94% Respected. 30% Can Prove Business Impact.
FrequencyMay 18, 202600:08:52

94% Respected. 30% Can Prove Business Impact.

Oak Engage surveyed 250 HR and internal comms professionals in the UK, and the headline stat doesn't add up: 94% say internal comms is respected in their organisation. Only 30% can demonstrate business impact. 66% rely on manager-led cascades. 60% lack visibility into whether their comms are reaching anyone. As Anne-Marie Blake put it when she flagged this report: here we are in 2026 having the same conversation.

Jenni and Chuck work through why the math doesn't map. Chuck's question — are we confusing respect for the content (emails, intranet posts) with respect for the function (strategic advisory, culture stewardship) — points at something the profession keeps stepping around. If 70% of IC teams can't show what they're doing, what exactly is being respected?

Jenni's read: this is almost entirely a survey about channels and content, not about strategic influence. And that says everything about where the profession is stuck.

https://www.oak.com/newsroom/new-research-reveals-credibility-gap-in-internal-comms-94-say-its-respected-but-only-30-can-prove-business-impact/