"Intranet is the lead medium for internal communication".
A recently completed survey of the one hundred largest companies - based on the number of employees in Switzerland - shows which channels are the most important for communicating with employees. Not surprisingly, the intranet is by far the most important channel, but 62% of companies still have a printed employee magazine.
For the first time, the Perikom fact check provides an accurate picture of the internal communication situation in large Swiss companies. A total of 150 companies were asked to take part in the survey. Only four of the largest hundred did not want to provide any information.
In a deliberately open question, Perikom asked about the "lead medium" in internal communication. The range of answers was broad: 60 companies stated "intranet" without a precise specification, while a few added and specified "emails to employees", "online magazine", "info screens" or "webcasts". Only four companies stated that they were working with apps or had already brought the intranet to their employees' smartphones. However, when asked, we learned that many companies have plans to do so.
The employee magazine was named as the sole lead medium in 20 percent of cases. If double mentions are included, the printed employee magazine is still seen as the lead medium by 40 percent. The category of offline media also includes the classic notice board, which was still named as a lead medium by five companies.
The fourth channel of internal communication, face-to-face or direct interpersonal communication, was only mentioned in five cases (employee information events).
Is the function of the person responsible for internal communication disappearing?
The survey also asked how many full-time positions in communications departments are dedicated to internal communications. One trend became clear: a clear allocation of tasks according to stakeholders is becoming increasingly rare. Mixed editorial teams are becoming more common, where the tasks for internal communication are taken on by different team members depending on the subject area (keyword newsroom). When asked about the FTEs spent, only eleven large companies report spending more than five percent of their workforce on internal communications. The majority devote one to two employee positions to this.
6 out of 10 companies still print an employee publication
The publications appearing in the green column are all printed. In addition, numerous companies publish online-only versions, usually in PDF format.
All printed versions are also available to employees in electronic form. Rarely in a complete online version, however, but in PDF format.
At least one full-time position
The information provided by the companies should be treated with caution for two reasons. Firstly, in addition to the stated resources within the communications department at Group level, many companies do not include resources in individual areas that are not included.
Secondly, the figures are often based on estimates. One trend is clearly emerging: in communications departments, individual employees are no longer assigned to employee communications alone, but to subject areas. This means that there is no longer a clear responsibility for the stakeholder "employees". The job title "Head of Internal Communications" is on the decline.
The list of the top 100 companies
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The study is based on the list of the hundred largest companies in terms of the number of employees in Switzerland. Since this list is no longer published by the Handelszeitung, this list is only available again with the Perikom Fact Check. It is based on the number of employees at the end of 2015. Under the following Link an abridged version of the fact check is available free of charge. |
