1. Australia’s
Commsoscopy
Are we doing enough? An exploratory
examination into the effectiveness
of communicating the employment
‘deal’ to Australians.
April 2011
COMMSOSCOPY 1
2. About the survey Contents
This is Impact’s second study of the internal
communication landscape in Australia. This probing
research was carried out by Australian Research Unit
and commissioned by Impact Employee Communications, Under the microscope – Findings 4
an Ogilvy PR Worldwide Company.
The survey focused on senior leadership’s perceptions Heart to heart: Is the EVP in ICU or recovery? – Executive summary 5
of internal communication, the Employee Value
Proposition, and the social media and communication Open wide: This will make you better – Culture and values 7
capabilities within Australian organisations. Phone
interviews were conducted with 100 C-level executives We’re here to help: Taking the pain away – Communication support 8
– excluding those solely with HR and/or communications
responsibility. It included executives from organisations On the improve: But help still needed – Communication skills 11
with 100+ full time employees through to large
organisations with 1000+ employees. 86% of Prognosis positive: Getting better but not fully fit – A strategic approach 14
companies interviewed were Australian-owned.
Going social: Some stay in the waiting room – Opportunities to explore 15
Impact thanks all those who participated in this study.
Conclusion 17
About Impact Employee Communications 18
References 19
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3. Under the microscope Heart to heart: Executive summary
Our consultation exposed eight key insights. Is the EVP in ICU or recovery?
In 2009 we investigated the business value of investing time and resources into communicating effectively
1
The employment ‘deal’ is being communicated but there are some big gaps
in the way it is being done – the main attributes still need more continuous to employees. From that research [The Inside Story: How Australian Organisations are Managing Employee
communication and reinforcement by leadership Communication During the Downturn – July 2009] we concluded organisations were getting smarter at utilising
internal communication to enable achievement of business goals. In essence, the foundations were in place.
2
HR support for leaders to demonstrate and communicate the benefits EVP: What is it? The relationship is changing
of the organisation doesn’t yet go far enough. More support for
This time we’ve taken our investigation further, to A global trend in the last 18 months has focused on the
communicating the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ is needed
understand what is happening to the Employee Value relationship between employer and employee – what’s
Proposition (EVP) – how well it’s being communicated, the employment deal, what can I expect as an employee
how HR enables leaders to demonstrate it, what and what’s important to the company? We are moving
3 Communicating business strategy and performance
needs more attention
attributes attract employees to a company and what
keeps them there.
further away from economically rough times and the
terrain has changed; both employees and employers are
looking for different relationships, different ways of
Closely related to the concept of employer branding,
working and different results. The employment deal is
EVP is used by HR & Talent Management to attract,
changing so we question what this means for leaders,
4 Not enough is being done to upskill middle and front-line engage and retain quality employees.
HR and communicators.
Managers in being effective communicators
Watson Wyatt1 states, “Companies that are highly
Employee Value Proposition effective communicators have the courage to talk about
Research suggests organisations using social The attributes and benefits of an organisation that what employees want to hear, and they redefine the
5 media internally are perceived by employees as create the employment deal. The tangible and employment deal”. Our research therefore looks at the
having more effective communication of their intangible things that link what you can expect relationship between the employer, the employee, HR
EVP than those that don’t and what’s expected of you as an employee. support, leadership skills and communication. It gives
insights into the things that Australian companies are
doing to demonstrate THE DEAL. It identifies where the
6 There is still some resistance to social media
use externally by organisations
There has been much research into employee
perspectives of the EVP. Our study complements
the discussion by investigating the perceptions of
gaps are and opportunities for improvement.
We know that for different people and organisations, the
EVP means different things and for many it’s not common
the EVP amongst the leadership community within
language – only 35% of our survey respondents were
Australian organisations.
