Only 27% of leaders think their employees are aligned with business goals
And other eye-opening data from the annual Axios HQ employee communications report
It’s been five years since the dawn of Covid. But it feels a lifetime of uncertainty and change for leaders navigating businesses and employees being whipsawed through it all.
From the circa-2019 office to remote work to hybrid to return to work (allegedly)
From businesses doing well to Covid chaos to record employment to quiet quitting to the extremely hardcore.
From a socially aware workplace of Me Too and Trump.v1 to socially active to socially exhausted to whatever this is that we are experiencing right now
Oh, and the advent of AI, too.
It’s no wonder that so many organizations are still struggling to connect to their employees while the ground shifts below them. But, it’s also not an excuse.
Employee communication has moved in many places from being a subjugated role to an celebrated one. The tools to connect a workforce of any kind are plentiful. The stakes of connecting what’s true on the inside to what you say on the outside have never been higher.
This begs two questions:
Why does this all feel so hard?
What are successful organizations doing right?
A lot comes down to communication. Employee engagement and business performance are irrevocably intertwined with the quality of an organization’s communication.
Axios HQ's fourth annual internal communication report surveyed more than 450 leaders across the U.S. and more than 800 knowledge workers — across industries, org sizes, and roles — to find:
Gaps in alignment between executives and employees. Only 27% of leaders think their employees are entirely aligned with org goals. Only 9% of employees agree.
Areas of investment over the last 18 months. Organizations that increased their investment in communication were a lot more likely to see growth across key business across business metrics.
Employee perspectives on what would help them feel set up for success in a tough year. 80% of leaders think their internal communications are helpful, relevant, and include the details staff need to do their jobs well. Only 53% of employees agree.
Four areas emerged where communication can strengthen business results:
Stronger alignment
Stronger engagement
Stronger performance
Stronger growth
Each one is explored — what’s going right, what’s going wrong, and what leaders can do to improve.
Go deeper: Read Axios HQ’s 2025 State of Internal Communication report
Interested in learning more about how to engage with the Mixing Board community of comms and brand marketing experts? Curious on how to become a member? Feel free to reach out via the “Get in Touch” button on our site.