What's in store for workplace communication in 2022 after another year dominated by the epochal fall-out from Covid-19? And how can employee comms be deployed more effectively to meet the challenges organizations face over the next 12 months?

We put these questions to a stellar line-up of communication experts: Abhinav Kumar, Callie Baumann, Shel Holtz, Tchicaya Ellis Robertson

Bill Quirke, Victoria Dew, Katie Macaulay, Elizabeth Williams, Sinéad Bell, Megan Thomas, David Grossman, and Steve Crescenzo. Enjoy the read! 

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer - Global Markets, Tata Consultancy Services

One of the most significant opportunities that the pandemic presented was for companies to completely redefine internal communications, assisting the wellbeing of their employees and keeping them engaged. But I feel this has been one of the most significant points of failure for the business world at large.

Last March, a Microsoft survey of 30,000 workers in 31 countries, indicated that 41% are considering leaving their employers based on their experiences during the pandemic. While this indicates a larger broad-based leadership failure, clearly the increased efforts in internal communications have not created the intended mitigating impact.

The rapid increases in attrition that many companies experienced in the latter part of 2021, continue to demonstrate this growing disengagement. I am not sure if there is a magic wand to fix this in 2022. Clearly, companies need to rethink their leadership approaches, culture building, and how they execute internal communications.

This does not mean creating even more channels and tools to overload already overburdened employees with more information, but what it needs is a genuine and empathetic understanding of what each individual employee needs at a point in time and delivering on that.

For example, as Europe reopened in Summer, one of our business leaders was advised by his HR/internal comms teams to travel and reconnect with disengaged employees in multiple cities, by doing town halls.

He chose to do something different. Instead of a town hall at every city office, when he went to meet his extended teams, he ended up doing a social activity with them instead: cycling together, taking a hike, just having drinks, etc. and this was highly appreciated and successful.

Of course, with large, distributed, and now working from home, workforces these direct actions are not always possible, so using good digital tools that inform employees without forcing them into even more screen time, could be the need for the hour. A voice-only CEO podcast instead of a CEO zoom townhall, perhaps?

How to Build a Communication Plan For a Hybrid Workplace

Vice President, Digital Workplace Experience, Humana

Work has fundamentally changed and I don’t believe we fully understand the implications just yet. What I do believe is here to stay, however, is the employee economy; work that fits around peoples’ lives versus bending/molding/forcing life around work. Because companies need to differentiate themselves and retain talent, I think we’ll continue to see a shift toward experience design to drive human-centered, people-first innovation in the workplace.

Humana’s workforce spans from clinicians delivering in-home care, to telephonic nurses, to corporate professionals who formerly collaborated in our offices. So there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to employee communication, technology needs, and workspaces. Just as marketers or experience designers would for external customers, doing the proper research to identify employees’ (human) needs and preferences, and then segmenting employee personas, will be critical as the way we work continues to evolve.

Forging partnerships between internal communications, technology, facilities, and HR to architect holistic journeys - -

We’ve seen the benefits of focusing on different phases of the employee journey (versus building or sourcing one-off widgets). By looking at moments that matter (i.e. onboarding, service, conferencing, etc.), you naturally begin to build a product catalogue or see ways to bundle solutions that are more holistic and meaningful to the end-user.

Leveraging data to create a more engaged, healthy workforce - 

Let’s face it, while working at home and in hybrid ways is here to stay, it doesn’t mean that we’ve got it all figured out. The boundaries between work and life are blurred and burnout is a real risk. The data exhaust we’re seeing from new work patterns will be used to create personalized insights, to carve out working (and non-working) time, or to help manage calendars.

While this is our new normal, we have an opportunity to use data to create a different, more healthy, normal.

Using the intersection of experience design and technology can drive transformation. While applying these techniques 

 of companies is in its infancy in many places, we believe it offers a significant strategic advantage.

Sr. Director of Internal Communications at Webcor

In the midst of the Great Resignation -- which shows no sign of abating in 2022 -- leaders will call on internal communicators to assist in the effort to retain employees, especially high performers.

Several other trends for 2022 emerge from the pressing need to retain people, including the Employee Experience and recognition.

