A 2002 study by Watson Wyatt, an international consulting firm, confirms the link between an organization’s financial performance, employees’ sense of trust, and effective communication. For the study, financial performance was defined as the appreciation in stock price over three years, plus dividends. Almost 13,000 employees from different organizations participated in the survey, which cut across all job sectors.
- Financial performance was three times higher in companies where employees had high trust in management versus companies where employees did not have high trust. Employees were asked whether they:
- believed information coming from management, <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p>
- were confident in senior management, and
- experienced positive levels of trust between employees and senior management.
- Financial performance was seven times higher in companies where employees said management handled change well versus companies that employees thought managed change poorly. Employees were asked to rate management on
- whether managers made the right decisions about controlling costs in response to changes in the economy,
- whether senior management made changes necessary to compete effectively, and
- how well management handled major changes, such as downsizing, mergers, growth, and leadership changes
Each area rated involved trust and communication between management and employees. How do you build an environment where employees trust what management does and says? How do you create a culture where two-way, open communication allows employees to let managers know what is really going on? In his book Supermotivation, Dean Spitzer says it has been estimated that only 4 percent of all problems are known to senior management, only 9 percent to middle management, but nearly 100 percent to rank-and-file employees.
Communication with employees needs to be addressed strategically. It is a business process that must be managed, just like marketing, engineering, customer service, or business development. Furthermore, communication cuts across all those business processes.
What are you willing to invest to increase trust and communication in your organization to improve its financial performance?
In addition to Spitzer’s book, a good source to help you address communication as a strategic process is Roger D’Aprix’s book Communicating for Change: Connecting Workplace with the Marketplace. The Gallup Organization also provides good questions to guide your thinking about employee communications in First Break All the Rules.
Pam Scott is a Professional Outsider and Communications Specialist for the Armstrong Scott Network. She is also a member of the Georgia Executive Women’s Network in Atlanta, GA, USA, a TIAW network member. To contact Pam, e-mail her at pascott@mindspring.com or call (404) 248-9475, US Eastern Standard Time.
|
