Cross-departmental collaboration has been identified as a major challenge facing internal communications professionals today, according to a new report.
Software company Workshop recently launched its Internal Comms Trends Report 2026, which canvassed the opinions of 312 respondents from around the world about how they’re working, what’s working well and what’s next for them.
When asked about the top challenges that internal comms teams are facing today, 61 per cent of respondents said they struggle getting content from other departments.
This is closely followed by struggling with measurement (56 per cent) and comms teams not being looped in early enough to “shape messages before they are delivered to employees” (47 per cent).
Some comms teams elaborated on their responses to questions regarding challenges, with one saying: “Stakeholders write their own emails and ask us to just send, rather than inviting us in as partners earlier in the process.”
Another lamented; “I can make messaging so much cleaner if I didn’t have to accommodate 10 stakeholders”, while one explained: “We are a small team, so not enough bodies… It makes it really hard to nail down a solid strategy when the goalposts are constantly moving.”
Despite these challenges, the authors state that internal comms teams continue to deliver “clarity, connection and momentum” for their organisations.
As teams head into 2026, the report advises comms professionals to focus on small moves that reduce friction, such as a simple intake process or a “what we need from you” guide. These, it says, create breathing room for more strategic work to take shape.