Engaging employees around purpose, strategy and values was found to be the number one priority for 51% for communication strategies in 2023, according to research by Gallagher.
The State of the sector 2023 report drew insights from around 2,000 communication and HR leaders from more than 50 countries. It discovered that 35% prioritised developing or refreshing internal communication strategies, and 19% were going to replace adapting channel strategies to hybrid working – this figure dropped from 39% in 2022, as a result of more organisations bringing employees back to the workplace.
Three-quarters (74%) said the purpose of their internal communication strategy was to shape culture and create a sense of belonging. However, only 56% believed their employees actually understood their strategy, vision and purpose.
The majority (84%) believed their organisation valued employee feedback, and 65% said they did a good job learning from this input.
A lack of time and capacity (34%), disengaged employees (30%) and budget constraints (24%) were cited as the biggest challenges to building stronger and deeper employer-employee connections.
More than a third (36%) of organisations said they did not communicate environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) goals at all. Of those that did, the primary objectives were found to be informing employees of ESG commitments and activities (26%) and encouraging employees to support local communities and charities (13%).
Ben Reynolds, global managing director, employee communication practice at Gallagher, said: “Gallagher’s State of the Sector report provides clarity on the types of information organisations share with their teams, how they’re delivering messages and gaining an understanding about whether internal communication programs are making an impact.
“While budgets will remain tight for most organisations, it’s important to understand today’s employees expect much more than a paycheck from their employer. They choose to stay at an organisation because of its culture and values and the emphasis placed on employee wellbeing. Accomplishing this, while authentically weaving purpose and meaning into internal communication, will allow organisations to overcome challenges and reach their goals.”