The secret to high-performing workplaces?
Culture that’s not just talked about — but truly lived.
Forget posters and punchlines. Real culture is shaped in everyday moments, not just crafted messages. From feedback to rituals, high-performing teams don’t talk about culture — they live it.
And the function that brings it all together with clarity and consistency?
The Evolution of
Workplace Culture
2010s
The Shift Begins
- • Rise of tech, transparency, and employee voice
- • Millennial influence: “Why I work here” starts to matter
- • Early internal comms start humanising leadership
2020s
Culture Takes Centre Stage
- • Remote work and hybrid shake-up
- • Gen Z brings purpose, mental wellness, and equity to the front
- • DEI, flexibility, and trust become top priorities
- • IC now = translators of tone, trust, and belonging
2025
Culture is now a strategy, not fluff.
- • A reason people join and stay
- • A brand differentiator
- • A leadership metric
- • IC is not just messaging - it’s movement
1990s–2000s
Early Days
- • Culture as HR’s domain
- • Values = wall posters
- • Success = job security
When Internal Comms Changed the Game
Get inspired by bold campaigns that didn’t just inform, they sparked innovation, inclusion, and impact. Steal a page for your next big idea.
Infosys
“Zero Distance” Innovation Drive (2021)
TATA COMMUNICATIONS
LEAP & #IncludeUs Campaigns (2022)
Godrej Consumer
“Bandhan” Distributor App (2023)
Microsoft
“#IAmRemarkable” Empowerment Campaign
Reliance Jio
Leadership Well-being Academy (2024)
Airtel
“Hive,” “Amber,” & Chai Pe Charcha (2020–21)
“Google Welcome” Onboarding
What Everyone Wants to Know About Internal Comms (But Doesn’t Always Ask)
Drawn from real-world challenges, here are 9 questions TIC often gets asked and how we think about them.
No one opens our emails. Are they dead?
No one opens our emails. Are they dead?
Emails aren’t dead but default formats are. We run A/B tests, write scroll-stopping subject lines, rework layouts for mobile, and embed action up top. We also build hybrid strategies: pairing emails with chat nudges, posters, or mini-videos. It's not about ditching the channel, it’s about using it better.
How do I make my leadership messages actually land?
How do I make my leadership messages actually land?
We humanise them. That often means rewriting jargon-heavy speeches into crisp, emotionally intelligent copy. We coach tone, advise on visuals, and sometimes shift the format completely from long notes to short voice memos. Leadership comms work best when they feel personal and consistent not polished and distant.
What’s the best format to launch a new policy or initiative?
What’s the best format to launch a new policy or initiative?
The “best format” depends on the audience. We use a layered approach: teaser posters, launch-day video from the leadership, short explainers in email, followed by an FAQ or quick quiz for teams. Format is a function of what people need to understand and do, not just what looks good in a deck.
Our internal campaigns fizzle out after the launch. How do we keep them alive?
Our internal campaigns fizzle out after the launch. How do we keep them alive?
Momentum matters more than the launch moment. We help clients plan comms as campaigns with a content runway, calendarised nudges, spotlight stories, and tactical check-ins and not one-offs. Think: a 30-60-90-day engagement arc that reinforces the message, not just announces it.
How do I align multiple stakeholders without endless back-and-forth?
How do I align multiple stakeholders without endless back-and-forth?
We bring structure. From briefing docs to comms matrices to approval workflows, we create clarity around who owns what. We also serve as neutral facilitators, translating needs between leadership, HR, brand, and legal. Our goal: reduce friction, increase speed, and keep everyone focused on the end-user.
What do I do when people say ‘we already told them’ but nothing has landed?
What do I do when people say ‘we already told them’ but nothing has landed?
Telling ≠ communicating. We investigate where the message broke down: was it the tone, the timing, the channel, or the context? Then we redesign the experience using analogies, visuals, stories, or repetition in fresh formats to make it stick. Repetition isn’t failure. It’s reinforcement.
We need to reach blue-collar or frontline teams. What works best?
We need to reach blue-collar or frontline teams. What works best?
We localise and simplify. That could mean audio bites in regional languages, wall posters with icon-based messaging, WhatsApp groups, or toolkit handovers to site leads. The key is accessibility and trust using formats that fit their reality, not HQ’s assumptions.
How do I measure if internal comms is working?
How do I measure if internal comms is working?
We look beyond open rates. We track engagement (clicks, shares, comments), sentiment (pulse checks, feedback loops), and impact (action taken, behaviour shifts). And we often build feedback moments into the flow like adding polls, quizzes, or Q&A boxes. IC is measurable. You just need the right KPIs.
We want to build an internal brand voice. Where do we start?
We want to build an internal brand voice. Where do we start?
With purpose and personality. We help teams define the tone (warm? witty? clear?), build editorial guardrails, and create templates for consistency. Internal brand voice isn’t about sounding cool, it’s about sounding like you. When employees recognise the voice, trust builds over time.
Didn’t find your question here or have something else on your mind?
Drop us a note at
subtext@ticworks.com
and we’ll get right back with
answers that work for your world.