SAN FRANCISCO – September 13, 2005 - Only about one in three companies has been successful in motivating employees to understand, be committed to, and carry out their employer’s business strategy in their daily jobs, according to a new study. In addition, only about half of companies have effectively involved their management and leadership teams in communicating with employees.
Aligning employees to the strategy of their businesses, and engaging managers and senior leadership in communicating with workers, rank as the top two employee communications challenges in a survey of 472 organizations worldwide by Right Management Consultants and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation.
63% of companies said that aligning their employees to the strategy of their business is their No.1 employee communications goal, but just 37% report that their efforts have been successful, according to the report, Best Practices in Employee Communication: A Study of Global Challenges and Approaches, which provides examples of winning internal communication strategies.
42% of companies said actively involving managers and company leadership in communicating with workers is the second-biggest employee communications goal, but almost half – 48% – said they weren’t effectively doing this.
“Companies with employees who understand and can carry out their employer’s business strategy tend to have higher worker retention rates and are generally more productive than those with disengaged work forces," said Chris Gay, one of the study’s authors, and Senior Vice President and Employee Engagement Practice Leader for Right Management Consultants, the world's largest career transition and organizational consulting firm.
According to Paul Sanchez, ABC, APR*, Chair of the IABC Research Foundation, “There has been much dialogue in recent years about the value of communicating effectively with employees. However, the daily struggles faced by internal communicators worldwide have largely been unaddressed. In this latest research from the IABC Research Foundation, Right Management Consultants offer professionals key insights into the critical challenges in employee communication and diverse approaches to deal with each challenge."
The top reasons why managers and senior leaders are not effectively involved in employee communications at many organizations, according to the report, include inconsistent messages being sent to employees; lack of visibility of leaders – especially during tough times; lack of employees’ trust in leadership; and managers who don’t understand their roles in employee communication, or do not have the required skills or tools.
Two other employee communications challenges are cited in the report. They are: managing the overload of information confronting employees in their daily work lives, and measuring the return on investment from internal communication.
Best Practices in Employee Communication: A Study of Global Challenges and Approaches provides hard data, stories, and examples about the ways a wide variety of organizations are meeting the top four internal communication challenges, and includes interviews with past IABC Gold Quill Award winners.
The report is available now as a soft-cover book. Retail price: US$49.60 (IABC members: US$40). Also downloadable in PDF format. Order online at http://store.yahoo.com/iabcstore/beprinemco.html or call (415) 544-4700 or (800) 776-4222.
About the IABC Research Foundation
The IABC Research Foundation translates communication theory into practice, providing real-world knowledge and applications for the communications professional. Established in 1982, the Foundation is a tax-exempt organization with benefits to the donor under U.S. tax law.
About IABC
IABC is a network of professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. With more than 100 chapters, IABC serves 13,500 members in more than 65 countries and 10,000 organizations.
About Right Management Consultants
Right Management Consultants (www.right.com) is the world's largest career transition and organizational consulting firm. It offers services to corporations of all sizes through a global network of more than 300 service locations and the Internet. The company is a worldwide leader in customized career transition solutions and also offers a wide range of organizational consulting services, including talent management, leadership development and organizational performance services. In combination, the two lines of business enable Right to help businesses manage the entire life cycle of their employees. Right is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manpower, Inc. (NYSE: MAN).
* Accredited Business Communicator (ABC), Accredited in Public Relations (APR)
