The joint IoIC and IPSOS Karian & Box study, the first of its kind to gather direct feedback on internal communication and employee engagement from more than 3,000 UK employees, identified several critical areas for organisations to address.

Two areas that particularly jumped out at us related to providing more ‘context’ for the work people are doing every day, and in giving them a greater voice.

According to the 2023 IC Index report, only 45% of employees have a comprehensive understanding of their organisation’s strategy and genuinely believe in it.

And in our recent comms audits for client organisations, we’ve seen this too. Employees are often looking for greater understanding of the big picture:

• “I want to know what’s happening in the rest of the organisation. How do the different pieces fit together?”
• “Tell us the thinking and the rationale behind decisions. I often feel like I’m left in the dark.”
• “How are we doing? Don’t wait until the end of the year, when it’s too late.”

Having more opportunities to contribute to decisions, and to share ideas, is another common request. The 2023 IC Index found that only 53% of respondents feel that their organisation welcomes open and honest feedback, while 45% believe their employer demonstrates how feedback is used to inform actionable changes.

This is something else we’ve seen in our client projects:

• “Our messages are all ‘broadcast’ – we tell rather than have dialogue.”
• “We haven’t opened opportunities for people to ask questions and get honest answers and create a dialogue. We need open conversation about what needs to be done.”
• “I’m not confident that anything happens as a result of any feedback we give.”

Fundamental to improving these two areas of employee engagement and internal communications are line managers, but the 2023 IC Index found that a third of managers aren’t confident about leading conversations with their teams.

Training and development are needed for this vital audience, but so often we’ve found that line managers either don’t realise that internal communication is a big part of their role, or don’t give it the love and attention we think it deserves.

Sequel has devised and delivered line manager training programmes for clients to help to raise awareness of the value of internal communication and employee engagement, and to give managers the relevant practical comms skills to apply as they work with their teams day to day.