 |
Most company leaders feel that they’re doing a good job when it comes to internal comms, according to communications management platform Axios HQ. Employees, however, aren’t quite so sure.
Out of the more than 1,000 leaders that Axios polled last November, 77 percent said that essential communications at their organizations were “helpful and relevant.” Even more (78 percent) said those communications were “clear and engaging.”
A poll of more than 1,000 employees uncovered a different story. Only 46 percent of the respondents in that poll said their employer’s internal comms were relevant, though slightly more (51 percent) gave them high marks for clarity and level of engagement.
Employees and leaders also differed on what they felt the top priorities for internal comms should be.
 |
Leaders placed “culture and values” at the top of their priority list, while employees most wanted to hear about operational changes (processes and policy updates).
And while the goal of most of internal comms is to get management and workers on the same page, there seems to be a disconnect on that as well. Two-thirds of leaders said that thought they were “aligned with employees,” while only 44 percent of employees agreed.
So what can company leaders do to make internal communications more effective? Some top employee suggestions: “Offer more thoughtful and insightful details” (cited by 49 percent) and “cover more relevant topics” (39 percent). Employees also voiced a desire for more frequent communications and the opportunity to provide feedback (36 percent for both).
However, there is once again disagreement on how easy leaders make it for employees to give feedback. While 67 percent of leaders says that employees have “an easy way to share feedback on essential communications they receive,” only 43 of employees agree with that.
The study notes that remote working has made successful internal comms more difficult, “Technology was meant to ease the transition and keep folks informed,” the study author write, “but as organizations added new platforms faster than they could define their purpose, communication not noisy.’
To combat that situation, the study suggests that leader put a greater emphasis on the quality of their communications with employees. “To improve communications, leaders have to prioritize it—put it at the center of their business strategy, learn what readers need, invest in the tools to deliver it well and build feedback loops.”
Internal communications is the information portal through which content, context and knowledge is shared via dialogue, discussion, and debate. Done right, and strategically, it's a differentiator in competitive advantage.
More than a third of small-business owners continue to work with their most problematic clients, according to a recent report.
The November presidential election could set into motion a period of uncertainty, social unrest and panic, which includes disruption in many workplaces. Here are a few steps business leaders can take to avoid an employee election meltdown.
Without financial transparency about both salaries and profits, there will always be a degree of suspicion as to where all the profits go, as well as resentment from the staff for the strict code of secrecy about agency finances in general. (1 reader comment)
WPP’s Mark Read has hired Jacqui Canney, executive VP-chief people officer at Wal-Mart Inc., to oversee talent management, leadership development, rewards and recruiting activities of the ad/PR combine.
