Daishinsha Communication Design Co., Ltd. (Shibuya, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Toshinori Isshiki) has released the results of the "Survey on Internal Branding" targeting 300 employees who were working at their companies when management policies were announced within the last five years. The survey revealed that only 20.3% of employees could "accurately explain" their company's management policy, exposing the reality that approximately 80% do not fully remember the content. Furthermore, even among employees who understood the message, a significant portion felt it was "not their concern," highlighting the limits of traditional internal communication that stops at mere transmission.

Internal Branding Support Based on Survey Results and Future Outlook Hiroki Kaneko, a brand consultant at the company and author of "Introduction to Branding" (Kanki Publishing), commented on the results as follows: "The core challenge in internal branding is the gap between 'transmitting' and 'comprehending.' This survey quantitatively demonstrates that a certain number of employees who understand the content still feel it is 'not their concern.' Sharing stories about who made the decisions and why, and how they connect to individual jobs, rather than just delivering systems and numbers, serves as the starting point for behavioral change. Moving forward, we will continue to support companies in designing customized internalization processes based on this survey." Reflecting these findings, the company will strengthen its internal branding support by combining storytelling with integration into daily operations. For organizations wishing to assess their current level of alignment, the company also offers diagnostic support. Please contact us for details.

Only 20% of Employees Can "Accurately Explain" Management Policies The company investigated the status of internal alignment regarding management plans and policies among 300 employees who were employed when such policies were announced within the last five years. The internet survey was conducted on February 12, 2026, via Freeasy. The results showed that only 20.3% of employees responded that they could "accurately explain" their company's management policy, while 79.6% did not fully remember the details. This quantitatively illustrates how carefully crafted messages by management can become superficial during the transmission process to frontline staff.

Gap Between "Comprehension" and "Personalization" The survey also indicated that understanding a message and personalizing it as "one's own concern" are separate challenges. Specifically, 54.7% of all respondents felt the policy was "not their concern," and 36.3% of those stated, "I understood the content, but it is not my concern." This suggests that simply repeating transmissions is unlikely to trigger behavioral changes among employees.

Main Channels: Briefings and Intranet, with "Internalization" Remaining the Next Goal The top methods for transmitting management policies were "company-wide briefings" (54.3%), "intranet portal distribution" (53.7%), and "explanations from supervisors" (31.0%). This suggests that most companies have established certain transmission routes. However, the survey results imply that establishing routes alone does not guarantee internalization or message comprehension. The next challenge is to shift focus from the "routes" to how to design the "content" and "context" of the transmission.

Storytelling and Daily Task Integration as Keys to Behavioral Change The most selected measure deemed effective for understanding and internalization was "sharing concrete examples and stories" (47.3%). This highlights the need to convey management policies using real-life examples from inside and outside the company, rather than leaving them as abstract concepts. Furthermore, "integration into daily operations" was selected as the most effective measure for driving behavioral change (50.0%). Rather than broadcasting management policies as one-off events, employees seek approaches that integrate these policies into daily decision-making and evaluation cycles.

For Those Wishing to Know Their Current Status of Alignment Daishinsha Communication Design offers support to assess the current state of internal alignment. Please contact us to learn more.

- Quantitative Survey Service to Visualize Philosophy and Vision Alignment -

https://www.daishinsha-cd.jp/whitepaper/12819/

Survey Report: "Only 20% of Employees Comprehend Management Messages: The Superficiality and Personalization Deficit of Corporate Philosophies" Release Date: April 22, 2026 Access Fee: Free Delivery Method: Full text available on the corporate blog: https://www.daishinsha-cd.jp/blog/inner-branding-s

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  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Survey