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Discover opportunities to increase employee trust and happiness.

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Companies are failing to connect with their most important audience.

The Employee Communication Impact Report 2024 is a study by USC Annenberg and Staffbase that interviewed 1000+ employees and 20+ CCOs across North America and uncovered a significant disconnect between companies and their employees. This gap adversely affects employee happiness, commitment, and overall business performance. There’s an urgent need for organizations to prioritize and refine their comms strategies to foster a more engaged and aligned workforce.

To address these issues, we organized our findings into the four key priorities for the future of internal communication:

  • Flexibility: An organization’s workforce may work remotely, thus internal communicators must utilize multiple channels to reach their entire population.
  • Transparency: Employee trust is lost quickly if they believe a company is not being candid. Companies must ensure managers are trained to communicate effectively with timely, accurate information.
  • Speed: Employees are likely to receive company news and information from outside sources before they hear it from their employer, so speed is critical.
  • Feedback: Internal communications must be two-way. Understanding employee viewpoints on both business and societal issues is essential to make executive decisions.

Build stronger teams with transparent and flexible internal comms.

  • CCO Quote

    The future requires rethinking how the internal comms function is organized and where messages are delivered.

    When it comes to the quantity and quality of internal communication in 2024:

    • Only 35% of employees have a high level of satisfaction with the communication they get at work.

    • 53% of employees say that more frequent (daily/weekly) employee communication makes them very familiar with company goals, objectives, and vision.

    • Only 32% of employees feel they are getting enough information at work.

  • Staffbase - Employee Communication Impact Study_Assets - 1000x800 v3

    Internal and external comms are highly intertwined. News about the organization impacts brands and corporate reputations.

    Employees are getting information from a variety of sources, and in 2024, companies need to prioritize the speed of their internal comms:

    • Only 22% of employees rate the quality of news of information from their employer as “good.”

    • 37% of employees get their information about their company from external sources like the internet, the “grapevine,” and social media.



  • Staffbase - Employee Communication Impact Study_Assets - 1000x800 v2 (3)

    Middle managers and immediate supervisors are critical links in internal communication.

    Effective internal communication cascades from senior leaders to immediate supervisors who are most employees' primary information source.

    • 55% of employees prefer to get information from their immediate supervisor.

    • Immediate supervisors are also the most trusted source of information with 56% of employees saying they trust their immediate supervisors “a great deal.”



  • CCO Quote

    Internal communication has evolved into a strategic tool that is central to meeting business goals.

    Building employee loyalty and commitment to the company by understanding employees has the potential to influence the bottom line:

    • 45% of employees think internal comms has “a great deal of impact” to their overall productivity.

    • 74% of employees say a company’s internal comms has “a great deal” or “some impact” on feeling like a part of the team.

    • There’s room to grow: only 43% of employees “strongly agree” they feel committed to their company’s mission and goals.

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[T]he role [of internal communication] is ... critical and pivotal because ... it’s … the front line to ensure that there is this alignment and synergy with the company’s strategic direction and priorities.

- CCO consumer products, and industrial

It's time to address the happiness gap at work.

37%
of employees report being very happy at work which leaves a gap for strong internal communications to fill.
69%
of employees who are very satisfied with their company's internal comms are very likely to stay at their job.
77%
of employees who feel very happy in their current position trust their supervisor as a source of information.