The state of Internal Communication in UK Medium-Sized Businesses

Internal Comms is one of those subjects that once you get it, you really understand just how important it is for the success, or failure of an organisation.

It is an organisational superpower - proven to improve engagement, boost corporate reputation and have a positive impact on the bottom line. It does this by aligning employees with the business objectives, mission, vision and value through strategically talking to and listening to employees.

Because Internal Communication impacts every single employee, at every level,  you really need to know what you’re doing and how it works.  Frankly, I love helping organisations to make the most of their most precious relationship with their employees because once you get your internal comms strategy right it makes everyone’s jobs much more enjoyable.

So, what are we excited about?

In order to progress, you need to understand - and this is exactly what we needed to do! We wanted to understand just what UK businesses think of Internal Comms, how it is delivered and how it can be improved because when you get it right, it has a direct impact on the bottom line!

The wait is over - the proverbial cat is out of the bag. The results are in!

After months of planning, researching and chewing over the data, our own research into the essential role Internal Communication plays for all organisations reveals some surprising results, which we want UK Businesses to pay serious attention to.

What did we do?

We commissioned independent market research consultants Sapio, to look at how UK businesses are planning, managing, delivering and measuring Internal Communication activity. 

The research surveyed 200 UK decision makers working in HR, Marketing or Communications from companies with 100+ employees, and was built around four core themes - Understanding, Delivery, Measurement and Value. 

The research has provided us with valuable insight into how UK organisations understand and use Internal Communication.

What did we discover?

The research has revealed that although the majority of UK Businesses have an Internal Communication function - they urgently need to change their dated and restricted perceptions of the value and importance it brings to a business. 

• The vast majority of UK businesses have an Internal Communication function (84%) - however, less than a fifth (18%) have a stand alone department responsible for delivering internal messaging.
  
  
• Almost half of UK business decision makers (42%) said that they find it difficult to accurately measure the value Internal Communication brings to their organisation.
  
  
• Almost one in five UK Business Decision Makers (18%) said that Internal Communication is not important to a company’s bottom line, despite 88% saying it is important to employee morale and 84% to employee well-being - both of which have a tangible impact on the bottom line.
  
  
• 81% of UK businesses capture employee feedback at least once a year. 
  
  
• While 72% of those companies that capture employee feedback have an internal communication strategy, less than a quarter (24%) act on the information they gather. 

What’s the big deal?

The deal is that whilst the results show that UK businesses understand the need to have an Internal Communications function, there is a worrying knowledge and experience gap which may be having a negative impact on the bottom line.

The results reflect the fact that the impact Internal Communications has on a business is still misunderstood and therefore undervalued. 

We want to help businesses get to grips with their Internal Communications by using a proven methodology that will help them to understand what is, and more importantly, what isn’t working with their existing Internal Comms efforts. 

These results show that UK Businesses urgently need to change their dated and restricted perceptions of the value and importance it brings to a business.

Download our market research report and take a look under the bonnet of UK Businesses to see how they’re dealing with Internal Communication in UK Businesses. There are some surprising results.