Employee communication

Employee communication in 2025: your ultimate guide

Get up to speed with the latest insights and tips on employee communications.

77% of leaders believe they give employees enough information to do their jobs well. But just 46% of employees agree.

This mismatch poses a problem. Because the quality of your employee communications has a far-reaching impact on your business. It affects employee engagement, productivity, and retention — which means it affects business profits, too. 

Organizations have to develop a communication strategy that works for leaders and employees. Only then can they share clear and consistent messages — and reap the benefits of good employee comms. 

Here, we share everything you need to know about employee communications. We look at best practices, tools, channels, KPIs, and more — to help you improve employee communications at your organization.

What is employee communication?

The effectiveness of your employee communication makes a big difference to your organization. It impacts the following:

  • Employee engagement. Effective employee communication supports employee engagement. It helps employees to feel valued and included. Workers also understand how they contribute to organizational goals, which promotes employee motivation.
  • Productivity. When employees get the information they need to do their jobs, they’re more productive. Effective communication clarifies expectations, reduces misunderstandings, and supports collaboration.
  • Company culture. Consistent employee communications emphasize the values and mission of your organization. Employees feel part of something bigger and experience a sense of belonging.
  • Employee retention. Communicate effectively within your organization and you can reduce employee turnover. Staff are less likely to look for a job elsewhere when they feel they are valued and productive members of a positive company culture.

Because employee communication touches so many aspects of your organization, it has a big impact on your bottom line.

Business leaders say that poor communication costs their teams an average of 7.47 hours per week — and researchers estimate that it costs a business up to $15,000 per employee per year.

What does good employee communication look like?

In the workplace of 2025, effective employee communication reflects the following principles. 

Transparent

Leaders and managers communicate openly with employees. They build trust by sharing information as transparently as possible. They explain the ‘why’ behind decisions so employees understand the bigger picture.

Easy to understand

Good communicators create messages that are easy for employees to understand. They use simple language, not complex jargon or acronyms. They also put the most important information first.

Consistent

The best employee comms are consistent. Employees come to expect useful messages from leadership so they check communication channels regularly.

Relevant

Effective employee communications are relevant to the recipient. Overload employees with too many messages that don’t relate to them or their roles and they’re likely to switch off from your comms.

Empathetic

Particularly at times of change or crisis, good employee communication is empathetic. It references how employees might be feeling and shows concern for their wellbeing.

Accessible

Effective employee communications are delivered over communication channels that all employees can access easily. This may mean using digital tools that are available via smartphone.

Two-way

You build a strong company culture — and are more likely to engage employees with your communications — when you allow information to travel from employer to employee and vice versa.

Timely

Information is delivered to employees as and when they need it. This ensures that everyone is kept in the loop and that no message is out-of-date by the time it reaches an employee. 

Transform employee communication with Blink

Our super-app has all the two-way communication tools you need to keep your workforce informed and engaged.

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Transform employee communication with Blink

Our super-app has all the two-way communication tools you need to keep your workforce informed and engaged.

Book demo

Transform employee communication with Blink

Our super-app has all the two-way communication tools you need to keep your workforce informed and engaged.

Book demo

Transform employee communication with Blink

Our super-app has all the two-way communication tools you need to keep your workforce informed and engaged.

Book demo

The difference between employee communication and internal communication

The terms employee communication and internal communication are often used interchangeably — and there is a lot of overlap between the two concepts.

However, internal communication refers to all communication within an organization. It includes peer-to-peer communication, communication between departments, and communication within teams.

Employee communication is a subset of internal communication. It refers specifically to the communication between an organization and its employees.

Types of employee communication  

The type of employee communication your organization leans toward is influenced by company culture and the personalities within your leadership team. But all communication styles fall into one of the following categories.

Passive communication

Passive communicators go with the flow. They avoid expressing their thoughts, feelings, or needs directly. They try to avoid conflict at all costs.