7
familiar with the term. In this research we’ve identified a
Organisations that use social media
internally are backing their investment number of attributes and benefits that commonly
determine an employee’s attraction and commitment
to an organisation. Watson Wyatt summarise the EVP
as, “including pay and benefit programs, professional
8
Communication disciplines are becoming development opportunities and work environment”.
stronger but more needs to be done
around aligning messages with vision,
values and strategy
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4. Open wide:
Trends incongruously they were ranked 7 and 8 out of 10 by
leaders when the attributes are listed by importance (See
Our 2009 survey concluded that robust planning,
table 2 on page 7). This raises questions for organisations
process and leadership ownership of communication
– is effort going in to demonstrating and communicating
would be critical for employee engagement in the years
ahead. Given the increasing importance of reminding
those attributes that really differentiate? Or have the areas This will make you better.
of importance shifted, thus indicating the need to alter the
employees what they’re getting back, we take a look
emphasis for communication and action? When asked which attributes and benefits were perceived to be most important to employees, there was
at EVP through the eyes of leaders in Australia. a high level of consistency from the leaders in our survey: organisation culture and values, strength of
Finally, whilst internal social media use is still growing
The 2009 survey showed communicating vision and leadership and organisational stability ranking the highest as the most important attributes.
in popularity in organisations, the research shows some
direction was the number one priority for 2009 and differences in the way companies who use social media
2010. Given this and changes in the working view themselves compared to others. They consider Knowing this provides a useful guide to organisations Of the three most important attributes only organisational
environment in the last few years, we could assume themselves more effective in communicating and to prioritise actions. stability is considered one of the three top things that
communicating strategy and business performance demonstrating all the EVP attributes except organisations do communicate and demonstrate well.
In support, the Executive Monitor2 report states
(which contribute to organisational stability) will have organisational stability. We are beginning to see some This indicates a wide gap between the priority areas and
“A company’s culture and reputation is important to 21%
been a focus for businesses; yet table 1 below shows how well they are being communicated and demonstrated.
differences in the cultures and communication of executives, and ranked higher than personal benefits
only 50% of leaders consider they are doing this well. approaches for those companies that embrace social like bonuses, perks and salary.” It appears executives,
This highlights the need to align and consistently media internally. like employees, also want to be associated with an
communicate strategy, direction and performance organisation they can be proud of, rather than just focus “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
Overall the research results show there are some big gaps on the rewards they individually receive from a company.
more effectively.
appearing. Demonstrating and communicating the Peter Drucker, popularised in 2006 by the Ford
Organisational reputation, training and development employment deal is critical for businesses over the next Watson Wyatt’s1 research shows only 58% of global Motor Company.
are recognised as the attributes organisations are businesses consider they effectively educate employees
few years and over 50% of those with responsibility for
about organisational culture and values here in Australia.
demonstrating and communicating well. However, communicating it are admitting that it isn’t being done well.
Demonstrating and communicating culture and values
certainly seems to be an issue with 47% leaders
table 1 considering that they do it well (see table 1 previous
page). As it is perceived to be the most important
attribute (see table 2), much more needs to be done
to develop it, demonstrate it and communicate it.
table 2
WHAT
IMPACT We see organisations grappling with ways to communicate their business strategy
SAYS and some progress is certainly being made with this. Fewer organisations seem to
have a planned approach for communicating the employment deal, yet there are
some organisations taking a holistic approach to all aspects of the deal and creating
the employment story to improve relations between the organisation and the
employee. Doing this has a tangible impact on retention and engagement.
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5. We’re here to help:
But what about after the honeymoon period? Yet it’s apparent many of the mechanisms for
communicating the EVP focus on one-way
Three in four organisations (77%) use an employee
communication channels i.e. – where the employee is
intranet site to communicate aspects of EVP. Most
being given information. There is little evidence to
Taking the pain away. organisations use a mix of HR tools to communicate
elements of the employment deal to their employees.
suggest leaders are being supported to demonstrate the
various attributes and benefits or to talk about the EVP or
Less than 50% of leaders believe they’re communicating the main aspects of the employment deal well. reinforce through regular communication. Whilst manager
Looking at this more closely highlights where support is being provided and some gaps that need filling. table 3 communication toolkits are being used by 56% of
organisations, only 2% view them as a valuable way that
HR can support them to communicate the EVP.
