Strategic HR Lawyer

Often effective communication with employees is touted as advantageous, beneficial,and the stuff that makes the warm and fuzzy types happy.  The 2005/2006 Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study™ shows that effective communication is a leading indicator of an organization’s financial performance.  Some of the findings:

• Companies that communicate effectively have a 19.4 percent higher market premium than companies that do not.
• Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective communication were over 57 percent higher over the last five years (2000-2004) than were returns for firms with less effective communication.
• The 2005/2006 study found evidence that communication effectiveness is a leading indicator of financial performance.
• Firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement versus firms that communicate less effectively.
• Companies that are highly effective communicators are 20 percent more likely to report lower turnover rates than their peers.
• Two-thirds of the firms with high levels of communication effectiveness are asking their managers to take on a greater share of the communication responsibility, but few are giving them the tools and training to be successful.
• Global firms are not customizing their messages to meet local needs or cultural sensitivities.
• On average, firms within the financial and retail trade sectors rank among the most effective communicators. Health care, basic materials, telecommunications and other service companies rank among the least effective communicators.

I've gotten on the communication bandwagon myself, having written a few articles on the subject in the context of corporate turnaround and mergers/acquisitions.  See the sidebar on the left for some of these.

Thanks to the Human Resources Blog.

Posted By Diane Pfadenhauer In Corporate Turnaround , Employee Relations , Mergers and Acquisitions , Policies & Procedures | Permalink

Last March I posted this "Lessons from Baseball" post which provides interesting insight on group dynamics and why some teams excel and others don't.  As the season winds down and playoffs are underway, today's WSJ has a timely article describing some additional lessons to be learned ( available here, registration required) from baseball discussing "The Culture of Winning."  The article notes that the Atlanta Braves have won 14 straight division titles.  The team's General Manager, John Schuerholz, attributes this streak to his views on how to transform a losing culture.  He suggests the following:

• Gather everyone, communicate the plan and preach it daily
• Constantly remind them it works
• Don't be afraid to get rid of the people who don't buy in
• Make the lowest-level employees feel as important to success as the top-level executives
• Show trust in everyone to do their jobs well

Seems to me all of these tips can be taken back to the corporate world and implemented in our workplaces.  When organizations are going through major strategic transitions, everyone needs to be communicated with, feel valued and empowered to do their jobs in order for the transition to be successful.  Let's hope the Yanks do that as well for the rest of the playoffs......

Posted By Diane Pfadenhauer In Corporate Turnaround , Mergers and Acquisitions , Miscellaneous | Permalink