Mobile, Hybrid, Desk-less: Why Your Internal Videos Need to Work for Everyone (And How to Do It)

James Blair

Communications Consultant

Video

November 18, 2025

min read

Because if your video only works on a widescreen monitor… your frontline team will never see it.

Last week, we shared a list of ten useful types of internal comms videos, from leader updates to culture reels, and animated explainers to event hype teasers. (Actually, we shared sixteen, but that didn’t make for a tidy round number in the heading!)

As a bit of a follow-up to that, for this entry, we wanted to focus attention on the thorny topic of format and the fact that, chances are, most of your videos will be watched on a very small screen, in an awkward aspect ratio, and with the sound off.

Say what, now?

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The Workforce Has Left the Building

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Once upon a time (circa 2014), internal comms teams could assume most employees sat at desks, opened Outlook, and watched videos on a nice, corporate-approved monitor.

Then reality happened. Now your workforce is:

Mobile (scrolling between meetings, trains and toddlers)
Hybrid (sometimes at home, sometimes in the office, sometimes in a café pretending the Wi-Fi is stable)
Desk-less (retail, warehouse, field, healthcare, hospitality… the majority of global workers)

According to research, 80% of the world’s workforce is deskless. Eighty. Percent.
That’s a LOT of people who don’t have time for a 7-minute talking-head video with tiny text and no captions.

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If your internal comms strategy (for video, and wider) doesn’t include them, you’re basically broadcasting into the void.

So, let’s fix that.

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Here’s how to create videos that everyone can watch, and not just Susan in Finance with her dual-curved 4K monitors.

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‍1. Think Mobile First (Not “Mobile as an Afterthought”)

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Most employees will watch your video on a phone.
On the bus.
Between tasks.

Between meetings.
While hiding in the break room with a KitKat.

So, your video should:

Work vertically or square (16:9 widescreen only is sooo 2010)
Be readable without squinting
Have captions (because no one wants to blast the CEO’s voice across a quiet carriage)
Load quickly on patchy Wi-Fi

Golden Rule: Think worst-case scenario. If it doesn’t work on a cracked iPhone at 7am, it doesn’t work.

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2. Choose the Right Aspect Ratios (Yes, They Matter)

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Different workers, different screens, different needs. Here’s the cheat sheet:

9:16 (vertical) → Mobile-first, perfect for frontline & hybrid workers
1:1 (square) → Best for intranet tiles, social-like feeds, Teams/Slack
16:9 (landscape) → Great for events, town halls, or watched-on-a-laptop moments

If you’re posting the same video in multiple places (often smart), consider exporting it in two formats.
We can help with that. And yes, it makes a HUGE difference in engagement.

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3. Captions Are Non-Negotiable

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Not “nice to have”.
Not “we’ll add them next time”.
Mandatory.

Why?

80% of internal videos are watched on mute
Accessibility matters
Global teams may not have English as a first language
Background noise is real (especially in warehouses or cafés)

And for the love of all that is holy, we urge you to burn the captions into the video. Don’t rely on platforms to add them.
Formatting chaos awaits otherwise.

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4. Shorter Than You Think

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Deskless teams don’t have time to watch five minutes of polite pleasantries and corporate waffle. (Nor do they have the inclination, if we’re honest!)

Aim for:

60–90 seconds for updates
30–45 seconds for hype/content teasers
2–3 minutes for training bursts
Micro-videos for step-by-step processes

If TikTok taught us anything, it’s this: Dancing to songs from K-Pop Demon Hunters is the way forward for your SLT. No, sorry, that’s not it. It’s this: People can learn more in 12 seconds than you think.

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5. Think Global: Subtitles & Localisation

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If your organisation spans regions, you need:

Subtitles in local languages
Avoiding idioms and colloquialisms that don’t translate. (“Let’s hit the ground running” sounds threatening in some countries. “Run it up the flagpole” is… well… just don’t. Ever.)
Adjusting examples and visuals to reflect different teams

Representation isn’t fluff or woke nonsense. It’s the stuff of trust.

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6. The Right Channels for the Right People

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Remember: not everyone checks email.
Some people don’t even have email.

Options that work brilliantly for mobile & deskless teams:

WhatsApp broadcast lists
Workplace / Viva Engage / Teams mobile
QR codes in physical spaces
Digital signage in break rooms
Kiosk screens or tablet hubs

Hybrid folks?
Meet them where they are: Teams, Slack, intranet dashboards, mobile push notifications.

The golden rule: Don’t choose the channel you want, choose the channel THEY use.

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Oh, and if you have populations that are really, notoriously, and stubbornly hard to reach, you could consider a bespoke solution – one that as-good-as-guarantees getting your key messages to where they are most needed!

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