Workers Fault Their Company’s Internal Comms
By Steve Barnes for O’Dwyers
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.’
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