Why Internal Events Often Fail, and How to Fix Them

event participants

Common pitfalls in internal event planning

Most internal events fail to resonate with employees. 

Why?

Because they lack relevance, authenticity, and engagement – three elements repeatedly shown to drive impact in internal communications. 

How can you ensure your internal events land in the right way with the right people?

Focus on real company concerns 

According to Gallup’s 2023 Global Workplace Report, only 23% of employees feel engaged at work, and one major barrier is poor internal communication that feels top-down and disconnected from real concerns. Internal events often mirror this dynamic, focusing on company updates rather than employee realities, making the experience feel broadcasted, not collaborative.

When designing your internal event you should ensure the format amplifies the voices of those in the room and focuses on letting them share ideas with one another.

Humanise your event

McKinsey (2023) reports that only 38% of employees believe their organisation’s internal communications effectively help them understand company strategy. Events that focus on information overload, foe example, slides, jargon, and long presentations, miss the opportunity to emotionally engage employees or make them feel like participants in the story.

A study by Harvard Business Review highlights that emotionally engaging storytelling is up to 22 times more memorable than data alone. Yet many events fail to humanise leadership or highlight personal stories, leaving employees feeling uninspired or excluded from the vision.

Enhance the human element of your event by encouraging storytelling from Global Heads on the ground. Encourage them to share their challenges, best and next practices, and allow time for discussion and feedback.

Authenticity is king

Edelman’s Trust Barometer (2024) shows that employees trust their employer more than any other institution, but that trust is fragile. Inauthentic events, those that feel performative, overly polished, or lack follow-up can erode this trust.

To combat this, create a roundup of key themes, takeaways, and next steps that is made available for everyone, including those that were unable to make the event; this will make your employees feel valued and heard, and will reinforce the positive impact of your event.

Design with employees in mind

Events often fail because they are not designed with employee input. Deloitte’s 2024 Human Capital Trends notes that “co-creating experiences” is essential in today’s workforce. Without two-way interaction, internal events feel like missed opportunities rather than “moments that matter.”

Most internal events fall flat because they speak at employees rather than with them, failing to connect on a human level, reflect employee realities, or create lasting emotional resonance.

Your employees want answers to their biggest questions, the ability to seek support, and the agency to talk openly and honestly. Create an event that facilitates this, through coaching sessions, smaller group breakouts where every voice can be heard, and group feedback opportunities to solidify learning.

When planning your event:

Don’t

  • Give unclear objectives – if nobody knows why the event is happening, they’re unlikely to prioritise it.
  • Make boring content – a lack of compelling content or interactive format makes people switch off.
  • Position your event poorly – internal events often feel optional unless they’re positioned correctly.

Do

  • Make clear event goals – without a defined theme or goal, discussions become scattered unproductive.
  • Gain senior support – if leadership isn’t backing the event, you probably won’t get the resources or turnout needed.

The advantages of internal events

If Internal events are done well, they can be one of the most powerful levers for employee engagement, culture shaping, and alignment. Here's why they matter, what the research shows, and why large organisations should be doing more of them: 

They drive connection & belonging

  • In a dispersed or hybrid workforce, internal events act as cultural glue, fostering a shared identity across roles, teams, and geographies.
  • Moments of collective experience build psychological safety and trust.

They align people behind the strategy

  • When employees understand the “why” and see leaders walk the talk, they’re more motivated and focused.
  • Events offer a unique platform to articulate the company vision and values beyond written comms.

They inspire action & behaviour change

  • Events create “emotional anchors” that can accelerate buy-in and embed transformation efforts (e.g. DE&I, digital culture, leadership evolution).

They break silos

  • Cross-functional networking in structured sessions can create new collaborations and improve internal communication.

These are real business outcomes, not just “nice-to-haves”. The key is making sure your event is structured enough to deliver them.

What does the research tell us about the benefits of successful internal events?

  • Both Gallup and Edelman say that when employees feel ‘in the loop’ and part of a shared story, engagement significantly increases.
  • A report by McKinsey highlights that organisations who focus on “employee touchpoints”, like internal events, are better at delivering transformation outcomes.
  • Harvard Business Review confirms that storytelling and emotional resonance in internal communications boost message retention by up to 22x over rational-only formats. They also state that shared experiences create ‘limbic resonance’ – where people feel emotionally attuned, which is essential for behaviour change.
  • Stories also make information up to 22 times more memorable than facts alone.

How to get internal buy-in and budget

If you want people to show up and stay engaged, you’ll need leadership support. Here’s how to get it:

  • Share your objectives and find senior (ideally C-suite) support 
  • Identify potential naysayers early on – finance, operations etc, and get them onboard and involve them in shaping the event so they’re less likely to block it
  • Point to external examples or proven formats to make your case

While internal events are by nature “in-house”, it can pay to bring in external facilitators or logistics experts, especially if your team lacks experience or time. A small investment here can help significantly improve impact and delivery.

Internal events have the power to inspire, connect and catalyse change across your organisation, but only when done right. With the right planning, objectives, and stakeholder support, your next internal event doesn’t have to be a bad memory, it can be a meaningful turning point for you and your team.

Should organisations do more internal events?

The simple answer is yes. But do it with intentionality. 

Why? 

  • Scale can cause disconnect: The bigger the organisation, the more vital it is to create unifying, human experiences.
  • Digital fatigue is real: People are overloaded with emails and Teams calls. Events offer meaningful disruption that can reenergise and refocus.
  • Employee experience = competitive edge: Culture and connection are now key retention drivers, and internal events can embody both.
  • Culture doesn't automatically cascade: Events help reinforce values, especially for middle managers and newer employees.

