from your seniors on a regular basis?
• Do you see your career growing in this company?
• Is the number of tasks assigned to you reasonable?
• Are you satisfied with our rewards and recognition policies?

Don’t overwhelm your readers

If you conduct an employee engagement survey only once a year, it’s tempting to combine multiple surveys or ask a wide range of questions. 

Give in to this temptation, and you’ll likely end up with a survey that confuses workers and doesn’t generate actionable feedback. 

That’s not what you want, right? So keep it simple. Only include the most important and specific topics to keep your survey from turning into an SAT exam. And make sure to use plain language that all the employees can easily understand. 

Ideally, your survey should include around 30 questions. Go more than 40 and it’s overkill. 30-40 questions are just enough to cover all the key aspects as per your objective without putting too much burden on the workers.

Build and distribute your survey

The next step is execution. How will you create the survey and share it with the employees? The good news is there are many intuitive tools at your disposal. Take Blink for example.  

Our employee experience platform helps you share anonymous polls and surveys with your employees. These surveys get high completion rates and honest feedback. 

All you need to do is create your form with a 3rd-party application such as Google Forms, Survey Monkey, or Typeform. Once your form is ready, simply copy its URL and add it to the Hub.  

Promote, promote, promote!

Now comes the fun part — getting workers to fill the survey. Just like charity begins at home, survey advocacy begins with senior management. Here are the key steps that will help maximize the reach of your annual employee engagement survey. 

• Get the senior leaders and managers to complete the survey first. This way, you can get feedback on the overall experience of filling the survey. So you can make any amends, if needed, before sharing the survey with the whole workforce.
• Use an employee app to provide resources that may come in handy when a worker sits down to complete a survey. 
• Promote the survey at every opportunity. Boost participation by mentioning the survey in employee newsletters, posting flyers, announcing prizes, and reminding workers about the survey in meetings and conferences.

Are annual employee engagement surveys dead?

Now you know how to conduct surveys. But you should also know that an annual employee engagement survey has certain shortcomings. 

An annual employee engagement survey can help gauge your work culture only to some extent. So when used on its own, it’s not the best way to learn more about your employees. Often, it may not reveal any solid insights into your organization’s core issues.

Before you decide on planning a survey, also consider the drawbacks below.

It’s impersonal

An annual employee engagement survey, by its nature, is a cold way to get feedback. When you send a set of questions once a year to be answered by your workers, the unspoken message they may hear is: 

"We want your inputs, but only in a certain format and confined to the questions we have developed. We're not attempting to build or nurture a relationship or anything! Don’t think too much and just check a few boxes. No big deal!"

An annual employee engagement survey can make workers feel that their employer doesn’t take feedback seriously. So neither should they. 

It doesn’t provide valuable data

An annual employee engagement survey doesn’t encourage honest feedback. Many of the workers may not trust the system. They might think that being too honest in an annual employee engagement survey - like slamming their manager - can get them in trouble.

It relies on fluffy metrics 

HBR once reported in a case study that United Parcel Service faced a huge loss because its annual employee survey didn’t uncover problems associated with a surge in part-time jobs. So when workers went on strike, it cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

Most commonly-used questionnaires make use of “percent favourable” metrics. So the data you get consists of inflated scores and blind spots, giving you the illusion of high engagement when it’s the opposite in reality. 

It’s not regular enough

For anything that matters, measuring your progress just once a year is not enough. Whether it’s your personal health, financial investments, or employee engagement, you’ll be wise to keep tabs regularly.

An annual employee engagement survey is a snapshot in time. And the feedback you get from employees in a singular moment can’t accurately reflect their feelings for the whole year. 

Since organizations using annual surveys don’t get the data they need to act, they don’t. They finish conducting the survey like it was just a formality and move on, further tarnishing whatever trust workers had in the employer.

For these reasons, many HR leaders believe that annual employee engagement surveys are dead. While we won’t go as far, it’s evident that once-a-year surveys alone aren’t enough to get accurate and comprehensive insights, which brings us to the next part. 

Employee engagement survey alternatives 

Gone are the days when workers were happy just to have a job. And before you counter — Yes, even if it provides standard benefits like health insurance and retirement savings. The ingredients that make your employees engaged, satisfied, and happy are now more nuanced and sophisticated. 

To find out how successful your recipe is, you need comprehensive techniques that can capture worker sentiment in a timely and relevant manner. Let’s see what those are.

1. Tracking company-wide metrics

The tools and technologies that you use for employee management and collaboration can give you a ton of real-time and continuous feedback from the workforce. 

Most modern systems these days come with built-in analytics to drill down into worker behavior and identify areas of improvement. For example, you can view:

• Performance appraisal and evaluation ratings
• Number of discrimination complaints and legal claims
• Number of workers on a leave of absence
• Employees who have filed compensation claims
• Number of workers who resigned in the last 12 months
• Number of training hours workers attended voluntarily
• Average employee commute time (the shorter, the better)
• Number of workers on zero-hour contracts

By understanding such people trends, you can get an accurate sense of engagement across the organization. And you can do all this without directly involving your employees. 

2. Pulse surveys

Research shows that 77% of employees want to provide feedback more than once per year. And that most employees prefer to provide feedback four times a year.

That’s where Pulse surveys come in. Pulse surveys get employee feedback using short, frequent check-ins that are not confined to specific content or topics. When you ask quick questions at short intervals, the feedback you get will be more authentic and practical.

3. Town-hall meetings 

Townhalls are another viable alternative to annual surveys. If you manage a team that’s too large for a conference table, organize a Town Hall meeting to spark discussions and learn about team members’ concerns. 

Don’t want to put yourself on the spot? Easy. Ask employees to submit questions in advance so you can be better prepared to answer them. 

4. An open-door policy

Why wait for a formal process or tool to get feedback? You can create an environment in which spontaneous feedback is encouraged. 

