5 Stats for the Future of Internal Communications

Discover the latest statistics that prove the direct correlation between strong internal communication and a thriving business–and that clearly show in which direction workplace communication is going.

Internal communication is the connective tissue that holds a business together, keeping its various parts aligned and working in a harmonious fashion. So of course it’s critical to ensure that your company’s workplace communication is structured properly and running smoothly. Without it, employee knowledge and engagement levels come crashing down, and business suffers.

In this article, we’ve compiled the latest statistics on communication in the workplace, figures that clearly demonstrate exactly why this is the case and that show what companies can expect from the role of workplace communication moving forward. Numbers can speak for themselves, but a little understanding around how they fit into the bigger picture can shed real and valuable light on the importance of strong workplace communication at any business.

1. Strong vs. poor communication will become an even bigger factor in corporate productivity

Want to know just how important strong communication in the workplace is? Here are the latest workplace communication statistics. 72% of business leaders believe that effective communication has increased their team’s productivity. 52% of knowledge workers agree, according to a report by The State of Business Communication from 2023.

• Clear Expectations: When communication is effective, employees can clearly articulate the company’s goals, the specific tasks to be done, and the standards expected.
• Boosts Morale: Open and transparent communication can improve employee morale and engagement, by making them feel heard and valued.
• Promotes Teamwork: Effective communication fosters a collaborative environment, allowing for the sharing of ideas, knowledge, and feedback.
• Reduces Conflicts: Misunderstandings and conflicts can cause delays and disrupt workflow. Clear and respectful communication can help prevent such issues, ensuring smooth operations and higher productivity.
• Informed Decision Making: With effective communication, relevant information is shared promptly, enabling quicker and more informed decision-making.
• Employee Satisfaction: Employees who can communicate effectively with their superiors, peers, and subordinates are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, reducing turnover and increasing the overall productivity of the company.

In essence, effective workplace communication streamlines processes, boosts morale, fosters collaboration, reduces conflicts, facilitates decision-making, and increases job satisfaction, all of which contribute significantly to a company’s productivity.

Companies that work on enhancing their communication strategy and their communication tools see concrete results in almost every area of business. Companies that continue to rely on poor communication in the workplace run the risk of damaging their own profits and growth.

It’s a simple fact: effective communication facilitates trust, and improving workplace communication increases productivity. And having effective communication tools will help to ensure that this happens.

2. Hyper-personalization is becoming the norm in workplace communication tools

The numbers are in, and according to the latest effective communication statistics, 55% of communication professionals think the factor that will be the most impactful in the next 5 years will be hyper-personalization. (Gallagher’s 2023 State of the Sector).

Hyper-personalization in internal communications is the primary method of tailoring messages and experiences to individuals based on data collected about them. Besides face to face interactions and phone calls, workplace statistics have clearly demonstrated that hyper-personalization is one of the most effective ways of ensuring a message is received.

It goes well beyond traditional personalization, which might only include using a person’s name, to include their preferences, behaviors, and real-time circumstances. It takes into account their specific attributes and interests to tailor messaging that’s relevant and meaningful to them. Here’s why and how it makes communication in the workplace more effective and impactful:

• Increased Relevance: Hyper-personalization ensures that the information being communicated is highly relevant to the individual. This relevance captures attention, fosters engagement, and increases the likelihood of a positive response.
• Improved Understanding: When messages are personalized, they are more likely to resonate with the recipient, making the communication more effective. The recipient can better understand the message because it directly relates to their situation or needs.
• Stronger Connections and Trust: Hyper-personalized messages can create a stronger emotional connection by making the recipient feel valued and understood. This builds trust and loyalty, strengthening the relationship between the sender and receiver.
• Predictive Personalization: With the help of AI and machine learning, companies can predict future behavior based on past interactions, enabling them to tailor their internal communication even further. Communication tools will increasingly rely on this kind of personalization for optimal results.

To sum it all up, hyper-personalization makes communication more effective and impactful by increasing relevance, improving understanding, building stronger connections, boosting conversion rates, and enhancing customer retention.

It represents the future of business communication, where messages are not only tailored to individuals but also to their specific circumstances in real time.

