Why communication functions are misunderstood inside their own organisations

11 Nov

A new study shows most colleagues still don’t know what communications does. Here’s how to fix the gap.

It’s one of the enduring ironies of corporate communications and public relations practice: the teams responsible for building clarity and understanding across an organisation are often misunderstood.

A new study of more than 1,100 people across large companies in Germany, conducted by researchers Jana Brockhaus, Ansgar Zerfass, and Antonia Rüth, from Leipzig University and BI Norwegian Business School, sheds light on this contradiction.

The project finds a persistent gap between what the communication function delivers and what internal stakeholders understand or value. There’s a widespread knowledge gap about what corporate communications is, what it does, and why it matters, from C-suite executives to frontline employees.

The study has direct and immediate application for practice.

What the study found

Here are the headlines:

Only 57% of employees and 80% of middle managers say they know the goals of their communication function. That means nearly half are working without a clear understanding of what communications is trying to achieve.
Operational work is better recognised than strategic contribution. Most respondents saw the communication function as a content machine, but few saw it as a strategic advisor or business enabler.
Middle managers are the most sceptical. This is the group least likely to rate communications as competent, helpful or worth the investment. And yet they hold the budgets and influence that could make or break its role.
Proximity drives perception. The more someone collaborates with the communication function, the more positively they view it. Invisibility equals irrelevance.
C-level views are more positive. Senior executives talk a good game, with 97% rating communications highly compared to other functions. But only 53% think it’s competent, and 66% believe it needs to do a better job explaining its value.

Why this matters

Internal perceptions affect everything: from budgets and headcount to whether you’re invited to the strategy table or sidelined when decisions are made.

Middle managers, the group with the most day-to-day influence over operational priorities, are not convinced. They don’t see the connection between what communications does and what they need. And that’s a problem.

If communications functions want to be taken seriously as value creators, they must start by building that value internally with the people who matter most.

Where we go from here

This study is a wake-up call for internal positioning. Communications teams must treat internal influence as a strategic project in its own right and engage in their own promotional communication.

Here are three immediate takeaways for practitioners:

1. Make your value visible

Stop assuming your work speaks for itself. Create internal narratives that explain what communications does, why it matters, and who benefits. That means case studies, internal roadshows, and strategic storytelling.

2. Get closer to the sceptics

Middle managers hold the keys to internal credibility. Engage them, support their business goals, and treat them as clients, not obstacles. The closer the collaboration, the better the perception.