For those communicating in organizations that will accommodate some workers' preference to work from home while requiring others to be in the office – a rethinking of communication strategy and channels will be a requirement.

Comms strategies must accommodate both sets of workers, which may require new employee profiles, new sets of objectives, and greater variety in the channels we use to reach and engage with workers.

Employee wellbeing has skyrocketed into prominence during the pandemic. Companies need to do more than pay lip service to wellbeing. (That is, "We have a great Employee Assistance Program" is no longer an adequate approach to wellbeing.) The focus on mental health — which should include psychological safety —should be a particular priority as the pandemic and working from home has weighed heavily on workers

Companies that failed to listen to employee preferences and concerns before announcing their return-to-the-workplace policies have fallen under heavy criticism. Listening will play a key role in how companies retain employees. Especially with a contingent of workers in remote situations, it is more important than ever that leaders listen closely to employees.

Communicators need to identify a collection of channels and establish a matrix that helps determine which ones should be employed for each internal audience and each category of communication – and will need to be more adept at repurposing content for multiple channels.

See the full version of Shel Holtz's contribution 

After another roller-coaster year, when we look ahead to 2022 one thing is certain: communication will remain front and center in relation to managing people at work, whether it’s in a hybrid environment or remote — wherever.

While the future of work debate rages on, whether it’s about flexibility, location, or inclusion, communications will be at the heart of it all.

I had the privilege earlier this year to add to the inclusion and belonging conversation as lead of Accenture’s 

What we learned gives organizations a clear priority path to foster and nurture belonging among their people. Our research identified 10 levers that ultimately lead to belonging, with transparent and empathetic communications landing toward the top of the list.

We found that communication was one of four essential people skills, among the list of experience levers that helps to drive human potential. When tech-enabled platforms are used to build community among workers, leaders will gain the trust needed to drive change in today’s organizational climate.

Taken together, all 10 levers we identified: Empowerment, Communication, Diversity, Customer-Centricity, Skilling, Dependence, Governance, Technology, Self-Efficacy, and having a growth mindset are drivers of human potential.

And where there’s maximum human potential, there is belonging. As we arm ourselves with insights to help tackle the problems of 2022, meaningful communication must be part of the equation.

Next year internal communicators need to build on what they’ve achieved, before the sands start shifting again beneath their feet.

During the pandemic, the aspirations of internal communicators and leaders’ expediency were aligned, but that alignment will now shift. During any crisis, internal communication is recognized as important, but history shows that recognition fades as the leadership tries to move on to business as usual.

Internal communicators need to be all the more ready for the challenges that brings, because “business as usual” will be more complicated this time.

Individuals are rethinking what they want from work, and what is important to them, shifting the relationship – and the negotiating power – between employee and employer.

Organizations have an increasingly diverse range of audiences from those who can work from home to those driving the delivery vans. Global organizations have wider national cultural differences, with workforces facing very different national situations.

The pandemic showed how important a sense of cause and higher purpose is to people’s jobs. Employee activism is testing companies’ avowed values and championing their own values in the interests of social justice.

The pandemic also showed how important a sense of community is to employees – and virtual working, hybrid life at the office, or working independently from local coffee shops or shared work spaces is going to weaken traditional loyalties to an employer.

While employees contemplate joining the “great resignation”, companies may be embracing “skimpification” - clawing back missed profits from customers, increasing prices, and reducing the level of service or goods that customers receive. The possibility of mixed messages, confusion and perceived hypocrisy, is high.

Internal communicators need to get involved in helping leaders understand the changing dynamics within their organizations. They need to clarify leaders’ thinking and help them articulate what they mean, track the attitudes of all their audiences, anticipate issues, and mediate between different views and priorities,

While helping to win the war, internal communicators should prepare to win the peace.

Insights Report: The New Rules of Employee Experience & Communications in 2022

, in which we examine the latest trends, best practices and innovative approaches companies are implementing currently.

We interviewed dozens of business leaders, from diverse industries and sectors, representing different sizes, stages, and geographies, with employee numbers ranging from 10 to 175,000.

Traditionally, companies have focused on communicating ‘to’ employees, and much less on ‘with’ them. Increased listening helps to ensure a two-way dialogue that encourages engagement, connection, co-creation, innovation, and cross-functional collaboration. Companies are getting creative in how they create these meaningful connections.

