The past four years have seen significant change in the communications environment, particularly as it relates to the role and remit of the communications executive.
Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in prominence of social justice issues initially motivated by the death of George Floyd, communications and corporate affairs executives stepped up to counsel the C-suite on stakeholder responses – including broader guidance around pandemic-related concerns and stances taken on racial justice and other social issues. An array of issue-based pledges and commitments put new scrutiny on corporations in the public arena, putting communicators in the hot-seat when it came to steering company leadership.
The pendulum has since swung back on social issues. Political polarization in the U.S. is at an all-time high, and increased public pressure from conservative activists like Robby Starbuck has made C-suite leaders more cautious on social issues. Employee activism has increasingly been met with a firm hand from corporations, and leaders have taken a harder stance on return-to-office mandates. In our work as counselors and advisors to the functional structure of the communications organization, we had one overarching question: Where does this environment leave the communications leader?
We spoke anonymously with a dozen large-company communications leaders with an eye toward assessing the change in scope, role, remit, function, and design for the communications organization associated with the myriad changes observed since 2020.
A natural straw man hypothesis for our research was that communications leaders might fade back into the background under a more cautious posture from their leadership. Instead, what we found was a more nuanced position, both more valuable and vulnerable than ever before. The past several years have heralded closer alignment between corporate communications and the rest of the C-suite. As their role has become more elevated, communications leaders have nonetheless been dependent on the CEO for position and influence. This piece has not changed: Specifically, many reported a refocusing on the “nuts and bolts” of the business, with fewer calories burned on issues and pledges, but more dialogue on the long-term advantage of purpose-based initiatives.
Our interviews revealed a shifting CEO agenda dictating changes to the communications function. Our interviewees pointed to a more complex regulatory environment, which has drawn the C-suite more deeply into the political environment under guidance from a broader corporate affairs function. They pointed to the pace of change, particularly as it relates to the rise of artificial intelligence, as a key mover on functional and structural organization. They called out the centralization and consolidation of businesses, and a broader trend toward efficiency and supply chain resilience, as driving factors both in their own organizations and in those they serve. And they spoke at length about the role of employee activism, particularly around core labor issues – pay equity, hours and working conditions, bargaining rights – which dictate new considerations and questions about the role and accountabilities of corporate leadership.
In 2014, United Minds first discovered an important global trend in brand reputation: employees in countries worldwide were – unprompted – speaking out on behalf of their organizations using their nascent social media platforms. Ten years and two additional studies later, we checked back on the state of employee activism, from current levels of engagement to perspectives on leadership. Our findings span 14 countries across six continents.
What we found should leave every employer asking how they can continue to upend and recalibrate employee engagement efforts so that they earn value and drive maximum impact: on satisfaction, on retention, on productivity and on advocacy.
Tech employees are motivated and satisfied, but wary of leadership and change.
United Minds asked employees across a number of industries about their experience at work, including relationships with colleagues, the organization and leadership. Across all industries people have positive sentiments towards their experience – 66% of people rate their experience as being positive. Of all the sectors we sampled, Tech had the most satisfied people. 77% of the people we spoke to in the Tech industry rated their experience positively.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, tech employees are the least likely to be open to new opportunities, with 29% saying they would be willing to chance jobs tomorrow vs. the 40% benchmark. At the same time, they are significantly more open to joining a union (58% vs. Benchmark 46%).
Gen Z employees are more optimistic, less satisfied and ready to take a stand.
In our latest study tracking 10 years of employee sentiments, we discovered most generations agree across 50 different statements. The good news is their experiences are largely positive—and yet, Gen Z (46%) along with Millennials (48%) are the most open to changing jobs tomorrow if they had the chance (vs. Benchmark 40%).
Low engagement for healthcare employees makes leaders’ fears of retention real. Over the past decade, our research proves that employee engagement has gone up across multiple industries, using a benchmark of 50 statements about workplace experience.
That’s good news for employees, right? For the most part, it is, but there’s one industry that lags behind: Healthcare.
Across industries, employees’ average agreement with 50 positive statements about workplace experience, organization and leadership is 66%. But for employees who work in healthcare, that rate is significantly lower at only 54% (-12%).
Download our Employees Rising Healthcare Briefing to review key findings of where healthcare employees’ experience in the workplace lags significantly behind the average of all employees and what this means for healthcare leaders.
