<h2><strong>Executive Summary</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Internal communication must <strong>adapt to shrinking attention spans</strong> by being short, relevant and timed for impact.</p></li><li><p>Companies are using consumer-style content like short videos and personalised feeds to improve <strong>employee engagement</strong>.</p></li><li><p>Platforms like Slack Clips and Tyfoom support <strong>micro-messaging</strong> that fits modern, on-the-go work rhythms.</p></li><li><p>Design is critical; swipe-friendly, visual formats increase message retention and <strong>appeal to digital-native employees</strong>.</p></li><li><p><strong>Internal comms</strong> is evolving into a strategic, content-driven function focused on creating engaging, personalised experiences.</p></li></ul>.<p>According to Gloria Mark, author of <em>‘Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity’</em>, the average employee switches tasks every 47 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes in 2003. With attention spans today averaging just 8 seconds, internal communication is operating in a landscape where focus is fleeting, and distraction is constant. Employees process the equivalent of 34 GB of data daily, from Slack messages and emails to meeting invites and app notifications. A 2023 Axios HQ study found that one-third of corporate emails go unread, often dismissed as too long or irrelevant. Research by the American Psychological Association shows that task switching can reduce productivity by up to 40% and increase error rates. Yet this is exactly how most employees engage with internal communication – half-reading emails between calls or tuning out during long meetings. Being able to communicate effectively with employees now requires the same strategy as reaching consumers: keeping it short, targeted and timed for impact. </p><h2><strong>Communication is Content</strong></h2><p>To reach employees with ever-shrinking attention spans, internal communication is increasingly becoming like consumer content: short, visual and personalised. <strong>Rivetly</strong>, a workplace video platform, is at the forefront of this shift. In place of long emails or PDFs, it enables the creation of bite-sized, TikTok-style videos to communicate updates, policy changes or onboarding steps. Videos are typically shorter than 60 seconds, mobile-optimised and built for swipe-and-scroll behaviour. Employees can watch them between meetings, on a lunch break or during a quick scroll. Fundamentally, they are designed to stand alone: no context required, no manual to read. Such videos have enabled better engagement, faster comprehension and higher retention, particularly among younger, digital-native employees who expect consumer-grade experiences at work. As Rivelty has shown, a 30-second video can outperform a 3-page memo in terms of impact.</p><p><strong>Accenture</strong>, with over 700,000 employees, faced a different but related challenge: information overload. It was pushing out 40,000 employee communications per year, many of which were going unopened. To fix this, it reimagined internal communication not as email, but as content curation. It launched <em>Good Morning Accenture</em>, a thrice-weekly, personalised newsletter tailored to each employee’s role, location and preferences. Instead of receiving irrelevant updates, employees now get a curated ‘morning feed’ that feels more like a personalised app homepage than a corporate memo. Engagement surged more than 10x, from 6% click-through to over 80%. The initiative was so successful that Accenture is now rethinking meetings as well, letting employees set their own agendas, with the rest available on-demand via video or transcript. </p><p>Outside of corporate communication, <strong>Netflix</strong> offers a striking parallel. The platform’s shift toward ‘ambient TV’ – embodied in shows like <em>Emily in Paris</em> and <em>Dream Home Makeover – </em>reflects a world of split attention. These shows are designed to be passively consumed, and built around linear plotlines, spoken actions and low cognitive load. Internal comms teams are taking note, designing messages that do not require full attention but still deliver essential content. </p><p>Together, these examples reveal a new truth: employees engage with internal communication the same way they engage with content. To reach them, organisations must stop thinking like <em>broadcasters </em>and start thinking like <em>creators</em>.</p><h2><strong>From Broadcast to Micro-Moments</strong></h2><p>Communication is moving away from long-form broadcasts to short, targeted bursts that are delivered when employees are most likely to pay attention. Tyfoom is leading this shift by embedding 1-2-minute mobile microlearning videos embedded into daily workflows. These quick lessons boost retention and engagement by matching how people actually consume content: on the go, in short bursts and focused on one idea at a time. Slack Clips and Loom are replacing live meetings with short, asynchronous videos. Managers record a quick update; teams watch when it suits them. It is faster, less disruptive and more in tune with modern work rhythms. The key is timing, relevance and format. Instead of pushing one message to all, companies are using modular content and smart tools to deliver the right information, at the right moment, in the right way.