More than a third of employers plan to increase communication with employees about pay and benefits in the next 12 months as businesses learn to cope in a new economic environment, according to a new survey.
An entire industry of surveys seems to have popped up in recent weeks in response to the financial crisis that has now spread from the U.S. to other parts of the globe. This poll was conducted in mid-October by the human-resources consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
The survey finds that 37 percent of respondents will increase communication about pay and 35 percent will say more about benefits.
“Employees are obviously concerned about the impact of the financial crisis,” according to Kathryn Yates, global director of communication consulting at Watson Wyatt. “Enhanced communication from employers in areas such as pay and benefits can go a long way toward easing some of that anxiety.”
Yes, but are business leaders saying things that will ease workers’ anxieties? And should they?
The same survey says 28 percent of employers have reduced their merit-pay budgets for 2009 due to the financial crisis. It also says 26 percent are planning layoffs and 25 percent expect to increase employees’ contributions to health care premiums.
I would argue that increasing communication about pay and benefits -- even if the communication is “bad news” -- might not ease anxiety, but perhaps easing anxiety should not be the main communication goal right now. Instead, perhaps the goal of communicating about pay and benefits should be to build employees’ trust in management -- to make a deposit in the goodwill account for when times get really tough.
Employees are going to worry right now and they have every reason to do so.
These are difficult times. Business leaders should allow some degree of anxiety to occur and maybe even provide a forum to let employees express it. Business leaders should speak candidly about what the organization is doing to navigate the troubled waters. They should be up front about layoffs and cost-reduction measures, if they are in the works. They should commit to continued communication as additional plans are firmed up and as new information becomes available.
However, this is not a time to tell employees how lucky they are to work for a company that provides such excellent pay and benefits. It’s not a time to remind workers how long it’s been since the last layoff or pay freeze. It’s not a good time to compare your organization’s benefits programs with those of other employers.
Employees will remember how business leaders communicated during the tough times as much as, if not more than, they will remember what business leaders communicated. Employees’ anxiety is a relatively short-term condition. Employees’ trust in senior management is a longer-term issue.
Robert J. Holland owns Holland Communication Solutions LLC in Mechanicsville. He works with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses to help them develop communication programs that support business goals. He is also available to speak to business groups about workplace communication. You can reach him at robert@hollandcomm.com, at www.hollandcomm.com, or by calling (804) 368-0312.