New organisational communication survey reveals that Bosses are not listening

ALEXANDRIA, Va. and PRINCETON, N.J. óMany organizations are failing when it comes to ìupward communicationîóthe feedback from employees to managementóaccording to the new Organizational Communication Survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and CareerJournal.com, The Wall Street Journalís executive career site.



Just over half (59%) of employees felt that their organizations listened to what they had to say. Organizations fared better with their ability to conduct ìdownward communicationîóor messages coming from management to employeesówith 68% of employees and 66% of HR professionals agreeing or strongly agreeing that their organization communicates its business plan and goals to its staff well.

Fewer than half (46%) of all surveyed HR professionals reported that their organizations collected employee opinions. Of the HR professionals who used staff feedback forms, 86% rated the effectiveness of these interactions as ìgoodî or ìvery good.î

ìCommunication is an important key to maintaining a successful relationship between an organization and its employees. Organizations that communicate effectively outpace organizations that donít,î said Tony Lee, publisher, CareerJournal.com. ìCompanies should be more proactive in collecting employee feedback and establishing vehicles for employees to express their concerns.î

Eighty percent (80%) of HR professionals felt that their organizations were open to suggestions and improvements from employees, compared with 66% of employees.

ìClear communication must be among the highest priorities in any organization,î said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, president and chief executive officer of SHRM. ìWhen employees believe their ideas and concerns have been heard, they are more invested in their contribution to the success of the organization.î

The survey also reported that more than 70% of employees and HR professionals groups rated their management as either ìextremely trustworthyî or ìmoderately trustworthy,î with employees (32%) more likely to rate their management as ìextremely trustworthyî than HR professionals (18%).

SHRM and CareerJournal.com conducted the survey to determine perceptions about organizational communication from the perspectives of both HR professionals and employees. The survey questions were emailed to randomly selected SHRM members, yielding 347 responses from HR professionals. Employee data was gathered from a convenience sample of CareerJournal.com Web site visitors through a pop-up window directing them to the online poll bearing 435 responses.