How to plan a small corporate event that people actually want to join

Here’s how to shift from “oh no, not another event”, to “that was genuinely worth my time”. 

Set clear objectives 

Start by identifying the core problem you’re trying to solve. Define how the event will address this and communicate it clearly.

Get the basics right 

Lock in your venue, date, and facilitators early. Choose a space for collaboration, and not just a spare meeting room. Think wide open space, natural night, breakout rooms.

Promote internally like a pro

  • Involve your internal communications or marketing team to create a buzz around the event. 
  • Recruit well-liked or respected colleagues to promote the event and encourage others to attend.

Design for participation

Let attendees shape the agenda by collecting their input beforehand. What challenges do they want to solve?

Bring in the experts

Don’t try and DIY everything. Use experienced event logistics support to handle setup, timing, tech and catering. That leaves you free to focus on the content and facilitation.

Why should you choose iVentiv to run your internal event? 

After 17 years and more than 300 events in the corporate L&D, Talent, and Executive Development spheres, we know what it means to create impactful events that inspire and encourage growth.

From our ice-breaker Collaborative Café exercise that gets the entire group into conversations right from the start, to breakout discussions facilitated by experienced peers in the field, iVentiv events are built around the power of networking and connection.

At iVentiv, we have created bespoke L&D events that defy tradition. Having worked with global companies like Microsoft and AstraZeneca, we have designed experiences tailored to learning professions, from emerging talent all the way to senior leaders. 

To enquire about iVentiv bespoke events, visit our enquiry page now.

 

iVentiv and Microsoft - A Bespoke Event Experience

Thumbnail: 
News category: 
iVentiv News

More Insights

Before every iVentiv event, we ask you to tell us what areas you're focusing on, and what questions you want to ask your fellow participants. In the iVentiv Pulse Report we've brought together the views of 824 Global Heads of L&D, Talent, and Executive Development to understand the key trends and priorities that are driving Learning and Talent in 2024. This blog summarises the key takeaways, and the full report includes commentary from experts in learning, talent, and leadership.

In this instalment of our Five Minutes with series, we spoke to Matt Kershaw, Global Head of Talent and Capability at Domino's Pizza Enterprises, who provided insightful reflections on the transformative approach to learning and development within the organisation, particularly regarding gamification and the strategic use of data and analytics.

How has Matt coupled gamification and data analytics to transform the way his workforce learns? Read more and watch the full interview here.

In a world grappling with unprecedented change and challenges, the importance of building a skilled workforce is high up on the CLO agenda. Recently, we sat down with Simon Gibson, the Group Head of Learning and Development at Marks and Spencer (M&S), to delve into the heart of what defines a skilled workforce, not just for M&S but for the broader business landscape. Read more and watch the full interview here.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful force reshaping industries and revolutionising various aspects of our lives. One of the areas where AI is making a significant impact is Learning and Development (L&D).

In this blog, we will explore the nature of AI in Learning and Development initiatives, the key concepts surrounding it, and the challenges L&D leaders are raising when it comes to implementation. Read the full blog here.

In this interview with Jen McCartney, Director of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging at PayPal, Jen talked about defining, unpacking and addressing unconscious biases in leadership practices. We asked her about how PayPal have approached the topic of unconscious bias in their workforce, and the importance of managers and leaders in identifying their own unconscious biases. Based on her extensive experience in this area, Jen advises on how to tackle unconscious bias at an organisational level, and reveals the things she would do differently if she were to start her journey over. Read more and watch the full interview here.

From CEO & Founder Russell Butler's garage in 2008, to an international series of events today, iVentiv has now been fostering interactive, collaborative spaces for L&D leaders for over 15 years. Our recent 250th Executive Knowledge Exchange at Learning Futures California, held at the scenic Visa University in Foster City, was no exception.

Read more about iVentiv's rich event history as well as key takeaways and feedback from it's 250th event in California here.

Community is an important value and one worth celebrating, irrespective of its business application. iVentiv has always provided you with a forum in which a real community can grow and genuine connections can be made.

For this blog, we spoke to one of iVentiv's most long-standing friends: Simon Brown, Chief Learning officer at Novartis. Simon has invited the iVentiv community to the Novartis HQ on several occasions to share ideas, learn from one another, and unite around common causes.Community goes well beyond L&D, however, and on this occasion, we wanted to connect with Simon on his commitment to another cause: helping those suffering from Alzheimer's. Read more here.

How can Learning and Development leaders play their part in tackling climate change? Speaking to iVentiv, Evgeny Lukin, Head of Learning and Development at JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle), shared some of the steps that he and his team have taken in partnership with the business to help reduce the company's carbon footprint and that of its clients. Watch the full interview and read more here.

In the midst of big change, chip shortages, and a rapidly growing workforce, Laureen Rwatirera (Chief Learning Officer) and Ronald Plantinga (Senior Change Manager, Learning & Knowledge Management) spoke to iVentiv's Richard Parfitt about what ASML's L&D team are doing to develop their workforce's adaptability and competence.

Over the last few years, ASML's workforce has grown rapidly, from 14,000 in 2014 to over 40,000 today. In this video, dive into conversations with key change makers at the 'most important company you've never heard of'. Learn about the company's change management mindset, hear about their crucial innovations for continued growth, leadership development initiatives, and key tips for navigating a dynamic and ever-growing industry landscape. Watch the full interview and read more here.

At the end of 2022, the iVentiv Pulse tracking report showed that leadership development was the single biggest priority for Global Heads of Learning and Talent. The report draws on questionnaires sent to Chief Learning Officers and Heads of Talent Management, where participants were asked to identify their key goals and challenges.

In this blog, we ask how much that has changed so far in 2023 and look at the key themes shaping the world of L&D and Talent Management. Read more here.

Pages