</p><h2><strong>Designing for the Swipe Generation</strong></h2><p>Younger employees expect internal communication to feel like the apps they use daily: visual, intuitive and mobile-first. That is why companies are rethinking not just the message but its design. <strong>Unily</strong>, an employee experience platform, helps organisations build Netflix-style intranets that are scrollable, visual dashboards that serve up personalised content. Updates appear as tiles, videos or cards, mimicking the interfaces of popular streaming platforms. The result: higher click-through rates, better recall and more repeat visits. <strong>Pecha Kucha</strong>, a presentation format originally developed in Japan, is now used during onboarding and team kickoffs. It limits presenters to 20 slides, 20 seconds each – forcing clarity, visual storytelling and emotional engagement. Companies using this method, including Accenture, report stronger team cohesion and better idea retention. The logic is simple: visuals engage, structure matters and less is more. Studies show people retain 95% of a message when it is in the form of a video, compared to 10% when presented as text. In response, teams are leaning into infographics, GIFs, videos and bold slide design to land key points quickly and memorably.</p><h2><strong>Communication that is Built for Attention</strong></h2><p>As attention spans shrink ever further, employees will expect internal communication to be as engaging and intuitive as the content they consume outside of work. Resultantly, the role of internal communication is transforming; from pushing information to designing experiences. What was once a support function is now a strategic capability, cutting through noise, capturing attention and driving action. This demands new skills, and indeed, communication teams are starting to look more like content studios. They are writing tighter copy, producing short-form videos, designing mobile-first assets and using data to personalise at scale. Tools like Slack, Loom and Tyfoom are not just channels; they are platforms for shaping how work gets done. In the years ahead, organisations that tap into the full power of the change that is now afoot are the ones who will succeed in building connected, informed and agile businesses.</p>
<h2><strong>Executive Summary</strong></h2><ul><li><p>Internal communication must <strong>adapt to shrinking attention spans</strong> by being short, relevant and timed for impact.</p></li><li><p>Companies are using consumer-style content like short videos and personalised feeds to improve <strong>employee engagement</strong>.</p></li><li><p>Platforms like Slack Clips and Tyfoom support <strong>micro-messaging</strong> that fits modern, on-the-go work rhythms.</p></li><li><p>Design is critical; swipe-friendly, visual formats increase message retention and <strong>appeal to digital-native employees</strong>.</p></li><li><p><strong>Internal comms</strong> is evolving into a strategic, content-driven function focused on creating engaging, personalised experiences.</p></li></ul>.<p>According to Gloria Mark, author of <em>‘Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity’</em>, the average employee switches tasks every 47 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes in 2003. With attention spans today averaging just 8 seconds, internal communication is operating in a landscape where focus is fleeting, and distraction is constant. Employees process the equivalent of 34 GB of data daily, from Slack messages and emails to meeting invites and app notifications. A 2023 Axios HQ study found that one-third of corporate emails go unread, often dismissed as too long or irrelevant. Research by the American Psychological Association shows that task switching can reduce productivity by up to 40% and increase error rates. Yet this is exactly how most employees engage with internal communication – half-reading emails between calls or tuning out during long meetings. Being able to communicate effectively with employees now requires the same strategy as reaching consumers: keeping it short, targeted and timed for impact. </p><h2><strong>Communication is Content</strong></h2><p>To reach employees with ever-shrinking attention spans, internal communication is increasingly becoming like consumer content: short, visual and personalised. <strong>Rivetly</strong>, a workplace video platform, is at the forefront of this shift. In place of long emails or PDFs, it enables the creation of bite-sized, TikTok-style videos to communicate updates, policy changes or onboarding steps. Videos are typically shorter than 60 seconds, mobile-optimised and built for swipe-and-scroll behaviour. Employees can watch them between meetings, on a lunch break or during a quick scroll. Fundamentally, they are designed to stand alone: no context required, no manual to read. Such videos have enabled better engagement, faster comprehension and higher retention, particularly among younger, digital-native employees who expect consumer-grade experiences at work. As Rivelty has shown, a 30-second video can outperform a 3-page memo in terms of impact.