Partner Article

Engage on social media or lose staff, says new report

Internal communications teams are failing to engage with employees due to a lack of social media integration, according to recent research commissioned by VMA Executive - the global search arm of corporate communications recruiter, VMA Group. In this increasingly competitive talent environment, businesses risk losing staff to competitors as a result.

In its latest Business Leaders in Communications Study 2014/15, VMA Executive found that there are still a large number of businesses failing to utilise these online tools to communicate with employees. The report – which surveyed over 250 communications leaders across Europe – revealed that a worryingly small proportion (38%) of participants agree that social networking platforms are integral to internal communications. This is particularly concerning given that 95% of respondents cited employees as one of their key audiences – equal to the media (95%), and above customers (92%).

David Broome, Executive Director of VMA Executive, commented on the results:

“Recruiters and businesses alike invest significant resources in social media engagement to attract talent from competitors. Companies that don’t invest similar resources in talent retention will leak staff and be left behind. When we also consider that such a large number of communications leaders identified employees as a key audience, a real opportunity is being missed by failing to integrate social media into internal communications strategies in order to retain staff.

“Recent figures also suggest that over half of employees post messages, pictures or videos on social media about their employer, and more than a third have shared praise or positive comments online. Clearly then, internal communications teams should be utilising similar platforms to engage with, and ultimately retain, their employees.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by VMA Group .