What makes your employees tick?

Monday, August 08, 2005

Demographics - the means of distinguishing and describing the characteristics of a population - have long been applied to external communication. But only recently have they been used to shape employee communication. But why is this information important? Where can you find it within the organization? And how should you use it?

For several years employee communication consultancy Davis & Co. has been studying demographic trends. CEO Alison Davis offers an example of how demographics can shape attitudes - in this case, about communication. "People in their mid-40s or older grew up in an era before computers. They may use technology, but it doesn't necessarily come naturally to them.

The implication is that if a significant portion of your organization's workers are 40 or above, it's wise not to rely solely on electronic communication." According to Davis, communicators' knowledge should go beyond such commonalities as how many people work for the company. They should know: how many locations there are; how many employees have been with the company more than 20 years; and how many speak English. "These micro-demographics should inform how we communicate (for example, print vs. electronic vs. face to face) as well as what we communicate."

Where to find the information
The best source for demographic information within your organization is the HR or payroll department. The more sophisticated the database managed by HR, the more closely you can analyze demographics data. Unfortunately, many organizations don't centralize all their HR systems, which may require you to hunt down information.
While it's best to obtain data that's as accurate as possible, don't feel that you have to obsess over every detail. The point is to begin to paint a picture of the people in your organization, so you can develop better strategies for reaching them.


"How to apply demographics
Developing messages that resonate is never easy, but it's helpful to think about messages in the context of demographics. For example, a communicator at one pharmaceutical company gathered data that 45 percent of scientists in the R&D organization speak English as their second language. She used this to make her case for creating messages that are more straight forward and use less jargon.Another communicator went further and based on demographics such as education and job category determined that 60 percent of employees in his organization read at a 7th grade level. He convinced senior management to allow him to simplify messages - no more quasi-academic language.

Source: The above information is taken from an article in the latest issue of Strategic Communication Management, "Applying employee demographics."

Blogged on 4:59 AM by Upay

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