</p><p><strong>Accenture</strong>, with over 700,000 employees, faced a different but related challenge: information overload. It was pushing out 40,000 employee communications per year, many of which were going unopened. To fix this, it reimagined internal communication not as email, but as content curation. It launched <em>Good Morning Accenture</em>, a thrice-weekly, personalised newsletter tailored to each employee’s role, location and preferences. Instead of receiving irrelevant updates, employees now get a curated ‘morning feed’ that feels more like a personalised app homepage than a corporate memo. Engagement surged more than 10x, from 6% click-through to over 80%. The initiative was so successful that Accenture is now rethinking meetings as well, letting employees set their own agendas, with the rest available on-demand via video or transcript. </p><p>Outside of corporate communication, <strong>Netflix</strong> offers a striking parallel. The platform’s shift toward ‘ambient TV’ – embodied in shows like <em>Emily in Paris</em> and <em>Dream Home Makeover – </em>reflects a world of split attention. These shows are designed to be passively consumed, and built around linear plotlines, spoken actions and low cognitive load. Internal comms teams are taking note, designing messages that do not require full attention but still deliver essential content. </p><p>Together, these examples reveal a new truth: employees engage with internal communication the same way they engage with content. To reach them, organisations must stop thinking like <em>broadcasters </em>and start thinking like <em>creators</em>.</p><h2><strong>From Broadcast to Micro-Moments</strong></h2><p>Communication is moving away from long-form broadcasts to short, targeted bursts that are delivered when employees are most likely to pay attention. Tyfoom is leading this shift by embedding 1-2-minute mobile microlearning videos embedded into daily workflows. These quick lessons boost retention and engagement by matching how people actually consume content: on the go, in short bursts and focused on one idea at a time. Slack Clips and Loom are replacing live meetings with short, asynchronous videos. Managers record a quick update; teams watch when it suits them. It is faster, less disruptive and more in tune with modern work rhythms. The key is timing, relevance and format. Instead of pushing one message to all, companies are using modular content and smart tools to deliver the right information, at the right moment, in the right way.</p><h2><strong>Designing for the Swipe Generation</strong></h2><p>Younger employees expect internal communication to feel like the apps they use daily: visual, intuitive and mobile-first. That is why companies are rethinking not just the message but its design. <strong>Unily</strong>, an employee experience platform, helps organisations build Netflix-style intranets that are scrollable, visual dashboards that serve up personalised content. Updates appear as tiles, videos or cards, mimicking the interfaces of popular streaming platforms. The result: higher click-through rates, better recall and more repeat visits. <strong>Pecha Kucha</strong>, a presentation format originally developed in Japan, is now used during onboarding and team kickoffs. It limits presenters to 20 slides, 20 seconds each – forcing clarity, visual storytelling and emotional engagement. Companies using this method, including Accenture, report stronger team cohesion and better idea retention. The logic is simple: visuals engage, structure matters and less is more. Studies show people retain 95% of a message when it is in the form of a video, compared to 10% when presented as text. In response, teams are leaning into infographics, GIFs, videos and bold slide design to land key points quickly and memorably.</p><h2><strong>Communication that is Built for Attention</strong></h2><p>As attention spans shrink ever further, employees will expect internal communication to be as engaging and intuitive as the content they consume outside of work. Resultantly, the role of internal communication is transforming; from pushing information to designing experiences. What was once a support function is now a strategic capability, cutting through noise, capturing attention and driving action. This demands new skills, and indeed, communication teams are starting to look more like content studios. They are writing tighter copy, producing short-form videos, designing mobile-first assets and using data to personalise at scale. Tools like Slack, Loom and Tyfoom are not just channels; they are platforms for shaping how work gets done. In the years ahead, organisations that tap into the full power of the change that is now afoot are the ones who will succeed in building connected, informed and agile businesses.</p>
