Bringing IDEA to Life: Why Communication Is the Missing Piece in Many Strategies

Let’s be real: strategy alone doesn’t shift culture.

You can pour time, money, and intention into building an IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) framework—but if your people don’t hear it, feel it, or see it reflected in their daily experience? It stalls. The strategy stays theoretical, instead of becoming transformational.

This is where many organizations get stuck. And it’s why communication is the secret ingredient your IDEA plan might be missing.

The Disconnect Between Strategy and Culture

According to McKinsey’s 2023 report The State of Organizations, organizations that succeed in transformative change focus on “alignment, leadership, and communication at every level.” And yet, these are the very areas where most IDEA efforts break down.

Deloitte’s 2023 Global Human Capital Trends revealed that only 38% of organizations feel their DEI strategies are effectively communicated internally. When communication is poor, even the most thoughtful IDEA strategy can end up gathering dust—while employee trust and momentum fade.

What Communication Actually Does

Strategic communication isn't just about sending an email when Pride Month rolls around. It's about creating clarity, consistency, and credibility—every day. Here’s how communication brings IDEA to life:

🔹 It Builds Understanding

It helps employees connect the dots between high-level values and what those values look like in their roles, teams, and interactions.

🔹 It Fuels Engagement

When communication is transparent, inclusive, and human, people are more likely to trust the process and feel invited to contribute.

🔹 It Sustains Change

Consistency matters. Repeating your IDEA messaging—through leadership speeches, onboarding, internal comms, and even informal touchpoints—helps reinforce that inclusion isn’t a one-off campaign, it’s a cultural commitment.

According to Boston Consulting Group’s 2024 report, organizations that moved from the lowest to the median quartile on inclusion metrics cut their attrition risk in half and saw a 30 percentage-point increase in employees who felt empowered to reach their full potential.

That’s not just feel-good storytelling—that’s measurable, bottom-line impact driven by consistent, inclusive communication.

Why Most Organizations Miss the Mark

Despite good intentions, many companies make the same missteps:

• Leaders don’t feel confident talking about IDEA issues

• Messaging feels robotic, not relatable

• Comms are reactive, not proactive

• Inclusion becomes an occasional event instead of a consistent narrative

McKinsey’s “Losing from Day One” research shows that organizations who prioritize communication from the start triple their odds of transformation success. That should be a wake-up call.

How to Close the Gap

Here’s how to stop IDEA from becoming “just another initiative” and start making it real:

✅ Empower Leaders to Speak Authentically

Provide them with talking points, personal stories, and space to learn. Leadership messaging has a ripple effect.

✅ Make Inclusion Everyone’s Business

Use inclusive language across all channels—not just HR or comms. Bake it into policies, job ads, performance reviews.

✅ Tell Real Stories

Spotlight employee experiences. Share progress honestly, not just success stories.

✅ Create Two-Way Channels

Employees need to feel heard. Build in listening loops, feedback forums, and responsive action.

✅ Show Up Consistently

Not just during heritage months. Make IDEA a core part of your ongoing internal and external brand narrative.

The Takeaway

You can’t implement IDEA from the top down. You need a communications plan that invites people in, connects the dots, and keeps the momentum going. Otherwise, your strategy is just a document.

That’s where IDEA Content comes in. We help organizations activate IDEA through strategic storytelling, inclusive messaging, and consistent, courageous communication.

Because strategy alone won’t build an inclusive culture, but strategy plus communication just might.

IDEA Content is here to help with making your workplace more inclusive. We have hundreds of communications templates, policy templates, and ready-to-use toolkits designed to make your life easier. Become a free subscriber today (yes, it’s really free) to check out a selection of our offerings. Learn more