History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme

IC event season is in full swing, and this week I’ve been at the History of Internal Communications conference organised by the brilliant Professor Michael Heller. The conference is the first that I’ve attended that is aimed at both IC practitioners and academics. 

The conference is part of a larger project to connect historical organisational theory with modern challenges, and Professor Heller’s used the quote "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme" to illustrate that modern communication challenges are pretty much the same ones we’ve been grappling with for many years.

I thought the quote was very relevant when I read the newly-released IC index. This is one of my must-read reports as it covers how internal communication is experienced by the very people we’re trying to reach, employees. The report now in its fourth year is produced by the Institute of Internal Communication in partnership with Ipsos Karian and Box, and contains the views of almost 5000 UK workers in large organisations about their experiences of internal communication.

Key findings

• Organisations are navigating near-constant change, while employees feel increasingly disconnected from the decisions affecting them. 
• Trust in senior leaders has fallen sharply (nine points since last year). 
• Confidence in organisational strategy is falling. 
• Psychological safety remains weak. (No surprises there considering the environment we’re operating in).

A reality check for leaders.

This year my eyes were drawn to the role of leaders, and the growing gap between how well they believe they communicate, and what employees are actually experiencing. It’s clear they are operating with a very different picture of what is landing. IOIC call this a reality check for leaders:

• Almost 9 in 10 senior leaders believe their strategy has been clearly communicated (87%). Yet only 57% of non-managers agree.
• 80% of senior leaders believe the strategy is the right one for success, yet fewer than half of non-managers agree.

The gap on strategy is significant, but on AI it is wider still

• Two thirds of senior leaders (67%) believe they have clearly explained how AI will be used in their organisation. Only 27% of non-managers agree. That is a 40-point perception gap on one of the significant transformations of the modern workplace.
• There are also similar gaps between leaders and non-managers when it comes to believing that AI is being used to solve the right problems, and whether employers have clearly communicated how people are expected to use AI in their jobs.

For communicators, this presents both a challenge and the opportunity. The challenge? Telling your senior leaders, diplomatically, that they are living in a parallel universe! The opportunity? Five ways you can use the report to support your organisation.

1. Benchmark your own organisation. The IC Index provides a useful national datapoint, but its real value is in the questions it prompts you to ask closer to home. How does your organisation compare? Where are your own perception gaps between leaders and employees? Use the findings as a starting point for your own listening.
2. Hold up the mirror to leaders. Use the data in this report to open up conversations on AI, on strategy, on change. Where leaders believe the message has landed, the numbers may well tell a very different story.
3. Help managers communicate, don't just tell them what to say. Sending a briefing email is not the same as equipping a manager to lead a meaningful team conversation. IC teams are uniquely placed to build manager capability through training, coaching and dedicated support.
4. Build your business case for investment in IC. If you are making the case for greater resource, headcount or strategic influence, this report provides useful data points. Organisations with dedicated IC teams consistently outperform those without on trust, advocacy, strategic alignment and employee connection.
5. Don't let the AI communication gap widen further. The perception gap between leaders and employees on AI is already striking. Communicators have a critical role in shaping an honest, credible narrative about how AI will affect people's work

Connection, clarity and trust were what internal communication was invented to build. They remain, in 2026, the things we are still working hardest to get right.