The secret to high-performing workplaces?

Culture that’s not just talked about — but truly lived.

Forget posters, perks and punchy taglines. Real culture is what people feel — and say — when no one's looking.

Culture isn’t a campaign or the posters on your office wall. It’s what people experience every day — hear in meetings, feel in feedback, and experience in everyday rituals — in tone, trust, transparency. It’s not what’s printed — it’s what’s practiced.

That’s where Internal Communications (IC) steps in — not as messengers — but as meaning-makers.

THINK OF IC AS THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE BETWEEN INTENT AND EXPERIENCE. WHEN DONE WELL, IT CAN:

Reinforce values through visible, human messaging
Help leaders walk the talk
Turn rituals into rhythms — and words into behaviours

Culture Communication is not a “Nice-to-Have” anymore - it’s survival

According to Gartners¹

Only 31% of HR leaders believe their organizations have the culture necessary to drive performance.

This gap is what internal communication must bridge. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all culture. In fact, Gartner research shows that no single cultural type consistently drives better performance. So instead of chasing the “right” kind of culture, leaders should focus on making their culture work.

The key? Alignment. For culture to truly perform, employees need to connect with it on three levels:

Knowledge – They need to understand what the culture is.
Mindset – They should believe in it and see its value.
Behaviour – They must live it through daily actions and decisions.

When all three align, culture becomes more than a concept — it becomes a competitive advantage.

Culture, when done right, is the glue between leadership intent and employee experience. But without strategic, intentional communication, even the best culture statements become meaningless wallpaper.

Why it matters (more than ever)

Work today is... a lot.

71% of employees feel overwhelmed by the sheer pace of change at work.²
73% report moderate to high change fatigue.³
Tired, stressed, and unsupported, 83% say they aren’t given the tools to cope.⁴

According to research⁵, companies with strong internal communication are 3.5x more likely to outperform peers on engagement and retention.

And here’s the real cost:

Disconnected teams
Culture drift
Burnout masked as business-as-usual

But the upside? Companies with strong change in communication strategies see 2.6x more revenue growth than those without.

REAL STORIES. REAL CULTURE.

What they did: Made “Belonging” more than a brand line by embedding storytelling into everyday comms.

Key takeaway: Airbnb understood that people connect with stories, not slogans. By turning abstract ideas into lived, relatable narratives, they made employees feel like insiders in a shared mission. Storytelling became a tool for empathy, identity and inclusion — especially powerful across geographies and roles.

Message that matters: Use storytelling to build emotional alignment with culture, not just intellectual understanding.

What they did: Aligned messaging across 190+ countries using value-based rituals and internal recognition programmes.

Key takeaway: Unilever showed that culture needs rhythm. The result was a global culture that felt local, and a local culture that felt global.

Message that matters: Codify culture into rituals and repeatable formats so that values aren’t just heard — they’re felt and followed.

What they did: Pivoted to empathy-first internal messaging during COVID, prioritising well-being over deliverables — and won employee trust in return.

Key takeaway: It built trust and loyalty in a time of chaos, showing that internal communication isn’t just about what is said — it’s about how it’s said.

Message that matters: Lead with empathy and transparency — not just updates.

These weren’t comms campaigns. They were cultural codes — and they worked. These companies didn’t just communicate values — they operationalised them through human-first internal communication strategies. The result? Culture that sticks.

How to Get Your Culture Communication Right

Here’s what actually moves the needle:

01
STEP

Tell stories that stick

Think real people, real behaviours, real wins. Not jargon or generic values.

02
STEP

Nail the tone

Inclusive, clear, conversational / corporate, cold, clever.

03
STEP

Make values visible

Rituals (like Friday kudos, skip-level catchups) make values tangible.

04
STEP

Design for clarity and care

Especially during change. Employees under stress want fewer buzzwords, more humanity.

05
STEP

Use the right tools

POSH Framework – Ensures communication reflects respect and safety
DEI Toolkit – Helps teams speak with empathy and include more voices
Values Toolkit – Anchors every message in your cultural DNA

Strong culture communication doesn’t just feel better — it works better

Culture communication isn’t about making people feel warm and fuzzy. It’s about creating clarity, connection and consistency — all of which directly influence performance.

And the numbers prove it:

Companies with strong internal communication strategies see up to 264% higher revenue growth than their peers.(Willis Towers Watson ).⁶
Purpose-led companies with consistent cultural messaging report 30% higher levels of innovation and 40% higher retention rates, as employees are more likely to stay when they feel aligned and valued. (Deloitte, 2019).⁷

When culture is communicated well — through stories, symbols, tone, and everyday moments — it doesn’t just resonate. It drives results.

Culture isn’t said. It’s shown.

In a world full of transformation decks and vision slides, what cuts through is how people feel.

And Internal Communication is the function that brings that culture to life — by turning values into actions, language into behaviour and strategy into human connection.

And the best part? You don’t have to start with a manifesto. You can start small — yet meaningful:

A simple ritual – A Monday intention, a Friday win
A story that feels true – A colleague who lived the values under pressure
A tone that sounds like your people – Make it sound more human, not hollow
A toolkit that keeps it consistent – So anyone, anywhere, can carry the culture forward
Because at the end of the day, people don’t remember the policy. They remember how the culture made them feel — and that’s the kind of memory internal communication has the power to shape.

Sources:

1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7