CORE
November 2025
Last month, we brought together more than 100 marketing and communications executives for Arketi’s 19th Annual Tech CMO Roundtable. It was a high-energy morning filled with sharp insights, bold ideas, and plenty of caffeine.
This year’s keynote topic was one that’s quickly rising to the top of the C-suite agenda: engaging your workforce.
At first glance, workplace communications might feel a little outside your typical CMO’s wheelhouse. But here’s the thing, if you’re responsible for business growth, you can’t ignore it. Because if you’re not winning in the workplace, you won’t win in the marketplace.
Our colleagues in HR are experts in benefits, rewards, and organizational design, but they need us marketers and communicators to translate those initiatives into what employees think, feel, say, and do. And it just so happens that many of the strategies and mindsets we use to engage customers are just as powerful inside the walls of our organizations.
This edition of Core shares a few top takeaways from our Roundtable panel and conversations afterward. And next month, keep an eye out for a deeper dive into the broader marketing and communications trends that were top-of-mind for CMOs.
Curious what earned Arketi a spot on Chief Marketer’s 2026 Agencies of the Year list? Get the full story in our latest press release.
In today’s hyper-connected world, external brand and internal culture are inseparable. A company that promotes one message publicly but delivers another internally is at risk of confusing both audiences.
That’s why alignment between what you say outside and how you operate inside is essential. Every memo, every all-hands, every Slack message… is one email forward or screenshot away from being tomorrow’s headline in The Wall Street Journal. If there’s a disconnect, it will show.
And it’s not just a reputational risk. It’s a financial one.
According to Gallup, global employee engagement recently dropped from an already-low of 23% to 21%, costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. And the ripple effects don’t stop there. Disengaged employees drag down retention, recruiting, and results.
Also, we talk a lot about customer acquisition costs. But what about employee acquisition costs?
Replacing a single employee, also according to Gallup, can run from 50% to 200% of their salary. And if someone is only half-engaged, that’s like paying for a full-time resource but getting a part-timer. That has a very real price tag, whether you’re tracking it or not.
So, how can organizations tell if their workplace and marketplace messages are in sync? One word: advocacy.
When employees genuinely experience the culture you promote, they become your loudest champions – amplifying your brand with an authenticity that no campaign can match. That advocacy shows up in engagement, retention, and how people talk about your company, both inside and out.
In fact, employee advocacy mirrors exactly what we marketers strive for with customers: loyalty, education, and word-of-mouth. A shift in mindset from rational messages to emotional connections.
A paycheck doesn’t buy loyalty, and neither does a snappy intranet campaign. When words and actions align, people buy in. And when they do, they stick around. They speak up. They advocate.
Want to quantify the upside? Employees’ social shares get 8x more engagement than corporate posts, and brand messages shared by employees see more than 500% greater reach than when shared through official channels. That’s marketing and communications gold.
The 20th annual Tech CMO Roundtable returns to Atlanta on the morning of Thursday, October 22, 2026!
Each year, the Tech CMO Roundtable brings together 100+ B2B marketing and communications executives for a morning of candid discussion, inspirational learning and meaningful connection as we forge new professional and personal ties.
If you’ve followed our thinking over the years, you know Arketi has long championed Marketing’s role in facilitating alignment across the business — not just with Sales, Product, or IT, but with every function that drives company performance.
Well, don’t forget to add HR and internal comms to your list. They have the channels, authority, and resources needed to accelerate workplace communications initiatives, especially when partnered with a CMO who understands value.
A few places for CMOs to start:
Too often, internal comms (the function itself and/or its activities) is reduced to what one Roundtable attendee called “the arts and crafts department.” So, put away your beautifully designed posters and emails. Show up with metrics that demonstrate impact, such as:
Marketing, Communications, and HR can’t operate in separate lanes anymore. They need to be in the room together when strategy is set. Because if your external messaging is deliberate, but your internal experience is ad hoc? You’re going to create disconnects and a wide say-do gap. And your people will feel it.
As organizations work to strengthen the connections between workplace and marketplace, the mandate is clear: eliminate silos and build an intentional employee value proposition – one that’s backed by action, not just aspiration. A value prop that’s inspirational, not informational.
And while “cascading” messages down the org chart is a popular executive go-to, let’s be real:
Cascade only works in the dishwasher.
Top-down comms isn’t enough. Alignment only happens when every employee understands the brand promise and how their daily decisions support it. When your workforce is truly bought in, the marketplace feels the difference.
As CMOs, we’ve long mastered the art of messaging to the outside world. Now it’s time to bring that same energy and expertise inside.
Align the brand. Empower your people. And let workplace communications become your next competitive advantage.
Looking for a partner to help you navigate the convergence of your brand and your culture? That’s why we built Arketi Inside, our workplace change and communications offering.
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