2015 Workplace Trends For Communicators
Poll Results Webinar
Dec. 9, 2014 Hosted by Dulye & Co. in partnership with IABC Heritage Region and PR Newswire
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Webinar Team
Linda Dulye@dulye
President & Founder Dulye & Co.
Gary Spondike@gspondy
Conference ChairIABC Heritage Region
Michael Pranikoff@mpranikoff
Global Director, Emerging Media PR Newswire
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
What We’ll Cover
� 2015 Research Overview
� Actual Results: 2015 Quantitative Data and Written Comments
� Comparatives: 2013 / 2014 / 2015 Results
� 5 Ways to Use this Data
Got a question? Tweet @mpranikoffJoin the conversation #2015CommTrends
Got a question? Tweet @mpranikoffJoin the conversation #2015CommTrends
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Poll Hosted by Dulye & Co. for Third YearEmployee Engagement
2-Way Communication Strategies
Pulse Check Measurement
Leadership Development
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
About The IABC Heritage Region
Among the largest of the IABC regions, serving 17 U.S. states plus Washington, D.C.
Supports IABC’s mission by:
1.Serving region members
2.Fostering organizational growth
3.Serving as a communication conduit
Forrest HughesDirector
IABC Heritage Region
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
2015 Research Overview:Process, Participation
and Key Takeaways
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
2015 Poll Process
� Develop poll: 12 questions about challenges, priorities, resources, metrics / 4 demographic questions
� Distribute link and conduct poll: Oct. 20 – Nov. 5, 2014
� Compile 210 responses and trend data
� Sort 456 written comments
� Present results today during live webinar!
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Terrific Response for 2015
136 108
210
0
50
100
150
200
250
2013 Poll(conducted in 2012)
2014 Poll(conducted in 2013)
2015 Poll(conducted in 2014)
Nu
mb
er
of
Re
sp
on
se
s
Workplace Trends Poll
Participation Tracker
Largest response in poll’s three year history!Largest response in poll’s three year history!
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Participation Demographics
VP (19)9%
Director (57)27%
Manager (54)26%
Specialist (44)21%
Other (37)18%
Level
Private sector (110)52%
Not-for-profit (42)
20%
Govt./ Public
sector (37)18%
Other (21)10%
Business/Organization
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Participation Demographics
1-5 (113)54%More
than 10 (52)25%
6-10 (43)21%
Greater than 1,000 (119)57%
Less than 100
(42)20%
101-500 (28)14%
501-1,000 (18)9%
Company Size # of employees
Communication Dept. Size
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
2015 Research: Key Takeaways
� Communication professionals rank employee engagement AND implementing new work tools/technology as top 2015 challenges. Not the case for their business leaders.
� “Strategic planning” is biggest priority for communication professionals.
� Consistency reigns! Regardless of their business size, industry or department size, communicators rank “employee engagement” as a top challenge and “strategic planning” as a top priority.
� When it comes to demonstrating value, most communicators say “employee engagement” is the result they must deliver in 2015.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
2015 Research: Key Takeaways
� Communicators see “business management experience” as paramount for career growth.
� Staffing and budgets for most communication departments are expected to be unchanged.
� 41% of respondents rarely or never receive executive-level funding for their communication programs.
� Financial performance is the ultimate metric for most communication leaders.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Actual Results: 2015 Quantitative Data
and Written Comments
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Biggest Workplace Challenges: CommunicatorsWhat are the top 2 challenges on your professional radar screen for 2015?
(Participants were asked to select 2 responses)
42%
42%
24%
20%
19%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
employee engagement
work tools/technology
innovation and product/servicepipeline
business development
leader development
Note: This is the first year that ‘work tools/technology’ was included as a response choice for this poll question.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Biggest Workplace Challenges: Executive TeamWhat are the top 2 challenges on your company’s Executive Team’s radar screen for
2015? (Participants were asked to select 2 responses)
47%
39%
27%
18%
17%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
business development
innovation and product/servicepipeline
customer satisfaction
economic uncertainty
competition threats
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Face-Off: Top 5 Challenges for 2015
Communication Professionals
1. Employee engagement
2. Work tools/technology3. Innovation4. Business development5. Leader development
Executive Team(as rated by communication professionals)
1. Business development
2. Innovation3. Customer satisfaction4. Economic uncertainty5. Competition threats
Significant variation! Significant variation!
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
More Variation! Among Communicators
32%
39%45%
52%
0%
50%
100%
VicePresident
SpecialistDirectorManager
%o
f re
sp
on
ses w
ith
e
ng
ag
em
en
t a
s to
p p
rio
rity
Different perspective from the top!Different perspective from the top!
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communicators’ Top 5 PrioritiesIdentify your top two priorities for 2015 as a communication leader.
(Participants were asked to select 2 responses)
37%
32%
28%
28%
24%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
strategic planning
metrics and measurement
employee engagement
work tools/technology
personal development
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communication Budget
59%
21%
20%
0% 50% 100%
Unchanged
More
Less
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communication Staffing
70%
21%
10%
0% 50% 100%
Unchanged
More
Less
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communication Funding / SupportTo what extent are communication programs/practices where you work funded by the
CEO, President or other Senior Leader outside of the HR or Communication Depts.?
