The Internal Comms Maturity Test: How Grown-Up Is Your Internal Communication?

Or: are your internal comms running like a finely tuned orchestra… or a WhatsApp group organised by your uncle Dave?

In our experience, most organisations think their internal communications are "pretty good." After all, you know, people get emails. There's an intranet. The CEO occasionally appears in a video. Someone remembers to update the noticeboard in reception every few months. Job done, right?

Well... not necessarily.

The truth is: internal communications don't usually fail overnight. They evolve. Grow. Mature. Sometimes they plateau. Occasionally they take a spectacular step backwards after someone decides that creating another Teams channel is "the answer."

The good news is that, just like people, organisations tend to move through recognisable stages of maturity. Understanding where you are today is often the first step towards becoming significantly better tomorrow.

So, welcome to The Comms Guru Internal Comms Maturity Test. No clipboards. No exams. No judgement. (Honest!)

Stage One: The Survival Stage

Motto: "Quick! Somebody tell everyone before they find out on Facebook!"

Every organisation starts somewhere. At this stage, communication is almost entirely reactive. Messages are sent because they have to be. Updates happen when someone remembers.

Communication usually depends on a handful of enthusiastic people working incredibly hard behind the scenes. Typical symptoms include:

• Information arriving at the last minute.
• Every update marked "Urgent".
• Leaders assuming that sending an email means everyone now knows.
• Employees regularly saying: "Nobody told us."

Communication isn't planned. It's firefighting.

The irony? Everyone is incredibly busy communicating. They're just not necessarily communicating well.

Stage Two: The Publisher

Motto: "Look! We have a newsletter!"

Things begin to improve. Channels become more established. There's probably:

• a newsletter
• an intranet
• leadership updates
• Teams
• perhaps even an employee app

Communication becomes more regular. More polished. More professional.

There's just one slight problem. It's still mostly one-way. The organisation is excellent at broadcasting information.

Listening? Not so much.

Employees are treated more like an audience than participants. It’s often left at "We've communicated it!", rather than "Has anybody actually understood it?"

It's progress. Just not the finish line.

Stage Three: The Organised Communicator

Motto: "We're finally starting to join the dots."

This is where things become interesting. Communication starts becoming intentional. Channels have clearer purposes. Leadership messages feel more consistent. Campaigns are planned rather than improvised. Video starts appearing alongside written communication. Managers receive briefing packs. Tone of voice becomes recognisable.

Most importantly...

Communication starts supporting business objectives instead of simply reporting them. Employees begin to understand not just what is happening. But why.

This is often where organisations start seeing measurable improvements in engagement and trust. Research from Gallagher's “State of the Sector” consistently shows that organisations with more strategic internal communication functions report stronger employee alignment, leadership credibility and business outcomes.

Communication has stopped being an activity. It's becoming a capability.

Stage Four: The Strategic Partner

Motto: "Let's involve Internal Comms before we've already made the decision."

This is the point where internal comms earns a seat at the table. Communication isn't simply helping projects launch. It's helping shape them. Internal comms professionals become trusted advisers rather than message distributors.

They're involved in:

• organisational change
• transformation programmes
• leadership coaching
• employee engagement
• culture
• strategic planning

Communication is no longer viewed as "sending stuff." It's recognised as a business function that helps organisations perform better.

Employees experience:

• clearer messaging
• stronger leadership visibility
• better manager communication
• more meaningful engagement
• greater consistency

Life isn't perfect. But it is significantly less chaotic.

Stage Five: The Communication Ecosystem

Motto: "Everything works together."

If we’re honest, we don’t think too many organisations consistently reach this stage.

Those that do have one thing in common. Communication feels effortless. Not because it is, but because enormous thought has gone into making it feel simple.

Leadership communication. Manager communication. Video. Intranet. Campaigns. Employee listening. Digital channels. Recognition. Change communication.

Everything connects.

Employees know:

• where information lives
• who to trust
• which channels matter
• how to ask questions
• how feedback influences decisions

Communication becomes part of everyday work rather than another task employees have to navigate.

Perhaps most importantly, employees trust it.

The biggest misconception about maturity

Here's where many organisations go wrong. They assume maturity equals technology. And it really doesn't. You can have:

• AI
• employee apps
• beautiful intranets
• stunning videos
• digital signage

...and still be operating at Stage One.

Why? Because maturity isn't measured by what you own. It's measured by how effectively everything works together.

Buying another platform without fixing governance is a bit like fitting satellite navigation to a car with no engine. It looks impressive, shiny, modern and technologically cool. But you're still not going anywhere.

So... where are you?

Be honest. Which statements sound familiar?

• Stage One: "We're constantly reacting."
• Stage Two: "We communicate lots."
• Stage Three: "We're becoming more consistent."
• Stage Four: "We influence business decisions."
• Stage Five: "Communication feels simple."

Most organisations aren't entirely one stage. They're a mixture. Perhaps leadership communication is operating at Stage Four. But manager communication sits at Stage Two. The intranet is somewhere around Stage Three. And employee listening is still finding its feet.

And that's perfectly normal.

The maturity gaps matter most

Interestingly, the biggest problems rarely come from low maturity. They come from inconsistency.

Imagine: an excellent leadership videos, an excellent employee app, excellent campaigns, but... managers don't know what to say.

Or a fantastic intranet, brilliant newsletters, but employees still don't trust leadership.

Communication becomes uneven. Employees receive mixed experiences depending on which channel they happen to encounter. Those gaps create confusion.

Consistency creates confidence.

How do organisations move up?

The answer isn't often: "Buy more technology." Not on its own, anyway. It's usually much less exciting. And much more effective.

The organisations that mature tend to focus on:

• clearer governance
• stronger communication strategy
• channel clarity
• better leadership communication
• manager capability
• employee listening
• consistent tone of voice
• purposeful campaigns
• regular measurement
• continual improvement

Notice something? Very little of that involves buying software.

This is where health checks become invaluable

One of the hardest things about organisational communication is that you're living inside it every day. It's difficult to see the gaps. Employees adapt. Managers compensate. Leaders assume. Nobody quite notices how much complexity has accumulated.

This is exactly why communication audits and health checks are so valuable. Not because they produce colourful reports. But because they provide something much rarer…

Perspective.

They help answer questions like:

• Which stage are we actually operating at?
• Where are our biggest maturity gaps?
• Which channels are adding value?
• Which ones are creating noise?
• Where should we invest first?

Sometimes the biggest improvement isn't doing more. It's stopping the things that no longer work.

The bottom line

Internal communications isn't a destination. It's a journey. (Yes, we know. We really tried not to use clichés. But it’s hot out, so we're allowing ourselves one.)

No organisation reaches communication perfection. Nor should it try.

Businesses evolve. Employees change. Technology develops. Communication should evolve alongside them. The important thing isn't whether you're at Stage Two or Stage Four. It's whether you're moving forwards.

Because mature communication isn't measured by the number of emails you send, the quality of your intranet or how many shiny tools you've purchased. It's measured by something much simpler.

Do employees understand what's happening?

Do they trust what they're being told?

Do they know where to find information?

Do they feel listened to?

And can communication genuinely help them do their jobs better?

If the answer to those questions is "yes"... Congratulations. You're probably more mature than you think.

If not... Well. At least now you know where to start. And that's a remarkably grown-up place to be.