Make your employees feel safe and comfortable with two-way communication mechanisms. When they can talk openly about their concerns, you’ll always have a string of things you can improve in your repository. So you won’t have to go hunt for good ideas once every year. 

Final thoughts 

If you really want to have a lasting impact on your culture, you must consult your employees regularly and consider alternatives to a once-a-year survey. By pairing surveys with alternative ways to get employee feedback, you’ll be on your way to shaping a work environment where workers feel more productive and content.

Internal comms teams: It’s time to start thinking like social media managers

In today’s workplace, grabbing attention and building a sense of community is more challenging than ever. As Instagram has demonstrated, there’s immense power in blending visuals, brevity, and engagement-driven features to keep audiences captivated.

Why not apply the same principles to your internal communications plan?

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By embracing an Instagram-inspired approach, internal comms teams can turn traditionally static and monotonous updates into dynamic, employee-centric experiences, ultimately boosting engagement, experience, and retention.

And when we think about the newest generation of workers, a modern employee experience isn’t just nice to have — it’s a key differentiator: 70% of Gen Z employees would leave their job for better workplace technology.

Let’s dive into how you can create an Instagram-worthy internal comms strategy that truly resonates with — and retains — employees.

#1. #PicsOrItDidntHappen: Lead with visual storytelling

You know that old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words”?

In a corporate environment, where text-heavy comms are the norm and often leave employees feeling uninspired, it might be worth even more. On Instagram, visuals do the talking. They capture attention, convey emotion, and get users to linger. Imagine applying the same idea to your internal comms.

From photos of team achievements to video messages from leadership, visually rich content invites more interaction and gives employees quick ways to engage with company updates. Incorporate more images, infographics, and videos to help distill complex messages, celebrate moments, and build a visually engaging narrative.

Try a “day in the life” photo series from different teams, or showcase milestones with celebratory visuals. This not only humanizes the workplace but also helps employees feel more connected to their colleagues across the organization.

#2. #StorySawItFirst: Share the moments that matter

Stories — on Instagram, Facebook, and beyond — have changed how we consume content by making it quick, timely, and interactive. For internal comms, a similar approach keeps messaging fresh and to the point.

Consider launching an internal Stories feature, with short-form, time-sensitive updates. Whether you use video, images, or brief text, these snippets can recap highlights, recognize employees, or celebrate accomplishments in a way that’s easy to digest.

Launch a weekly Story roundup that features key updates and celebrates wins from across the company. These updates create anticipation and encourage employees to check back regularly for new content.

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#3. #POV: Embrace user-generated content

One of the reasons Instagram is so successful is because it breaks down the barrier between creators and consumers: All users have the power to create, post, and engage with content.

Bringing this into the workplace by encouraging employee-generated content (EGC) adds authenticity and makes employees feel like co-owners of the company’s story.

Consider how your team could prioritize EGC and what makes most sense for your organization. Maybe it’s creating a designated space where employees can post daily photos from their workday, or coming up with an internal hashtag campaign where employees can share short stories that showcase daily victories or moments of pride.

We’ve seen firsthand the power of EGC on building trust on external channels: Content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than content shared on brand channels. Imagine the impact this boost could have on your internal comms strategy.

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#4. #ForYouPage: Personalize your comms approach

If you spend enough time on social media platforms, then you’re deeply familiar with the omniscient algorithm — an underlying intelligence that recognizes which content you watch with most and, with increasing accuracy, serves it up to your news feed to create a more individualized and engaging experience.

Internal comms can take the same data-backed approach by using insights from their employee platform to segment audiences, gauging content effectiveness through metrics like engagement rates, and then tailoring content based on individual preferences

By surfacing hyper-relevant information to the right people — like recommended News Feed content based on team, or custom updates to specific departments and regions — you can make internal updates feel more targeted, help employees feel seen and understood, and prevent information overload.

#5. #SlowYourScroll: Prioritize mobile-friendly content

Instagram is all about mobile-first, short-form content. It’s what makes the platform so easy to navigate and what keeps people coming back for more.

When it comes to modern internal comms, employees are similarly craving updates and content that are quick to access and even quicker to digest, wherever they are.

As you plan out your content strategy, ensure all internal messages are mobile-friendly, concisely written, and formatted for on-the-go reading. For example, consider formatting key announcements as brief bullet-point highlights — we’re talking 200 characters or less — with a link to read more.

By keeping updates short and to the point, complemented with visuals whenever possible, employees can stay informed without dedicating a large amount of time — helping to ensure key messages don’t get lost in the shuffle.

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#6. #Influenced: Embrace the internal influencer

Influencers drive engagement on Instagram by speaking from an authentic, relatable perspective. By empowering internal champions, you can build similar trust and encourage peer-to-peer communication within the company.

Identify influential voices within the organization who can serve as communication champions and lead the charge for two-way communications. This might be leaders, long-term employees, or team leads who can add a personal, credible touch to internal updates and culture-building efforts.

Have these champions share company updates, promote engagement, or even host takeovers of internal channels to drive excitement and reach. Their familiar faces make messages feel more personal and authentic.

#7. #HighlightsReel: Spotlight employee achievements

On Instagram, highlights create a curated space for special moments. In internal comms, a similar approach can spotlight achievements and milestones in a meaningful way. And this small effort can have a big impact on retention: 79% of employees who quit their job cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving.

Create a virtual “highlight reel” to celebrate employee achievements, team milestones, and other noteworthy moments. This can be part of a monthly or quarterly roundup, creating a sense of shared success and recognition.

These small moments of celebration and success spotlights help employees feel valued and recognized within the larger internal community — and may even result in them staying longer at your organization.

#8. #LetsExplore: Make content easily discoverable

The Explore tab on Instagram allows users to stumble upon new and interesting content. Internal comms can take a similar approach by reimagining the outdated intranets of yore and making helpful resources easy to find and share.

