The IOIC recently published their all-new IC Index 2023, in partnership with the fantastic team at Ipsos Karian and Box. The report provides a UK-wide view from employees on internal communication, detailing their current experience and what good IC looks like for them. It is a very insightful read and I’d encourage you to take a look if you haven’t already.
But…it’s also a fairly disheartening read in places. The good news is that there’s lots of love for IC teams; with 6 out of 10 UK employees rating their employer’s internal communications as excellent. However, the issues highlighted by the report are all too familiar:
- Only 54% say that they trust comms from their CEO
- A third of line managers don’t feel equipped to lead conversations with their teams about what is happening across their organisation
- Just 53% of UK workers say that their organisation welcomes open and honest feedback
- And only 45% say their employer shows how feedback is used to inform action
Is it any wonder that global employee engagement is still at an all-time low? I have seen a few critics of employee engagement posting comments recently along the lines of ‘employee engagement doesn’t work, it’s time for something new’.
Unsurprisingly I don’t agree with these critics. The bottom line is, if we get the experience right with our people engagement will follow – it’s the outcome of having a great experience. And the results from the IC Index research show that we’re still not getting the experience right.
So what do we do? Well, first up we need to start doing something different, and this is true of the wider people functions, but especially for internal comms pros. Because if we continue to do what we’ve always done then we won’t ever change these results. It’s time to approach IC in a new way and we call this ‘IC By Design’, which is using design thinking and positive psychology to take a people centred approach to internal comms.
This new and revolutionary approach to internal comms is the way forward, to truly elevate the impact IC has, not just on the business, but the people that work there.
If you want to find out more about IC By Design we’d love to hear from you, drop us a line.