Manager engagement and activation is everything - 

Managers were seen as being critical not only for their role in connecting with, and influencing teams and cohorts, but as a communication channel able to frame, contextualize, and localize organization-wide messaging and information. While many organizations are still wrestling with how to be more systemic in their approach to communicating with and engaging managers as both audience and influencer, there was widespread consensus that getting this piece right was critical to successful employee experience.

Employee Communications skill sets need a radical re-think - 

Perhaps accelerated by ‘life-on-video-call,’ several companies we spoke to shared that they were investing heavily in internal communications resources that extended far beyond the written word. Recognizing TL;DR culture, new roles being added to EX and internal communications teams include video producers, editors, graphic designers, copywriters, and events managers. This trend highlights an increased focus on meeting employees where they are; creating compelling, relevant, 'sticky' content that requests, and does not assume the privilege of demanding, employees’ attention to corporate messaging.

Managing Director of AB and host of The Internal Comms Podcast

Four percent of the US workforce resigned in September 2021. According to 

, more than 40% of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer within a year. Media pundits are calling it the Great Resignation or Big Reprioritisation, but whatever the label, attracting and retaining talent will be a priority in 2022.

This is undoubtedly a challenge for our colleagues in HR, but IC teams must play their part. Research from 

 suggests high attrition rates are driven by more than a dissatisfaction with compensation and benefits.

Deeper, more profound issues are at play – and always have been. I recently 

, who coined the term ‘employee engagement’ back in 1990. His research showed we are more likely to invest our whole self in work when we find it meaningful

 found nine out of ten US workers were willing to give up an average of 23 per cent of their lifetime earnings in exchange for always having a meaningful job.

So, how can IC teams help employees find meaning in their work?

 – we must demonstrate the significance of employees’ day-to-day work, showing how it contributes to a higher goal or mission.

 – we must showcase how our employees are expressing their true and best selves at work, how they are achieving their potential, and are trusted and empowered.

 – we must expound on our organization’s purpose, illustrating the contribution it is making – and seeks to make – to society.

In short, your role is not to communicate the weekend closure of the office car park. Instead, it is to help employees understand why they should care, contribute, and commit.

Poppulo Insights: A Template to Measure Belonging in Your Workplace

President, Candler Chase Inc. and Co-Founder of the Academy of Business Communications

For some months I have had a little scrap of paper on my desk on which is written: “What you want to say is not the same thing as other people want to hear.”

As communicators, we spend a lot of our time transcribing the endless discourse of the C-suite for consumption by the mortals beyond. 

But how often do we consider the dissonance between what we’re shoving into the ether and what the people consuming it are actually looking for? The technical term for that irrelevant noise is 

In 2022 we need to be the Twaddle Prevention Department. This means thinking more critically about the information we’re asked to share. And this begins with listening. 

Not the theatrics that attend the dismal annual survey but 

 listening to the side chatter before meetings, to the conversations in elevators, to the posts on sites such as Glassdoor.

I’m betting there is a disconnect. Leaders I work with are talking about alignment, but their employees are asking questions about the return to the office plan. 

Others are clapping on about recovery, but hourly employees are nervous about whether their salaries will keep up with inflation. 

Some CEOs are making noises about growth, yet customers are chattering on Instagram about sustainability.

So here are the five resolutions I’ve made for myself for next year:

Challenge leaders to consider whether they are addressing the right things

Do a better job of being the voice of employees and frontline managers

 and start acting like an advocate for relevance, meaning, and dialogue

12 Internal Communication Trends & Challenges for 2022

Writing employees' performance objectives can be an annual challenge for managers. But it should not simply be a tick-the-box exercise. The most effective performance goals need to motivate employees.

Here's our 9-step guide and list with examples to get the most out of your employees with smart performance goals.

The ultimate guide to employee communication goals and KPIs for HR management

goals your employees can see immediately what's expected of them; vague, general objectives such as "increase sales in Q2" fail to provide adequate instruction or, in fact, motivation. Such general targets can also display your lack of interest, which in turn could have a knock-on effect on your employees. 