Organize information in a way that allows employees to quickly discover and revisit updates, whether through tagging, keyword searches, or categories. A content hub can help employees catch up on past announcements or discover useful resources.

Create a centralized digital home for all internal updates, organized by topics like announcements, team wins, and resources. This lets employees browse based on their current needs or catch up if they missed a recent announcement.

Think beyond traditional communication channels

As employee communications move into the future, embracing creativity and interactivity — much like social media platforms we all know and use in our personal lives — can reshape the employee experience and build a more connected, motivated workforce.

By incorporating Instagram-inspired features into content strategies, internal comms teams can create a consumer-grade workplace experience that feels inherently familiar to employees, breaking down barriers for adoption and engagement.

Experiment with these tactics, prioritize authenticity, and watch as your employees become more empowered, creative, and excited to contribute to the company culture.

Blink. And design an internal comms strategy that gives Instagram a run for its money.

13 ways to quickly improve internal communications

Internal communications joins the dots. It connects every member of an organization and helps keep everyone up to speed. But it’s not without its challenges.

Comms leaders have to quiet the noise while amplifying key messages. They need to share updates consistently. And find tech tools that make communication engaging for employees. 

In frontline organizations, there are additional communication challenges to tackle.

Frontline teams often work disparately. Employees can’t rely on in-person meetings for the latest updates. Nor do they have access to a desktop computer or even a company email address.

Finding reliable ways to reach these employees – that go beyond a messy noticeboard – is vital for business success.

With these challenges in mind, we’re going to look at the ways comms leaders can quickly and effectively improve internal communications. Let’s dive right in.

Why is it important to improve your internal comms?

Poor internal communication harms your business and its bottom line. When leaders, teams, and individuals fail to communicate well, every area of operations is affected.

Poor communication also has an effect on employees. Staff want to feel part of the organization they work for, and the first step to achieving that is keeping them in the loop.  

Ultimately, when you improve internal communication, you:

• Boost workplace trust. Over 40% of workers say that poor communication is reducing the trust they have in leadership and their teams. This is making them more stressed and less loyal to their organization.
  
  
• Engage employees. Informed employees are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. Employee engagement is linked to higher productivity, profitability, and employee retention rates.
  
  
• Get better at what you do. When you improve internal communication, you improve decision-making, teamwork, and collaboration. Everyone pulls in the same direction, which spells bigger and better business results.

The benefit of good internal communication in frontline organizations is even more pronounced.

Safety concerns. Equipment failures. Product or service updates. A shift you need to cover. Inclement weather. These critical communications need to travel between frontline staff and managers quickly and reliably. It’s how you limit downtime and ensure the very best customer service.

But if your communication culture, communication skills, or communication tools are lacking, you’ll find it hard to connect the various teams that make up your organization.

13 ideas to quickly improve internal communication

With so much to be gained from good internal communications, time is of the essence. Every day you continue doing things the old way, you’re missing out.

So here are some internal communication ideas that you can put in place quickly, for maximum impact. Weave these ideas into your internal communication strategy and start making improvements right away.

1. Start with the leadership team

Leaders set the tone of an organization. So if your leadership team isn’t sold on your bid to improve internal communication, your employees won’t be either.

It’s up to leaders to drive comms throughout the company. It’s also on them to engage with comms. That way, employees see that your internal communication channels are a valued resource for people at all levels – and they’re much more likely to engage with them, too.

To prove to your workforce that it isn’t one rule for them – and another for their managers – get the leadership team on board right at the start. Involve leaders in the launch of your internal communications plan and encourage them to be positive promoters of it.

2. Ask questions & launch surveys

To avoid time-consuming missteps, get employee insight early on in the process. Employee input informs your strategy and improves your chances of getting things right the first time.

You can get input by asking informal questions and launching surveys. Find out what employees want from internal communications – and what aspects of current comms they struggle with.

With Blink’s super-app, you can launch surveys that reach your whole workforce. A user-friendly interface makes it easy for employees to respond. And a clear dashboard helps you to draw conclusions from their answers.

Surveys help you make informed internal communication decisions. But there’s another benefit, too. By involving employees in this part of the process, you set an important precedent.

You show employees that you value their input – and that their voices are heard. This raises trust in the process. It also helps employees see what they stand to gain by engaging with internal communications going forward. 

3. Streamline your communication channels

Well-established companies often have history with lots of different internal communication tools. In frontline organizations, there tends to be a mix of tech solutions and old-school communication channels – like posters and notice boards.

If you’ve inherited a complicated system of communication channels, it’s worth stepping back and assessing their impact on company communication.  

Is a noticeboard crammed with memos an efficient and reliable way to communicate with your teams? Are multiple communication channels helping you to clarify the message – or are they muddying it?

Less is usually more. So streamlining your comms channels is a great way to improve internal communication. Employees are much more likely to engage with a single source of reliable info.  

That’s exactly what happened at Domino’s. The pizza delivery company was using word of mouth, posters, and WhatsApp groups to communicate with its frontline. But by switching to Blink, Domino’s put all internal communication in one place and now everyone gets the same need-to-know updates.

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4. Personalize your comms

Think of all the marketing emails that land in your inbox every day. The ones that personalize their message stand out. They’re much more likely to resonate. The rest is like white noise. It becomes very easy to ignore stuff that doesn’t feel relevant to you. 

The same goes for company comms. When you make your message more relevant to your audience, they sit up and take notice. When employees are inundated with comms that have nothing to do with their role, they tend to start ignoring the noise - and before you know it even the most relevant and critical messages are missed. 

You can quickly make a change by segmenting your audience. Divide your organization by department, team, location, and stage in the employee life cycle.

Then, craft personalized comms. And only send mass communications when they really are relevant to the whole organization. Intentional, personalized communication is much harder to ignore.

