Hend Dabash
Are you effectively leveraging your employee communications tool? Employees crave transparency, connection and recognition, yet many organisations still struggle to bridge the gap between messages sent and messages understood.
According to Reward Gateway’s latest Bridging the Communications Gap report, 80% of employees trust their organisation more when communication is transparent, and those who feel appreciated are 43% more effective at work. These findings make one thing clear: the right employee communications tool can make or break engagement, trust and performance.
So, how can you make sure your tool is working as hard as your people? Here are five ways to maximise your communications strategy and create more meaningful moments of connection at every level of your business.
1. Shift your time from tactical to strategic
Communications professionals are stretched thin; our research found that 52% spend time on work that doesn’t align with core goals. Your employee communications tool should help reduce that load, not add to it.
Use automation and smart workflows to repurpose key content across channels instead of starting from scratch every time. For example, a company-wide update can become a short video, a recognition post, or a manager talking point, all housed in one platform.
Consider leveraging AI (with oversight) to streamline admin tasks, freeing up your team to focus on strategy, storytelling, and driving connection. The more time your comms team spends on creative, high-impact work, the stronger your overall employee experience will be.
2. Empower managers to reinforce key messages
Who delivers a message can be just as important as what’s being said. Employees are more likely to trust and act on information shared by their direct managers.
Use your employee communications tool to cascade key messages to people leaders, giving them talking points, templates, or ready-made assets to share in 1:1s or team huddles. When corporate communication is reinforced by local conversations, messages feel more relevant, human, and actionable.
This approach also strengthens the connection between employees and their leaders — a crucial factor in engagement and retention.
3. Invest in manager communication skills
Our research found that 40% of employees want leaders to improve how they communicate, ranking it as a higher priority than flexible work arrangements.
That’s a clear signal that great technology still depends on great communicators. Training managers to deliver recognition, provide feedback and hold meaningful conversations is essential.
Equip your people leaders with content, coaching, and tools that make it easier to communicate consistently and authentically. When managers are confident communicators, trust builds faster and messages land stronger, no matter the topic.
4. Make communication data-driven and iterative
The best communication strategies evolve over time. Use your employee communications tool to track engagement metrics like reach, clicks, and read times, then pair this data with employee feedback to understand what’s truly resonating.
Don’t just look at numbers, listen to what your people are saying. Which messages inspire conversation? Which channels get ignored? Use those insights to refine tone, timing, and format.
By continuously optimising your approach, you’ll transform your tool from a message board into a two-way engagement engine that adapts to your workforce’s needs.
5. Use technology to scale and simplify
According to the report, 79% of HR leaders say technology frees up staff for more strategic work — but only if it’s easy to use and well-integrated.
Bringing recognition, news, leadership updates, and feedback into one employee communications tool reduces friction and makes it easier for employees to find and engage with content. It also helps communicators measure success across the whole ecosystem instead of juggling multiple systems.
That said, when introducing new technologies like AI, transparency is critical. Our research found that only 36% of organisations have clear AI usage guidelines, even though communicators are already experimenting with these tools. Establishing ethical and consistent AI practices builds trust and safeguards your brand voice.
Bringing it all together
Communication isn’t just about information, it’s about connection. When employees feel informed, recognised, and aligned, they don’t just perform better, they stay longer, contribute more, and help shape a stronger culture.
By maximising your employee communications tool, empowering managers and leaders, and embedding transparency into every message, you can turn everyday updates into powerful moments of engagement and trust.
Reward Gateway | Edenred's employee engagement tools bring your communications, recognition, benefits and wellbeing together in one seamless platform. It’s the smarter, simpler way to reach every employee, wherever they work, and create a culture that’s informed, engaged, and connected. Click the button below to learn more!
Ready to create a platform your people will love? Whether you’re starting fresh or levelling up an existing program, Reward Gateway | Edenred makes it easy to connect your people to the things that matter, all in one place.
