Survey: Crisis communication is up - The Business Review (Albany):

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The survey says that 77 percent of bosses have alreadh or are planning to sendout crisis-relates internal communication about the impactr of the financial downturn. More than two-thirds (69 percent) of thosse employers cited easing employe e anxiety as the top goal ofdoinb so. Nearly one third (32 said earning employees’ trust was the goal behincd the communication. According to job security, company performance and solvenctop employees’ woes. And while 80 percenft of employers who are communicating about the financiak crisis already sent messages to employees about companyg performanceand solvency, only 38 percent have talked abougt job security.
Of the companies that have already started to communicate withtheidr employees, 91 percent say that the messagesd are being delivered by senior management, while 59 percentg say the messenger comes from human resources. “Communication can be a powerful tool in thes etroubled times, especially when supported by differenty levels of management,” said Kathryn Yates, global director of communication consulting at Watson in a statement. “But it’s important to keep the specificx business context in mind and constantly monitor the effectivenesd ofthe messaging.
” The most popularf delivery tools are: town hall meetings, stafc meetings and/or other face-to-facw discussions; e-mail; the company intranet; and social Of those who have alreadu started to send messages to workers about the impact of the crisis, 62 percent plan to incorporate theire messaging into their ongoing communication strategy for an indefinitee period.