39%
31%
20%
10%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Sometimes
Rarely
Often
Never
Note: This question was introduced for the first time this year in the 2015 Workplace Trends Poll.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communicators’ Professional DevelopmentWhat skills or expertise do you feel is most important for a communication
professional to become or remain a member of senior management?
40%
22%
18%
11%
2%
8%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Business management experience
Analytical skills
Networking skills
Industry experience
Financial skills
Other
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communicators’ Work Relationships
3.4
3.0
3.4
1 2 3 4
With your direct boss
With your company/organization’s C-suite leaders
With colleagues in otherdepartments
Non-existent Excellent
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Written Comments: Communicator Deliverables
36
32
23
17
17
17
12
7
23
0 10 20 30 40
Employee engagement
Business development/bottom line
Customer satisfaction
Marketing/brand awareness
Employee understanding of strategy/goals
Work tools/technology
Better communication practices
Staff/leader development
Other
Number of Responses
In your role as a communication leader, what is the #1 result that you are responsible
for delivering in 2015?
Total: 184
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Written Comments: Performance Metrics
37
27
21
20
18
12
11
6
6
5
17
0 20 40
Sales/financial performance
Survey/focus group results
Employee engagement/satisfaction/participation
Multiple metrics
Web analytics/use of online tools
Customer satisfaction
No metric established
Project completion/meeting deadlines
Informal feedback
External stakeholder awareness
Other
Number of Responses
In your role as a communication leader, what is the metric that will be used to track
and measure performance?
Total: 180
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Biggest Workplace Challenges: CommunicatorsWhat are the top 2 challenges on your professional radar screen?
Top 5 responses by year.
2013
1. Employee engagement 39%
2. Business development 36%
3. Economic uncertainty 33%
4. Innovation 25%
5. Customer satisfaction 20%
2014
1. Employee engagement 45%
2. Customer satisfaction 35%
3. Business development 34%
4. Economic uncertainty 21%
5. Innovation 16%
2015
1. Employee engagement 42%
2. Work tools/technology 42%
3. Innovation 24%
4. Business development 20%
5. Leader development 19%
Communicators still rank “employee engagement” as the #1 challenge. However, after being introduced as a response choice for this question in the
2015 poll, “work tools/technology” gains favor.
Communicators still rank “employee engagement” as the #1 challenge. However, after being introduced as a response choice for this question in the
2015 poll, “work tools/technology” gains favor.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Biggest Workplace Challenges: ExecutivesWhat are the top 2 challenges on your company’s Executive Team radar screen?
Top 5 responses by year.
2013
1. Business development48%
2. Economic uncertainty40%
3. Innovation31%
4. Customer satisfaction25%
5. Competition threats14%
2014
1. Business development48%
2. Innovation37%
3. Economic uncertainty29%
4. Customer satisfaction29%
5. Talent recruitment17%
2015
1. Business development47%
2. Innovation39%
3. Customer satisfaction27%
4. Economic uncertainty18%
5. Competition threats17%
“Business development” continues as the #1 challenge for executives, and concerns about the economy continue to wane.
“Business development” continues as the #1 challenge for executives, and concerns about the economy continue to wane.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communicators’ Top 5 PrioritiesIdentify your top two priorities as a communication leader.
Top 5 responses by year.
2013
1. Strategic Planning42%
2. Employee engagement26%
3. Personal development26%
4. Metrics/measurement26%
5. Work tools/technology24%
2014
1. Strategic Planning39%
2. Personal development33%
3. Employee engagement30%
4. Metrics/measurement30%
5. Work tools/technology23%
2015
1. Strategic planning37%
2. Metrics/measurement32%
3. Employee engagement28%
4. Work tools/technology28%
5. Personal development24%
Communicators consistently cite the same top 5 priorities for the past 3 years, with “strategic planning” holding the top spot.
Communicators consistently cite the same top 5 priorities for the past 3 years, with “strategic planning” holding the top spot.
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communication Budget
52%
17%
31%
61%
16%
23%
59%
21%
20%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Unchanged
More
Less
2013 2014 2015
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Communication Staffing
71%
14%
15%
61%
16%
23%
70%
21%
10%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Unchanged
More
Less
2013 2014 2015
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
How To Get This Research
View 2015 Poll results at:
dulye.com/2015workplacetrends
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
How To Use This Research
1. Share the data with colleagues, your boss and line-of-business clients
2. Compare it with hard data from your organization. If you don’t have hard data, get it.
3. Re-examine the direction of your 2015 strategic plan
4. Evaluate your engagement metrics. Do they measure what matters for the business?
5. Step up executive coaching on the engagement mandate
© 2014 Dulye & Co. Proprietary #2015CommTrends
Thank You! Any Questions?
The entire contents of this presentation are proprietary to Dulye & Co. This material may not be copied or reproduced for any purpose. Any reproduction or disclosure requires the prior consent of Dulye & Co.
For more information, please contact Roger Gibboni, COO, at 845-987-7744, [email protected].
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