Leaders can send fewer emails, save millions, and deliver the same message

Nearly 40% of employees think their organizations send an “excessive” amount of internal communications — with 27% saying they feel overloaded.

• Why it matters: When employees are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages popping up throughout their day, they’re more likely to miss crucial information, be less productive, and become disengaged. 

Worse, 57% of employees aren’t just being overwhelmed by different messages, they’re often getting multiple updates about the same topics at the same time. And those duplicate messages are costly — with Gartner estimating companies with 10,000 employees lose $4.6 million in time each week from people just trying to absorb the information thrown at them. 

To ease this bottom line bleed and save some of those millions, leaders need to consolidate and control their internal communications, and collaborate with execs, communicators, people ops, and managers to streamline who is sending which message to whom.  

• Audit: Audit all existing messages to see what’s being sent, what’s missing, and what doesn’t apply to particular audiences. Especially look for where you’re being repetitive and can combine for better impact and fewer touches. 
• Plan: In addition to using your findings from your audit, poll your audience to see what they want to hear about. Prioritize those topics going forward as you allocate which colleagues will control updates on each topic. 
• Compose: With specific audiences in mind, send short, efficient mission-critical messages that employees need to get their jobs done and stay on track. 
• Align: Circle back and see what messages connected via higher open rates and click-thru rates. Find the ones that are working and build on them.
• Optimize: Track the growth and evolution of your communications to ensure information isn’t lost. Stay open to feedback — and take visible action when you receive it. Then resurface key details and directives as needed, adding new dimensions as updates evolve, to keep everyone on the same page.

Internal communication best practices

Once you get your team aligned around what to send and who to send it to, consider these additional tips for making sure your audience isn’t feeling overwhelmed:

• Keep it short: Only 50% of employees thoroughly read what their readers send. Put your most important info at the top and keep the rest crisp and to the point. 
• Set a consistent cadence: When readers come to expect internal communications at the same day and time each week, it becomes less of an inbox clog and more of an expectation. 
• Reinforce, don’t repeat: Executives, managers, and other communicators cannot rest on merely repeating the same information verbatim at every level. They need to parse out critical info and reinforce key details — customizing updates for each area of the business. 

The bottom line: Driving updates up, down, and around your organization with a clear cadence and message can keep your employees aligned around key goals without adding to inbox overload and employee burnout.

Go deeper: Read the full "Best time to send an internal communication email" report