13 January 2009
50% of communicators fear losing their jobs in 2009
Leisure and manufacturing industry workers are most concerned, says survey.
Over 75% of communication professionals are feeling the impact of the financial crisis in their organizations, according to recent research conducted by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and Mercer Consulting.
Leisure and manufacturing industries most worried
The study, conducted in November 2008, also found that almost half (47%) of the 1,442 communication professionals surveyed were somewhat, very or extremely concerned about losing their job in the next 12 months, while 51% of respondents said they were not very concerned.
Communicators working in leisure and manufacturing industries were more concerned about job loss, as compared to other industries.
A community divided
The Hub asked one of our editorial board members, Darren Briggs (pictured, below left), managing director, Flametree Communication, for his interpretation of the research results.
"Clearly, communicators in sectors that have been most affected by the recent economic downturn are understandably nervous about their long-term futures," Briggs says.
"However, the 50:50 split of opinion could be indicative of the demographics of the internal communications community. Those that have been long-serving practitioners will have arguably seen how internal communications as a practice can be remarkably resilient and valuable during times of crisis."
Communicating recession's impact
Nearly
40% of survey respondents reported significant, considerable or drastic
impact on their organizations, while 37% reported moderate impact.
Just over half (56%) of the survey respondents said their organizations were responding with proactive communication to employees and other key audiences about the downturn and its impact on their organizations (see Figure 1, below). A further 30% of respondents said their organizations were responding to specific inquiries or issues only; and 14% said their organizations had no communication response to the crisis.
Regarding the methods used to communicate information about the crisis:
Email (56%) and face-to-face meetings (54%) were the most common methods used to communicate information about the crisis, followed by the intranet (39%) and other web communication (27%).
Figure 1. Channels used to communicate downturn information
"As recently reported in the media, many authoritative organizations such as the CIPD are strongly advising companies to invest heavily in communicating with their employees during the current economic downturn," says Briggs.
"In addition to this, greater transparency and immediacy of news in the media is driving leaders to engage with employees about their specific challenges," he notes.
Taking a proactive approach
Do the figures in Figure 1 tally with what Briggs has noticed within the industry?
"We’re finding that leaders are taking a proactive approach to communicating using a variety of tools and mechanisms. The clear preference from an employee perspective during a crisis is always face to face as this enables the opportunity to create understanding and higher levels of engagement."
Briggs does acknowledge the speed benefit of email, but says that "it's limited in its ability to be personal and be personalized."
Leadership visibility
Almost half of the respondents (49%) said their organization's leaders were visible and active in communicating information about the crisis. Some 31% of respondents said their leaders were responding to specific inquiries or issues only and 20% said their leaders were not visible at the time of the survey.
"Leaders can’t afford to simply be visible just during a crisis," says Briggs. "They need to show consistent commitment to talking with employees at all levels and demonstrating empathy with their people both during good times and bad."
So how can internal communicators with non-communicative leaders turn this current situation to their advantage? "By encouraging those who are not traditionally visible to develop a new pattern of behavior," Briggs advises.
(Last year, the also Hub provided tips from Richard Guinn, senior communication consultant at global consulting firm Watson Wyatt, about how communicators can help leaders to maintain employee morale during times of financial crisis.)
Financial firms create comms plans for downturn
Only 30% of respondents said they or their teams had been asked to develop communication plans around financial crisis for their organizations. Not surprisingly, the numbers were higher for communicators working in the finance industry (61%) and for organizations with more than 50,000 employees.
49% said their organization’s leaders were visible and active in communicating information about the crisis.
Most respondents (38%) indicated that the financial crisis had not at all eroded engagement and trust among the employees in their organization; 35% said it had a slight affect, 19% said it had a moderate effect and 7% said it had a significant effect.
Pressure on employees
When asked about the issues that had received increasing number of employee queries since the news of the global financial crisis hit, most respondents said employees were concerned about the impact of the crisis on their organizations (58%) and on employment stability or job security (54%).
Other areas with increased number of queries were 401K plans, merit raises, benefit plans and promotions (see Figure 2, below).
Figure 2. What's worrying workers?
Have your say
Do you find it surprising that as many as 38% of respondents indicated that the financial crisis had not at all eroded engagement and trust among the employees in their organization? How does this compare with the situation at your organization? Is your communication of company performance transparent enough?
Recommended resources:
Communication tips for leading workers through economic crisis
Eight ways to maintain confidentiality during change
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