New report reveals 46% of communicators believe that poor internal communication relates to staff attrition

A new report from award-winning intranet and employee engagement solution, Oak Engage highlights the impact of poor internal communication and reveals that 46% of internal communicators believe that it will lead to low morale and high levels of staff attrition.

The State of IC 2023 report answers some of the key questions around internal communication objectives, trends, best practices and potential challenges, with recommendations for the year ahead. 

The report found that 37% of internal communicators believe their biggest challenge is lack of awareness of the value of internal communication at an executive level. It also reveals that internal communicators top priority is getting the right message to the right people at the right time, with 22% of communicators believing that the technology they currently use is not fit for purpose. Highlighting how critical technology is in increasing employee engagement. 

Oak Engage’s recommendations for 2023 are:

1. Create a culture of openness and recognition

Suzanne Benoit, Sociologist and HR Consultant, specialising in human behaviour in the workplace commented: “Most important for a successful communication system is for leadership to hear from and listen to employees about their concerns and needs relative to their work. Employee communication platforms are a helpful tool to foster these conversations.” 

2. Influence your stakeholders

Will Murray, CEO at Oak Engage said: “Our survey revealed that a lack of an accurate and appropriately segmented audience list was the biggest challenge communicators need to address. It is essential to understand who the intended audience is and who you’re communicating with. It’s necessary to also find out what your audience cares about so you can ensure the message resonates with each of them. Putting your audience first is key. We’ve created an internal audience persona template to get you started.”

3. Understand your audience

Communications Manager at Havebury Housing Partnership, Hayley Lambert explains that proactive communications are now firmly on everyone's radar, starting with their Leadership team: “Communication is more streamlined and integrated. There is a comms place at the beginning of every project plan. The strategy is continuously evolving in collaboration with the leadership team. “

4. Measure your success 

Mike Klein, Internal Communications Strategist said: “Your company is measured on the basis of business performance, so look at how IC directly or measurably - even if indirectly - affects business performance. I recommend including these two questions in your survey: What are the top three priorities facing the organisation? What are the three things you’re working on? Think about what you want people to do - and find out how often that shows up in what people are saying.

5. Embrace technology

Will Murray, CEO at Oak Engage said: “Our report shows that 22% of internal communicators believe that the technology that they have at their fingertips is currently not fit for purpose. This is a worrying statistic and we believe that intranets should be working a whole lot harder for them.”

“Hybrid working is here to stay in some capacity and businesses need to adapt their practices in order for their people to feel motivated and engaged.”

“Oak Engage can empower businesses to reach every employee, every time by using personalised curated content which will stop your employees being overloaded with irrelevant information and boost employee engagement. Today’s teams need a new way to communicate that reduces noise and this is what we’re focused on.” 

For more key insight from industry experts and detailed recommendations, download the full State of IC 2023 report from their website.

ENDS

For more information contact:

Emma Williamson | PR & Partnerships Manager | 07842310340

About Oak Engage 

Oak Engage is an award-winning employee engagement and intranet solution. Oak Engage delivers next generation curated content across a modern intranet and employee engagement app. We empower internal comms teams to surface relevant content, to the right people, at the right time. 

Oak Engage is here to make the experience of communicating with your people simpler, easier and more streamlined than anyone else. Oak believes that there is a better way to use technology to engage employees, cut through the noise, and inspire action that puts people at the heart of organisations.

Oak Engage's achievements to date:

• Award-winning: The Nation’s Best Intranet with NatWest Group at the IoIC Awards
• Goes above and beyond for their people with 4.9/5 rating on Glassdoor
• High Performer on G2
• Goes above and beyond for their customers with a 9.4 Quality of Support score on G2 (Industry average: 8.6)
• Trusted by the world’s biggest brands including Aldi, Five Guys, ITV and NatWest Group
• Sends millions of personalised messages to employees everyday