Hocus Pocus… something with a comms focus to give you a fright this Halloween. We’ve unearthed some formidable facts about employee communications but fear not, because we’ve also thrown some Eximia magic into the mix to help you avoid these scary scenarios!
It’s the time of year when ghosts and ghouls appear, but they’re not what will be keeping us awake this Halloween. At Eximia, it’s communication clangers that give us the heebie-jeebies… and this round up of scary communication stats make for some frightful reading. If these are anything to go by, there are still a few demons to be exorcised in the world of employee communications – and these can certainly relate to the world of share plans and reward…
“60% of companies have no long-term strategy in place for their internal communications.” International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
Eeeeek! We live in times where quitting jobs and changing careers is on an upward trend, putting companies that fail to engage employees at risk of losing their talent. Poor communication can easily lead to poor morale, low productivity and high employee turnover. Luckily, there’s a solution to this problem and there’s no black magic involved… just some time and expertise. Pop these into a cauldron to devise a communication strategy that aligns to your overall goals. Not only will you raise spirits, you’ll see a return on your investment too when your employees choose not to ghost you.
“74% of employees feel that they are missing out on company information and news.” Gallup
Ever had that eerie feeling you’ve been left out of the loop? Kept in the dark? Been the last to be told about an important piece of news? Turns out, 74% of employees feel the same way. Feeling left out easily leads to de-motivation and worse, lack of trust. Bear in mind too that if colleagues feel they’re being drip fed some news but left entirely out of other conversations, they’re likely to feel like they’re being ghosted. Avoid this by making sure you’re regularly pump-kin out relevant news and updates – not forgetting to let people know where they can hunt them down too!
“69% of managers feel uncomfortable communicating with employees in general.” Ragan
Great company communication starts at the top, but if your managers are spooked by the mere idea of creating a two-way dialogue with your employees, even your best-laid plans might end up in a cobwebby corner, collecting dust. The key to turning this one around is to think about communicating to your managers just as much as you do your employees when creating a communications plan. What training and resources can you carve out so that they feel empowered to deliver your messages with confidence?
“33% of employees say a lack of open, honest communication has the most negative impact on morale.” Recruiter
An organisation that gives employees the feeling they’re just not getting the whole truth can leave them feeling… disenchanted. Honest, two-way communication is the key to successful engagement, and that means being open about news and change, whether they are good or not-so-good. You’re much more likely to gain employee trust if your communication is consistently honest and doesn’t creep around any tricky subjects.
“44% of employees do not feel senior leaders are providing clear direction about where their organisation is headed.” IBM and Globoforce
Horror of horrors! Your leaders are crucial to articulating the direction you’re all headed in together. How else will employees get into the spirit of their work and understand its value? The trick to solving this issue is in having a clearly defined company mission and vision, and just as clear a plan on how your leaders can enchant your colleagues with them. Always look to tie into your mission and vision when talking about share plans and reward, or indeed any topic.
We’ve rattled through a few hair-raising stats here – but fear not! If you’ve read these and feel your employee communications could do with a breath of fresh air, not scare, why not chat to us? We can turn them into something… spooktacular!
