Change is common in today’s business world and according to a report by CEB, 84% of workers have experienced a recent corporate change, ranging from management restructuring to employee layoffs and everything in between. However, two-thirds of employees report that they don’t receive enough information when their companies go through these operational shifts. This creates problems. Rates of misconduct can increase by 42% due to this lack of communication.
Further, “these changes have significant impact on employee morale, engagement and motivation, which affects a company’s productivity and retention,” said Abbott Martin, research director at CEB. Even worse, the cost of failing to communicate with employees costs money. CEB research illustrates that companies that communicate with their employees see shareholder returns of 7.9%, where companies without effective communication experience returns of only 2.1%.
“If compliance officers and HR executives want to drive engagement and create a culture of integrity, they must begin asking themselves when and how they can communicate to most effectively influence employee behavior during these critical times of change,” said Martin.