The results of this combined study are enlightening. It shows the humility of internal communicators when it comes to evaluating their own efficacy and contribution to company goals. It shows a clear– and wide – gap between what internal communicators know to be important in building efficacy, and what they are able to do at their company.
The Origins of Best-In-Class Practices
The first phase of this research initiative began in 2011, and involved setting a benchmark for best practices in internal communication methods and practices in global organizations. In 2012, Commission members selected 10 companies to participate in the qualitative study based on the companies’ global scope and their perceived effectiveness in internal communication. These 10 companies – GE, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson, Cargill, Chevron, Navistar, McDonald’s, IBM, Petrobras and Toyota – are often on most-admired or best-places-to-work lists, and they have sustained market leadership positions in the dynamic global market. Their internal communication programs also are often recognized for excellence, as evidenced in awards they receive and the extent to which they are profiled in conference presentations and professional publications, among other forms of recognition.
The second phase, the quantitative industry survey, commenced following the socialization of qualitative findings, allowing our research team to fully absorb the depth of the qualitative findings and to gather meaningful feedback from stakeholders in our industry to inform the survey instrument development. These two components together help amplify the utility of survey findings.
The results of this combined study are enlightening. It shows the humility of internal communicators when it comes to evaluating their own efficacy and contribution to company goals. It shows a clear– and wide – gap between what internal communicators know to be important in building efficacy, and what they are able to do at their company. It shows that the ability to put important tools, practices, behaviors and ways of thinking into place builds efficacy. It also shows the beginning signs of a desire to adopt best-in-class practices, as well as revealing what practices need better value recognition.
Download PDF: What Does Good Look Like? A Quantitative Perspective on Best-in-Class Practices in Employee Communication
By Peter Debreceny, Gagen MacDonald, and Colleen Learch, KRC Research