Pros:

  • The outward preservation of workplace harmony

Cons:

  • Problems go unresolved
  • A lack of direction and clarity for employees
  • Employees feel disengaged because the organization appears aloof and detached

Passive-aggressive communication

When people communicate passive-aggressively, they appear amenable. However, they voice their dissatisfaction indirectly. They show their feelings through negative behaviors, like sarcasm or backhanded compliments.

Pros:

  • The outward preservation of workplace harmony

Cons:

  • Creates employee mistrust and frustration
  • Employees are less likely to ask for help or voice their concerns
  • A lack of open communication in the workplace, so productivity and morale suffer

Aggressive communication

Organizations with an aggressive communication style have very little interest in the feelings and opinions of employees. Communication is forceful and focused on the goals of the organization. Aggressive communicators are also quick to blame employees when things go wrong.

Pros:

  • Quick decision-making
  • Sometimes, this approach can drive organizational results

Cons:

  • Creates a culture of fear and blame
  • Employees feel undervalued and disrespected, which leads to increased turnover
  • A lack of open communication

Assertive communication

Assertive communicators clearly express their ideas and expectations. They speak honestly and aren’t afraid to tackle interpersonal problems or give constructive feedback. When people communicate assertively, they balance their needs with the needs of others, showing consideration for employee thoughts and feelings.  

Pros:

  • Encourages trust and transparency
  • Employees get clear direction and feedback, which support productivity and morale
  • Enables an open dialogue, so employees feel able to share ideas and opinions
  • Fosters a respectful relationship between the organization and its employees, which encourages loyalty

Cons:

  • May require training in skills like emotional intelligence, empathy, and active listening

An assertive communication style is more attuned to the modern workforce and their needs — so it tends to get the best business results.

Bear in mind that the communication style you use in the workplace isn’t set in stone. So if you want to adopt an assertive communication style, the right practice and training can help you get there.

Employee communication channels: the good (and the not so good) 

So we’ve looked at the different styles of employee communication you can use in the workplace. Now, let’s look at the array of communication channels you can use to reach employees.

Analog communication channels

Before the advent of the internet and digital communication tools, organizations relied heavily on analog communication channels like these ones. 

Memos, newsletters, and posters

Memos, newsletters, and posters are a thing of the past in many modern organizations. But they’re still often used in companies with a large frontline workforce. Unless these organizations have a frontline-focused communication tool, they tend to rely heavily on paper processes. 

But there are issues with these communication channels. They’re only suited to top-down communication and don’t give employees a way to respond. They’re also an unreliable way to share information as leaders can’t be sure that employees are actually reading the messages they post.

Meetings

Meetings have also gotten a bad rap in recent years. Despite being a forum for two-way communication, meetings are often criticized for being inefficient and overused. In response, some organizations are changing the way they do meetings.

Shopify cut 322,000 hours of meetings by deleting recurring meetings with more than two people from employee calendars. Jeff Bezos famously created the ‘two-pizza’ meeting rule, whereby no meeting should have more attendees than could be fed by two pizzas. 

Rethinking the volume and format of meetings can help keep this communication channel focused and effective. 

Digital communication channels

Organizations are overcoming the problems of analog communication channels by embracing digital communication tools.  

Intranet platforms

The first intranet platforms were uninspiring places. But technology has come on leaps and bounds since those early days.

Today, the modern intranet gives organizations everything they need for effective employee communication. Intranets provide a range of communication tools — including instant messaging, a company news feed, a content hub, and employee surveys.

The best intranet software supports employee engagement, recognition, and collaboration — and it integrates with the other workplace tools you use. It also gives employees the tools they need to join the conversation.

Employee apps

The employee app takes the intranet experience beyond desktop computers and puts it in the palm of every employee. It makes intranet communication tools available via employee smartphones. 

With a mobile-first design, these apps are intuitive and enjoyable to use. They give employees access to all workplace communications and tools from a single, unified dashboard.