In general, leaders are positive about the support Most organisations seem to use a range of HR tools to
Given we know effective communication is a conversation
HR provides to management to demonstrate and communicate the EVP. Comments from leaders indicate
and dialogue driver, Australian organisations are definitely
communicate the organisations’ attributes and benefits. job adverts and induction are generally seen as important
missing a trick.
78% consider support as being good overall for all levels ways of getting across the employment deal. This focus
of management. However it is notable that support on induction is relatively successful with 68% of leaders Other areas where our respondents think HR can add
concentrates more on executive than middle or front believing their organisation communicates EVP effectively value to senior leaders to get across the employment
line managers/supervisors. Therefore we have an to all new employees. deal is to communicate the EVP more broadly using a
opportunity to improve support for managers to range of tools, being involved in face-to-face meetings
communicate aspects of the EVP so that it reaches with employees and having clear and transparent policies
all levels of the organisation. • 80% believe the CEO/executive receive good or and processes that relate to the EVP.
Organisations that utilise social media to engage excellent levels of HR support
employees have a more positive response to the level • 69% believe middle management receive good
of HR support provided: 83% of them feel that front or excellent levels of HR support
HR is definitely getting some of the fundamentals right
line supervisors receive good or excellent levels of
• 68% believe front-line managers receive good in supporting leaders to demonstrate and communicate
HR support.
or excellent levels of HR support the employment deal. Much of the feedback refers to
support provided to deliver specific aspects of the EVP
This highlights that almost a third of managers/
e.g. communicating the essentials at induction or
leaders don’t believe they are receiving enough
creating a story for job adverts. Having these foundations
support to enable them to communicate effectively
in place is valued by leaders. Yet they are also asking HR
to provide more support so they can communicate and
demonstrate the priority attributes and benefits of the
organisation on an ongoing basis. This isn’t getting the
attention it needs.
“
We are having to redefine what we mean by the Employee Value
Proposition and how we communicate it. This means rethinking our
”
leaders’ role in demonstrating and communicating it as well as
defining how HR can best support it.
Angela Robertson: HR Director McCain Foods Australia and New Zealand
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6. WHAT
IMPACT
SAYS
HR and internal
communication teams need
On the improve:
to work together to create a
strategy that shows all
employees what it means to be
But help still needed.
part of the organisation. Whilst
separate activities are an important part of Our 2009 research showed leadership communication skills development as the second highest priority
communicating with employees at specific for the year ahead. This year we’ve looked at what progress has been made, and how this impacts the
moments, a more strategic and joined-up connection of the EVP to employees.
approach needs to be taken to communicating
the employment deal and supporting leaders and
Taking the premise that communicating the The results from last year showed that CEO and executive
managers to demonstrate it.
employment deal is increasingly relevant for teams tended to be better communicators than middle
organisational success, we have looked at the link and front-line supervisors. This trend continues.
between communication skill levels, HR support and
65% of respondents rated their CEO and executive
how effectively the EVP is being communicated across
team’s communication as good or excellent. This was
the management levels in the organisation.
broken down into three areas of strategy, benefits and
Other findings With less than 50% of the leaders thinking the different values to compare across the leadership levels.
• CEOs and executives are searching for more organisational attributes are communicated well, it
targeted advice about specific things that need indicates there are some big gaps – the question is
doing and want to use feedback more to steer where are the gaps and what can be done to close them?
their actions
• Middle managers are after training and support to table 4
be better communicators
• Front-line supervisors want training in various
aspects of people management, toolkits and
communication support
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7. Table 4 (page 11) highlights the communication ability This means that almost 40% of senior managers and Understanding what skills are needed is one step
WHAT We observe resistance from
of leaders at each level is lowest when communicating 60% of middle and front-line supervisors might not be towards finding solutions to address the gap. Overall
organisations were strongly aligned about the
IMPACT organisations to introducing
organisation strategy. This shows a link to the 50% of supported in the way they would like to develop their
respondents who think they communicate organisational communication skills. This provides a clear signal to importance of different skills. SAYS communication skills for
stability well (see table 2 on page 7). HR to mark it as a top priority for 2011. Our respondents consistently stated that all nine skills middle and front-line managers;
Further investigation puts the spotlight on non- Towers Watson states that, “While it’s critical that the
3 highlighted in the research are relevant and needed (see this is an unnecessary and
multinational organisations where our research found organisation focuses on building the right culture and table 5 on page 12). For organisations with over 1,000 damaging compromise. Given that equipping
only 21% rated their CEO and executive team’s programmes, it’s equally important not to underestimate employees aligning messages with the organisation’s managers to communicate well is a recurring issue
communication as excellent. Also, organisations with the role of immediate managers in supporting engagement vision, values and beliefs is more important to them for organisations, and with managers being the
over 1,000 employees are less likely than others to and wellbeing”. Managers need the skills to do this. compared to smaller organisations. Yet our findings linchpin for relationships and improving
show these same organisations mark down their middle performance for employees, improving their
positively rate the communication of middle management
Given their critical role in engaging and retaining managers and front-line supervisors as communicators.
