Executive Summary
Internal Communications Benchmark Survey 2008

POR 458-07
Contract Date: March 3^rd, 2008

Contract#: 08170-070684/001/CY

Prepared for
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 Sussex Drive
2^nd floor, "C" Tower
Ottawa (Ontario) K1A 0G2
Kevin.Chappell@international.gc.ca

Executive Summary

This report presents the results of research conducted by telephone and online with 700 DFAIT employees between March 29 and April 29, 2008. The objectives of this research were to set benchmarks for the internal communications function within the department, to identify different communications vehicles employees most use to obtain information, to understand their preferred methods of communication, and to evaluate new communications initiatives recently introduced (or potentially introduced) by the internal communications group. Outlined below are the major findings from this research.

• On the whole, employees believe they are well-informed about issues and initiatives (21% very well and 63% fairly well informed). Just over one in ten believe they are not very well informed, indicating that the ways in which the group is disseminating information are usually working to reach their intended audience.
• Further, there is a relatively high degree of satisfaction with the communications function. Almost nine in ten employees claim to be very or fairly satisfied with the internal communications function. This is related to the point above, the fact that most employees believe they are finding the information they are looking for at least most of the time.
• The research clearly points to the department's Intranet as the single-most used resource for information. In fact, over eight in ten employees surveyed say they use the Intranet to obtain information. Positively, eight in ten are very or fairly satisfied with the Intranet. Other methods of communication used by employees include Broadcast Messages, e-mail, and word-of-mouth, which are used by about half or less of employees.
• Employees point to areas where they don't believe they are receiving enough information. Specifically, these centre on organizational functions such as Federal Government policy changes, executive committee decisions, human resources updates, departmental changes, as well as staff accomplishments.
• Staff distinguishes between information they believe should be sent to them directly and other information that should be available. Critical information that they believe should be sent to them directly includes organizational information such as departmental changes and initiatives, administrative notices, and human resources updates. A majority of employees believe that all other types of information should be available, but does not need to be sent to them directly.
• Employees clearly like the current method of Broadcast Messages and few would like to revise how these are sent. In terms of Town Hall meetings, almost six in ten of employees claimed to have attended one and most of these individuals found the sessions to be very or fairly informative.
• Our World/Notre Monde garners readership of four in ten employees. Employees largely believe that it is a communication piece that is well-written and an appropriate length. Areas where they indicate the publication could improve on are on the appropriate frequency, its efficiency, timeliness and interest.

Overall, this data suggests that the internal communications function is working quite well. Looking specifically at potential areas for improvement, we suggest DFAIT focus on areas where employees feel they are not receiving adequate information. This includes information specifically pertaining to executive committee decisions, government-wide policies and decisions, human resources updates, and staff accomplishments. It is these areas where a plurality of employees believes they are not receiving adequate communications. As for the delivery mechanism, we would recommend that this type of information be sent to employees directly rather than be available, as a majority of staff identified this vehicle of communication for these kinds of information.