Companies Must Adapt Internal Communication as Demographics Change, Baylor Study Finds
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WACO, Texas (Feb. 9, 2016) — As baby boomers retire and an increasing number of millennials enter the workforce, internal communicators must adapt to accommodate the shift of generations, the rise of internal social media and the development of metrics to determine employee engagement, according to a Baylor University study.
“Collectively, these issues appear to be strengthening the power and demand for strategic internal communication,” said researcher Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., assistant professor of journalism, public relations and new media in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences.
These changes are highlighted in the article “Emerging Issues in Internal Communications: Generational Shifts, Internal Social Media & Engagement,” published in the Public Relations Journal. It contains research gathered from 32 interviews with executives from companies listed among Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” as well as other reputable companies and organizations. Internal communication was studied within 26 companies and organizations representing 11 states and the District of Columbia.
Neill said that a number of trends “indicate a move to a more strategic role for internal communication and more dialogue with employees rather than one-way communication.” Those developments include:
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