Internal Communications Channels Study
Today, Edelman Change and Employee Engagement (my practice) publicly released the third annual "New Frontiers in Employee Communications" study (If you don't want to read 32 pages, you can check out the main findings in the release).
Let me get several things out of the way:
- I was heavily involved in the research and writing of this work. This is one of the few times that I will ever use this blog to discuss work that I have done. (The disclaimer on the right still applies here)
- The purpose of this study is to examine the use and effectiveness of internal communications channels; although it spends a great deal of time discussing new media tools the hope is to provide a comprehensive picture of the different channels available to corporate communicators.
- This is not a scientific study. While we concentrated on a small sample (Fortune 500 and large, global companies) in hopes of being able to generalize to that group, we probably received a disproportionate number of participants from companies engaged in new media initiatives. Also, because so few companies have implemented new media, the sample size for some individual questions is relatively low. In other words, do not take these results as gospel; draw your own conclusions based on the findings and methodology.
- Like most studies that have looked at corporate use of new media, the answers tend to be biased toward a neutral response. In other words, a lot of people say "I don't know," or rate things as a three on a five-point scale.
What I think is important from the study:
- Corporate communicators need to become better educated about the variety of channels available to them. It is not enough to leave it up to the self-proclaimed "new media" experts. In a year or so, this stuff will not be "new" anymore.
- A lot more organizations are using new media than you would think - only they are doing it internally where the risks are lower and there is a more immediate and tangible effect on the business.
- If I were to put my money on the channel that will have the greatest impact on businesses it would be wikis, as they are the most dynamic of the tools.
- It is critical that all communications channels be viewed as part of an integrated communications strategy. When this occurs, employees get relevant content with context. When communications are fragmented, employees just get a lot of noise.
- Internal communications strategy will be a key differentiator for organizations as they battle for the next generation of talent.
How does this study stack up?
Previously on this blog, I have been critical of other studies of corporate new media use. I stand by those comments, and make no claims that this study does not contain many similar flaws. This is a fast-moving space that is hard to effectively track and measure. In order to provide context and let you draw your own conclusions, here are some other works that examine similar issues:
If you know of any others, please let me know and I'll add them to the list.
Lastly, my hope is that this study will serve to spur conversations among corporate communicators about how to strategically use internal communications channels to drive business goals and what the role (if any) for new media may be in that mix. As always, comments, questions and criticism are welcome and I will do my best to provide helpful responses.
