By Tim Vaughan
— January 29th, 2026
From measurement and trust to AI and influence, Poppulo's highly anticipated first webinar of 2026 surfaced how the IC role is shifting in practice, and where expectations are tightening.
The level of interest in Top Employee Communication Trends & Stategies 2026—over 1,300 registrations for a panel discussion with Stephanie Cornell from WPP, Regine Nelson of Couchbase, and Stacie Barrett, former Director of Internal Communications at Domino's—reflected a function under pressure in a year of uncertainty.
Internal communications teams are being asked to do more, prove more, and navigate rising expectations about their role in decision-making.
The session opened with remarks from Poppulo CEO Ruth Fornell, who framed the context plainly. Internal communications, she said, is operating in an environment marked by employee disconnection, stretched managers, fragile trust, and widening expectations that extend well beyond traditional messaging.
The Poppulo chief pointed to a shift in how internal comms is being measured. Volume and activity matter less than outcomes tied to business goals: what employees understand, what actions they take, and whether the organization can move with shared clarity.
In that context, AI is accelerating both risk and opportunity by increasing speed, blurring functional boundaries, and reshaping how information flows. She emphasized that internal communications is increasingly central to how organizations operate—and where it is not, it should be.
That framing carried through the panel discussion, moderated by culture and change consultant Joss Mathieson of Change Oasis, and shaped a conversation focused less on prediction than on practical shifts already under way.
Regine Nelson, global internal communications leader at Couchbase, outlined a role that has moved decisively beyond traditional engagement metrics.
Speaking from the perspective of a team of one in a company that has recently transitioned from public to private ownership, she described a function being redefined by business pressure rather than communications theory.
Her focus in 2026 is not on hiring more communicators or chasing engagement scores, but on positioning internal comms as essential to how the business operates.
She stressed that measurement needs to connect to cash-flow protection, risk mitigation, and whether internal strategy supports external market positioning.
If communication isn’t touching those things, then we’re not doing it correctly — Regine Nelson
She also challenged the profession’s self-definition, arguing that internal communicators should think of themselves as business strategists who use communication as a lever, not as an end in itself.
Stephanie Cornell, who leads communications and marketing for WPP’s global people team, reflected on a year marked by financial pressure, leadership change, and uncertainty driven by rapid AI adoption.
Her comments focused less on channels or campaigns and more on the emotional load employees are carrying into work. Against that backdrop, she described 2026 as a reset year focused on rebuilding confidence and momentum.
Stephanie outlined how priorities centered on clarity and empathy: helping employees understand why change is happening, what it means for them, and how they fit into the organization’s direction.
She emphasized the emotional dimension of communication, noting that pride, belief, and trust matter as much as information delivery, particularly when employees are navigating heavy external news cycles alongside workplace change.
Stacie Barrett, former director of internal communications at Domino’s, positioned internal communicators as editors rather than amplifiers, particularly in organizations facing constant operational and informational noise.
In her view, the role of IC is not to push more content into the system, but to cut through clutter, surface what matters most, and help people focus.
Stacie emphasized that trust is increasingly being placed in organizations themselves, even as trust elsewhere erodes. That places responsibility on internal communications to support connection, community, and understanding, especially for frontline employees who are not sitting at desks or working in inbox-driven environments.
Meeting people where they are—through huddles, signage, and in-the-flow communication—remains essential.
AI featured prominently throughout the discussion, though the panel was consistent in how it framed its role. All three speakers described AI as a tool rather than a substitute for human judgment.
Stacie cautioned that while AI can speed up writing and automate repetitive tasks, the strategic work happens before the first word is drafted. Poor inputs, she warned, will produce poor outputs, particularly in sensitive moments such as return-to-office communications.
Stephanie described AI as a means of removing friction and creating space for higher-value work. At WPP, she said, it is being used to accelerate content consistency, analyze large volumes of employee feedback, and test early narrative ideas — supporting faster sense-making rather than faster broadcasting.
Regine took a more direct view. AI, she said, is not a competitive advantage because everyone has access to it. Instead, it amplifies what already exists. Used well, it frees communicators to focus on work that cannot be automated: understanding business context, advising leaders, and deciding what actually needs to be communicated.
Across the discussion, a consistent theme emerged around influence and timing. Internal communications, the panel suggested, loses authority when it is brought in at the end of a process and gains it when communicators are trusted to shape decisions earlier.
The three panelists agreed that internal communications teams are often brought in too late and reduced to execution. The way out of that pattern, they argued, is relationship-building, early involvement, and a willingness to challenge volume in favor of impact.
On measurement, the panel pushed back on open and click rates as primary indicators of success. Instead, they emphasized tying communication to specific business objectives—adoption of tools, participation in programs, behavior change, and confidence in organizational direction—supported by surveys and pulse checks that test whether messages are landing.
The session closed with practical advice for communicators navigating 2026, reinforcing a view of the function as less about output and more about interpretation.
- Regine urged practitioners to stop trying to be better at communications and start thinking like strategists.
- Stacie returned to the importance of connection—to people, to purpose, and to what matters most.
- Stephanie summarized the role succinctly: internal communications is now about sense-making, with clarity, context, and trust determining whether organizations can move forward together.