socialchorus’ internal communicator index

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SocialChorus’ Internal Communicator

Index

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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outdated intranet or hang a fl ier in the breakroom.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.

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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%)



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%


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%


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


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

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ALIGNING GOALSWITH STAKEHOLDERS

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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.”


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.

socialchorus’ internal communicator index

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