What Does Leadership Actually Want From Internal Comms?

Here's the uncomfortable truth: you can send the most beautiful newsletter with a killer subject line and a 40% open rate, and your executive team will look at you like you just told them you organized your sock drawer by color. Which I've also done, so no judgment.

Leadership doesn't care about your newsletter metrics the way you care about your newsletter metrics. They care about money. What makes it, what saves it. I know this feels about as romantic as finding out your crush only likes you for your Netflix password, but understanding this is how you prove your work matters.

THE METRICS THAT ACTUALLY GET ATTENTION

When I'm procrastinating at work, I ask myself this helpful question: how do my internal comms efforts contribute to our company's larger goals? Once you identify what business outcomes matter (retention, engagement, safety, not having everyone quit at once), you can work backward. Map each communications initiative to the goal it supports.

Say your company wants to reduce turnover. You'd focus on engagement scores, eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score for those of us who didn't get an MBA), and participation rates in career development programs. These metrics show whether employees actually want to be there or if they're mentally drafting their resignation letter during your all-hands meeting.

Research from Gallup found that companies with highly engaged teams see 51% lower turnover and 23% higher profitability. Those aren't just nice numbers. That's real money staying in your organization.

Or maybe your company wants to boost productivity. Track the number of questions submitted after you send a message or run training. If those repeat questions start dropping, people are getting their answers the first time instead of playing an exhausting game of corporate telephone.

HOW TO PROVE YOUR VALUE WITHOUT SOUNDING DESPERATE

Show The Chain Reaction

Internal comms doesn't work like a paid ad where someone clicks "buy now" and boom, instant ROI. Communication drives engagement. Engagement improves retention. Retention saves money. Except here's the annoying part: the results lag behind your efforts. That campaign you ran last quarter might not show up in financial performance until this quarter. You need to help leadership connect those dots.

Keep Some Data Handy

I'm terrible at math. I once left a 40% tip because I panicked. But even I know that executives respond to data. The more invested employees feel, the more likely they are to stick around. Recent Gallup research shows that engaged employees perform 23% better. When people feel connected and informed, they're less likely to leave, which means you're not constantly recruiting and onboarding new people.

Talk About Outcomes, Not Activities

Here's what executives don't want to hear: we sent five newsletters this month! What happened because of those newsletters? Did anyone actually do anything differently?

Instead of saying we sent five newsletters with a 10% open rate, say this: we promoted all-hands meetings more consistently, participation increased 15% quarter over quarter, and that engagement trend has held steady all year. One sounds like you're sending emails into a void. The other sounds like you're actually moving things forward.

Show Trends, Not Just Snapshots

Executives think in patterns. They want to know if things are improving over time. When you can show that engagement has been climbing steadily over six months, or that participation in key initiatives has increased consistently, you're painting a picture of sustained improvement. That's what gets attention.

CONNECT YOUR WORK TO WHAT KEEPS THEM UP AT NIGHT

Good internal communications can help employees feel more motivated at work, which directly influences their intent to stay. Gallup research indicates that 52% of exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving. That's a massive opportunity for communications to play a role in retention.

By keeping employees informed, motivated, and engaged, internal comms can directly reduce turnover costs. That's measurable ROI. Your job is to make that connection explicit.

TELL YOUR STORY WITH CONFIDENCE

Ask leaders which business outcomes matter most to them, then map your communications metrics to those goals. Your campaigns shape engagement, culture, and retention. All of those contribute to a stronger bottom line.

Now you just have to tell that story clearly, confidently, and with actual data. Want help crafting communications strategies that leadership will actually pay attention to? Winsome Marketing specializes in helping organizations communicate their value effectively. Contact us today.