and front-line supervisors as good or excellent when communication skills should be a priority.
employees, more needs to be done to improve their
communicating the strategy or benefits. The European Communication Monitor 2010 4 predicts
communication skills.
a 30% increase in the importance of personal
In our 2009 survey, 67% of respondents agreed
Significantly, more organisations (59%) that use social communication coaching and communication skills
there was a renewed focus on the importance of
media agree their organisations allocate enough training as a discipline for organisations over the next
communicating an organisation’s values. It would seem
resources to middle management and front-line couple of years. Within Australia, the private sector
that leaders abilities to communicate these values is consider coaching and mentoring skills to be more
supervisors and they consider their middle management
creating a gap between what organisations want to do important than the public sector.
communication performance as good or excellent.
and how well equipped they are to do it.
This is an interesting finding as it might indicate the Our previous survey stated that over 90 percent of
What is worrying about these results is the 20% plus gap communicators support the best practice premise
employees who use social media in their organisations
in the perceived communication ability between CEO/ that communicating business direction is vital, that
may have more mature expectations of their managers’
executives and front-line supervisors (table 4 on page 11) communicating vision and direction was their top
communications, tending to seek answers first using the
and the variety of indicators that show communication priority and that this was critical to building long term
channels available to them. They refer to their managers
skills in organisations are falling short. employee commitment. This still holds true yet our
later for clarification or further discussion.
These results link to the support provided by HR to the leaders’ ability to communicate strategy is still poor.
Overall, the research indicates even though there HR is being told by their leaders that they need
different leadership levels; 62% believe enough resources
is an improvement in the support provided, there is still support to improve skills so they engage employees
are allocated to support CEO/ Exec communication skills
a large gap between the level of support leaders are and communicate the business strategy.
whereas only 42% believe enough resources are allocated
getting and the level needed to improve communication
to training middle and front-line supervisors.
skills of managers.
table 5
“
Compromising on safety communication skills for front-line
managers is not an option. As the central point of contact for
employees on projects, project managers and supervisors
must be able to get across important safety messages.
”
Investing a day to improve their skills is a no brainer when
we consider the potential downside.
Robert Duvel: Manager Operational Services Construction Division
Leighton Contractors Pty Limited
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8. Prognosis positive: Going Social:
Getting better but not fully fit. Some stay in the waiting room.
Many of the attributes of the employment deal aren’t being communicated well and HR is being asked to Twitter, Facebook, Yammer, geo-location social networks like foursquare, blogs, podcasts and online communities
provide more communication support, as well as skills training for leaders. Looking more closely at the are the norms for communication. Whilst there is much noise, hype and postulating about social media, our last
effectiveness of employee communication, there is some good news. survey showed there were a number of barriers preventing organisations transporting themselves quickly into the
Web 2.0 world. These included limited access to technology for many employees, the fear of not being able to
In 2009, we stated having robust communication In our experience organisations are putting in place the control the message, and internal technology platforms preventing the use of social networks.
planning processes would be critical. Positive steps are foundations for communication to happen, they now
being taken by organisations to put plans in place with need to develop and implement a strategic, holistic Since then, the speed of take up for social media remains However previously foreseen barriers are changing.
