What are internal comms and how they affect the company's profit
- Tijana Bejatovic
- Oct 28, 2025
- 5 min read
Employees waste hours every day searching for information, which leads to project delays and decreased profits. The math is simple, but many still don't understand what internal communications are, how they connect people, speed up work and save money in the company.
Why is internal communication critical to success?
Imagine waking up every morning and not knowing what to do, where to go, why you live at all and what is your purpose in life. Employees in companies that do not have clearly defined internal communications feel similarly.
Internal communications are one of the key components of any successful company. They connect employees, inform them about current events, provide guidance, motivate and enable work to run smoothly. But they also preserve profits and save money . Here's how.
How much are bad internal communications costing you?
Did you know that every employee globally spends 1.8 hours a day looking for the information needed to do their job? This means that every fifth employee in your company is just looking for information all day so that everyone else can do their part. What a waste of money! Let's put that into numbers.
If you are a company of 1,000 people, with an average salary of 1,000 EUR gross, that is:
9 hours per week per employee
9,000h total
EUR 52,200 per week
2.7 million EUR per year
And that's just the cost of searching for information . Where are the costs of duplicate work, mistakes, lack of productivity and loss of focus? All this happens because people work without information that is crucial for quality work.
Therefore, poor, ineffective or non-existent internal communications are very expensive.
If you want to find out where your organization is losing due to ineffective internal communication, contact me to do a quick assessment - * view the LITE package
What is internal communications and why is it important?
Internal communications is not a new practice. They have existed since the 19th century and today they are as important a business process as HR, IT or marketing.
Their role is to create a clear flow of information within the company, so that employees receive timely and relevant information that allows them to be efficient, aligned and motivated.
But today, internal communications mean much more than just information. They:
they build trust, identity and employee loyalty
they create community and a sense of belonging
they play a key role in the communication of changes
promote and embed values and behaviors
they help employees understand the organization and their contribution to its operations
In other words, internal communications connect people, processes and the purpose of the company .
Who handles internal communications?
This is the million dollar question and a point of contention in business circles for 20 years. Honestly, I've been part of those discussions many times in my career. It is true that internal communications are located in different sectors: HR, PR, marketing or directly under the CEO.
My position is that what internal communications do is far more important than where they sit . I already wrote about it ( take a look at the text ).
The bottom line is that a good internal communicator knows how to connect business goals and employee needs, does not spam, manages communications strategically and knows how to turn information into action.
So, choose the model that works for your company, your goals and your employees.
What happens when internal communications don't work?
Hell, chaos and confusion. In such a situation, your company loses a lot of money. Those who follow me can often hear me say that communication is a basic human need, and that is why internal communications are a basic need of every business. I stand firmly behind it, and the data is on my side. 😎
Data show that 72% of employees believe that important information does not reach them , and 44% believe that project delays are the result of poor communication .
Therefore, when employees do not have accurate, timely and clear information:
they cannot work efficiently,
projects are delayed, productivity declines,
trust and engagement are lost.
And when all that falls, business results also fall.
The biggest challenges for internal communications today:
Communicating with field workers – they make up 70% of the global workforce and are often outside the digital flow. Those who have a digital solution are not very engaged in those channels. That's why many companies invest in internal communications to find the right way to reach everyone.
Line managers - they are the first source of information and the one that employees trust the most, but they are often very unskilled in communication. This represents a major obstacle in effective communication with employees. Many internal communicators spend time educating and collaborating with all levels of leadership to empower them with the skills and tools to communicate effectively with teams.
Lack of business support - internal communications struggle to be recognized as a strategic partner. Most often, business sees them as a nice-to-have, not a necessity. It is partly the fault of the communicators themselves. It is up to them to educate the business, set processes and responsibilities, clear goals and strategy, and measurably demonstrate the effects of their work.
AI and new technologies - bring automation of operational work and in internal communications, but bring the risk that AI forms the tone and key messages. That's why it's more important than ever to address your internal communications strategy.
Internal communications: state of the profession in Serbia in 2024.
According to the topIC research I conducted in 2024 , internal communications in Serbia are:
usually an operational rather than a strategic function.
communicators mostly sit in HR and mostly communicate HR topics, instead of distributing key business information.
It often comes down to organizing events and content for internal channels, instead of a strategic approach and communication plan that supports business goals.
That's why I created the topIC platform. Through it, I provide professional support to companies and individuals dealing with communication with employees to improve the process of internal communications. Through community work, internal communicators gain professional support, as well as space for empowerment and growth.
5 tips to improve your internal communications:
Set your IC process and define clear roles & responsibilities of your internal communications.
Create a matrix of channels and tools - who, what and how to communicate with employees (you can use my work template ).
Get to know employees as a target group - their habits and needs.
Plan the outcome of each of your communications and measure the results.
If you lack structure or support in all of this, call me to help you.
Finally, internal communications are really not a luxury, but an investment that saves time and money . There is a lot of talk about the human side of business. There is no conference on HR or leadership where ineffective communication within organizations is not cited as a key challenge today.
So, tidy up your yard. Any company that wants productive, engaged and satisfied employees needs to get its internal communications in order.
If you want to create effective internal communications or improve existing ones, I am here to help through consulting , mentoring programs and team education .