How to get a bigger internal communications budget

When calculating a marketing budget as a percentage of revenue, the typical rule you hear is to invest about 10%. By contrast, HR and communications budgets often pale in comparison, typically coming in at about 1% of the entire marketing budget.

That’s not enough! In fact, we’re here to say that you should be advocating for at least 10% of the marketing budget (or 1% of the overall budget as a percentage of revenue).

Here’s how you can create the business case, set the baseline for the budget, and get stakeholder buy-in to ultimately receive the dollars you need to support your team’s employee experience and communication goals this year.

Want a head start? Grab our free budget proposal template. For tips on bringing executives along, read how to get leadership support for internal communications.

How to get a bigger budget for internal communications & employee experience

If, for some reason, you’re still not totally convinced that your department deserves every dollar it can get next year, we’d like to present a few very compelling arguments.

Aim for at least 10% of your marketing budget (or roughly 1% of revenue) for internal communications and employee experience. Most teams get far less. Below, you’ll find typical budget benchmarks, what to include, and a step-by-step way to build a business case leadership will say yes to.

Marketing teams often receive around 10% of company revenue. Internal comms, by comparison, often gets closer to 1% of the marketing budget. That gap made sense when internal comms meant a monthly newsletter. It doesn’t anymore. Employees now expect flexibility, purpose, recognition and room to grow — and delivering that takes real resources.

What’s a typical internal communications budget?

There’s no single number, but recent benchmarks give you a useful starting point:

Company size	Typical annual internal comms budget
Mid-market (1,000–5,000 employees)	$200K–$1.2M
Fortune 1000	$800K–$4M
Fortune 500	$2M–$15M

 

Frontline-heavy industries typically add 30–60% to reach employees without a desk or inbox. Most of the budget (55–70%) goes to people, followed by platforms (10–20%), content production (5–12%), agency support (5–15%) and measurement (2–8%).

If your number is well below these ranges, that’s not a failure — it’s your business case.

Why internal communications deserves a bigger budget

The return on engagement is measurable. TalentCulture found that increasing employee engagement investment by 10% can increase profits by $2,400 per employee per year. That’s a number you can multiply by your headcount and put in front of your CFO.

The cost of standing still is measurable, too. Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report found just 20% of employees worldwide are engaged, and estimates low engagement costs the global economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity.

Meanwhile, budgets are under pressure. Gartner reports that nearly half of communications leaders saw budget cuts tied to companywide cost-cutting. That’s exactly why a clear, numbers-backed proposal matters: it helps your budget hold steady (or grow) when others shrink.

What should an internal communications budget include?

Build your budget around three buckets:

1. Programs: events, recognition, all-hands, onboarding, campaigns and content production.
2. People: the hires, contractors or agency support you need to run those programs well.
3. Technology: the tools to send, target and measure your communications.

Marketing teams wouldn’t run without a tech stack that measures every channel. Your employee communications deserve the same. If you use email to engage customers and track open rates, why not do the same for your employees? Internal communications software gives you that visibility. AI tools can speed up content creation, too — but you still want people shaping employee experiences that are thoughtful, inclusive and aligned with your goals.

How to build a business case for your internal communications budget

When you propose a budget, expect two questions:

1. What did the last budget achieve? Show how previous funding supported business goals. Bring ROI numbers and a success story or two.

2. What will a bigger budget achieve? Tie your plans to business goals, using both qualitative and quantitative evidence.

Here’s a quantitative example. Say 10% of a 500-person company is fully disengaged, and half of them leave each year. At a conservative $30,000 to replace each person, that’s 25 × $30,000 = $750,000 a year in attrition costs. Cut disengagement in half and you save $375,000 — more than enough to justify a meaningful budget request.

Metrics worth tracking to prove impact:

• All-hands attendance
• Employee email open and click rates
• Intranet traffic
• Employee referrals
• Glassdoor reviews and eNPS

Before you submit, make sure your proposal answers:

• Where is the money being spent, and how is it allocated?
• What problems will it solve?
• What will it save (time, money, turnover)?
• What are the measurable goals and the expected ROI?
• How does each stakeholder benefit?

What to do if your budget isn’t approved

A “no” is often a “not yet!” Here are two ways to keep moving:

Partner with marketing. Ask for 10% of the marketing budget to go toward internal marketing. Employee advocacy, brand consistency, recruiting campaigns and PR all depend on employees — and marketing teams are often doing this work already.

Audit and reallocate existing spend. Most companies already spend on engagement — birthdays, work anniversaries, wellness, training, events, gift cards, recognition — it’s just scattered. Pull it together under one employee experience strategy with clear goals, and you may find a meaningful budget hiding in plain sight. It’s also a natural moment to show how internal comms can be a strategic partner to the business.

Still need help making the case? Reach out to me on LinkedIn, I’d be happy to help!

Internal communications budget FAQs

What is an internal communications budget?

An internal communications budget is the money a company sets aside to inform, connect and engage its employees. It typically covers the people who run internal comms, the tools used to send and measure messages, and programs like all-hands meetings, recognition, onboarding and change campaigns.

How much should a company spend on internal communications?

A good rule of thumb is at least 10% of your marketing budget, or about 1% of revenue. Recent benchmarks put mid-market companies (1,000–5,000 employees) at roughly $200K–$1.2M a year, with Fortune 1000 companies spending $800K–$4M. Frontline-heavy organizations often need 30–60% more.

What should be included in an internal communications budget?

Plan for three buckets: people (staff, contractors or agency support), technology (email, intranet, mobile and measurement tools) and programs (events, recognition, content production and campaigns). Most teams spend the largest share — often more than half — on people, followed by platforms.

How do I justify an internal communications budget to leadership?

Tie every line item to a business goal and a number. Show what last year’s budget achieved, then estimate what more investment returns — for example, reduced turnover costs or higher productivity. A budget proposal template helps you present it clearly. 🙂

How do you measure the ROI of internal communications?

Track metrics that connect to business outcomes: email open and click rates, all-hands attendance, intranet traffic, eNPS, employee referrals and retention. Compare them before and after a program, then translate changes into dollars, like the cost of turnover you avoided.

What can I do if my internal communications budget is small?

Start by auditing what your company already spends on engagement — events, gifts, recognition, wellness — and consolidate it under one strategy. You can also partner with marketing on shared goals like employer brand, recruiting and employee advocacy, and fund work from both budgets.