Talking to your people

Much of the problem stems from elevated expectations. In a time when information flows ever more freely in many contexts, employees want open and timeous communication. Overload them with information and employees complain of being overwhelmed with irrelevant messages. But give them too little and employees will express frustration about not being adequately informed on matters that affect them.

Hay Group has conducted extensive research to identify the factors that determine employee commitment, drawing on data collected through employee opinion surveys carried out in hundreds of organisations. Findings suggest that employees' ratings of the clarity of the organisation's direction is among the most important predictors of turnover.

Today's employee recognises that their prospects for continued employment, career development, and advancement are dependent on their company's health and stability. Employees cannot be expected to bind their futures to their employers unless they are confident that their companies are well managed and headed in the right direction.

Fifty-one percent of executives in Most Admired Companies report that employees understand their roles in implementing strategies, as compared with 32 percent of executives in other companies.

But connecting employees with the big picture is equally important from a motivational perspective. In their work, most employees are looking for an opportunity to contribute to something larger than themselves. Appealing to this sense of purpose is the essence of transformational leadership. It is critical to promoting high levels of employee engagement, and is characterised by the willingness of employees to contribute discretionary effort toward higher levels of individual and organisational performance.

Communicating the implications of current and future organisational objectives is also an essential component of effective change management. To gain buy-in to new directions, managers need to "sell" employees on the fact that planned changes hold out benefits for the organisation and individual employees, as compared with the status quo.

While it is critical that employees are provided with adequate information about where the company is headed and how they fit in, the credibility of the messages is equally important. The most effective communication plan in the world will not have impact if employees aren't sure they can believe what leaders are telling them.

Employee opinion norms indicate that only 49 percent of employees hold favourable views of the openness and honesty of communication in their organisations. Just 58 percent indicate that their organisations are doing a good job of keeping employees informed about the state of the business.

In partnership with WorldatWork, Hay Group recently undertook a study of compensation practices and policies by surveying top compensation managers in member companies. Notably, more than two-thirds of the over 1 200 respondents rated their communication about pay to be "not effective" or only "marginally effective." Not surprisingly, these respondents also expressed much less favourable views of the motivational impact of their companies' compensation systems.

While most respondents (91 percent) indicated that their organisations have a pay philosophy, nearly two-thirds indicated that "about half" or "less-than-half" of employees understand it.

In the dynamic environments in which most companies currently operate, employees' thirst for information increases. And, as a result, organisational leaders may struggle to keep up with their demands. By ensuring that corporate communications strategies address the key questions posed here, both communication effectiveness and organisational effectiveness can be significantly enhanced.

For further information contact Malcolm Pannell on 011 783-2679 or visit www.haygroup.com.