A webinar presented to members on 2 November 2016, Laura Jameson and Nick Leonard presented some top details from the recent research conducted by Ruder Finn
2. Today’s discussion hosted by
2
Laura Jameson
Director, Internal Communications
Ruder Finn
Nick Leonard
Managing Director
Ruder Finn
Share your thoughts
and questions in the
chat window
3. Our starting point
3
Organisations with high levels of
employee engagement can expect to
see at least a 20% boost in productivity
and profitability.
But only 13 per cent of global workers
feel engaged in their jobs.
Source: Gallup
4. 4
What we wanted to know
What is the general perception
of internal communications in
organisations today?
5. About the survey
5
34% Large size
43% Medium size
23% Small size
54% internal comms
8% external comms
37% both
1% other
Responses
collated between
May – June 2016
6. 6
• Many organisations are under huge
pressure to change
• IC has a pivotal role to play in the
transformation process
• Senior leaders believe IC
represents a significant risk
• IC functions are still operating firmly
within their ‘comfort zone’
Overview
7. Definition of ‘comfort zone’
7
1. A situation where one feels safe
or at ease.*
2. A settled method of working that
requires little effort and yields
only barely acceptable results.*
*Oxford dictionary
8. An important distinction
8
The ‘comfort zone’ is not
necessarily a choice
In most cases it seems enforced
by culture and structure
12. Not just a risk - but a threat
12
60% also agreed that their senior
stakeholders believed the prospect of
an IC leak externally represented a
significant risk to the business
13. What does this lead to?
13
Top down approach
with internal
communicators lacking
mandate to engage
‘Bare minimum’ comms
with strong company
line, leading to low
believability and
relatability
A workforce which is
not inspired, engaged
or motivated by internal
communications
Excessive
control
Lack of
transparency
Dull,
uninspiring
comms
14. Expert recommendation
14
Consider how you can get senior leaders
involved in internal communications
Start small and build
Help them to feel comfortable with the
approach and content
Encourage them to open up and be human
16. Not enough is done to deliver reach
16
Agree Disagree
IC only engages a small
proportion of staff
65%
35%
17. And whole sections of organisations are ignored
17
Only 20% of respondents said their
organisation was good at engaging
employees in countries outside of
HQ – nearly half said their
organisation was not effective at all
18. What does this lead to?
18
The feeling that
only HQ matters
The feeling that
information is delivered
on a ‘need to know’ basis
Business units feel
disjointed and
disenfranchised
Excessive
centralisation
Us and them
Erosion of
team dynamic
19. Expert recommendation
19
Build a three-dimensional view of employees
via a comprehensive map to understand their needs
Translate!
Be mindful of platforms – particularly in Asia
Use champions and advocates to support
as part of a wider virtual team
…and get them to feed back
22. What does this lead to?
22
No ability to set a plan,
deliver it and measure
outcomes against
business goals
Communications that
are poorly thought
through, rushed,
inconsistent and
expensive
How can you deliver
campaigns in line with
strategy if you don’t
have the necessary
insights?
Poor planning
Knee-jerk
comms
A disconnect
with the
company
23. Expert recommendation
23
Improve integration with other teams
within the business
Know what they are doing and build it
into the plan
Start the process early and be clear
about the timescales you need
25. Offline staff are suffering
25
80%
20%
How are you performing at
reaching front-line staff?
Could do better
Satisfactory
26. Current Future
How we need to evolve
26
Email
Intranet
Events
Printed newsletters
Posters/visual boards
Employee generated content
Video/animation
Blogs
Online and offline events
Mobile specific content
30. What this means
30
Employees hear
different messages
from different sources
Different stakeholders
with different degrees
of understanding
Do shareholders
matter more than
employees?
Two-stroke
comms
Low
consistency
Perception of
low priority
31. Expert recommendation
31
Plan together – and share a diary
Repurpose materials based on the
needs of your internal audience
Always be thinking “How can this work
for employees?”
33. What internal communicators want to do
33
There is a desire amongst internal
communicators to step away from
the well-known
Respondents highlighted several areas
where they wanted to improve and
make significant changes …
34. What are the key priorities for IC in your
organisation for the next 12-18 months?
34
“Help employees
understand
corporate
scorecard”
“Develop more
two-way channels
which support
collaboration”
“Taking the
organisation
through a change
programme”
“Introducing a form of
internal social media
to revamp some
existing channels”
“Building internal
communications in to
our new 5-year
strategy”