This makes them a great option for frontline employees, who don’t always have the work computer or email address they need to log into a desktop-based platform.

Email

Email is still one of the most widely used communication tools in the workplace. You can use it to share updates with individuals, teams, or the whole company. But its success is, perhaps, part of the problem.

Employees receive a huge number of emails every day. This makes it hard to get messages to cut through. Email is also asynchronous, so it doesn’t support real-time conversation and collaboration.

Internal videos

An internal video is a great way to share messages with employees. While videos don’t allow for interaction, they are engaging. Audio and visuals catch an audience’s attention.

You can use a video to share a leadership message with employees. This helps to humanize your leaders and build a strong connection with employees. You can also use videos and visuals to explain complex concepts, so they’re easier for employees to understand.

Instant messaging

Instant messaging tools allow for real-time communication. Notifications ensure messages are seen quickly and search tools make it easy to find past conversations. 

However, in the workplace, these instant messaging tools pose a challenge. They need to provide an exceptional user experience. Otherwise, employees often revert to the third-party messaging apps they use away from work. 

Use of shadow IT fragments employee communication and makes it harder to encourage adoption of your workplace tools. So you should do everything you can to keep employees on approved internal communication channels. 

Video conferencing software

The backbone of every remote-working team, video conferencing software is one of the most popular communication tools of recent years.

It allows organizations to communicate, face-to-face with employees, even when they’re not in the office. And it’s a great way to conduct company Q&A sessions, too. Employees can contribute to video meetings verbally — or by submitting comments in the chat bar.

Internal social media

Social media is designed to grab and hold our attention. Many organizations are harnessing this engagement for their employee communications.

Comms leaders are incorporating a social-media-style experience within their intranet or employee app. They’re sharing interactive, multimedia content via the company news feed, where employees can view, like, share, and comment on posts.

The best news feed tools allow you to set permissions, deciding who can post and comment. They also provide audience segmentation features, so your employees only see content that is relevant to them, preventing information overload.

Employee surveys

Employee surveys — sent over your intranet or employee app — are a great way to get employee feedback. You can ask staff about their workplace experience, upcoming changes, or even the quality of your staff communications.

You can then close the feedback loop by sharing survey results and an action plan on other employee communication channels.

A content hub

A digital content hub is a centralized location where all essential company documents live. Employees usually access this hub via your company intranet or app.

Here, employees can self-serve company resources — like policy documents, training materials, and safety updates. They can quickly and easily find the information they need without having to ask a manager or trawl through emails.

As long as it’s reliably and regularly updated, this hub can act as another valuable employee communication channel.

Go beyond email

Discover how turning off employee email can transform employee communications and the employee experience.

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Go beyond email

Discover how turning off employee email can transform employee communications and the employee experience.

Watch webinar

Go beyond email

Discover how turning off employee email can transform employee communications and the employee experience.

Watch webinar

Go beyond email

Discover how turning off employee email can transform employee communications and the employee experience.

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The best employee communication software for 2025

The best employee communication software incorporates many of the digital communication channels listed above. They support real-time, two-way communication — and they’re also designed to be engaging for employees. Let’s take a look at the best of the bunch for 2025.

Blink

Best for: companies with a mix of desk-based and frontline workers

Blink is an employee communication app. It acts as the digital front door for your organization, providing easy access to a content hub, company news feed, instant messaging, and employee surveys.

Employees don’t need a company email address or a desktop computer to sign in to Blink. Instead, thanks to single sign-on technology, they can access all tools via a user-friendly, mobile interface. For those employees working in the office, Blink is available in a desktop version, too.

Other benefits of Blink include:

  • Integration with the other workplace software you use, including HRIS, training, and project management tools.
  • Powerful analytics that give you actionable insight into app usage, employee engagement, and the employee experience.
  • Communities and stories that promote peer-to-peer communication and connection.
  • AI-powered features that allow you to personalize and automate employee journeys, giving your staff the resources they need, when they need them.

