New tech, new regulations, new expectations

In banking, change is the constant. But many banks struggle with something when they make moves: the words they use to explain transformation.

We've worked with HR and internal comms teams in some of the world's biggest banks, and we've seen the same problem play out: messages are too long, too complex, too impersonal. Too easy to ignore.

So employees switch off. Trust erodes. Engagement drops. And even the smartest strategies stall. But don’t take our word for it. Here's what the data shows…

Employees are tuning out

Let’s start with open rates.

According to PoliteMail's 2025 Internal Email Benchmark Report, open rates across large orgs hover around 64%. Which sounds good. But while employees are quick to open their emails, time spent reading is low. As is the likelihood that they’ll click on something.

Conclusion: they’re not really absorbing the messages.

And why would they? Research by Axios and Firstup suggest these communications are badly written. Leaders seem distant or unclear. Emails come swamped with jargon. Messages are designed for compliance over connection.

If we zoom in on the financial sector (wheee!), the state of communications worsens (oh no!). A study specifically about internal comms found that poor messaging contributes to:

  • lower engagement,
  • higher attrition,
  • regulatory headaches.

We’ve seen this happen in real life

We recently partnered with a global bank rolling out a new HR system.

Before launching, they asked: “Are we telling this story in the clearest, most human way possible?”

The emails, guides and FAQs felt heavier than the handy resources they were meant to be. Readers needed quick, clear answers. That’s where we came in.

So we rewrote dozens of pieces of content and…

  • readability jumped by 47%,
  • passive voice dropped by over 90%,
  • long sentences halved,
  • the ‘we’:‘you’ ratio flipped, making the tone more empathetic,
  • total word count shimmied down by 15%, without losing key points.

In a sector built on trust, every sentence counts

In finance (and we’d argue it’s the same in all nooks of the economy), there are other perks to passing the pen to a skilled writer.

Delegating to an expert improves compliance, by reducing the risk of misunderstanding. And it strengthens morale, because good writing signals respect for your people.

What HR and comms teams at banks can do today

Here are three quick wins:

  1. Audit your recent comms. Pick five messages and read them out loud. Are they clear? Helpful? Human?
  2. Use readability tools. Any will do, but we’ve built our own – ask us about it.
  3. Review your tone principles. Does the way you write reflect your values?

Need a hand? The kind of hand that comes stained by ink and calloused from scribbling notes? That’s what we’re here for. We’re messaging specialists. Brand language experts. Word nerds, really.