On the other hand, SMART goals are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and have a set Timeframe. They give your employees real goals to meet that are achievable yet challenging. Here's a useful 

template that you can adjust and make your own.

Be clear and specific with each goal. As Zig Ziglar said, "

". Use action verbs that indicate what you want your employees to do: increase, reduce, win, develop, etc. 

Make sure to include specific details or targets that will give your employees something to work towards. Shelve vague objectives such as "improve customer service", to "increase customer satisfaction from 45% to 60% by Q3".

It's important that your employees can easily see how they are progressing toward the goal. General objectives can lead to misinterpretation and potentially unhappy employees. So, be clear from the outset how each goal is going to be measured, which means both parties will know if the goal has been met. 

A good rule when writing each goal is to include definite figures, whether that's 60%, $10,000, or by a multiple of 7, for example. To ensure transparency it's also important at this stage to inform employees what the source of the measurement will be, whether it's a customer survey, a sales report, or the organization's balance sheet.

The goals you set need to be possible yet challenging. It's all about finding that perfect balance: too difficult and employees will simply give up, too easy and you will fail 

. Give your employees goals that are attainable but also offer them an opportunity to shine. Bear in mind, goals can be a great motivational tool and in meeting challenging objectives employees can get a great sense of achievement. 

Finding this perfect middle ground might not happen immediately but by measuring progress and then evaluating an employee's final performance you will be able to make any tweaks that may be necessary.

The 'R' in the SMART acronym could also mean relate or realistic; your ultimate objective is to ensure that each goal you set is 

, realistic within their role, and relates back to the larger organizational goals. 

While it's ok to be creative with goal setting, writing SMART goals is all about establishing objectives that make sense to your employees and their day-to-day role.

When writing employee goals you will need to outline a time frame within which each goal needs to be achieved. By setting a timeline (and milestones along the way) employees are clear on what needs to be achieved by what date, no timeline and the goal could evolve into an ongoing task that can't be measured correctly and has no impact. 

Make sure when devising each objective that you're clear about what can be achieved within a specific time. Again, this might be something that will need to be tweaked but by creating marker points within the goal, i.e. mini objectives within smaller time frames, you can chart progress and identify if the original timeline is realistic.

SMART goals work best when they are aligned with the overall organizational objectives. So before you start writing your employee goals, take a look at the latest business objectives: do you need to reduce customer churn, do you need to meet increased demands for popular products, has a competitor edged ahead of you? 

Use these organizational goals as a starting point: what goals can you set that fit in with the business.

When devising employee objectives make sure you schedule in performance evaluations that happen within the goal's time frame. By evaluating employees' progress during the timeline you can monitor what is being achieved (or not), discuss employees' headway towards the objective, and make any necessary tweaks. This ongoing evaluation also means that goals don't disappear or get put on the long finger.

Being open to tweaks is an important part of any goal setting. As we've already said, you might not get everything right the first time. But for your objectives to resonate with employees, it's vital that you remain flexible. 

This is where the evaluation and adjustment steps combine: evaluation shows you if there are issues or stumbling blocks with your set objectives and you can then re-adjust if appropriate.

Top 10 Employee Performance Goal Examples

- revolves around employees offering support to their co-workers in achieving their own goals.

 - helps employees develop their knowledge, skills, and capabilities.

 - teaches employees to make decisions independently and work on their own intuition.

 - focus on how employees interact with colleagues, solve problems, and manage their work.

 - cultivates creative thinking in employees contributing to their personal development as well as that of the company

- provides employees with the ability to process their emotions to make them capable of making sound decisions

- teaches employees how to be a team player, communicate efficiently, and develop the skills to motivate others.

 - results in employees being capable of solving conflict and finding common ground.

- keeps employees up to date with technological advancements

 and ensures they are capable of adapting to evolving communication channels.

 - enables employees to become good decision-makers and leaders.

Why are employee performance goals important?

 managers, and employees around a common purpose and objective. Organizational alignment is a key differentiator between high-performing and low-performing companies.

When your employees understand your company's overarching goals, they can align their personal ones to coincide with these targets and aid the organization's efforts in achieving its core goals.

Setting direction is an important step for leaders to take and having employee goals in place is a great way to achieve this. When you set expectations through the form of goals, your team has no doubt about what they need to achieve.

