The IC Index 2025 is here, and it’s juicy… Check out our top take aways and insights.

It’s that time of the year again where the IC index rolls back round. So, what juicy insights does it hold for us this year?

106 says…

This year’s IC index provides some helpful tips on activating your comms for business impact and pulls into focus some things we’ve been hearing on the internal communications grapevine:

• Leadership visibility is crucial – the numbers don’t lie
• Hold your employees at your core
• Be brave with taking a stance on their real concerns whether that’s wellbeing or workers’ rights
• Don’t forget to let them know about the great work you’re doing, thanks to their feedback

Now, straight from the source, here are the five key trends for IC pros to keep an eye on, and the data to help you build a business case and influence leaders.

Don’t let leaders ghost your people

The disconnect between leaders and employees continues. This year, the index introduces 4 groups of employees:

• Deeply disconnected
• Seeking more
• Ready to level up
• Happily here

If your company slid into your DMs/inbox with a ‘Hey… how you doing?’ – how would you respond? Well 26% say they would be a hard not okay – feeling deeply disconnected, these are mainly non-desktop workers, who rarely hear from their CEO.

The data is in, once again reinforcing what is widely known: CEO comms are essential. Employees who hear about business priorities and strategies directly from the CEO are 82% likely to feel clarity on them – that’s 12% higher than hearing it through internal communications channels.

So, don’t let your leaders ghost your people. Because while it may seem innocuous to them, your people will fill their absence with other news sources and drift further toward deeply disconnected. We must leverage the leaders, encouraging them to be visible and vocal, delivering key messages for clarity and alignment.

Close that communication loop – please!

You collect input – through polls, Slidos, suggestion boxes – and act on it. Maybe it’s better fruit in the kitchen, maybe it’s a deeper cultural change. But then no one seems any happier. Why?

Close the loop! If you take feedback and action it, then you make sure your communications explicitly link that action back to the initial suggestion.

In large organisations only 43% of employees say that the organisation is good at showing how feedback is used to inform actions and decisions. Yet 90% of employees who see their organisation acts on their feedback are likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work to others.

Closing the loop boosts trust, retention, and advocacy.

Double trouble – leaders and advocacy

We’ve touched on leaders, we’ve touched on the loop, and now here’s the good old overlap between them: when leaders listen directly to their employees, advocacy increases.

This listening can be in large settings, like town halls or an online Q&A, but it’s even more effective when done in small groups or even one-on-one.

We’ve seen CEOs blocking out time monthly for employee drop ins, site visits or even acting as the note taker in sessions with employees. It’s a great way to drive visibility and sends a positive vibe rippling throughout the organisation.

Employees who regularly hear from their leaders are more likely to rate communications 10/10.

Get serious about values and issues.

Two thirds (64%) of employees agree that their job is an important part of their identity. So, it’s no surprise that employees want their organisations to take a stance on things that matter to them.

At the top of the ‘list of issues’ is mental health (54%), closely followed by workers’ rights (49%).

Employees who feel that their organisation’s values align with their own are +20% more likely to stay for over 3 years (82% as opposed to 62%) – on par with the effect of satisfaction with pay. It’s a significant driver of loyalty and retention.

Of course, you can’t be everything to all people, so it’s important to take an authentic stand on things that align with the business’ values.

The AI bogey man?

The long looming generative AI ‘monster’ continues to play on the minds of employees, with nearly half worrying about the loss of human jobs.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. People are also cautiously optimistic about benefits of gen AI such as:

• The automation of day-to-day tasks (36%)
• Increased productivity (30%)
• Saving time (30%)

23% of employees feel that AI will be beneficial for creativity – could AI make time for people to unleashing creative thinking, problem solving and storytelling?

One insight that we’ve already touched upon ourselves is that organisations are lagging behind in AI governance and transparency. That’s one to work on, especially as 27% of employees say their organisation is actively unclear about generative AI usage.