A troubling paradox: with Covid, it seems that intranet traffic has generally decreased this year, even though 52% of frontline managers around the world say they 'missed important information from their company's headquarters during Covid-19.'* Is this a situational or structural dissonance between the resources invested by communicators and the expectations of employees?

Let's call it what it is. Smiles and predictable profiles, inevitably relaxed exchanges, typical corporate jargon, young employees in the spotlight, yet another transformation plan called 'Horizon' or 'Together 2030'... Despite increasingly free and creative formats, internal communication remains steeped in cautious conservatism and a lack of boldness. It follows rather than innovates and still struggles to earn its prestige.

Not to mention the volume of information imposed on connected employees of large corporations: this layering of newsletters (from the Group, the BU, the region, the business line), real-time info, community sharing, expert discussions on WhatsApp... and suddenly we're in the midst of managerial information overload, while the less connected frontline employees are under-informed and often don't even have access to the necessary technical equipment.

We know that with Covid and the remote work boom, our attention spans have sped up, fueled by Netflix and social feeds. Employees have all increased their communication savvy and will be even more cautious about the time and consideration they give to internal comms. They've also become truth experts, discerning fake news from genuine updates, quickly telling apart the sincere from the superficial, between what's offered and what's owed.

It's high time for internal communication to adapt to this new popular soft skill of 'demand and attention vigilance' and quickly narrow the gap between employees' high-quality experiences 'at home' and the less engaging ones the company offers. Keep in mind that reducing the space and time dedicated to internal communication will heighten its performance duty.

Ensuring the smooth flow of information, helping managers communicate better, managing the social climate to keep it as positive as possible, promoting internal mobility, organizing symbolic times for reunions and celebration—these will only be possible by incorporating employees' 'preferred and personal' practices.

2021 will likely be the era of hybrid internal communication, designed for both internal and external contexts, between domestic integration and professional expertise, consumable in both real and virtual spaces—a kind of 'outing of internal comms.'

How about we act on three levers to better integrate internal communication into employees' personal and domestic journeys:

1 / More 'balanced governance.'

It is urgent for internal communication to be visibly governed with greater rationality and hierarchy to avoid message repetition, saturation, and duplication. Fresh content on internal information platforms isn't enough. Like client-directed communication, internal comms must undergo genuine strategic reflection before resulting in an action plan.
A reflection on organization and decision-making bodies within the company should 'self-diminish' the volume of messages and info produced by deciding what's important, what's less so, and what's not at all, even what's entirely irrelevant. Don't occupy the field at all costs; instead, sort, select, prioritize to better highlight the meaning and direction of the company.

2/ More 'hero moments'

We need to invent new ways to celebrate the company's key and positive times, to cultivate attachment and employees' emotional experiences regardless of status or level of connection (victories, good news, successes, strong commitments...).
The gradual disappearance of 'traditional places' of internal communication (seminars, congresses, internal events, team building...) will inevitably reduce its relational and emotional impact. Not knowing what tomorrow's physical workplace will be like, we must expect to reinvent how 'hero moments' are created—those that will provide compelling reasons for employees to come and thrive at the company, those that will boost the intensity of shared moments: workshops and collective intelligence, external guest speakers, temporary exhibitions, third spaces, inclusive neighborhood initiatives...

3/ More 'horizontal consultation.'

Employees, being the primary active agents of change, must be freed to express themselves and given more room for open debates.
Once again, why stifle voices in business when we've never been freer to express ourselves collectively and individually on social media?
Faced with uncertainty and the reconfiguration of work-life experiences, the value of internal communication work will likely lie in its ability to listen to expectations, organize debates, orchestrate the flow of ideas, and consultation, particularly on the future@work. These will be the first markers of the company's intent to engage all employees in shaping the work they want. And it will give it deep meaning.

Without going as far as monetizing it or offering it as an opt-in (let's not take everything from our external media after all), without presuming what work will be like tomorrow (even futurists struggle with that), it may be easier and less taboo to achieve good internal comm metrics if we quickly and securely anchor it in employees' emotional and daily reality.


*International Workplace Study