Fresh Intranet published The Employee Attention Recession report in May, with a focus on how the use of artificial intelligence is changing workflows for employees, as well as the nature of work for internal communications professionals. The report is 20 pages. The data is from two surveys – one of 500 employees across the UK and US, and the other of 500 internal communications professionals across the UK and US. Complementary topics were explored in both surveys in order to investigate common patterns from different perspectives.
Key findings of interest to us at Osterman Research:
- There’s a significant disconnect between employees and internal communications professionals on the efficacy of AI within internal communications. 95% of employees trust AI to accurately capture / summarize key points in a communique. 92% of internal communications professionals believe that automated summaries via AI distorts the communique, particularly where emotional tone, intent, and implied messages via word choices are important nuances. The two groups are poles apart on this.
- Most employees (83%) say they receive too many internal communications messages. To cope, most employees (58% regularly, 88% at least once) use AI to summarize those messages – it’s a natural / obvious response (Fresh puts it this way – “in an environment of persistent overload, the rational and adaptive response is to develop filters“). Almost all internal communications professionals (98.6%) know employees are using AI to summarize their messages, but only a minority (33%) are taking a deliberative approach via formal monitoring or policies on what this means. Again, a significant disconnect.
- The risk for leadership is the growth of a persistent gap between what they are trying to express via internal communications and what employees understand / believe / act on. If AI is mediating the message (reinterpreting, synthesizing, shortening), the distance undermines / derails / distorts intent.
- For internal communications that will be mediated (summarized by AI), internal communications professionals have to design for the mediation (e.g., lead with the most important thing, make intent explicit, use structure well, etc.) … but then that’s good communications practice overall / in general, made more urgent by the AI context, rather than something new that’s due solely to AI.
There’s more in the report beyond what captured our attention above. If the efficacy of internal communications in an artificial intelligence world is critical to your work, get a copy from the Fresh Intranet website (registration required).