E-mails and Intranet Are Top Communication Methods Used to Engage Employees

Facebook, Instant Messaging and Twitter Are Most Popular Workplace Social Media Tools

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The most common communication vehicles organizations use to engage employees and foster productivity are e-mail (83 percent) and an organization's intranet (75 percent). Those are a couple of the findings in a new survey released by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation and Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company. The survey also found nearly half of employers currently communicate through Facebook, instant messaging, and Twitter.

This is the second "Employee Engagement Survey" conducted by the IABC Research Foundation and Buck Consultants to determine how organizations are communicating with employees to keep them engaged and productive. Nearly 900 communication professionals participated in this year's survey, representing a broad industry and geographic base.

"This year's respondents reported slight increases in use of social media tools, and more of them say they have established internal and external policies for appropriate workplace use of social media," said Robin McCasland, past chair, IABC Research Foundation and president, Brain Biscuits Strategic Communication. "When managed effectively, social media can be a great addition to an existing employee engagement strategy. Employees and job candidates alike can read employer news and anecdotes that reinforce a strong, positive culture."

The "Employee Engagement Survey" also measured practices for creating and sustaining a culture of engagement in organizations.

Goals for Engaging Employees

Increasing productivity (66 percent) and retaining top talent (65 percent) are the most important goals employers cite to keep employees engaged. Other important goals identified by survey respondents are increasing employee morale (59 percent) and creating a new culture or work environment (52 percent).

Sustaining an Engaged Work Culture

"Listening to employees is essential to employee engagement and retention. Yet surprisingly, 32 percent of survey respondents indicate that their organizations rarely or never conduct employee listening activities," said Bruce Spiegel, principal at Buck Consultants. "This is a huge opportunity for organizations to mitigate their risk of employee turnover and diminished performance."

Publishing a formal list of values (74 percent) and using exit interviews with managers (73 percent) are the top practices of survey respondents to sustain an engaging work culture. Other practices include regularly surveying the workforce on engagement and work satisfaction (60 percent), including material on the organization's culture in new hire orientation (56 percent), and involving senior leadership in orientation programs (54 percent).

Measuring Effectiveness

Formal or informal employee feedback (77 percent) is the number one way that organizations measure the effectiveness of their employee engagement strategies. Other methods include meeting annual company performance goals (48 percent) and measuring employee retention rates (42 percent).

Social Media Results

According to the survey, most top executives do not participate in internal (60 percent) or external (62 percent) social media. Fewer than half the organizations surveyed have policies in place to address employee use of internal and external social media. Approximately half the organizations surveyed do not measure the effectiveness of internal and external social media.

To download the complete survey report, visit http://www.iabc.com/researchfoundation.

About IABC

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. Established in 1970, IABC serves more than 15,000 members in 90 countries and 100 chapters. For more information, visit www.iabc.com.

Founded in 1982, IABC Research Foundation serves as the research and development arm of the International Association of Business Communicators. The Foundation supports and advances the practice of organizational communication by providing IABC members with research that bridges the divide between communication theory and practice by offering in-depth knowledge and tools that improve organizational communication performance and strengthen the communication profession as a whole. For more information, visit http://www.iabc.com/researchfoundation.

About Buck Consultants

Buck Consultants is a leader in human resource and benefits consulting with more than 1,500 professionals worldwide. Founded in 1916 to advise clients in establishing and funding some of the nation's first public and private retirement programs, Buck is an innovator in the areas of retirement benefits, health and welfare programs, human capital management, compensation, and employee communication. News and other information about Buck Consultants are available at www.buckconsultants.com. Buck is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACS, A Xerox Company.

About Xerox

Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology, services and outsourcing offerings, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and supplies for production and office environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and information technology outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 130,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit http://www.acs-inc.com or http://www.xerox.com. For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

SOURCE International Association of Business Communicators