The first element of an Institute for Public Relations (IPR) research program exploring best practices in global employee communications is now available free on the IPR website.  The results of in-depth interviews can be found in a new report entitled “Best- In-Class Practices in Employee Communication: Through the Lens of 10 Global Leaders.”  This qualitative research will provide a platform for a survey to test the findings on a broader scale. 

IPR’s Commission on Organizational Communication gave birth to the program, conducted by KRC Research. The companies represented in the interviews include Cargill, Chevron, FedEx, GE, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Navistar, Petrobras and Toyota.

The Commission members are: chair S. Keith Burton, Partner, Brunswick Group; Bruce Berger, Ph.D., Professor of Public Relations and Advertising, University of Alabama; Peter Debreceny, Consultant, Gagen MacDonald; Gary Grates, Principal, W2O Group; and Frank Ovaitt, President and CEO, IPR.  Execution of the research was led by Colleen Learch, Vice President, KRC Research. 

Among the best practices that consistently appeared in the interviews are:

  • Taking a strategic role with the corporate leadership, influencing overall business practices and reinforcing corporate culture through employee communications.
  • Utilizing the power of direct supervisors as communicators.
  • Relentlessly reinforcing message platforms and the path forward through a dedicated content strategy.
  • Using measurement and key metrics to prove that employee communications programs are helping the workforce achieve key objectives.

The associated quantitative survey research will be conducted over the next few months.  The results will be reported at the IPR Trustees Research Symposium on Nov. 21 in New York City.

To view the paper, click here:

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Contact:

Jenn Moyer
Foundation Operations Manager
Institute for Public Relations
jmoyer@jou.ufl.edu
352-392-0280

Heidy Modarelli handles Growth & Marketing for IPR. She has previously written for Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, The Next Web, and VentureBeat.
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