Effective internal communication starts at the top: help executives understand the need for clear, concise communication

Communication World, July-August, 2005 by Rodney Gray, Larry Robertson

Executive communication: why bother?

Senior executives, especially the CEO, provide leadership to align the organization with its vision. They set the direction, and their behavior determines the tone and culture--how the vision will be achieved.

But employees are often not impressed. In countless organizations, employees say that their senior executives are not visible (which employees interpret to mean that they don't care), they give few clues as to the future direction of the company, they are not open and honest, they don't involve and consult those affected by change, they fail to recognize achievement, and sometimes they even punish those who raise issues. Certainly this is not the case in all organizations, but sadly it is true of many.

Research reveals that improving the communication of senior executives, especially the CEO, may be the most cost-effective way to improve employees' satisfaction with communication in their organizations.

"Finding the Right Direction," in the November-December 2004 issue of CW, described how research conducted in Australia found that effective senior executive communication is generally one of the highest correlates of satisfaction with internal communication (typically around 0.7 out of 1.0).

However, on average, only 38 percent of Australian employees are satisfied with communication with their senior executives, and only 35 percent with communication with their CEOs. About two-thirds of employees are not prepared to say they are satisfied.

Not a pretty picture. Little wonder that many executives complain that their workforce is not "engaged." The high correlation between ineffective communication by senior executives and low levels of employee satisfaction is likely to be the case in other countries as well.

What's more, a study conducted for the Allen Consulting Group in 2003 to identify the key drivers of effective change management found a strong statistical relationship between CEO and divisional executive communication and "organizational satisfaction and culture." This correlates strongly with employees' perceptions that "major changes appear well planned" and "implementation of changes is well handled," as described in CW. CEO and divisional executive communication was found to be far more likely to influence employees' perceptions that change was well planned and well implemented than, say, immediate manager or team communication.

Communication audit results from other organizations reveal some very shabby scores:

* 10 percent of employees agreed that executives were aware of their concerns.

* 15 percent agreed that the head office communicated effectively.

* 19 percent agreed that senior executives were visible.

* 19 percent agreed that executives sought their views and listened.

* 21 percent agreed that they were informed of plans and directions.

* 23 percent agreed that executives communicated well.

To put these audit findings into perspective, our research found that, on average, 61 percent of employees are satisfied with communication with their immediate manager, and 63 percent understand the expectations of them in their job roles.

It's not as if employees' demands on senior executives are that taxing. Research of what topics employees wish to hear about from their CEO reveals a limited range of such "big picture" topics as:

* The future of the organization.

* Overall corporate strategy.

* Top-line financial results.

* Major changes (e.g., redundancies).

* Feedback from the board of directors (or, in the public sector, government).

* Major stakeholder issues.

* Responses to media attention.

Employees also understand that the CEO and other executives can't visit often. For example, pilots in a 17,000-employee airline said they didn't need to hear from the popular CEO personally about the future of the business (which was precarious at the time) because "he's too busy." But they did expect to be kept fully informed by the chief pilot (the senior executive responsible for them).

Curiously, big road shows or town hall meetings don't appear to be the answer, although they feature the CEO and/or other executives "live." Typically, 50 to 60 percent of employees in Australia are satisfied with them, but these events correlate only moderately with their overall satisfaction with communication.

Research suggests that the "tools" we use (road shows, intranet, e-mail, video streaming, newsletters and the like) can be used to support face-to-face communication with executives. Our media efforts should develop relationships, not simply convey information. Remember, communication is about the creation of meaning and understanding, not simply moving information around.

It's about authenticity

"Do you think the CEO is gesturing correctly?" asked the vice president of communications of a multinational manufacturing company, at a CEO rehearsal. I looked at him incredulously and replied, "This isn't about performance. It's about authenticity, credibility and clarity. It's whether the organization's various constituents are able to understand, believe and relate to what the CEO is telling them. Gesturing should be natural. If it's prompted by a script or some other instruction, it's not." The vice president shrugged; his boss looked relieved.