7 internal communication trends shaping success in 2025

According to PoliteMail’s Internal Communications Trends for Success in 2025 survey, industry professionals have achieved various communication successes in 2024, such as launching new intranet platforms and boosting employee engagement through more concise messaging. Other wins include introducing newsletters, increasing email open rates and hosting informative town hall meetings.

At the same time, internal communicators face multiple challenges as they head into a new year. These can range from improving channel efficiency to encouraging more leadership participation.

Generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, is another big subject — and for good reason. According to research from Gartner®, “By 2027, more than 40% of digital workplace operational activities will be performed using management tools that are enhanced by GenAI, dramatically reducing the labor required.”

Read the main discussion topics among internal communicators as they plan for 2025.

Trend No. 1: Streamlining communication channels

Internal communicators know that while having options to reach employees is good, too many mediums can be detrimental.

More than any other objective for 2025, internal communicators want to optimize their communication channels, according to PoliteMail’s survey of internal communicators. A portion of respondents indicated one way to do this is by reducing them.

One participant, for example, noted their biggest pain point involved “leadership making extra communications channels when trying to streamline.” Another articulated their frustration as follows: “Too many disparate channels, not enough ways to reach employees that work.”

Overall, 72% of internal communicators agreed email was the most effective channel for reaching and engaging employees, making it the top-rated option. In-person team or company meetings were a distant second, garnering 49% of agreement.

Trend No. 2: Experimenting with new mediums

Although it may sound contradictory, it’s not. As internal communicators refine their channels, they simultaneously seek to integrate new ones.

Consider podcasts, for example. This year, 34% of Americans aged 12 and older listened to at least one podcast each week, according to Edison Research. That’s up from 31% in 2023 and 26% in 2022.

Internal communicators are now looking to use the familiar format to convey information to employees who may prefer listening to podcasts while commuting to work or exercising at the gym over reading a newsletter.

Another example is messages on TV screens and other monitors. While this approach can work for smaller companies, it may be more relevant to bigger organizations with employees spread out across factories, warehouses and shipping facilities.

Rather than rely on an in-person morning meeting to remind staff about open enrollment or an upcoming training session, display the announcement throughout the workplace to ensure people are getting the message.

Trend No. 3: Solving information overload

It’s not a new problem, but rather a familiar one that continues to grow in size with every new app, platform, and social network designed to deliver even more content.

During a recent discussion with industry professionals hosted by PoliteMail, participants spoke about the difficulty of ensuring employees receive a message when they’re already inundated with information in both their professional and personal lives. How do you break through the clutter without merely adding to it?

Results from PoliteMail’s annual survey found that 43% of participants list solving employee information overload as a top objective for 2025, making it one of the field’s highest priorities.

“The biggest pain point for internal employee communications right now often revolves around information overload and lack of personalization,” one survey respondent wrote. “Employees are bombarded with numerous messages across different channels, which can lead to disengagement and missed important updates.”

Trend No. 4: Fostering leadership participation

Additional findings from PoliteMail’s annual survey show that nearly half of internal communicators aim to improve employee communication from executives and managers next year. Likewise, around a quarter said gaining more support and participation from leadership was a main opportunity moving forward.

Executives, naturally, have their own definitions of success and problems they need to focus on. However, without them serving as examples or aligning their approach to work in a way that increases communication and boosts morale among the workforce, their actions can do more to hinder than help. Getting their buy-in is critical.

“Employees look to our leaders, and if they’re not engaging in our communication platforms, it gives them permission not to engage as well,” one survey respondent stated when asked to describe one factor that’s likely to have the biggest impact on their strategy in 2025.

Trend No. 5: Measuring the results

It’s difficult to know if your plan is working if there isn’t a reliable way to determine whether you’re moving closer or farther away from your end goal. This is why industry benchmarking and establishing clear KPIs are so crucial.

Indeed, close to one-third of internal communicators who took PoliteMail’s poll named consistently measuring and reporting on multichannel communications effectiveness as a top priority for 2025.

When it comes to the metrics respondents said they care about most, email open rates topped the list. Survey responses came in second place, followed by feedback responses and reactions, and then click rates.

In addition, 71% of comms professionals agreed that the amount of internal content employees read is a high-quality indicator of employee engagement.

Trend No. 6: Leveraging Data Analytics

On a related note, collecting data is only useful if internal communicators know what to do with it.

In today’s business landscape, statistics are everywhere. Clicks, views, likes, and shares can reveal what employees really think about a new policy or initiative, despite what they might tell their manager or HR specialist.

Therefore, getting a solid grasp on data analytics can help make sense of the raw numbers. The skillset can assist in identifying trends and uncovering changes in staff sentiment.

As more companies seek to make decisions based on hard figures — rather than someone’s opinion or gut instinct — internal communicators will need to leverage data to get a seat at the table.

Trend No. 7: Embracing GenAI

No list of top themes in the field of communications strategy would be complete without mentioning generative artificial intelligence.

The technology is here to stay. And it may not make people as obsolete as some critics have warned. Additional research from Gartner® estimates, “by 2029, 80% of human decisions will not be replaced, only augmented by GenAI, as humans will maintain their comparative advantages in ingenuity, creativity and knowledge.”

Survey results from PoliteMail’s poll of internal communicators show that among those who have used GenAI on the job, more than twice as many said the technology made them and their team more productive than those who said the results were neutral.

As one participant put it, “AI is helping our teams go further, faster.”

While just over a quarter state they haven’t implemented any GenAI tools into their communications efforts, the same percentage said leveraging artificial intelligence in meaningful ways was a top objective for next year.

How to prepare for the future

For internal communicators looking to take a deeper dive into these issues and learn best practices for overcoming common hurdles, PoliteMail is hosting a free webinar on January 9, 2025, to do exactly that. Join us as PoliteMail’s Melissa Katski-Berry shares more key findings from our annual survey of 200 professional communicators.

To register and review more information, please click here.