5. Run company-wide stand ups

A standup meeting is a short but regular opportunity for teams to share progress and identify blockers. It’s a way to get everyone on the same page and clarify what they should be doing.

A company-wide standup is the easiest way to communicate your current priorities and action plan to everyone. But you can also run stand ups within teams, departments, or locations.

Of course, if you’re a frontline organization, getting everyone together for this type of meeting isn’t always practical. Employees work different shifts and in different locations, or maybe even work on the road.

But don’t dismiss the idea of company stand ups outright. Create stand ups for different shift swaps, or locations, or smaller groups of people. And for the times you can’t be together in real life, tech can help.

Employees can join a meeting via video conference. Or you can record your company-wide stand ups and post them as video content to your primary internal communication channel.

6. Implement an employee app

In today’s technological world, you can find incredible tools designed to improve internal communication, fast.

An employee app is a great example. It works well because you meet employees where they already spend their time – on their smartphones. And because it incorporates features that employees are familiar with, like instant messaging, group chats, and a newsfeed.

Take Stagecoach, a UK-based bus company. When Stagecoach implemented an employee app, 84% of their workforce started using it within just one week. Because they chose a communication tool that employees could use intuitively, they got better and faster uptake.

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An employee app also streamlines your employee communications because employees can access everything via a single, user-friendly interface. And it provides channels for both top-down and bottom-up comms. Anyone can read and share information.

Blink’s employee app ticks all these boxes. Designed for frontline organizations, it helps bridge the gap between your frontline and desk-based teams. 

7. Reward & recognize your employees

Another way to quickly improve internal communication is by rewarding and recognizing employees. Shout out those employees who hit their goals or reach a personal milestone. Highlight the times when a member of staff goes above and beyond.

A culture of recognition helps to build engagement. It also boosts morale and encourages other employees to do their best work.

Using internal communication channels in this positive way encourages employees to communicate more frequently, too. When an employee feels acknowledged, they’re more likely to acknowledge others, share successes, and communicate constructively with peers.

You can put the wheels in motion by encouraging managers to send regular messages of acknowledgment. But to amplify the effect, go further. 

Build recognition into your internal comms strategy by using Blink’s recognition feature. Via the app, you can send messages of public praise with the power to inspire everyone.

8. Conduct regular 121 meetings 

If your managers only run 121 meetings with employees once or twice a year, this is an area ripe for improvement.

A lot can happen over the space of a year or six months. Internal communication might be missed or misinterpreted. Regular 121s are an opportunity to realign goals and understanding.

Regular 121s help you to:

• Build a personal connection with employees
• Address concerns in real-time
• Improve employee engagement

It also makes the act of discussion and feedback more familiar. Employees get used to sitting down and sharing their work experiences with managers. So managers are much more likely to get candid (and therefore useful) insight from their staff.  

Advise your managers on how often they should conduct 121s. Monthly, bi-weekly, or even weekly sessions create an open feedback loop.

Also, remember that a public communication forum can never replace 121s. While employees are often happy to share some ideas publicly, they also need the opportunity to share their thoughts privately and confidentially.

9. Encourage content creation

Leave content creation to management and you run into two key problems:

1. Your internal communication is unengaging because there’s lots of top-down communication but not enough bottom-up or peer-to-peer communication.

2. Managers find it hard to balance content creation alongside their usual workload. This means more managerial stress and/or less quality content.

There’s a quick and easy solution. Give everyone a turn at content creation. Use guidelines and templates if you think they’re needed. Then, let employees start threads, post blogs, upload videos, and recognize their peers.

In doing so, you strengthen your company network. Employees build new relationships. They find people with whom they have things in common. They chat about non-work-related topics.

This type of water cooler chat may seem irrelevant to your business objectives. But trust us when we say it’s hugely important to the quality of communication that takes place within your organization.

This is particularly true in frontline firms where workers don’t always get the opportunity for informal chats with co-workers.

When employees build trusting relationships with co-workers, they don’t just find it easier to chat about their latest vacation or the boxset they’re currently binging. They find it easier to communicate and collaborate on workplace topics, too.

10. Take a data-driven approach to internal communications

How do you measure the success of an internal communications initiative? You need reliable, accessible data you can track over time.

This is another reason why having the right communication tech is vital. Pick communication tools with analytics built in and it’s easy to view and act upon insights.

You can see which type of content your employees do and don’t interact with. You can see which posts get the most comments and likes. This helps you to hone your internal communication going forward.

Similarly, analytics functions help you to see the bigger impact that your communication strategy is having. Perhaps it’s helping you to reduce staff turnover or increase staff satisfaction.

When you have access to the data, it’s easy to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of internal communication improvements. You’ll also find it easier to make informed, targeted changes that make your initiative even more successful.

11. Be consistent

Good internal communication is all about consistency. You can’t promise employees a weekly update or a monthly webinar and then fail to deliver.

They’ll stop seeing your communication as reliable and trustworthy – and they’ll stop checking in for new content. This is the point at which the wheels fall off your strategy and you have a much harder job pushing that new initiative uphill. 

To show employees that your new internal communication strategy is here to stay, make sure it’s sustainable.

At the outset, you may like to err on the side of caution, only committing to a content schedule you know is manageable for the people delivering it. You can always add more items to your content calendar once it’s up and running.

Also, as we mentioned earlier, enlisting the support of employees in content creation helps to create an internal communications ecosystem that doesn’t rely on a handful of time-stretched managers. With all hands on deck, it’s much easier to create and post content consistently.

12. Be transparent

Internal communication is most successful when communication is transparent. That means:

• Including everyone in communications
• Creating an open connection between leadership and employees
• Clearly communicating business changes and decision-making processes
• Acknowledging both successes and mistakes

Transparent communication is important because it helps to build trust between all members of your organization. It prevents secondary channels of communication – in the form of rumors and speculation – from emerging. And it helps to boost employee engagement. 

