A recent YouGov survey of 524 white-collar workers in the UK, commissioned by financial comms agency Financial Dynamics, found that only 15 per cent of respondents felt that their employer had communicated news about job security “very well”, while 37% said communication had been poor or non-existent.

And the worrying statistics don’t end there.

Less than half (48%) agreed that they had a clear picture of their company’s performance – with the ‘rumour mill’ seen as a more trustworthy source of information than official channels.

And when it comes to leadership communication, only 28% of respondents said they trusted messages from their chief executive more than “a little”, and just one third have regular face-to-face time with their superiors. Yet a significant 81% said that face-to-face contact with their line manager was the most trusted form of communication.

Nadia Kelly, director of PR at Ask Jeeves, warned: ‘Too many companies have turned their attention to protecting their external reputations during the recession at the expense of their internal reputation. But the two need to be absolutely integrated, especially in uncertain times such as these.’

For more information, read the PR Week article >

Melitta