CommLog

What role do you believe front-line managers play in effective internal communication? * Not at all important: 0.6% * Somewhat unimportant: 0.7% * No opinion: 0.2% * Somewhat important: 6.5% * Very important: 92% Said one participant: bq. We spend literally 80% of our time as a communications department communicating directly with the front lines; 20% is spent providing leaders with the information they need, which includes what they need to communicate to their teams. I would love to see that reversed. In general, to what extent do you think front-line managers need to improve their communication skills? * No improvement is necessary: 0.4% * Some improvement is necessary: 32.7% * Significant improvement is necessary: 67% Said one participant: bq. Our greatest problem is that we all agree it is an area that needs attention, but no one will support it with rewards or consequences. Without the necessary reinforcement, our efforts to improve the front-line manager's communication skills are somewhat futile. Which of the following tools have you used to address the communication skills of managers (please tick all that apply)? * Internal training sessions: 74.9% * Toolkits: 50.1% * Regular briefing sessions: 46.3% * Dedicated intranet site: 21.5% * Dedicated newsletter: 19.0% * External training sessions: 26.7% * Testing communication skills when recruiting: 14.3% * Other: 10.2% Said one participant: bq. Despite the fact that they are front-line facilitators for communication, we rarely bear line managers in mind until the process/strategy fails ... unfortunately these managers are usually promoted into the role rather than having earned the position through demonstrating the appropriate skill-set. Do you measure the communication performance of front-line managers? * Yes: 29.5% * No: 70.5% Said one participant: bq. Internal communication can simply NOT be effective without active involvement and endorsement from line managers. You can send out as many newsletters, e-mails, etc. as you want, and post as much information on the intranet as you can, but if managers don't talk about important news and information in meetings with their teams, or don't lead by example by supporting internal communication efforts, it all falls down. In our company, this is a big issue which will be our top focus in 2004. In your organization, which of the following does the communication performance of managers impact? * Their performance reviews: 35.1% * Their compensation: 1.1% * Both: 17.8% * Neither: 46%