Goals mean workers have a target, something they can put their efforts towards achieving. In this way, employees can spend less time and effort focusing on activities that are not helping them achieve these goals.


Goal setting as a process is deciding what needs to be accomplished and devising a plan to achieve the desired results. Goals prompt your employees to create a plan and with a solid strategy in place, the chances they will meet the intended outcome increases significantly


It can be all too easy to put off work until tomorrow when there is no goal on the line. When it comes to SMART goals, though, you are providing your employees with clear targets that will motivate and fuel them.


energize and inspire employees and often force them to devise new and novel methods of performing, think outside the box, and overcome challenges along the way. Keep in mind, goals are more 

employees when they receive feedback on their accomplishments from leaders.

As an employer, you need to consistently measure your business performance so you know what’s working and what isn’t. Having goals in place makes it easier to determine which of your organization's targets are being successfully met and which are not.

Employee goals and objectives for collaboration

Give and receive feedback from peers or other team members in order to perform the task.

Acknowledge others' skills, experience, creativity, and contributions.

Listen to and acknowledge the feelings, concerns, opinions, and ideas of others.

Expand on the ideas of a peer or team member.

State personal opinions and areas of disagreement tactfully.

Listen patiently to others in conflict situations.

Define problems in a non-threatening manner.

Support group decisions even if not in total agreement.

Employee goals and objectives for professional development

Improve communication skills in the workplace.

Increase responsibilities and duties in the workplace.

Apply for a promotion within the organization.

Employee goals and objectives for self-management

List of Employee Performance Goals and Objectives 

In today's knowledge economy an organization's most valuable asset is its human resources – its employees. Their skills and knowledge, as well as their relationships with key customers, can often be irreplaceable and can determine an organization's success. So much so, human resource planning is now an integral part of an organization's strategy.

Human resource planning is a four-step process that analyzes current human resources, forecasts future requirements, identifies areas where there are gaps, and then implements a plan to tighten up those gaps. Breaking it down, the objectives of human resource planning are to make sure you have the right number of people in the right jobs at the right time.

What are the steps in the human resource planning process?

Step 1: Assess your current human resource capacity

Start by looking at your current human resources state of play. This will involve analyzing the HR strength of your organization across factors including employee numbers, skills, qualifications, experience, age, contracts, performance ratings, titles, and compensations. 

During this phase, it's a good idea to gather insight from your managers who can provide real-world feedback on the human resource issues they face, as well as areas in which they think changes are necessary.

You will then need to look at the future HR needs of your organization and how human resources will be applied to meet these organizational goals. HR managers will typically look at the market or sectoral trends, new technologies that could automate certain processes, as well as industry analysis in order to gauge future requirements. 

Of course, there are a number of factors affecting human resource planning such as natural employee attrition, layoffs, likely vacancies, retirements, promotions, and end of contract terms. Above all of this, you will need to understand the goals of the organization: are you entering a new market, launching new products or services, expanding into new areas. Forecasting HR demand is a complex task based on several dynamics. 

Being informed and having a seat, or at least an ear, at the boardroom level is essential if you are to make accurate HR projections.

An effective human resource plan walks the fine line between supply and demand. By assessing the current HR capacity and projecting future requirements you should have a clear picture of any gaps that exist. Using your HR forecast you can better judge if there will be a skills gap, for example. 

Should you upskill existing employees or recruit employees who are already qualified in specific areas? Are all current employees being utilized in the right areas or would their skills be 

Step 4: Integrate the plan with your organization's overall strategy

After you've assessed your current human resources capacity, projected future HR demands, and identified the gaps, the final step is to integrate your human resources plan with your organizational strategy. On a practical level, you will need a dedicated budget for human resources recruiting, training or redundancies, and you will also need management buy-in across the business. 

You will need cooperation and the necessary finances in order to implement the plan and a collaborative approach from all departments to put it into practice. Learn about the

 benefits of strategic human resource management

What is the importance of human resource planning?

The HR department is prepared for changing requirements

Your organization is not caught off-guard in the shifting workforce market

Adapt faster to the introduction of automation or advanced technologies

Gain competitive advantage through the rapid rollout of new products or into new markets

Better anticipate the need for critical skills during growth phases

Be proactive by honing the skills of the current workforce in order to move into new areas

What are the different types of Human Resource planning?

