Study results: What is the future of internal communication?

Together with the SCM - School for Communication and Management, we surveyed 259 communication experts on our topic in summer 2022. As the title of the study suggests, we were primarily interested in the role of internal communication in establishing and implementing new working methods and cultures. At the same time, we wanted to find out how internal communication itself is changing and adapting to the constant change associated with this. The progress of digitalisation in organisations also remains an important topic of the current study. We also looked at the attitude of the companies surveyed towards New Work: What role do New Work concepts actually play, how are they perceived in terms of their practicality, and how far are companies in establishing these models?

Unutilised potential

The topic of New Work has already arrived in many companies, but still harbours untapped potential. This concept is also a relevant topic for internal communication. After all, its core task is to support change processes through communication, while at the same time having to adapt to constant change itself. It therefore plays a decisive role in the establishment and implementation of New Work.

The results of the "Trendmonitor hybride IK 2023: the role of internal communication in times of New Work" show that digital platforms are essential for communication and collaboration. The willingness of management with regard to a digital transformation and the acceptance and openness of the workforce for a digital transformation of internal communication are at odds with each other and in some cases differ greatly.

Digital IC channels are favoured in practice, although a large proportion still rely on print media. More than two thirds of the communication experts surveyed estimate the proportion of employees with access to digital channels in internal communication at over 70%. The digital channel landscape has been expanded in many cases in recent months. The use of employee apps for the mobile connection of digital channels has increased further and is on the agenda of many companies. The results show that there is a strong correlation between digitalisation and the establishment of new, modern working methods such as New Work. In times of decentralisation and technologisation, digital platforms and channels create the prerequisites for reaching and connecting all employees in the company and giving them a voice. This is what makes the implementation of New Work and the associated flexible, self-determined working possible in the first place.

No change without dialogue - New Work as a field of activity for IK

The need for exchange and dialogue is becoming greater and more important with the emergence of new forms of work and new forms of collaboration. Internal communication is the area that can help implement New Work with (digital) dialogue platforms and thus advance the digital transformation. This goes hand in hand with a cultural change that needs to be accompanied by communication.

New Work has arrived in many companies - for others, however, New Work is not an issue and merely an idealised concept that cannot be implemented in practice. With regard to the establishment of New Work in companies, the views of those who have already implemented such a concept differ from those who have not. As a result, the practicality of the New Work concept is perceived differently. For the majority, New Work can only be realised for a few parts of the workforce. This contrasts with the idea that New Work as a way of life can basically be realised for all companies and activities. These results clearly show the conflict between the opportunities and challenges of this concept.