Most organizations don’t struggle with strategy. They struggle with making it make sense to the people doing the work.

We’ve seen it happen time and time again. It’s the moment an employee reads a company message, pauses, and thinks, “I’m not sure what that means for me.”

From that point on, everything becomes interpretation. Leaders often think their message is clear. It has been reviewed, refined, and approved. It sounds right and matches the strategy. It seems to cover everything. But between what leaders intend and what employees understand, something is often lost. Lost in translation.

We know employees don’t push back, raise their hands and say, “This doesn’t make sense.” They do something far more human. They fill in the gaps.

In LaineGabriel’s experience, we have seen this is where culture can start to drift.

According to Gallup, only about 31% of employees in the U.S. are engaged at work, and one of the primary drivers of engagement is whether people feel connected to the organization’s purpose and clear on what’s expected of them. It’s no surprise why engagement not only stalls but often declines.

At the same time, data from Staffbase found that over 60% of employees say poor communication impacts their job satisfaction, and many cite unclear messaging as a reason they begin to disengage or consider leaving.

Employees don’t need more communication. They need better translation. They need to understand what the strategy actually means in their day-to-day work. They need to hear it in language that feels real, not polished. They need leaders who are willing to say, “Here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t, and here’s what might change.”

Trust comes from being clear and honest.

Gartner has found that employees are significantly more likely to trust information that feels direct and relevant to their role, and far less likely to trust communication that sounds overly corporate or disconnected from their reality. We know firsthand organizations that get this right don’t necessarily communicate more. They communicate differently.

They translate.

They take a message like “We’re evolving our operating model” and turn it into something people can understand and remember. They admit when things are uncertain instead of avoiding it. They welcome questions and connect the strategy to each person, not just the company.

And perhaps most importantly, they understand that communication is not the end of the process. It’s the beginning of understanding.

For LaineGabriel and our clients, it all starts with a simple idea.

Speak in a way your employees can hear.