NEWS
Effective Communication Boosts Growth
Companies Urged To Use Social Media To Drive Employee Engagement and Growth
15 September 2011

Kuala Lumpur | Towers Watson Malaysia, a leading professional services company, shared in a presentation yesterday that effective employee communication boosts corporate growth, with social media being an increasingly important tool to engage a diverse and dispersed workforce.

According to the company’s 2010 Communications ROI Study Report, effective employee communication is a driving indicator of financial performance, as employees were more inclined to company objectives.

According to the company’s 2010 Communications ROI Study Report, effective employee communication is a driving indicator of financial performance, as employees were more inclined to company objectives. The report revealed that companies that are highly effective communicators had 47 per cent higher total returns to shareholders over a five-year period.

“Effective communication is even more critical in these unsettling economic times as companies struggle to maintain stability, especially so for their employees. More than ever, it is crucial for companies to reassure the workforce by engaging employees in the best way possible. Depending on business industries, methods for employee engagement vary from the innovative social media to time-tested communication tools,” explained Mr Adam Wootton, Senior Consultant, Communication and New Media from Towers Watson’s New York office.

Wootton was in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to talk on “Leveraging Social Networking to Drive Performance” as part of Towers Watson’s regular Leaders Seminar series. He urged companies undergoing changes due to challenging economic times to embrace social media as a communication medium to deliver a unique and robust employee and community experience.

Lim Chin Han (left), Managing Director, Towers Watson Malaysia and Adam Wootton Senior Consultant, Communication and New Media, Towers Watson New York at the presentation on 14 September 2011. Photographs courtesy of Towers Watson.

Wootton explained that due to the rapid expansion of companies both internally and externally, companies were now facing a wider range of audiences that differed geographically, linguistically and ethnically - therefore affecting effective communication. He elaborated that companies that have a multifaceted workforce are increasingly using web communications such as social media, to engage with their employees. Improving employee communications can range from making the sharing of information more interactive via E-magazines, implementing discussion boards to promote employee dialogue and testing ideas with employees to engage them.

Wootton was also quick to point out that while companies should maintain consistent messages across the organisation, delivery methods should be customised to meet local needs.

“Communication methods are valuable to any company. However, who delivers these messages is just as critical. As managers are front liners of communicating messages to employees, companies should invest in training them to ensure they are equipped with skills in communicating messages accurately, dealing with resistance and also being a representative of the company’s values,” elaborated Wootton.

Wootton further advised that social media can be incorporated by HR leaders in their communication strategy to build and improve their Employer Brand so that they are able to attract, engage and retain their employees. As employees will feel the brunt of organisational changes, companies should ensure these changes are well explained and justified.

In an effort to inject an element of fun in employee engagement, Towers Watson has introduced Swift-ee, a specially developed game aimed at educating and connecting with employees. Other benefits of Swift-ee include its customisable options, metrics to track usage, and deployability in multiple languages. This application is available for both mobile phones and tablet personal computers.

In Malaysia, Towers Watson is increasingly seeing many of its clients exploring social media as part of their communication strategy to engage with their employees.

Source : Towers Watson