In 2014, United Minds first discovered an important global trend in brand reputation: employees in countries worldwide were – unprompted – speaking out on behalf of their organizations using their nascent social media platforms.
By 2017, we observed that the balance of employee advocacy had shifted more toward employee activism. This was fueled by a gap between what the company presented about itself externally and the actual experience of working there, which was a threat that leaders needed to be aware of and address.
In the midst of global upheaval – 2021 – we found that employees were searching for purpose and the ability to make an impact on the workplace.
These prescient findings appeared in our first study, Employees Rising: Seizing the Opportunity in Employee Activism (2014), our follow-up study, The Employer Brand Credibility Gap: Bridging the Divide (2017) and our next study, The Contribution Effect (2021).
Spurred by the findings of these studies, we checked back on the state of employee activism, from current levels of engagement to perspectives on leadership. Our findings span 14 countries across six continents.
What we found will surprise you.
It will also likely leave every employer asking how they can continue to upend and recalibrate employee engagement efforts so that they earn value and drive maximum impact: on satisfaction, on retention, on productivity and on advocacy.
Thank you for reading – let us know what you think. We look forward to hearing from you!
There are no safe topics for CEOs today – but not speaking up may do more harm than good. Stakeholders from all sides continue to press corporate leaders to take a position on a range of societal issues, but leaders find themselves boxed in by conflicting expectations.
In the last five years it has become increasingly common to see CEOs take public positions on societal issues and events to demonstrate they, and the companies they lead, are in touch, engaged and empathetic. Which issues require or benefit from executive acknowledgement is still up for debate, but in the multistakeholder landscape in which all companies operate, balancing the positions, preferences and expectations of diverse stakeholder groups makes the determinations of when, how and to whom that much more complicated.
To bring some insight and clarity to the ongoing challenge of multistakeholder issue engagement, Myriant by United Minds, in collaboration with the USC Annenberg School fielded a survey in February-March 2024 exploring the question of whether and how companies should continue to take public, or even internal, positions on potentially divisive societal issues from sustainability, DE&I, and reproductive rights, to the 2024 election and climate change.
Brand and reputation are now inextricably linked to overall performance. As stewards of these critical business metrics –once considered “nice-to-have” –communication leaders are more empowered than ever to provide strategic impact and value by managing relationships with and improving perceptions across key stakeholder groups.
Recent research by United Minds and its partners demonstrates the growing strategic value of the communications function, as well as areas of focus for its leaders to continue to positively impact business results.
Our research shows…
- As expectations of businesses and leaders grow, so too do opportunities for communicators.
- Communications leaders recognize the rapidly increasing importance of reputation to achieving business goals.
- Over the next five years, communications leaders believe reputation will become even more critical to business success.
- Communications leaders (generally) understand what stakeholders consider most important in next five years.
- When it comes to engaging around societal issues especially, communications leaders are more attuned to stakeholder expectations than other executives.
The time is now to ensure this important function is central to future business strategy. Download the full report below.
The last three years have tested organizations in ways previously unthought of. In fact, it could be argued that the job description for C-Suite Leaders has been rewritten entirely; focusing on running a successful business today means being able to understand –and engage with –an ever-growing list of stakeholders on issues related not only to operations but broader impact. And employees have solidified their position at the top of this list.
In the fall of 2022, United Minds partnered with KRC Research to survey over 100 global executives on their 2023 priorities in order to understand how leaders are navigating these new expectations. Separately, KRC Research polled 500+ working adults across America on current events and on-going trends impacting the workplace, including perceptions of leader performance.
The results of these polls have significant implications for the mutual compact between employees and employers as they continue to navigate future uncertainty, and especially in the context of defining future ways of working.
As we consider the future of work post-pandemic, much debate is taking place when it comes to employee power and preference in the workplace. And especially when it comes to employee’s expectations that many consider to vary widely depending on time in the workforce.
So, are these generations really that different?
To find out, United Minds and KRC Research conducted a national survey of 1,049 adults 18 years and older who are employed full-or part-time (not including self-employed) in the United States. Participants were asked their philosophies about work; management aspirations; preferences regarding in-person or remote settings; willingness to go above and beyond a job description; and how they rank things like compensation, professional development, title, impact, flexibility, recognition and benefits.