59% of respondents having a plan for their business. approach to communicating all aspects of the EVP. closer to that of a tortoise than a hare, with only 29% of Losing control of the message was seen as an issue,
This figure is higher at 79% for those using social media. organisations surveyed using social media as part of their whereas now 61% disagree that they will lose control
This needs to look at requirements to attract, engage
Somewhat surprisingly, only 38% of organisations with employee communication. of the message if they use social media.
and retain employees while taking into account the
500-999 employees have a plan compared to 80% of
different aspects of the employment deal at different There does, however, seem to have been some shift in Furthermore, 65% agree social media is a good tool for
organisations with 300-499 employees.
stages of an employee’s involvement with the company.
thinking; interestingly the public sector is more likely to employee communication if the risks are managed. And
Another success factor organisations have been
Further thought and attention also needs to be given to see social media as a worthwhile investment than the the myth about social media and Generation Y is
developing is the processes they use to communicate.
the way the business strategy, vision and performance are private sector (58% compared to 45%) and organisations changing, with 68% disagreeing that social media is only
73% believe they have the right methods to communicate
communicated. One aspect of communicating the business with more than 300 employees see it as more worthwhile appropriate for engaging Generation Y.
with employees in different locations and 66% have the
strategy relates to the skills of leaders; it is seen as an than those with 100-299 employees.
right methods in place to communicate with non-office Interestingly, public sector leaders believe there is more
essential skill and one that needs improving.
based staff. Barriers to using social media still exist with 46% value in using social media than their private sector
Measurement is also being used, with 70% CEO/ believing it poses too many legal and other risks and counterparts, if the risks are managed – 75% versus 58%.
executives being formally measured on how well they 49% believing it is too difficult to measure the return on They also see it as more worthwhile in investing in social
communicate with employees. At the same time, 62% investment of using social media. media than private sector – 58% versus 45%. The private
believe their organisation measures employee sector appears to have more resistance to social media:
engagement. Matching this measurement to skills training
WHAT
Organisations of all sizes the barriers are leaders’ skills, risks, losing control of the
and advice would address some of the skill gap as well as IMPACT
are investing in employee message and it only being suitable for Generation Y.
finding ways to engage employees through the EVP. SAYS
communication with much
The perennial challenge! effort going into the
table 6
development of communication
55% of leaders consider lack of time as a barrier
to communicating with employees. This is where channels and processes. To really gain value from
planning, support and the right tools can help. the investment of time and money, more focus
now needs to be on the development of strategies
for significant issues in the business. Without
doubt more attention on the way the employment
deal is communicated will elevate the value of
employee communication.
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9. Conclusion
We are also beginning to gather evidence from those WHAT We think organisations
E
organisations using social media about its benefits and IMPACT should consider the need
uses; they are more positive about the benefits and less SAYS for social media based
concerned about the risks. And of those already using
on what they want their
social media, 90% believe it’s worth investing in. Looking at the way the employment deal is
employee communication to
demonstrated, communicated and used in organisations
achieve and how best to deliver it. There is no
brings to our attention a range of issues organisations are
• Only 14% of those who use it agree that social universal answer, and different elements of
currently facing.
social media should be considered as part of
V P
media poses too many legal issues and risks.
This compares to 59% who don’t use it. your communication strategies – for instance Having an EVP that is clear, known and used to
introducing a Facebook group to receive differentiate is one of the main ways that employees
• Only 14% of those who use it agree feedback on an issue may be your first step. are attracted, engaged and retained by organisations.
organisations lose control of their messages Therefore putting the organisations energy into those
A TO Z
when they use social media. This compares elements that build a strong EVP that is known and
to 30% which don’t use it. enjoyed by employees provides market advantage.
What we are seeing is HR supporting leaders in a variety
E NHA
“
of ways to communicate the employment deal. At certain
Many organisations still seem to be sitting on the Social media is being used by points this support is proving useful, particularly to attract
fence when it comes to social media, whereas those
using it appear to be converts and see improvements in
thousands of organisations as a employees and induct them in to the organisation. Beyond
this HR support seems to fall short of the levels needed.
