April 2018
A significant proportion of British and American-based employees are ‘dissatisfied’ with communication methods used by their employer, new research has revealed.
The study by enterprise content delivery network, Kollective, which questioned over 2,000 staff across the UK and the United States, found that just under half (49 per cent) were happy with current communication methods used by senior teams, while 62 per cent said they wanted to communicate directly with CEOs. A further 30 per cent preferred video chat to ‘catch up’ with CEOs.
Meanwhile, 38 per cent were satisfied with email communications while fewer than one in five said they preferred to receive written documentation communication (e.g. newsletters, posters and flyers).
Although the research is unclear as to whether staff preferences around communication methods were met, the survey highlighted that traditional methods of communication were starting to ‘fall short’ of expectations.
Dan Vetras, CEO of Kollective said it was ‘clear’ that employees expect ‘significantly more’ face-to-face time with their CEOs but acknowledged that business leaders in large organisations would inevitably struggle to make time for everyone.
“Live streaming, ‘virtual town hall’ meetings and video newsletters are a great way to overcome these issues,” Vetras said. “Using video can help leaders bridge the visibility gap, reaching global locations and remote workers across the organisation. Greater face-time is also helping CEOs to connect with millennial employees, using video technology to communicate on a more personal level.”
Sarah Robson, senior communications consultant at Aon said: “As we move to a more digital world with a more flexible working arena, our demand for more rich media and bitesize communication increases. People have more access to information than they ever did before and at the touch of a button. Employers are therefore adapting to this increasing need for digital engagement by the use of technology.”
She added: “A picture may paint a thousand words but video does even more than that. Lots of information can be communicated to the employee in a succinct, quick and ultimately engaging way. Video can bring a further depth of emotion, body language and tone of voice into the communications to help drive the message home.”
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