Communicating to Management Monica Mueller May 19, 2003.

Communicating to Management

Monica MuellerMay 19, 2003

The Company

Andersen Corporation Andersen Windows, Renewal by Andersen,

five other divisions 100-year-old company Privately owned Largest window manufacturer in the world 8,500 office and production employees

across 28 locations

The Issue

Managers are key drivers of communication

Communicate corporate strategies to employees, tie into department and individual goals

Do managers have what they need to help employees make this connection?

Background

Corporate Communications Department formed in 1999

Tools launched in 2000 to help in communicating to middle management E-mail messages to managers Update Meetings for managers Manager’s Toolkit Online

Why do this research?

To determine if current methods are working

To uncover best practices

Research Question

Do current communications to management provide managers with the information they need to communicate corporate strategies to their employees?

The Study

Sample Population Approximately 548 managers and

supervisors

Survey Design 16 questions Web-based survey Sent through link from e-mail

The Study Questions

Overall Communications to Managers

Communication of Corporate Strategies to Managers

Demographic Information

The Study Responses

Sample size 548

Number of returned surveys

204

Response rate 37%

Employees Supervised 63% supervise five or more employees

Length of time as manager

50% five or fewer years

Employed at Andersen 46% - fifteen or fewer years 54% - fifteen or more years

Demographics of Respondents

The Results

Select level of agreement on how effective the resource is for you to receive communications

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

E-mail Messages Update Meetings Online Toolkit

Management Resources

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of

Re

sp

on

de

nts

Very Effective

Effective

No Opinion

Ineffective

Very Ineffective

90%

58%

96%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Keeps me fairlywell informed

Keeps meadequatelyinformed

Keeps me fullyinformed

Gives me onlylimited

information

Doesn't tell memuch at all

Level of knowledge

Pe

rce

nt

Re

sp

on

din

g

10%

50%

34%

5%0%

The Results

Overall, which best describes your impression of communication you receive from resources

Method Percent of Sample

E-mail messages 94%

Meetings - Management Update Meetings

59%

In-Person meetings with your leader

53%

Intranet- Manager's Toolkit Online

28%

Print - Memos, The Frame Maker, Employee Annual Report

16%

The Results

Select your preferred method of receiving management communications

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Frequency of Communication

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of

Re

sp

on

de

nts

The Results

How frequently do you discuss corporate strategies with your employees?

30% 28%

20%

16%

5%

0% 0% 0%

141

119

96

49

158

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Team ordepartmentmeetings

One-on-onemeetings

Informalinteraction

E-mail Over the phone Voice mail

Discussion method

Nu

mb

er

of

Re

sp

on

de

nts

The Results

How do you discuss corporate strategies with your employees?

Choice Percent of Sample

Management E-mail Messages 83%

Management Update Meetings 82%

Manager’s Toolkit Online 24%

The Results

Information from which tool do you use to discuss corporate strategies with employees?

Managers Thoughts on Communications

Managers said: “Push” communications to them, they

do not want to have to look for information

Communicate in a timely manner and consistently update materials

Communicate clearly how projects/tactics align with corporate strategies

Corporate Communications Responds

1. Reframe e-mail messages and Update meetings to clearly identify projects and tactics along with strategies

2. Ensure messages are pushed to managers by providing links, documents

3. Evaluate and restructure Manager’s Toolkit Online so information is kept current

In Conclusion

Study showed that current communications to managers do provide them with the information they need to communicate corporate strategies to their employees, but improvements can be made. Increase number of managers who feel they

are fully informed Increase usage and value of Manager’s Toolkit

Online

Questions?

Thank You