NCE Y O
the way they engage employees, communicate with way to not only engage and U R EMP L
The biggest opportunity is in the development of
employees and are able to provide HR support. connect with employees, but communication skills for leaders and managers and
The Watson Wyatt1 survey shows that 55% of Australia’s to tap into knowledge, uncover focusing communication efforts on those aspects of the OY E R B R A
highly effective communicators have increased their use talents, identify ambassadors, EVP and the business strategy that engage employees
”
of social media for employees. This matches the NDR E P U T A
responses we had from organisations using social media
build solidarity and bring and improve business performance. Consideration
should also be given to some of the advantages social
who considered their communication of the EVP to be cultural values to life. media users are demonstrating in the way they are T I O N W I T H
more effective than those who don’t, and who viewed communicating the employment deal. Ignoring this gap
Brian Giesen: Regional Director I M P A C T S E
their leadership capability as communicators to be higher. between what is needed to demonstrate and
Ogilvy 360° Digital Influence
Social media is here to stay, but it still may take some communicate the employee value proposition and what X P E R T I S E
time to convert a large number of organisations to see is currently happening will lead to further break points in
the value in investing in it. New McKinsey research5 the connection between employer and employee.
indicates that a payday could be arriving for those
companies that use collaborative web 2.0 technologies
“
intensively, in that they gain greater market share and
higher margins. One of the things you find in companies is that once a culture is
Lessons can be learnt from the early adopters on how formed it takes nuclear weaponry to change it... which is one of
social media can be used effectively to communicate the primary reasons many organisations have turned from the
”
business strategy and support the employment deal.
short term engagement focus of internal branding initiatives to
more long term focus of employer brand management.
Jeff Bezos: Founder Amazon6
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10. About Impact
Employee Communications
Now in our sixteenth year, Impact Employee Communications is Australia and Asia Pacific’s leading employee
communication consultancy—the most awarded, the most specialised, and, with over 600 client results under
our belt, the most experienced.
We offer end-to-end communication solutions to What makes us different?
business challenges for some of Australia and Asia Put simply, Impact’s focus is narrow, but its experience
Pacific’s largest organisations. This ranges from strategic is deep and specialised, and to complete the picture,
communication planning and leadership engagement, to is a values-driven business. Its team includes former
the creative and logistical delivery of tactics to a range heads of communication for major blue-chips and other
of audiences. communication, change and engagement specialists.
Whether it’s major change, such as restructuring, Our collaborative approach is key to our success.
downsizing or an IT overhaul, specific business critical Always ensuring true ownership of employee
initiatives such as energy saving, trade union negotiation communication from leadership teams is what makes
or safety, or HR specific initiatives such as EVP our work impactful, driving business results.
development, career pathway engagement or reward
and recognition programs, Impact has been, and Contact:
continues to be a first choice for Australian private and Tam Sandeman
public sector organisations facing some of their toughest Impact Employee Communications
people challenges. Level 2, 72 Christie Street
In addition to offering core strategic employee St Leonards NSW 2065
communication counsel, Impact also has five specialist Australia
practice areas reflecting the big ticket issues of today. T +61 (0)2 8281 3222
impact.com.au
References
Specialist areas:
• Change Management Communication
• Leadership, CEO and Vision & Values Communication UNDERSTANDING THE PERCEPTION, BEHAVIOUR & INTENTION OF EXECUTIVES IN AUSTRALIA
• HR People & Culture Communication 1. Watson Wyatt Capitalizing on Effective Communication – 2009/ 2010 Communication ROI Study Report
• Industrial Relations and Safety Communication
2. Executive Monitor 2010 – Understanding the perception and intention of executives in Australia
• Sustainability and CSR Programs (OgilvyEarth)
3. Towers Watson Perspective Jan 2010 – Employee Wellbeing: Taking engagement and performance to the next level
These areas are supported further by our specialist
service offering – internal communications research 4. European Communication Monitor 2010 – Status quo and challenges for Public relations in Europe
capability, coaching, training, social media, creative
5. McKinsey Quarterly Dec 2010, The rise of the networked enterprise: Web 2.0 finds its payday
studio and employee events.
6. (Mosely, RC 2007) ‘Customer experience, organisational culture and the employer brand’
Journal of Brand Management, Vol 15, October pp 123-124
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