Edelman Strategic Insights

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 Edelman Strategic Insights Edelman Shanghai - December 2009 What channel do you use most frequently to communicate with employees? Employee Engagement: CSR that matters in China “Employees are typically the last priority for info rmation, not the first. But these are the people who are in the best position to go either on the offensive or defensive for your company  so companies need to tell them first. Transparency is the new green. Say what you’re going to do and say why - then actually do it.” Edelman CEO Richard Edelman Edelman China’s Employee Engagement practice takes a closer look at how employee engagement fits into the broader operating environment in China today, and examines the issues highlighted by their 2009 Employee Engagement and Internal Communications China Survey. Edelman China’s 2009 employee engagement and internal communications survey highlighted the increasing importance multinationals are placing on strategic employee engagement in their China-based operations. Over 50 percent of companies had a dedicated, full-time internal communications resource, with almost 67 percent based at a local level. Over 80 percent of companies are expecting to increase spending on internal communications and employee engagement activities in the next year. This is chiefly because the timely realization of companies’ ambitious growth targets for the Chinese market is increasingly dependent on successful employee engagement, specifically in terms of attraction and retention of talent and to meet the demands of business expansion. Given this, it is not surprising that the primary objective behind employee engagement initiatives overwhelmingly was to ensure employees understood the company’s mission or vision. Team building and creating the desired internal culture within the organization were also listed as important, as was supporting corporate transformation activities. Close to 100 percent of respondents said that their senior leadership was either involved or very involved in employee engagement activities, and they expected this involvement to increase in the next 12 months since employee engagement is seen as a business priority for the organization in China. However, most practitioners continue to follow a more traditional approach to internal communications, with email and the intranet being the most frequently used vehicles, well ahead of in-person, or face-to-face, communication. Of the challenges listed by the respondents, the lack of internal resources was most commonly listed as their primary obstacle. As a result, over 75 percent of companies surveyed use external consultants for a number of different reasons, including: to provide additional resources, bring an outside perspective to the company’s internal programs, as well as for the benefit of structured methodologies and best practices.

Transcript of Edelman Strategic Insights

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Edelman Strategic Insights

Edelman Shanghai - December 2009

What channel do you use most frequently to communicate with employees? 

Employee Engagement: CSR that matters in China

“Employees are typically the last priority for information, not the first. But these are the people who are in the

best position to go either on the offensive or defensive for your company – so companies need to tell them first.Transparency is the new green. Say what you’re going to do and say why - then actually do it.” 

Edelman CEO Richard Edelman 

Edelman China’s Employee Engagement practice takes a closer look at how employee engagement fits into the

broader operating environment in China today, and examines the issues highlighted by their 2009 Employee

Engagement and Internal Communications China Survey.

Edelman China’s 2009 employee engagement and internal communications survey highlighted the increasing

importance multinationals are placing on strategic employee engagement in their China-based operations. Over 50

percent of companies had a dedicated, full-time internal communications resource, with almost 67 percent based

at a local level. Over 80 percent of companies are expecting to increase spending on internal communications and

employee engagement activities in the next year. This is chiefly because the timely realization of  companies’

ambitious growth targets for the Chinese market is increasingly dependent on successful employee engagement,

specifically in terms of attraction and retention of talent and to meet the demands of business expansion.

Given this, it is not surprising that the primary objective behind employee engagement initiatives overwhelmingly

was to ensure employees understood

the company’s mission or vision. Teambuilding and creating the desired

internal culture within the organization

were also listed as important, as was

supporting corporate transformation

activities. Close to 100 percent of 

respondents said that their senior

leadership was either involved or very

involved in employee engagement

activities, and they expected this

involvement to increase in the next 12

months since employee engagement is seen as a business priority for the organization in China. However, most

practitioners continue to follow a more traditional approach to internal communications, with email and the

intranet being the most frequently used vehicles, well ahead of in-person, or face-to-face, communication.

Of the challenges listed by the respondents, the lack of internal resources was most commonly listed as their

primary obstacle. As a result, over 75 percent of companies surveyed use external consultants for a number of 

different reasons, including: to provide additional resources, bring an outside perspective to the company’s internal

programs, as well as for the benefit of structured methodologies and best practices.

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Edelman Shanghai - December

The biggest challenge for us is

how we proactively engage our

people, instead of simply

reactively passing down

messages” 

Senior Communications Manager 

“Employees are the soul of our company, and

we want to engage them on the way forward

for our business. Cross-function collaboration

is very important to us, so we invest a lot of making sure we have effective internal

communication” 

HR Director, Greater China

2.  Start with where employees are vs. where the organization is headed

To move employees in the right direction, we must first determine where they are now. How much information

and understanding do they receive and possess? What do they really know about the business and its prospects

and, more importantly, their role in its success?

