New Report: Valuing Internal Communication

Internal communication is a significant part of everyday organisational life and is associated with a very wide range of benefits for the organisation, employees and society.

However, the benefits remain poorly understood. As a result, many organisations are missing out on high level performance. And employees are often left feeling disconnected and disengaged.

The Internal Communication Research Hub (ICRH) “Valuing Internal Communication” report summarises a wealth of academic and industry reports to determine the primary benefits that will help practitioners to build a strong business case for greater investment in what they do.

The report is free to download.

Myself and co-author Jenni Field highlighted the key findings in a webinar on 6 November 2025. You can find a recording of this report launch webinar at the end of this article and scroll down to get the report.

Summary of findings

• Internal communication is becoming more strategic, focused on relationships and a planned approach…but more needs to be done on meaningful measurement
• Listening to employees is widely accepted as a core internal communication role…but it is still often limited in scope and follow-up actions
• There are multiple benefits for an organisation when it gets internal communication right, notably with strong impacts on performance, alignment, culture, engagement and change
• There are wide-ranging benefits for employees when internal communication takes a human-centred approach, including belongingness, identification and well-being…but more needs to be done to explain how this also impacts organisational performance
• It may not be immediately obvious but good internal communication also has benefits for society
• The costs of poor internal communication are substantial

10 things to create value and impact

1. Conduct regular pulse surveys with employees to understand their interests and channel preferences
2. Develop measurable communication objectives and review progress regularly
3. Include clear outputs, outcomes and impacts in your plan
4. Allocate 50% of your resources to listening to employees and responding to what they say
5. Regularly check that your organisation’s purpose and values are consistent with the ongoing strategic narrative
6. Support managers to be open, transparent and empathetic
7. Embed clarity, honesty, and listening as core change management communication processes from the start
8. Encourage managers to adopt appreciative working climate processes, such as expressing gratitude and providing support to employees
9. Develop internal communication reporting process that go beyond channel metrics to show the impact on performance and employee well-being
10. Be confident and assertive about the benefits that internal communication generates

About the Internal Communication Research Hub (ICRH)

The Internal Communication Research Hub (ICRH) Europe is led by Dr Kevin Ruck. It was formed in December 2024 and is part of the global hub that is housed within the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, led by Public Relations Professor Linjuan Rita Men.

It is a voluntary group for academics and practitioners to share research and experiences that help to generate evidence-based, effective, and ethical internal communication practice.

The group consists of 17 academics and practitioners in Europe, who give their time voluntarily to support the broad objectives for the group, which are to:

• Share knowledge about academic internal communication research being conducted in Europe
• Provide opportunities for European academics and practitioners to collaborate on research that addresses topical challenges
• Promote the benefits of adopting a research-informed, employee-centric, approach to practice

Find out more about the European ICRH

Further information about the global ICRH