A well-written policy no one reads. An important update buried in email chains. A new strategy that only half the company hears about.
Sound familiar?
Poor internal communication isn’t just inefficient—it quietly erodes trust and performance. And in 2025, with hybrid work, multi-location teams, and increased employee expectations, the cost of getting it wrong is higher than ever.
Modern internal comms isn’t about volume—it’s about clarity, structure, and inclusivity. The best HR teams are building systems that work not only for leadership, but for everyone.
Here’s what makes internal communication actually work—and what to do if yours aren’t landing.
Clarity Over Clutter
More channels don’t equal better communication.
Many organisations rely on a messy combination of emails, Slack, Teams, and intranets—none of which are used consistently. Employees miss announcements, dig through multiple threads, or worse, disengage completely.
The fix? Choose a small number of trusted internal communication tools and use them intentionally. Updates should be centralised in a space where employees know to look and where messages don’t disappear. Messages themselves should be timely and to the point, with clear subject lines and a direct explanation of what matters and why.
One operations team in Germany moved their weekly updates from a mix of PDFs and Slack posts into a central, mobile-friendly news feed. The result? Engagement with internal comms increased by over 30% in just two months.
Meet People Where They Are
Not every employee sits in front of a screen all day. Great internal communication is designed to reach everyone—regardless of their location, role, or preferred device.
For deskless or frontline workers, mobile-friendly messaging is essential. Teams working across time zones benefit from asynchronous updates or digest-style communications that don’t rely on live meetings. In multinational companies, clarity and language support are vital—especially when not everyone shares a first language or cultural context.
When employees can access the same information on their own terms and in their own format, they’re far more likely to engage with it. Platforms like MELP’s internal communication tools are built for this kind of reach and flexibility—making it easy for HR teams to inform and include every member of the organisation.
Two-Way, Not Just Top-Down
Broadcasting announcements is easy—but listening is just as important.
When communication is only one-way, employees feel excluded and disengaged. High-performing organisations foster feedback: they use pulse surveys, maintain feedback inboxes or anonymous forms, and encourage direct questions through open Q&As or team sessions.
This feedback loop builds trust and helps surface potential issues before they escalate. The CIPD’s review on psychological safety shows that open, reciprocal communication is one of the most powerful ways to build retention and resilience inside organisations.
And it doesn’t need to be overengineered. One UK-based team simply asked, every Friday, “What’s one thing leadership should know this week?” That single question sparked better awareness and a stream of useful, actionable feedback.
Train People to Communicate Better
No matter how good the tool, internal comms break down when messages are unclear, mistimed, or misaligned.
That’s why the most effective HR teams don’t just roll out platforms—they build capability. Training people across the organisation in basic communication skills can have an outsized impact. This includes showing line managers how to deliver a team update, helping onboarding buddies set the right tone, or giving leaders a framework for sharing decisions with empathy and clarity.
It doesn’t need to be a formal programme. Short sessions, refreshers, and written guides can do the job. The point is to help people feel confident sharing information that’s timely, accurate, and respectful.
According to McKinsey, organisations that train their people in communication fundamentals consistently outperform those that don’t—especially when it comes to speed, alignment, and trust.
Make It Easy to Find, Not Easy to Miss
Good messages can still fail if they’re hard to find.
When communication lives across too many channels or isn’t archived properly, employees waste time searching—or they simply miss it. Structuring internal content like a knowledge hub helps solve this. Important updates should be easy to locate, clearly grouped by topic or team, and available to new hires as part of onboarding.
Some companies now treat internal communication more like documentation than announcements. They know the real value of a message isn’t just when it’s sent—it’s when it’s understood and used.
Equip HR With a Strategic Comms Framework
Beyond tools, HR teams benefit from structure. One widely used and proven model is the Five-Beat Strategy, outlined in HubSpot’s Modern HR Playbook. This framework helps connect communication to employee engagement, experience, and effectiveness.
It begins with establishing a baseline: assess current communication habits and pain points. Then, map out key messaging moments across the employee journey—onboarding, promotions, performance reviews, and exits. From there, track progress by measuring not just reach or open rates, but how communication supports behaviours or outcomes. Use internal messaging to educate, support, and recognise your people. And finally, when something isn’t landing, dive deeper—use feedback to adjust and improve.
With this rhythm, HR teams can move from reactive updates to proactive influence.
Communication That Reflects Culture
The best internal communication systems aren’t just functional—they’re cultural.
Tone matters. Consistency matters. Transparency matters. If your organisation values trust, agility, or collaboration, your comms should reflect those values in both content and delivery.
One growing company replaced their monthly all-hands slide deck with a five-point weekly “pulse update” from leadership. It was brief, human, and consistent. Over time, employees began to look forward to it—not because of the format, but because of the tone, timing, and trust it created.
Employees don’t expect perfection. But they do expect honesty and clarity. That’s what builds alignment—and that’s what sticks.
Internal communication that actually works isn’t louder or faster—it’s clearer, more consistent, and more thoughtful.
It ensures everyone—whether in the office, on the shop floor, or logging in from another time zone—gets the context and clarity they need to succeed. And it helps organisations move not just with speed, but with cohesion and trust.
With the right strategy, tools, and culture, HR teams can transform comms from an afterthought into a competitive advantage.