3.  Brand = Company Culture = Brand

Brand is built on the internal development and sustainability of the companyculture. Employees must experience the characteristics of the brand in the

culture, manifested in:

  Company vision and values

  Business strategy

  Management’s actions in support of the vision, values and strategy — not

merely its words

  Products/services

Building brand equity begins inside with engaged employees because they are the most effective and sustainable

method known for building the brand, and they embody the brand and what it stands for. These are the people

who really do shape a brand’s evolution - for better or worse…..

4.  Simplicity creates interest - Limit the corporate speak

The role of employee communications is to help the organization and leadership to keep things simple. As the

world becomes more complex and information overload threatens to overwhelm employees, the ability to keep

things simple remains a true competitive advantage.

We must filter our leadership’s messages from the abundant information employees receive, providing clarity,

relevance and focus. It is here that we as communicators have the greatest opportunity to provide value to our

organization’s culture. 

While communication with external audiences will likely focus on the financial strength of the company, internal

communications must also address more personal and specific issues that relate to day-to-day operations.

Employees want to know ‘what does it mean for me? ’ – Internal communications should focus on this.

5.  The marketplace should dominate employee dialogue

The company’s external profile provides context for employees. From newsletters to employee meetings to

employee e-mails, we must use every opportunity to bring the customer and marketplace inside the company.

Competition, trends, industry issues, etc., provide employees with the proper frame of reference to assess their

performance and understand the company’s decisions.

6.  Use a variety of existing communications

channels

In general people need to hear or see things 5-6 times

before they start believing it. Using a variety of channels

ensures that information will reach a broad base of 

employees quickly and accounts for both an unwired or

mobile workforce.

This strategy also builds in an element of repetition and

consistency to the communication, which will aid comprehension. Finally, whilst written communication is

important for routine information sharing, the importance of face-to-face communication to engage staff and to

manage a change environment cannot be understated.

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Edelman Shanghai - December 2009

“We’re always looking for

ways to continuouslyimprove our internal

engagement  – we rely on

employees to bring our

strategy to life, so this is

100% business critical.” 

Internal Communications

Director 

10 Action Imperatives

1.  Understand the key business & strategy goals, andreflect these in employee engagement programs

2.  Employees must hear news first from management  – 

not the newspaper or via office gossip

3.  Provide as much detail as possible - without over-

promising

4.  Bad news is preferable to no news

5.  Duplicate communications to ensure key points are

heard & understood (e.g. briefings & letters, team

follow-up & bulletin boards)

6.  Be consistent and honest in all communications

7.  Avoid jargon and financial or corporate speak8.  Be aware of cultural differences & nuances of language

9.  Expect the unexpected  – especially in personal

reactions & behaviours, and prepare managers

accordingly

10. See middle-managers as both an audience and a

conduit for information and messages.

7.  Give managers and supervisors the resources they need

Direct reports play a critical role in the communications landscape, but they need information that helps them

speak knowledgably to their teams. Provide managers with “tool kits” to communicate information to staff. Put in

place ongoing channels for managers to pass on feedback to management and where they themselves can turn to

for support with dealing with employees’ questions and concerns. 

8.  Measurement gets you a seat in the board-room

Have mechanisms in place that will provide solid quantitative and qualitative

data on the response to internal communications format and content. This

assists management to make better decisions moving forward, but also helps

you benchmark attitudes and measure responses to decisions and events.

Metrics also help convince senior management of the benefit and impact of 

employee engagement initiatives.

9.  Proper treatment of employees is the new ‘green’ in CSR  

Companies often overlook the impact CSR has on retaining and attractive top talent. Directing CSR efforts towards

employees is a powerful means of providing personal satisfaction and empowerment to staff for whom CSR

initiatives are a source of pride. Top talent will choose as a preference responsible employers they can be proud towork for.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, the three main drivers for corporate reputation in China are: job

creation, sound environmental policies and respect for local customs and tradition - “makes charitable

contributions” ranks as least important. The upshot of this is that business-aligned CSR drives trust in MNCs in

China. A company’s approach to corporate responsibility is increasingly seen as proxy for good management in

general, and marks a healthy approach to risk and opportunity. Having a reputation as a ‘good and responsible’  

company is now business-critical for any MNC in China.

In Summary

Communicating about sensitive information is not

about spin or painting a rosy picture. Employees

want to hear the truth about the future of their

company, pay, benefits and job. In today’s

economic environment business change is

inevitable and employees understand this.

Companies need to develop internal

communications strategies for business change to

build a more informed and engaged workforce.

December 2009, Employee Engagement Practice,  

Edelman Shanghai