If you don’t already have a culture of open communication, getting there is likely to take time. You need to develop communication skills throughout your organization and set new norms of behavior.

However, one of the things you can do to improve internal communication quickly is to involve employees in your internal communication strategy. Be open about the changes you’re trying to implement – and why.

When employees feel like part of the process, they’re much more likely to feel invested in its outcome.  

13. Report back on changes you are making

So you’re planning to make big changes to the way you communicate internally. Don’t forget to involve employees from the beginning and throughout the process.

After launching employee surveys and conducting 121s, communicate your findings. Let workers know what you’ve learned, what changes you plan to make, and what you hope to gain.

This shows that you’re committed to transparent communication, not just paying lip service. And that you’re putting employees at the center of decision-making.

Take this tack and employee engagement, morale, trust, and the success of your internal communication strategy all stand to benefit.

Final thoughts

Improving internal communications takes time and strategy. It’s a long-term commitment. But there are quick wins to be had.

Gather insights. Involve all members of your organization. Find the right tools. Start fostering a culture of open, honest communication, right now, today.

By doing so, you’ll create change in the here and now. And lay the groundwork for future internal comms improvements, too.

It’s well worth the investment, particularly for frontline organizations. With strong internal communication, you build teams who are more connected, informed, and engaged - which leads to widespread benefits for your employees, customers, and business.

Want to make internal communication a priority for 2024? Then put internal comms in the palm of every employee with Blink’s employee app.

Our mobile-first app supports two-way communication, critical messages, employee recognition, and workforce surveys. It also integrates with the business tools you already use. So employees can access all resources from one user-friendly interface.

Accessed via mobile or desktop and with speedy, sky-high adoption rates, Blink provides a quick and easy way to improve your internal communications in 2024.

The most common communication challenges in organizations from big enterprise businesses to small startups are so widespread that dealing with them can start to feel normal.

It’s easy to forget that internal communications issues can have a big impact. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can safely back burner internal comms because communication challenges and barriers are so widespread.

The fact is that poor internal communications can seriously harm your business. It’s a domino effect of frustrating communication, poor morale, lower productivity, higher absenteeism leading to higher employee turnover, and finally, higher costs and smaller profits.

Of course, when you’re in the thick of things, the relationship between poor internal comms and your bottom line might not be very clear. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that communication was thought of as a nice but not necessary soft skill.

We put together this article to lay out some of the ways communication challenges and barriers can sap a company’s resources along with strategies for making your internal comms more effective (also see the best way to improve internal communications).

The deep impact of communications challenges in organizations

The idea that internal communications problems can make a business less profitable can seem overblown.

The statistics, however, show that having a weak internal comms strategy (or having no strategy at all) can have a detrimental impact on everything from employee engagement to your business's bottom line.

Here’s how communications challenges in organizations affect success.

Communication challenges and barriers lead to increased employee turnover

Studies looking into the real cost of employee turnover often show different results.

Some studies show it costs employers 33% of a worker's annual salary to hire a replacement while other research suggests that it costs three times that salary.

What all of the data has in common is that employee turnover definitely costs companies big bucks.

Employee retention and profitability go hand in hand, and the good news is that research shows that 75% of employee turnover is preventable.

Relationships suffer when communication is a problem

Two heads are better than one, but whole teams of heads are necessary for long-term success.

When people can’t communicate with one another effectively because of technical barriers or, worse, can communicate but feel uncomfortable doing so because there’s not a culture of openness at a company, collaboration may slow or even stop.

That means innovation can’t happen and problems languish with no solutions. Your employees just can’t be as productive when relationships with colleagues are strained and everyone feels like they’re working in isolation.

Less productivity means less profit.

Customer service suffers when there are communication challenges

Internal communications and external communications are inexorably linked.

Employees need access to information to answer customer queries, respond to sales inquiries, or help customers get what they need.

When they can’t get that information easily, they’re apt to feel a strong sense of disengagement that can actually lead to everyone—workers and customers alike—feeling frustrated and dissatisfied during encounters.

Dissatisfied employees leave, and as we’ve shown above, that costs money. And dissatisfied customers take their business elsewhere, costing you even more.

Poor communication = stress = higher healthcare costs

This might seem like a stretch, but stress costs the United States $300 billion every year—a figure that includes costs shouldered by businesses that provide insurance to their employees.

While there’s no way to show a hard and fast causal link between frustrations caused by comms issues and increased healthcare costs, it’s worth mulling over the idea that the communications challenges in organizations that stress workers out may also be contributing to expensive physical and mental health issues in those same employees.

Healthcare is expensive, after all, and effective internal comms is cheap in comparison.

Internal communication problems can be a motivation killer

Workers who don’t feel like they have an important role to play, who don’t understand what is expected of them, and who feel like they don’t have a voice literally can’t give their all.

Time that would otherwise go toward productive (and profitable) work is instead spent trying to navigate a confusing company culture or to figure out what that company’s priorities are. There’s no passion among employees because they feel totally disengaged from their tasks and their teams.

The Gallup State of the American Workplace report put it succinctly: “Actively disengaged employees aren’t just unhappy at work—they are resentful that their needs aren’t being met and are acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers potentially undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.”

Communications challenges in organizations lead to mistakes

Workers who have access to the information they need to really contribute to a company make fewer mistakes because they feel comfortable concentrating on the work in front of them.

Employees who are focused on trying to figure out what their priorities should be or simple emotional management are more prone to error.

In a retail environment, the result of this kind of disengagement may be fewer sales. In industries like healthcare, however, mistakes can lead to hugely expensive regulatory issues or even injury and death.

Poor internal communication makes boosting employee satisfaction impossible

You can’t boost your workers’ overall satisfaction if you don’t have a clear idea of what employees like and don’t like about their day to day.

