What business leaders should expect of their employee communications programs

GAINESVILLE, Fla., June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Business leaders can find new insights on what to expect from their employee communications programs in a new study entitled, "Best-In-Class Practices in Employee Communication: Through the Lens of 10 Global Leaders."

Created by the Institute for Public Relations' Commission on Organizational Communication and conducted by KRC Research, the study features in-depth interviews with senior communications officers from 10 leading global companies. Often included on most-admired and best-places-to-work lists, the companies are Cargill, Chevron, FedEx, GE, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's, Navistar, Petrobras and Toyota.

"Business leaders who understand that employees are key to company reputation and performance have every right to expect their employee communicators to be business people themselves," said S. Keith Burton, chair of the Commission and partner, Brunswick Group. 

"The research says it's imperative for heads of employee communications to deeply understand their companies' business objectives," added Bruce Berger, Ph.D., member of the Commission and professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Alabama.

Business leaders should also expect employee communications programs to involve direct supervisors, who remain the most trusted source for employees, according to the research. One best-in-class company equates efficient employee messaging to providing the entire leadership team "with what they need to be disciples of communication in their own individual areas."

In addition, employee communicators should be responsible for fostering a collaborative and engaged corporate community aligned by shared purpose. As one global communications leader said, "You need to help your employees understand how they fit and why they matter. It comes down to their level of engagement at the end of the day."

The full research paper is available free on the IPR website at http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/best-in-class-practices-in-employee-communication/ . 

The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) is an independent nonprofit foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™. IPR focuses on research that matters to the practice, providing timely insights and applied intelligence that professionals can put to immediate use.

SOURCE Institute for Public Relations

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