In a communication platform like Sociabble, for example, targeting becomes a way of ensuring that messages are read while avoiding message overload. Its targeting capabilities and theme-based channels enable admins to get the right information, to the right people, at the right time. The end result? Informed employees who get the job done.

3. The future of internal communications is on the frontlines

It’s a fact clearly demonstrated by the latest workplace communication statistics: 80% of the global workforce does not sit behind a desk to do their jobs. More than ever before, frontline employees working in retail outlets, production spaces, and distribution centers are playing a critical role. They’re on the move, meeting with clients, making phone calls–in short, they’re doing the legwork that keeps the business running.

But this leaning toward mobile accessibility also includes office workers who may prefer a hybrid scenario or just to work remotely. It’s important that these workers are included in communications, and kept informed and engaged regardless of if they’re physically stationed in an office. 

Moving forward, companies need to accommodate this by ensuring that employees relying on mobile devices have just as much connectivity, and receive exactly the same information, as employees operating from a desktop workstation in the actual office. Communication in the workplace will depend on it.

With a platform like Sociabble, for example, a mobile app that provides the same kind of communication platform access as a desktop scenario means that these kinds of remote workers are included in company life, and kept aware of important updates and announcements. Because having more informed employees is always a good thing, whether they’re sitting in HQ, working in a factory, or making sales face to face.

4. Video is outpacing text in terms of efficacy 

The latest communication statistics leave no doubt about it: 78% of people prefer videos to blog posts or articles (Wysowl). Employees are simply more likely to open and absorb company news if it comes in a video format, than the traditional text-based alternative. Digital communication is only becoming more and more visual, and companies need to adapt to this reality.

This means using video to regularly distribute news, updates, and instructional seminars. Companies need to recognize the importance of visual cues when it comes to effective business communication. Solely text-based communication will increasingly become viewed as poor communication in the workplace, leading to workplace failures as a result.

This is why Sociabble has incorporated a new Enterprise Video module that makes creating, sharing, and transcribing videos easier than ever. Real-time translation is also available, meaning that videos can be used in local and regional offices around the world, with comprehension guaranteed. The CEO wants to address the company about a new merger? A floor manager wants to give a lecture on new safety protocols? HR wants to put together a collage of the latest company retreat? Sociabble Enterprise Video can make it happen, and easily at that.

5. The Need for Analytics is only growing stronger

According to the workplace statistics in the latest Gallagher’s State of the Sector report, 34% of communication professionals think they lack time and capacity regarding their teams. And 22% believe they lack analytics for measuring results.

In today’s data-driven world, powerful analytics tools are indispensable for any organization or individual looking to save time and make more informed decisions. And they can avoid the perils of ineffective communication, while also increasing task efficacy. More specifically, they lead to:

• Better Understanding of the Situation: With visual data representation features like charts, graphs, and heat maps, analytics tools can help you understand complex data sets at a glance. 
• Quick Insights: Analytics tools can process vast amounts of data in a fraction of the time it would take a human to do the same task. 
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Once you have these insights, you can make more informed decisions; analytics tools give you the information you need to make decisions that are grounded in data, not just intuition or guesswork.
• Automated Reporting: Many analytics tools offer automated reporting features, saving you from the time-consuming task of manually creating reports. You can schedule reports to run at specific intervals and customize them according to the KPIs you want to follow and report.

To accommodate data-driven decision making, Sociabble has all of these features built in, with a complete analytics package designed to give admins instant, usable data on open rates, share rates, time zone and regional trends–all the information they need to understand the efficacy of their employee communication initiatives.

This information can then be used to identify how poor workplace communication is affecting business, to find weaknesses built into the communication strategy, and then to make the necessary adjustments to optimize performance and avoid poor communication moving forward.

Sociabble for effective communication in the workplace

Keeping on top of the latest internal employee communications trends isn’t always simple or obvious, but having the right employee communication platform can make it a whole lot easier.

Sociabble is a complete communication solution that empowers all of the actions described above. And thanks to its mobile-native app, frontline workers are just as connected as office employees at their desks.

We’ve already partnered with industry leaders like Coca-Cola CCEP, Group Renault, Primark, and L’Occitane, and we’d love to discuss ways we can help your company reach all of its communication goals.

Just sign up here for a free personalized demo.