At companies with strong internal communications strategies, managers regularly touch base with employees to get a sense of what’s working and what isn’t. When comms just isn’t a priority, chances are slim to none that workers will open up about what changes could make your business better.

Absenteeism rates are higher when communications is an issue

Employees who can’t jump ship at the moment may show their communications-related dissatisfaction by simply not showing up.

A Gallup study conducted in the UK showed that disengaged workers miss 10 more working days each year compared to peers who feel a strong connection to the company vision and are clear on what’s expected of them.

The biggest challenges facing internal communications teams

The factors that have contributed to the biggest communications challenges in organizations are well documented at this point. Lack of clarity, platform. and targeted messaging.

The main problem that companies have faced has always been how to address those factors effectively and economically. Email and Dropbox alone are outdated.

Just having a clear vision doesn’t necessarily mean it is easy to share and then reinforce that vision. A company intranet portal that provides a platform for internal comms may not actually facilitate good communication. And getting the right information into the hands of the right people has always been tough.

Luckily, solving the big communications challenges in organizations has become easier with tech tools like an internal communications tool. Intranets have evolved over time from simple information repositories to a kind of mobile base of operations where business happens from anywhere.

Blink, for instance, can help you communicate administrative and benefits information, but is also a platform for collaboration, a place to store and search for data, a way to solicit feedback (including anonymous feedback), and a social hub for employees to share with one another.

It lets internal comms teams curate messaging so employees stay on the same page without getting overwhelmed by emails, meetings, memos, and Slack chatter.

Up-to-date internal comms tools like Blink’s employee app are even more important for businesses with a lot of frontline workers—especially now that nontraditional employees like remote workers and long-term contract workers make up such a large percentage of the workforce.

By automating paper-based processes, microapps like this help increase productivity overall.

How effective internal communications will change your business for the better

Curious about what effective internal communication can really do for your bottom line? Here are some statistics that might surprise you:

• Companies that communicate effectively are 50% more likely to report below average turnover levels.
• A 5-point improvement in employee attitude results in a 1.3% increase in customer satisfaction and an increase in company revenue.
• Higher engagement can mean a 40% reduction in absenteeism.
• Employees who feel fully informed and more engaged may be 21% more productive.
• Companies with effective communication strategies see 47% higher total returns to shareholders.
• Poor communication is cited as the main cause of failure for IT projects.
• 69% of employees say they’d work harder if their contributions were recognized and praised.

Knowing what you know now, we also want to offer you a quick list of steps you can take right away to gauge how your internal comms is currently working and to enhance your internal comms strategy.

1. Assess your current strategy — Assuming you have one, that is. If not, you’ll want to make one. But if you do, take the time to consider your internal communications objectives, who has ownership of comms, if the tools you are using are effective, and whether your current strategies are really getting the job done.
2. Poll your employees — Do they feel like they have a voice in your company? If they have an idea, can they easily share it? When they have questions, can they find answers quickly and easily? Does dealing with administrative tasks take up way too much time? Do they like your communications tech? Let workers answer anonymously and adjust your comms strategy accordingly.
3. Put everything in one place — Make this the year you finally commit to storing your company data in one place so tracking down a file is never again a half-day affair. When you use Blink to store the information your employees need—from HR docs to project guidelines—they can easily find it all.
4. Stop sending so many emails — Lengthy, reply-all type email threads are frustrating and, frankly, easy to ignore. Worse, they interrupt the flow of work and often contain irrelevant information leaving workers feeling resentful instead of informed.
5. Send information to the right people — Use a comms platform like Blink that lets you send information to specific employees and teams instead of the entire company. You can even label posts priority and check to make sure that your messages were received and read by recipients.

The bottom line is that employees at every level of your company will be happier, more productive, and more passionate about their work if they feel informed.

The internal communications strategy you put into place now will not only make it easier for your employees to do their jobs, but will also make your company more profitable in the long run.

Blink makes it easier to overcome the most common organizational communication tool challenges in organizations. Are you ready to tackle the challenges facing internal communications at your company?

A practical guide to cutting through the noise and making your messages matter

#1. Navigating modern internal comms

Writing internal comms can feel a lot like packing for vacation. At first, it’s tempting to bring everything — just in case.

That extra pair of shoes? Might need them.

A backup raincoat? Better safe than sorry.

Before you know it, your suitcase is way too heavy, can barely zip up, and becomes a disorganized mess the moment you arrive at your destination.

The same thing happens with internal communications. Overwriting is like overpacking — it makes everything more stressful and less effective. When we overload messages with too much information, jargon, or unnecessary details, they become cluttered, overwhelming, and easy to ignore. Employees don’t have time to sift through paragraphs of content to find what’s important.

The power of “less is more”

Great communicators know that less is more. Just like an experienced traveler packs only the essentials — choosing versatile outfits and rolling clothes for maximum efficiency — strong internal comms should be:

1. Focused: Stick to the essentials. What does the reader really need to know?
2. Compact: Cut the fluff. Every word should earn its place.
3. Easy to navigate: Use structure, formatting, and clear takeaways to help employees skim and understand instantly.

By applying the “pack light” mindset to your internal communications, you ensure that your message is clear, effective, and memorable — without the baggage.

Now, let’s unpack the key principles of writing internal comms that actually stick.

What you’ll learn in this guide:

1. Techniques to write concise, high-impact messages
2. Examples of great internal comms writing
3. Visual tips to make content more digestible

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#2. The science behind shorter messages

Our attention span is shrinking. If your key message isn’t immediate, it’s lost.

You’re competing with overflowing inboxes, endless notifications, and workplace distractions — so if your message isn’t short, structured, and engaging, it’s simply ignored. The way we consume information has changed, and your internal comms need to adapt.

The psychology of information retention

• Cognitive overload: Employees process over 120 emails a day, plus chats, notifications, and meetings. Too much information leads to decision fatigue, stress, and disengagement.

