The secret to better employee comms: The intergenerational team

Alyssa Towns is a freelance writer. 

Not enough organizations are asking the right question when filling an internal communications role: Are we building a team that will help us reach every employee on our team based on their communication preferences?

Different technologies, workplace norms, values, and communication expectations shape how and how often each generation in the workforce wants to hear from their organization. 

An intergenerational internal communications function is a strategy for engaging a workforce that has never been more varied in how it wants to be communicated with. 

How the changing workforce impacts internal communications

Today’s workforce is the most generationally diverse it has ever been, with four generations actively employed across industries simultaneously. 

Previous one-size-fits-all approaches to internal communications don’t effectively reach an intergenerational workforce. Instead, internal communications need to create an intergenerational communications approach and clearly define employee personas and preferences beyond the usual job-title- and location-focused ones to reach people where they are. 

Generational differences influence format and channel preferences. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, “For example, research shows that the older generations in the workplace prefer meetings and phone calls, while the younger generations tend to favor instant messaging. Older workers are more accustomed to formal communications, while younger employees communicate in shorter, more casual bursts.”

Reaching every employee well requires understanding how different employees prefer to be reached by the company, what information they need, and building a team with the capacity to support diverse communication preferences. 

Why an intergenerational IC team is a communication strategy

Most hiring strategies prioritize hiring internal communicators based on years of experience and familiarity with specific internal communication tools and platforms. But these measures don’t always account for audience fluency, or the ability to understand how employees want to receive information and craft communications accordingly. 

An intergenerational IC team is a communication strategy that leverages multiple formats and channels to reach a diverse audience. It creates opportunities for internal communicators to specialize in supporting specific types of communication (e.g., long-form writing, video, audio, virtual and in-person events, creative campaigns) rather than requiring them to know how to use a specific platform to land a role, which they can learn without prior experience. 

Practical strategies for organizations pursuing this approach

Whether you are an internal communicator or you’re responsible for filling internal communications roles, below are practical strategies to help you think about where you fit on an internal communications team and how to build an intergenerational one:

• Invest in the internal communications function. None of this is possible without organizational commitment to appropriately resource a team. According to Gallagher’s 2026 Employee Communications Report, 69% of organizations have fewer than six people in a comms role, whether they support 500 or 50,000 employees, and 1 in 3 have no dedicated communications budget at all. Building an intergenerational IC team that can reach a range of employees requires a willingness to invest in one and to move beyond the assumption that internal communications can be scaled down and simplified without consequences. For organizations with limited budgets, consider practical approaches such as cross-training existing employees to develop broader communication skills or leveraging staff from different departments for input and support. These strategies can help build a more diverse and capable internal communications function even when resources are tight.

• Rethink your IC hiring criteria. When opening an internal communications role, organizations and hiring managers instinctively set a specific number of years of experience as a requirement or a background that mirrors the existing team’s capabilities. Instead, consider asking: What audience or channel gap can this position help us address and improve? An internal communicator known for producing high-performing video content reaches employees differently than one who excels at long-form written communication. Neither is better than the other; they will serve the team differently. Hiring with these distinctions in mind and treating them as complementary builds a team capable of effectively reaching a diverse workforce.
• Build a multipronged communication strategy across your team’s range. Once you build or join a team with varied strengths and audience fluency, the next step is to develop an internal communications approach that leverages those strengths. In practice, that looks like moving away from single channels or formats as the default and defining an intentional mix that accounts for different employee segments and how best to reach and engage them. It also requires giving team members ownership of the formats and channels in which they have the most expertise, rather than asking everyone to execute and adhere to a strict corporate playbook. 

Effective Internal communications have always required a deep understanding of the employee audience. What’s changed is how varied that audience has become and how much the composition of the IC team itself can influence and support whether organizations are equipped to meet that moment. Building an intergenerational IC function reflects recognizing that the best way to reach every employee is to build a team that understands them.