socialchorus’ internal communicator index
TRANSCRIPT
1 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX1 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
Executive Summary As companies place an increasing level of importance
on workforce engagement and alignment, internal
communications is taking on an ever more critical role.
Grappling with a multitude of changes, from where and how
we work, to the technology used to communicate, to the
speed at which information is shared, it has become harder
and harder for organizations to keep employees informed,
supported, and aligned with company goals.
Simply put, it is no longer enough to post content on an
outdated intranet or hang a fl ier in the breakroom. Internal
communicators need technology to connect with their
workforce in a way that is measurable and meaningful.
U.S. INTERNAL COMMUNICATORS FROM ORGANIZATIONS WITH 1,000+ EMPLOYEES WERE ASKED ABOUT THE STATE OF WORKFORCE COMMUNICATIONS AT THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.
400+
THE FINDINGS REVEAL
A SURVEY OF
• Companies are spending more on workforce communications than in previous years.
• Stopping fake news is a priority for the c-suite.
• Measuring the impact of workforce communications is still a challenge for communicators.
2 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
In line with the increase in investment, more than half of respondents (53%) said
their CEO, executives, or board expects the communications team to get employees
aligned with organizational and strategic changes. Other top priorities include:
THE SURVEY FOUND:
50% Informing employees about
available resources
47% Managing acrisis response
52% Increasing employee engagement
Have a dedicated budget for
internal/employee communications
Are spending more on employee engagement
than they were two years ago
75%
Have a larger budget for internal communications
than they did the previous year
38% 84%Investment in internal communications is onthe riseHow a worker feels about their organization can change in
an instant. One bad actor or poor press coverage can have a
lasting impact on morale and employee retention. Employees
now expect consistent and comprehensive communications
from their company, and companies need to deliver in order
to keep their employees motivated, bought into organizational
values and goals, and feeling like meaningful contributors to
the company’s strategic direction.
Company meeting announcements (23%)Team of location update (19%) Team accolades (17%)Compliance training, employee surveys and HR enrollment (16%)
Company meeting announcements (23%)Team of location update (19%) Team accolades (17%)Compliance training, employee surveys and HR enrollment (16%)
Company meeting announcements (23%)Team of location update (19%) Team accolades (17%)Compliance training, employee surveys and HR enrollment (16%)
3 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX3 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
Stopping “fake news” is a top priority for the c-suiteInternal communicators are circulating content to employees
daily, weekly, and monthly on topics ranging from compliance
trainings to HR enrollment, leadership changes, holiday
reminders and more. But, when it comes to top concerns for
leadership, over half of communicators (51%) say prevention
of misinformation and rumors is leadership’s top priority.
The most popular content, published at least a few times per week, included:
TOP CONTENT PUBLISHED
Team or location updates
Company meeting announcements
CEO updates
Compliance training
Employee surveys
54%
52%
45%
44%
40%
Given the outcry around fake news over the last few years, it is not
surprising that this concern is making its way into organizations as
well. Between the speed at which news travels and the proliferation
of social platforms where anyone can post, “digital water coolers” can
run rampant and make it diffi cult for companies to tell a succinct
story to employees. As a result, more organizations are honing in on
establishing a single source of truth for communications: one place
where employees can go to learn where their companies stand and
what their leaders believe.
Besides the spread of misinformation, other top priorities that CEOs
and executive teams have for their communications team include:
ENSURING EMPLOYEES KNOW ABOUT GOOD THINGS HAPPENING IN THE BUSINESS, NOT JUST BAD NEWS
GETTING THE DISPERSED WORKFORCE THE SAME INFORMATION AS EMPLOYEES IN HEADQUARTERS
EFFECTIVELY AND QUICKLY COMMUNICATING TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN A CRISIS
41%
34%
33%
4 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
Measurement continues to be a major challengeInternal communicators are spending a lot of time
trying to reach employees at the right time, with
the right message, on the right channels. Many
struggle with determining which communications
are effective and which are not. Measurement is a
key priority for them.
As the responses indicate, internal communicators are looking for more
powerful solutions to not only reach employees, but also measure the
impact and results of their communications.
THE SURVEY FOUND:
WHEN ASKED TO RANK THE MOST IMPORTANT FUTURE ELEMENTS OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY:
85% say that measuring the
positive impact of internal
communications on employee
engagement is a challenge
64% say they don’t have a
good way to know whether
employees have seen or read
their published content
%R ANKED #1
Being able to measure the impact of communications on employee engagement
Automation to streamline
mundane, repetitive tasks
for communicators
44%More investment in tools
to connect with remote
and deskless workers
55%AI tools, like chatbots,
to help employees fi nd
information as needed
45%
5 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
Internal communicators still lack the righttechnology Marketers and sales teams have long benefi ted from tools
like Salesforce and Marketo to assist in their strategic
planning, workfl ow automation, and measurement, but
resources for internal communicators that take this same
approach have lagged behind.
Communicators have had to rely on spreadsheets to plan
content and manually post news without a holistic view
of what is working and not working. Much like the tech
stacks that have optimized how sales and marketing work,
communicators need the same system of record that
provides a unifi ed platform with one integrated workfl ow to
plan, create, publish, and measure everything from emails to
intranet posts to digital signage.
67%Manager-led
team meetings
56%Corporate social media
51% Mobile apps, up from
only 13% two years ago
Communicators waste time posting the same information to multiple
channels and managing a variety of platforms.
THE MOST COMMON CHANNELS USED TO COMMUNICATE WITH EMPLOYEES:
75% say email and newsletters
but 46% said few employees
engage with them
6 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
Being able to effi ciently and effectively develop content across channels
that will resonate with employees is a challenge, and respondents said
they spend the majority of their time creating and publishing content.
Other activities that take up the most time, in order of most to least,
include:
As investment in communication grows and becomes a bigger priority
internally, it is imperative that communicators are empowered with the
technology that helps them work more effi ciently and have a greater,
more measurable impact.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
1
ALIGNING GOALSWITH STAKEHOLDERS
32
CREATINGCONTENT
SONIA FIORENZA
VP of Communications and Engagement Strategies
SocialChorus
Much like the technology stacks that have changed
how sales and marketing work, communicators
need the same system of record to manage all of
their workforce communications from one place.
Only when companies start approaching employee
communications in this way—with one place to
create and publish content, reach any employee
regardless of location in a personalized way, and
measure the impact—will they truly be able to
align the workforce.”
7 2019 INTERNAL COMMUNICATOR INDEX
LEARN MORE AT SOCIALCHORUS.COM
ABOUT SOCIALCHORUS
SocialChorus is the leading workforce communications
platform that transforms how workers and organizations
connect every day. We empower communicators to
reach every worker—from the head offi ce to the front
line. Companies thrive and win when all their workers
feel informed, aligned and supported. The SocialChorus
platform allows communicators to publish once and
distribute everywhere—effi ciently delivering critical
information to the right employee at the right time.
SocialChorus customers include some of the world’s
largest global brands including AB InBev, The Dow
Chemical Company, CSL Behring, Kohler Co., Cargill Inc.,
Estee Lauder Companies, American Cancer Society, and
PVH Corp.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The study was commissioned by SocialChorus and
provided by Branded Research Inc., an independent
market research organization with an active proprietary
global panel of over 2 million respondents, which is
routinely validated with a stringent screening process
including Verity® and RelevantID by Imperium.®
Results were derived from a 10-minute online survey
instrument, fi elded from January 4-6, 2019 for a total
of 429 respondents. Overall margin of error of +/- 4.7%
at a 95% confi dence interval.