• The rule of processing fluency: Our brains prefer simple, easy-to-digest information. When content is clear and structured well, it feels more credible, persuasive, and memorable.

• The serial position effect: People remember the first and last things they read — but forget the middle. If your key message is buried, it won’t stick.

If your message takes more than a few seconds to process, employees will move on.

Over 90% of people read their text messages within 3 minutes of receiving them — while it takes 90 minutes for emails to get read.

Flimp

Why concise, well-structured messages increase engagement

• Less text = more readership: When messages are brief and scannable, employees are more likely to engage and act. We see this in our personal lives, too: Over 30,000 field experiments with The Washington Post and Upworthy showed that readers prefer simpler headlines over more complex ones.

• More clarity = more trust: Research shows that simpler language increases credibility. Employees trust and engage with messages that get to the point.

• Skimmable = actionable: Well-structured messages increase retention because they mirror how the brain processes information. Using features like headings, bolding, and bullet points improves readability.

TLDR: Welcome to the era of Insta-grade comms

Shorter, well-structured internal comms don’t just respect employees’ time — they actually drive higher engagement and action. If your message can be read and understood in under 10 seconds, you’re doing it right.

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#3. The 8-second rule of internal comms

Picture this: Your employees are glancing at their phone between tasks, skimming their inbox, or checking messages on the go. In those few seconds, they see a new email or internal feed post alert pop up, and they have to decide whether to engage with your message — or ignore it.

While the idea that humans have an actual 8-second attention span has been debunked, the reality is that attention is fleeting, and distractions are everywhere. If your key message isn’t clear immediately, it gets lost in the noise.

So, how do you write like every second counts?

Write a snack rather than a meal

Employees don’t sit down to consume internal messages like a three-course meal — they graze. They snack on bits of information throughout the day, picking up what interests them and moving on.

Employees only read 28% of words on a screen, and 55% of emails are skimmed for under 10 seconds.

Nielsen Norman Group

Assume employees will only glance at your message. If they can’t understand the point in a few seconds, they’ll move on.

Craft strong subject lines and headlines

Your subject line or headline is the first thing employees see — and often, the only thing they read. It needs to grab attention and deliver instant value.

• Be specific: Instead of “Important update,” say "New PTO policy: What you need to know.”
• Use action words: “Action required: Complete your training by Friday!”
• Keep it short: 6-8 words is the sweet spot.

Use plain language & action-oriented writing

To drive engagement and action, make your messages effortless to read. Aim for an 8th-grade reading level or below — this ensures clarity and accessibility for everyone, including non-native English speakers.

Keep it simple and direct:

• Choose familiar words: Say “use” instead of “utilize,” “help” instead of “assist,” or “fix” instead of “rectify.”
• Make actions clear: Swap “We hope you take advantage of this opportunity” for “Sign up now!”

When employees can quickly read, understand, and act, your communications become more effective — and more inclusive.

TLDR: What can you say in 8 seconds?

Next time you write an internal message, set a timer for 8 seconds and read it out loud. If you can’t get to the main point in that time, revise.

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#4. When in doubt, keep it BRIEF

You’ve probably heard the old saying KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

While it’s memorable, internal comms teams deserve a smarter, more practical approach — one that reflects the fast-paced, message-saturated reality of today’s workplace.

When employees are flooded with messages, clarity isn’t just nice to have — it’s necessary. That’s where the BRIEF method comes in: A simple, effective framework to ensure your internal communications are concise, engaging, and actionable.

Bottom-line first

Remove fluff

Include essentials

Embrace formatting

Feature one action

If you can apply these five steps, your messages will cut through the noise and actually stick.

B: Bottom-line first

Employees don’t have time to hunt for the key message. Lead with what matters most:

• Start with the “so what?” If they read only the first sentence, they should know the takeaway.
• Use BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): Instead of building up to the key point, start with it.

R: Remove fluff

Every extra word makes your message weaker, not stronger:

• Cut jargon, filler words, and redundant phrases (“at this point in time” → “now”).
• Write for clarity, not formality (“utilize” → “use,” “commence” → “start”).
• Stick to one key idea per message — if you’re cramming in multiple topics, break it up.

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Quick tip: Before you send it, read your message out loud. If you wouldn’t say it that way in conversation, change it.

I: Include essentials

Employees will only remember one or two things from your message — make them count:

• Stick to the who, what, when, and why — cut the rest.
• If details are necessary, link to a resource instead of cramming everything in.
• Use bullet points to highlight the must-know facts.

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Quick tip: If you can remove a sentence and the message still makes sense, delete it.

E: Embrace formatting

Employees skim before they read — help them find key info fast:

• Use bolding, bullet points, and spacing for readability.
• Avoid long paragraphs — stick to 1-2 sentences per block.
• Use emojis or icons (sparingly!) to draw attention in digital comms.

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Quick tip: Design your message like a social media post — scannable, engaging, and to the point.

F: Feature one action

If you ask employees to do multiple things, they’ll do none:

• Every message should drive one clear action.
• Place the call to action (CTA) at the end — make it specific and easy to follow.
• Lead action verbs: For example, “Update your profile by Friday” is a lot more compelling than “If you could update your profile before the end of the week, that would be great.”

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Quick tip: If your message has more than one action, split it into separate comms.

TLDR: BRIEF is better

Employees don’t need more communication — they need better communication. Applying the BRIEF method will help your internal comms stand out, be remembered, and most importantly — be acted upon.

Now, try this: Take a recent internal email or message and apply the BRIEF method. Can you make it 50% shorter without losing meaning?

#5. The evolving role of visuals

A well-placed image, GIF, or micro-video can convey information faster and more effectively than a wall of text. Employees are bombarded with messages daily — so making your comms visually engaging isn’t just nice to have, it’s a must.

