Companies Missing the Mark on Communicating to Employees

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 33% of employees overall are satisfied with the quality and quantity of communications from their employer, according to a global study released today by Jack Morton Worldwide. The study also revealed that employers should be using experiential marketing -- an increasingly prominent means of marketing to consumers -- to engage and motivate employees, given the high marks staff give to live events.

"The best way to build a business is from the inside out," said Josh McCall, CEO of Jack Morton Worldwide. "Companies spend a tremendous amount of money communicating externally about their business and their brand. However, they are missing a critically important audience when they don't invest resources and creativity in communicating to their employees, who have the potential to be hugely influential ambassadors for their business."

Key insights from Jack Morton's study, an online survey of 1,625 respondents, ages 18-65, in the US, UK, Australia and China, include:

  -- 67% of employees surveyed are dissatisfied with how their employers
     currently engage them. 31% say employers do not communicate enough; 36%
     would like more engaging and interactive communications.
  -- 86% say that participating in a live experience is more engaging than
     other forms of employee communication
  -- 84% agreed that live experiences provide more information than other
     forms of employee communication
  -- 84% of respondents reporting that events would be likely to influence
     performance
  -- 86% of respondents said that an event would cause them to talk about
     their company to their peers and others outside of the organization

Data was independently collected by a third-party research partner between May 1 and May 7, 2006. Jack Morton's white paper reporting the results is available online at http://www.jackmorton.com/.

Jack Morton Worldwide is a global experiential marketing agency that helps clients build brands, increase sales and engage their most important audiences. The agency creates live events, branded environments and interactive experiences for employee, business and consumer audiences. Additionally, Jack Morton is the world's leading producer of award-winning arena-scale celebrations such as the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games ceremonies. Jack Morton has a staff of 600 employees throughout the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) . More information is available online at http://www.jackmorton.com/