Business leaders are counting. Research companies that track the role of communication against business results are counting. Communication executives are counting.
When the counting is done and the evidence gathered, everything leads to the same conclusion: Communication matters. It matters to employee engagement. It matters to the customer experience. It matters to community and reputation, and it matters to the bottom line.
Let’s look at the evidence.
Towers Watson has tracked the relationship between internal communication, change management and business success for a decade. In my books that’s enough time to deliver substantive evidence that great communication and business success are wildly compatible partners.
The Towers Watson ROI study in 2014 shows that “companies with high effectiveness in change management and communication are three and a half times more likely to significantly outperform their industry peers than firms that are not effective in these areas.”
Strategic communication has a halo effect on business results, touching almost every area of operation. Looking at the trend lines from 2003 on, the Towers Watson findings are progressively insightful, building the business case for communication professionals to join the executive ranks.
In 2003, research concluded that companies with highly effective communication delivered a 26 per cent return to shareholders in comparison to 15 per cent for those with less effective communication.
In 2005 the return to shareholders was 57 per cent higher for companies with great communication practices. The 2011 conclusions said, “Organizations with highly effective communication and change management practices are more than twice as likely to significantly outperform their peers.”
The 2014 Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor explored the perceptions of over 6,500 people in 13 countries on five continents. Researchers looked at effective leadership, effective communication and the link between the two. Here’s what they found.
Consumers are disillusioned with leaders across all sectors. Only 22 percent of those surveyed felt leaders are demonstrating effective leadership. No surprise, open, transparent is the top-ranking attribute for effective leadership. Some 74 per cent said effective communication is very important to great leadership yet only 29 per cent felt that leaders communicate effectively.
Edelman’s global brandshare™ 2014 report says that the majority of people believe that their relationships with brands is one-sided. 70 per cent of those surveyed said they believe that when brands engage they are motivated exclusively by a desire to increase profits rather than a commitment to people, and 87 per cent want meaningful interactions.
The report said, “This gap has substantial commercial implications. A clear majority of respondents boycotted or bought less from a company during the past 12 months due to poor leadership. Far fewer started buying or purchased more as a result of positive leadership perceptions.”
People are the backbone of communication. Contrary to the popular phrase “Content is king”, it is now as it has always been – people are the most important factor in determining whether or not whether or not the organization will succeed. How they engage with your organization, what they think and how they behave is influenced by specific, targeted, meaningful communication. Content is not king. Communication is king.
I’ve shared insights from just a few of the studies that are out there. There are many more, and the evidence is conclusive. Strategic communication, both internal and external, has grown into a mainstream business function that’s recognized and embraced by progressive, profitable organizations.
That’s why you should count. It’s why you should benchmark, and it’s why you should measure. Counting and measuring makes the value of strategic communication a tangible business asset.
