Internal communications works when managers can explain company news accurately and early. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report found that global manager engagement fell from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025 and that global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025, its lowest level since 2020. Internal communications teams should equip managers first.
What is happening to manager engagement?
Manager engagement is falling faster than employee engagement, which matters because managers are the main channel for company news. Gallup reported that the largest single-year drop came between 2024 and 2025, when manager engagement fell from 27% to 22%. Non-manager engagement was 19% in 2025, so managers are now barely more engaged than the people they lead.
Gallup estimated that low engagement cost the world economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity, or 9% of global GDP. It also found that in best-practice organizations 79% of managers were engaged, nearly four times the global average, so the decline is not inevitable.
Why do managers matter for internal communications?
Managers matter for internal communications because employees turn to them to explain what company news means for their own work. Gallup's Q12 engagement survey includes items about knowing what is expected at work and whether an employee's opinions seem to count, and both depend on what a manager says day to day.
Gallup's data on AI adoption shows the same pattern. In its Q1 2026 U.S. survey, frequent AI use was higher among employees whose managers actively supported their team's use of AI (79% versus 46%). Fewer than a third of U.S. employees in organizations implementing AI strongly agreed that their manager actively supports their team's use of it.
Gallup also found that employees who strongly agreed their manager supports their team's AI use were 8.7 times as likely to strongly agree that AI had transformed how work gets done. Internal communications is not only the intranet and the all-hands. It is the manager conversation that follows them.
What do managers need from an internal communications team?
Managers need three things from an internal communications team: the facts before their staff hear them, a plain explanation of what changes for their team, and a way to send questions back. The table below is my suggested set of deliverables.
| What the manager needs | What the communications team supplies |
|---|---|
| The facts before staff hear them | A manager briefing sent before any all-hands or company-wide email |
| A plain explanation of what changes | A one-page sheet on what the news means for each team, with answers to the three likeliest questions |
| A way to send questions back | A question form routed to the communications team, with answers published weekly |
Executives set the tone for all of this, and the executive communications guide covers how a leader's voice reaches employees as well as reporters. The intake, approval and calendar steps that make manager briefings repeatable are in the communications workflow guide, and the four jobs of the wider function are in what corporate communications involves.
How should internal communications handle AI and job fears?
Internal communications should handle AI and job fears by saying plainly what will change, what will not and when employees will know more. Gallup reported that in Q1 2026, 18% of U.S. employees said it was very or somewhat likely their job would be eliminated within five years because of technology such as AI, and the figure rose to 23% in organizations where AI has been implemented. It was 32% in finance, 32% in insurance and 31% in technology.
A message that promises more than leaders can guarantee, such as a flat promise of no layoffs, becomes a credibility problem later. HR and counsel should approve any statement about job security before managers repeat it. The crisis communications hub shows the structure of a holding statement for a reorganization, and the corporate apology guide covers what to do when a decision lands badly.
What should an internal communications plan include?
An internal communications plan should include a manager briefing, a feedback loop and an approved answer for every hard question. Five steps put that into practice.
- Brief every manager before every company-wide announcement, with a one-page summary and three likely questions answered.
- Ask managers which messages their teams repeat back wrong, and fix the source document.
- Track manager questions by topic, and publish the answers in a standing weekly note.
- Draft holding statements for layoffs, reorganizations and AI announcements in advance, and have counsel approve them.
- Check that the public statement and the internal note say the same thing, because employees forward both to reporters.
Companies building an internal communications program can review 5W's internal communications practice, and the guide to choosing a PR firm lists questions to ask any agency. Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of 5W.
The through-line is that employees hear company news from their manager, so the manager has to hear it first. Brief managers before the announcement, give them answers, and keep the public and internal versions identical.
Frequently asked questions
What is internal communications?
Internal communications is the planned flow of information between a company's leaders, managers and employees. It covers announcements, manager briefings, change updates and the channels employees use to ask questions.
Why does manager engagement matter for internal comms?
Manager engagement matters because managers are the channel employees rely on to explain company news. Gallup reported that global manager engagement fell to 22% in 2025, down from 31% in 2022.
How often should managers be briefed?
Managers should be briefed before every company-wide announcement. That is my recommendation, and the briefing should reach managers before employees see the announcement.
Can a company promise there will be no layoffs?
A company should promise no layoffs only if leaders can guarantee it, because employees remember broken promises. Gallup found that 18% of U.S. employees in Q1 2026 thought their job could be eliminated within five years because of technology, so HR and counsel should approve any job-security language.
By Ronn Torossian. Updated on Oct 21, 2026.