Make your leaders better communicators

More than frontline managers, more than pay
 
So there’s never been a more important time to help leaders to become more effective communicators and help is at hand with Melcrum's research report: Effective communication from the top.

Download your free executive summary of the report's key findings

• Find out how to improve employee engagement levels by making leaders better communicators
• Get practical advice on how to convince your senior leaders that good communication is essential
• Save time by implementing ready-to-use tools, techniques and long-term strategies
• Learn how leaders can adopt new ways to connect with employees on a personal level and engage in two-way dialogue
• Know how to better advise your leaders: Effective communication is more than making speeches
• Learn which tools are most effective and how new media can help leaders connect with employees
• Maximize the effectiveness of face-to-face meetings and channels
  
  

How important is good communication from the top?

• Over 70% of respondents feel that senior leaders communicating a clear vision of the future is a critical action to build engagement
• 48% feel the actions of senior leaders are the single most influential factor in driving engagement
• Only 51% of employees have trust and confidence in the senior management of their companies (source: Watson Wyatt)
• Only 44% of employees believe senior leaders are trying to “do their best” for their employees
• In our survey of over 1,000 communication and HR professionals, “actions of senior leadership” was rated as the most important driver of employee engagement.
  
  

“We have directly adopted the idea of a senior manager blogging about his first 100 days at the company, and we use the statistics as benchmark information in internal comms workshops.”
Minna Mertanen, Corporate Communications, Nokia

“This report has helped convince my CEO of the need to increase the role of senior leaders in communication.”
Wandile Zote, Internal Communications, Holcim South Africa

This report is packed with:

• Statistics you can use to support your business case in reports and presentations
• Tips and tools to improve your senior leaders’ communication
• Best-practice processes and models you can apply to your work
• Detailed case studies from leading companies you can benchmark your programs against
• Expert analysis from top thought leaders
• In-depth leadership models to help you understand your senior leaders’ behavior and enhance their performance
• Advice on how new technology can aid communication

Case study companies include:

• Bayer - Helping leaders benchmark their presentation skills
• AstraZeneca - Making executive face-to-face communication work
• Scottish Power - Developing a company-wide leadership model and making senior managers an integrated leadership team
• Maclellan - Executive coaching to revitalize the top team
• Alcatel - Encouraging leaders to share their communication insight, getting the most out of executive voicemails and encouraging tough questions during skip-level meetings
• AAA-CSAA - Getting senior leaders to drive company values
• Marconi - Measuring employees' perceptions of the executive team, shifting from a top-down to a more inclusive approach and making the most out of CEO site visits
• Eastman Chemical Company - Holding leaders accountable and managing online Q&A
• GlaxoSmithKline - Managing the CEO's online presence
• Roche - A newsletter specifically for senior managers
• Norwich Union - Ingredients for a successful roadshow

Plus extensive interviews with thought leaders including:

• Richard Miller - Top tips for driving upward communication
• Jim Shaffer - Actions speak louder than words
• Angela Sinickas - Shaping staff perceptions of leaders and engaging employees during site walkabouts
• Ayelet Baron - Helping executives to maximize their time together
• Alaric Mostyn - The love-hate relationship with leaders
• John Clemons - A roadshow checklist
• Jamie Walters - Five tips to help you become a more effective coach to senior leaders
• Jennifer Kavanagh - Tips on how to confront an aggressive leader
• Syndine St John - Communicating bad news to the CEO
• Christopher Hannegan - Tips for leadership blogs
  

* Source: Employee Engagement Report, Melcrum Publishing, 2005