Offering the same experience over mobile and desktop versions, Blink brings office-based and frontline teams together. It gives you everything you need to improve communication with employees, workplace culture, and employee engagement.

Slack

Best for: desk-based organizations

When we talk about the best communication tool provider, then the first name that comes to the mind is Slack. The real challenge is to maintain effective communication with a remote employee. Well, this is where Slack plays its role. The employees can sync their Slack status with the Google calendar. As a result, others become aware of the availability of an employee.

With this tool it becomes easy for the employees to join Zoom with a single click. Slack also provides a Gmail add-on. Well, this is why it becomes easy for you to bring an email thread into Slack.

When the email thread is available on the tool, then you can discuss it with the team without a problem. When you want to have effective employee communication, then it is essential that employees need to remain updated.

Close up of Slack on computer.

You can collaborate with the Google Drive using Slack. As a result, you will get information about the latest files shared or you will receive comments on your work. The employees can import the drive files which they wish to share with the other team members.

Slack is an asset for the remote employees also. The employee can create a dedicated channel for each project using this tool. As an employee, you can move all the meeting notes, files, and discussions into the channel.

The employees can name the channels to ensure that the discussion stays on topic. The organization can introduce a general channel for announcements. The benefit of this practice is that all employees will remain updated.

Microsoft Viva Engage

Best for: organizations that already use Microsoft products

Microsoft Viva Engage, previously known as Yammer, works well with other products in the Microsoft suite. It acts as an internal social networking tool.

Employees can keep up-to-date with company news via the news feed. It’s also possible to create virtual town hall events with video and Q&A functions. The network facilitates private messaging, too, so it’s easy for employees to communicate with one another.

Motivosity

Best for: building a culture of recognition and rewards

Motivosity is a reward and recognition tool. It allows leadership and management to recognize employee achievements in a public forum. Then, allocate points that employees can spend in the Rewards Marketplace.

This tool also provides a social feed and space for company resources. You can schedule important posts ahead of time and create announcements on behalf of your executive team.

How to drive engagement with a super-app

Discover how Care Synergy, a leading home health organization, improved workplace communication and engagement with an employee app.

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How to drive engagement with a super-app

Discover how Care Synergy, a leading home health organization, improved workplace communication and engagement with an employee app.

Watch webinar

How to drive engagement with a super-app

Discover how Care Synergy, a leading home health organization, improved workplace communication and engagement with an employee app.

Watch webinar

How to drive engagement with a super-app

Discover how Care Synergy, a leading home health organization, improved workplace communication and engagement with an employee app.

Watch webinar

Creating an effective employee communication strategy: a step-by-step guide

Strategy is key to effective employee communications. Here’s how to create an employee communication plan that works. 

Step 1: Assess your current situation

Start by taking stock of your current staff communications. What’s working well? Which messages are cutting through? Which employee groups are you managing to reach?

While your comms team will likely have a lot of insight into this topic, don’t stop there. Seek opinions from across your organization. Find out what stakeholders at all levels think of your employee communications — and ask about the changes they’d like to see.

Step 2: Set goals and key performance indicators (KPIs)

With a good understanding of where you currently stand, you can start to picture where you want to get to. To judge the effectiveness of your employee communication strategy going forward, you need to set goals and KPIs.

Pick SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound — and decide on the KPIs you’ll use to measure your success. Then, make a note of current KPIs as a benchmark.

Step 3: Define the type of employee communication content you want to share

Deciding on the types of content you want to share with employees will help you decide which employee communication tools best meet your needs.

You may want to communicate with employees via:

  • Multimedia social posts
  • Video meetings
  • Instant messaging
  • Self-serve resources

Having a range of different communication content keeps employees engaged with your messages. It also provides forums for all types of communication — including top-down, bottom-up, formal, informal, private, and public communication.