Images, icons, emojis

• To simplify complex information… Incorporate charts or infographics.
• To add personality and emotion… Throw in a GIF or emoji — especially for executive communications, these can make a message feel more human.
• To direct attention… Use a well-placed arrows highlight, or icon
• To reinforce brand and culture… Include team photos, event snapshots, and user-generated content

Try this: Instead of sending a long email about a new policy, post a 30-second video from leadership or an animated explainer — it’s faster, more engaging, and easier to remember.

75% of employees prefer visual aids, like videos or infographics, over text-based internal communications.

Ragan Communications

Micro-videos & interactive elements

Employees are used to short-form content — think TikTok videos and Instagram stories and reels. Wherever possible, internal comms should embrace this quick, visual format to create an engaging employee experience that rivals social media platforms.

Good use cases for micro-videos include:

• Leadership updates: A quick 1-minute message from the CEO beats a long email.
• Policy changes: An animated explainer and visual aids can make complex information much easier to digest.
• Employee recognition: A fun, shareable shoutout video is more engaging than a text announcement.

TLDR: Show, don’t tell

If a picture’s worth 1,000 words, then a well-placed image, GIF, or video can save your employees a whole lot of reading.

Next time you craft a message, ask yourself: Could this be a visual instead? If so, make the switch — your employees will thank you.

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#6. Right message, right place

You wouldn’t send a virtual meeting invite via a printed flyer. So why would you rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to your internal comms strategy?

Different messages belong in different places — and using the right channel can mean the difference between being seen and being ignored.

Match the message to the medium

Consider the best-fit channel for the message or content you’re planning to share. What channels do you have at your disposal — and where do you think employees are most likely to engage with you?

• Short-form, high-impact updates? Post them in your internal news feed or Stories.
• Team-specific reminders? Drop them in a group message.
• Company-wide announcements? Send via a scannable email — or, even better, a video or recorded live stream!
• Need engagement or feedback? Use interactive polls or quick emoji reactions.

As a general rule of thumb, the shorter the message, the more dynamic the format should be.

80% of the global workforce does not sit behind a desk to do their jobs.

O.C. Tanner

Why multi-channel comms matter

• Employees consume content differently: Some prefer mobile updates, others check email. And beyond preferences, content engagement will likely vary based on where, when, and how they work. Your workers on the frontline will see your messages in a much different way than your remote employees or office-based staff.

• Repetition increases retention: Seeing a message in multiple places boosts awareness. Dismiss a “one and done” mindset — get creative sharing the same update or information in different ways across multiple channels!

• Urgency varies: A chat notification or message marked as a Mandatory Read may get an instant response, while an email detailing a policy update or new benefit might sit unread.

TLDR: Even the best message will be ignored if it’s in the wrong place

Your workforce isn’t sitting at a desk refreshing email all day. The more you adapt your message to the right channel, the more likely it is to be seen, understood, and acted on.

Next time you send an update, ask yourself: Am I using the right channel for this message?

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#7. Measuring your success

Writing concise, scannable internal comms is only half the battle — the real test is whether employees read, understand, and act on your messages. Here’s how to track the impact of a “less is more” approach and continuously refine your strategy.

(Keep in mind: Not all internal comms platforms are made the same. Take a close look at which insights you’re able to glean from your tool of choice. If your platform can’t capture helpful internal comms insights, it may be time to make a change!)

#1. Open rates: Are employees clicking?

What to measure:

• Email open rates: Are employees even opening your messages?
• Push notification click-through rates: Do mobile alerts drive engagement?
• Intranet post views: Are employees interested in your intranet content?

Try this: Compare open rates for long-winded subject lines vs. punchy, action-driven ones (e.g., “All-staff meeting agenda” vs. “🚀 Big updates: Here’s what’s next”). Track whether shorter, clearer emails lead to higher engagement.

9 in 10 employees want weekly communication from their company — and 1 in 3 want daily communication.

Harvard Business Review

#2. Engagement: Are employees interacting?

What to measure:

• Read time: Are employees skimming or fully reading?
• Likes, comments, shares: Do they engage with the content?
• Survey completion rates: Are they responding to quick polls or feedback requests

Try this: Post two versions of the same message — one long, one short — to see how it impacts engagement. And be sure to keep all other factors (such as publishing time, day, and channel) the same in order to compare your messages in a true A/B test format.

#3. Feedback loops: Are messages hitting the mark?

What to measure:

• Employee feedback surveys: Do employees feel well-informed?
• Pulse checks: Send a one-question poll (e.g., “Was this message clear?” 👍👎)
• Manager check-ins: Are teams receiving and acting on important updates?

Try this: Make it interactive by adding a quick emoji reaction option to messages to gauge sentiment. Or create a “Too long? Too short? Just right?” poll to see what format employees prefer.

TLDR: If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it

The best internal comms strategies evolve. Keep testing, measuring, and refining. If engagement improves, double down on what works — if it doesn’t, adjust and experiment.

Remember: The goal isn’t just to send messages — it’s to make sure they’re read, understood, and acted on.

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#8. Final thought: Less is more, every time

TLDR: It’s time to TLDR your own content

You’ve learned that less really is more when it comes to internal comms. Whether it’s writing scannable messages, using visuals to replace dense paragraphs, or crafting bite-sized, memorable updates, the goal remains the same: Make it easy for employees to read, understand, and act.

Great internal comms aren’t about saying more — they’re about saying the right things, in the right way. The next time you write a message, ask yourself:

• Would I actually read this?
• Is this eye-catching enough?
• What can I cut without losing meaning?

Now, it’s your turn to put these strategies into action.

Your challenge: Try this in your next message

The next time you write an internal communication, challenge yourself to:

1. Give it a headline of 6 words or less
2. Include a relevant image, GIF, or video
3. Try shortening the message by 30%

Mastering concise, high-impact internal comms won’t just make your messages better — it’ll make your workplace more connected, engaged, and informed.