A couple of new year comms resolutions to think about

By Annie Waite, North American Editor of the Internal Comms Hub, Melcrum

I know it's tough to get back into the swing of things post time off for holiday/New Year celebrations, so while everyone else is busy concentrating on hitting the gym to get fit again, why not - if you haven't quite perfected it already - commit to shaping up your and your organisation's communications instead?

Here are just 2 feasible communication goals that you should be able to master by the end of 2008, based on the findings of Hewitt's newly released 50 Best Employers in Canada 2008 list.

Based purely on the opinions of employees, the list is compiled using the ratings by a sample of randomly chosen employees of their companies on a number of different factors, all of which combine to produce an overall ranking for their organization.

I spoke with Ted Emond (right), senior consultant with Hewitt in Toronto, who has been involved in the study for the past 9 years, about the 2008 list.

"Firstly, all the companies on the list know that it's important that there's 2-way communication at their organizations and secondly, all the companies communicate in a way that supports their company values," he said.

So, your new year comms resolution number 1: ensure there are adequate opportunities for feedback and 2-way communication between employees and managers.

Emond also noted that "Looking at the top 10 companies on the list versus the bottom 10 – in the top group, 82% agree that their managers are open and honest in their communication, whereas only 62% in the bottom 10 agree."

Therefore, comms resolution number 2: be open and honest in your communication, and encourage the leaders and managers in your organisation to do the same.

Are you one of Canada's 50 Best Employers this year? Check out a complete list of the companies who made it onto the 2008 list.

Soundtrack to the blog: Tina Turner - Simply the Best

Comments

[Judy Gombita]

Not to take anything away from Hewitt's work or Ted Emond, but I think the better-known and more established Canadian list is Canada’s Top 100 Employers, which is a joint project between Mediacorp and Maclean’s Magazine

I reference you to Jason Kirby's October 2007 Special Report in Maclean's, Canada's Top 100 Employers: What it takes to be one of Canada's best employers (which, happily, is open access). Here is one snip from the article about the top 100 employers list's mandate:

“This is perhaps the most in-depth analysis of human resources trends in Canada's public and private sectors available anywhere. It's not a ranking, but a compendium that aims to shed light on what the best employers are doing to retain talent.”

I think you will find a lot of crossover with what Ted told you regarding the attributes of a great company.

And here is a PDF file of the actual list for 2007.

[Annie Waite]

Hi Judy,

Thanks for this. I read Jason Kirby's article a few weeks ago actually - interesting reading. I'm hoping to involve a lot of the companies on the list in various articles over the coming year - I wonder who will make it to the top of the list next year. Any guesses?