Study: Top-performing companies communicate better

The real surprise: What a big difference good internal communication makes to the market value of the company and its shareholder return

A new study by Watson Wyatt of 264 American companies has discovered that companies who do effective internal communication earned a 47 percent higher total return to their shareholders in the period 2002 to 2006 than companies who were in the “least effective communication” grouping.

Six characteristics of high-performance companies

1. Their managers and workers focus on customer needs

2. They engage employees in running the business

3. They help managers communicate well

4. They hire superior internal communicators who manage change effectively

5. They measure the effect of employee communication

6. They brand their employee experience