One of the most important responsibilities of HR is to identify, attract, and hire new employees. To make sure the recruiting process runs smoothly, HR must dedicate sufficient time and energy to planning it effectively. 

Benefits, compensation, opportunities for growth are all key elements employees seek in a new position, and they all should be taken into consideration when planning the recruitment process, especially if an organization wants to scoop up the best employees.

By helping employees develop their skills, knowledge, and abilities, an organization can improve its overall effectiveness. Human resource planning in terms of development should focus on how it can improve the current and future workforce. 

HR must plan for how this development will take place, will it be informal such as coaching managers or learning from more experienced employees, or formal such as in-classroom training, or hiring a paid consultant.

Retaining employees is not an easy task but it's HR's duty to build a strategy that can prevent employees from quitting. This

goal of finding the best methods to keep employees content

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance, rewarding hard work, offering opportunities for career advancement are all factors to consider in an employee retention plan.

What is the role of Human Resource planning

When carried out effectively, Human resource planning is the foundation of the HR department as a whole and allows all major functions such as selecting, hiring, onboarding, and training staff to run smoothly.

As always in the business world, companies continue to restructure and reorganize. Human resource planning is important to help businesses cope in the middle of this change whether it's got to do with technology, the economy, staff qualifications, or employee demand.

Another purpose of HR planning is to recruit and select the most capable employees for available roles. It determines human resource needs, assesses the available HR inventory level, and finally recruits the personnel needed to perform the job.

Human resources must engage in tracking a company’s turnover rate. In other words, the ratio of employees who leave to the average number of all employees. Once turnover tracking is in place, the data can be used to analyze trends, outline any issues, 

A skills inventory is a record of the skills, qualifications, and past experiences of current employees. Creating this record ensures that an organization has the right workers to carry out the work it requires. With an increasing need for dynamic and engaged employees, HR planning to attract talented and capable workers is more important than ever.

 HR professionals recognize current workforce shortages and predict future necessities include:

How can we fill existing skill shortages?

How can we reduce current turnover rates?

What competencies will our company need to meet our business objectives?

Will future hires be full or part-time, permanent or temporary?

How will our company rank with competitors?

Human resource planning is not just an essential part of every successful business but one of its most important assets. The main purpose of HR planning is to 

 of the company and allow businesses to determine the talent that they currently have and the talent they will likely need in the future. 

By determining these current and future employment needs, businesses can match talent requirements and reach their goals. 

 a competitive advantage, promotes the growth and longevity of the organization, increases the value of current employees, and aids companies in adapting to industry change.

Human resource planning - Process steps

Focus Groups are all around us in our modern world. Businesses use them to carry out constant data analysis to determine how people feel about their products or services. And ‘feel’ is the operative word here; we’re talking about a research method that is all about people’s subjective opinions and experiences.

Yet the origins of the focus group can arguably be traced right back to famed Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. An acolyte of Freud’s teachings, Ernest Dichter, schooled in the belief that people are often motivated by unconscious, irrational and often visceral desires, was one of the early pioneers of a much more qualitative approach. Instead of counting how many times a group carries out a task, his aim was to delve below the mere act and, through talking with participants, tease out precisely what it was that motivated people to buy one brand over another, or just about anything else involving making choices.

Top Tips & Traps – Employee Focus Groups

At one time it was all about quantity over quality. The common research method involved logging how many of one thing took place over another. Yet, this failed to give a qualitative sense of what was motivating those choices in the mind of the consumer. 

This is where the Focus Group began to find favor within the marketing departments of myriad companies and latterly political parties.

One of the earliest examples was the Betty Crocker 

. 1950s US housewives liked the idea of a ready-to-bake cake mix, but it wasn’t selling. Enter Ernest Dichter and one of the earliest examples of consumer Focus Groups. Dichter -- using what he called ‘motivational research’ -- gleaned, from speaking to working housewives, that they felt a sense of emotional conflict in serving ready-made recipes. 

The solution: change the recipe so that the customer had to add an egg to the mix, thus gaining a sense of participation in the act of baking.

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