Step 4: Pick an employee communication tool

When choosing employee communication software, look for a platform that provides:

  • Engaging, two-way communication channels
  • Personalization and automation features
  • Integrations with other workplace software
  • An intuitive, user-friendly interface

The right tool will offer a range of communication channels. It will also allow you to reach all employees within your organization with vital employee comms.

Step 5: Segment your audience

If employees receive lots of irrelevant workplace communication, they’re likely to stop reading your messages. To avoid this, you need to segment your audience based on their:

  • Location
  • Role
  • Team
  • Tenure

You can then ensure that only relevant communications reach each employee, whether that’s on their intranet dashboard, in the company news feed, or in the content hub.

Step 6: Create an employee communications calendar

Little and often is the best approach to employee communications. To keep your comms consistent, create a calendar and assign responsibilities.  

Determine how messages will be shared — and when. Add regular events, like the quarterly Q&A with your CEO, the monthly employee newsletter, and regular employee surveys. Schedule social posts for your news feed and decide how often you’ll check and refresh the resources on your content hub.

By putting all comms tasks into your calendar, you can plan ahead — prepping your leaders for their company-wide video conference, seeking an update from department heads, and keeping the news feed populated with lots of engaging content.

Step 7: Provide team training

As we mentioned earlier, an assertive communication style doesn’t always come naturally — and most teams benefit from communication skills training.

If you’re using a new platform with new communication channels, it’s of particular importance. 

Anyone creating content for your communication channels should receive guidance on clear and empathetic communications. They should also understand which channels to use for which content — and how to encourage employee interaction.

Step 8: Encourage leaders and managers to lead by example

You make employee communications more effective and engaging if they aren’t left solely to the internal communications team. Messages from leaders and managers resonate with employees.

So encourage leaders and managers to maintain an active presence on company communication channels. When employees see this engagement from their leaders, they’re more likely to see the value of your internal communication channels.

Step 9: Track performance

After putting your employee communication strategy into action, continue to track performance. Use the KPIs you set earlier to judge your progress and set new, more ambitious goals.

You can also make use of employee feedback and platform analytics. By diving into the data, on a team-by-team basis, you build a comprehensive picture of how information is shared across your organization.

This will help you pinpoint managers who need extra communication training, communication channels that get the best levels of engagement, and the types of content that are most effective at conveying a message.

Measuring success: employee communication goals and KPIs

We talked about KPIs in the last section. But what KPIs give you the best indication of employee communication performance? Here are some of the communication metrics you may like to track.

Content engagement rates

Content engagement rates tell you how interesting your company’s content is. So track how many of your messages are opened. Likewise, track content engagement rates on your news feed by looking at the number of likes, shares, and comments your posts receive.

Message and feedback response time

When employees respond quickly to messages and feedback requests, it shows they understand what you’re asking them to do. It also indicates high levels of engagement on your communication channels.

Communication tool adoption

What proportion of your workforce uses your communication tools? Look at app download and usage rates. This metric tells you how user-friendly your communication platform is — and whether employees have been given enough support in accessing it.

Employee engagement

Good employee communications have a positive impact on employee engagement. So measuring engagement is a great way to assess comms performance. Use analytics to gauge engagement across your communication channels and gather data on employee engagement with regular pulse surveys.

Leadership visibility

Leaders help drive engagement with your employee communication tools. So look at the number of messages leaders send and the consistency of their messaging. Also, analyze how employees interact with leadership messages specifically.

Employee sentiment

A good communications platform with powerful analytics makes it easy to assess employee sentiment across your communication channels. You find out how employees feel about your communications — and about the organization in general.

Employee retention

When workplace communication is poor, employees are more likely to leave. Track your employee retention rate, alongside comms performance metrics, to understand the wider impact of your employee communications.

How to improve employee communication: 5 bad habits to fix

Bad employee communication habits hamper your ability to connect with your workforce. Here are some of the most common mistakes organizations make — and what you can do to fix them.

1. Saying too much

Try to say too much at once and you overwhelm employees with information. They find it harder to digest your content and end up skimming or ignoring future comms.

