Comms Relevance vs. Volume: A Closer Look at the IC Index 2025

Every year, the IC Index gives us a fresh lens on how employees experience internal communication. But this year, the Institute of Internal Communication—in partnership with Ipsos Karian and Box—have gone a step further.

Their latest report—IC Index 2025: A Closer Look—dives deeper into the practicalities of internal communication: what channels employees rely on, what topics they care about, and how they feel about the volume of information they receive.

And while the data touches on familiar themes—too much vs. too little communication, channel preferences, generational differences—the real insight lies beneath the surface.

Because whether employees say they’re overwhelmed or under-informed, the issue is not volume, it's all about relevance.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to us at Poppulo—it’s something we’ve known for many years and it’s why we’ve had a laser focus on building a platform that enables communicators to hyper-personalize and target content for maximum relevance.

The Real Problem Isn’t Too Much or Too Little—It’s the Wrong Stuff

According to the report, 74% of UK employees say they receive the right amount of communication from their organization. That’s a reassuring headline. But when you look at the impact of communication that misses the mark, the picture shifts.

Employees who receive too little information are significantly less engaged and more likely to rate their organization’s communication as poor. Those who receive too much are more forgiving, but still less satisfied than those who feel the content is just right.

So what’s the difference? It’s not the number of messages, it’s whether those messages matter to the person receiving them.

As the report puts it:

While too much communication has a lesser impact on employees’ communication rating than too little, it still has a negative impact. This is where leaders and managers can help weed out irrelevant information and help people focus on what’s important to them.

That’s the heart of it. Relevance drives engagement. Volume is just the symptom.

What Employees Want More Of

The report highlights several topics employees say they hear too little about:

• Pay and benefits (36%)
• Career development
• Job guidance
• Hybrid working
• Organisational challenges

These are their personal priorities, not operational updates. When employees don’t hear enough about what affects their day-to-day experience, their connection to the organization suffers. And when they do, it rises.

That’s why relevance is a performance lever, not just a nice-to-have.

Format and Channel Preferences Reinforce the Point

More than half of employees (53%) prefer written communication.That’s consistent across desk-based and frontline roles. But there’s also a growing appetite for discussion-based formats—team meetings, 1:1s, and group conversations.

Meanwhile, audio formats have dropped in popularity, and visual formats (infographics, video) remain niche.

What does this mean in practice? Employees want communication they can digest and act on—and revisit if they need to. Plus, they want to talk about what matters, not just be talked at.

Email Still Dominates—But It’s Not Enough on Its Own

Despite the proliferation of channels, email remains the most relied-upon tool, with 65% of employees saying it’s their primary source for general news and updates.

As the report notes:

Despite a wide variety of channels being available, email continues to dominate the channels people rely on to keep up to date. The ease with which information can be sent out across organisations, departments and time zones mean it remains a core tool for IC teams and employees alike.

But email alone isn’t the answer—unless your entire workforce is office-based, with access to desktop computers or laptops. Otherwise, there's no single comms silver bullet to reach and connect with highly diverse, distributed workforces.

That said, email is still one of the most highly effective and most relied-on of all company communication channels. But only when the content is targeted and relevant. That’s where smart platforms like Poppulo come in.

Poppulo is built around the idea that relevance drives results. Whether it’s segmenting audiences, tailoring messaging, or tracking engagement, it’s about making sure the right people get the right message at the right time.

And that means being able to reach all employees, not just desk-based people with acceess to email. For example, Poppulo digital signage solves communication and connection challenges for hard-to-reach employees in manufacturing, where even access to mobile apps might not be available due to safety constraints. And for front-line workers, our mobile app is essential.

What IC Teams Should Do Next

1. Shift the focus from volume to value.Don’t ask “Are we sending too much?” Ask “Is this relevant to the person receiving it?”
2. Partner with HR and leadership. Topics like pay, career development, and strategy need clear, consistent messaging.
3. Empower managers. 1:1s are a top channel—equip leaders to have meaningful conversations.
4. Use data to drive targeting. Preferences vary by generation, sector, and role. One-size-fits-all won’t cut it.
5. Make space for dialogue. Employees want to talk about what matters. Create opportunities for that.

So, if anybody doubted it before, relevance is the heartbeat of effective internal communication. And the organizations that win are the ones that treat employees as individuals, not an amorphous audience.

The IC Index 2025: A Closer Look makes it clear: when communication is relevant, engagement follows. And with the right tools and mindset, that’s entirely within reach.