How to fix it:

  • Get clear on the most important message. Do this before you start writing. Then, lead with the most important point first.
  • Break complex information into smaller chunks. You can create a post that tackles each part of the announcement, before publishing posts in a logical order.
  • Be consistent with your employee communications. Keep on top of comms and it’s easier to maintain a little and often approach.

2. Using only text

Text has long been the standard for employee communication. But — with the right employee communication platform — you have a wealth of tools at your disposal.

Fail to use them and you miss out on opportunities to engage employees and encourage two-way interaction.

How to fix it:

  • Share messages in a variety of different ways. Use text, images, short-form video, polls, and graphics.
  • Aim for a social-media-style experience. Try to replicate the engaging experience employees get on social media apps away from work.

3. Taking a one-comms-fits-all approach

Send all messages to all employees and they’ll soon become overloaded with information. They’ll switch off from your employee communications making it harder for you to cut through with critical messages.

How to fix it:

  • Segment your audience. The right communication tool will make this process easy. Then, select the relevant audience for each piece of content.
  • Use different communication channels. A closed team chat or an employee community are great places to share hyper-relevant content.

4. Failing to seek feedback from employees

Fail to seek employee feedback and you can’t know for sure that your employee communications are effective. This makes it difficult for you to make meaningful improvements to your employee communication strategy.

How to fix it:

  • Send out regular employee surveys and polls. Get to know employee needs and expectations. Find out what they think about your communication platform, channels, and content.
  • Use intranet analytics. A good communication platform will provide in-depth data on your employee comms performance.
  • Create a feedback loop. Acknowledge employee feedback and explain what you plan to do next to sustain employee faith in the feedback process.

5. Using the wrong channel or platforms

Using multiple communication channels and platforms can cause confusion. Unless there’s a clear strategy for what goes where, employees will struggle to find the information they need.

Likewise, unless all employees can access your communication channels, you end up with fragmented and ineffective messaging. This can harm company culture, collaboration, and productivity.

How to fix it:

  • Clearly define your channels. Decide which content goes where. For example, company news could go on the newsfeed and evergreen content could go on your content hub. This approach ensures employees know where to go for different types of information.
  • Pick a platform that everyone can access. Ensure that all employees — those working in the office, at home, and on the frontlines of your organization — have equal access to employee communications and workplace tools.
  • Pick an all-in-one tool. Choose a feature-rich platform that provides deep integrations so employees don’t have to switch between lots of different workplace tools. 

Improve employee communications with an all-in-one communication tool

Effective employee communication supports the smooth running of your organization and the satisfaction of your staff. It benefits employee motivation, productivity, collaboration, engagement, and retention.

You can ensure effective communication by training leaders and employees to develop assertive and empathetic communication skills. A comprehensive communication strategy and clear KPIs are also really useful.

When it comes to delivering employee communications and assessing their impact, the right employee communication software makes the task a lot easier.

A good employee communications platform will provide:

  • A selection of engaging, two-way communication channels
  • Analytics tools that help you track KPIs
  • Desktop and mobile interfaces so you can reach your whole workforce
  • Integration with other workplace tools to prevent app overload

With an employee app, like Blink, it’s easy to maintain clear, consistent, two-way communications across your organization.

Schedule a Blink demo to see our app in action.

Employee communication FAQs

What is good employee communication?

Good employee communication keeps employees in the loop. It ensures employees are aware of company updates. It also allows employees to speak up and be heard. This supports engagement and motivation. 

To achieve effective employee communication, you need to communicate clearly, consistently, and empathetically across multiple internal channels.

What are employee communication needs?

Employees have various communication needs. These include:  

  • transparent and frequent communication on key business topics
  • two-way communication
  • the opportunity to share feedback, opinions, and ideas
  • a sense of company culture and belonging

Why is employee communication important?

Employee communication is important because it impacts employee morale, engagement, productivity, satisfaction, and retention. We can link employee engagement to a range of critical business objectives.  

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