JEDDAH, 13 May 2008 — A new study has revealed that managers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are not as good as they think they are at communicating their organization's business objectives to their employees.

The findings are published in Middle East Corporate Reputation Watch 2008 - Getting the Message Across, a survey of more than 500 managers and employees in the GCC conducted by leading communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton, using YouGov Siraj.

The study found that while 79 percent of Saudi managers believe they make a point of explaining their organization's strategic objectives to staff, only 47 percent of employees in Saudi Arabia feel that these objectives are properly explained to them. Only 45 percent of employees believe that their direct manager helps them to understand how their job connects to their company's business objectives.

More than a third (37 percent) of employees surveyed in the Kingdom do not feel that they receive the information they need to do their job well while 36 percent do not feel valued for the contribution they make.

While 98 percent of employees would like to develop their skills and advance professionally in their job, only 42 percent feel that the way to do this been properly explained to them.

Fran McElwaine, director of change and organizational communications, Hill & Knowlton Middle East, commented, "The Saudi Arabia findings are broadly consistent with the results in other GCC States. They suggest that, although managers in Saudi Arabia understand the importance of communicating with employees, many of them are failing to get the message across.

"This is a vitally important issue for corporate managers in this region. Companies are under pressure to lift productivity and it is becoming harder to attract and retain top talent. The ability to engage employees and align them with a company's strategic objectives is a key to better motivation, productivity and staff retention.

"International research suggests that highly engaged employees try 57 percent harder, perform 20 percent better and are 87 percent less likely to leave than the less engaged employees identified in the Hill & Knowlton study."

Many employees in Saudi Arabia also believe that their managers are simply not listening to them. Almost all managers (91 percent) agree with using staff feedback when making decisions. However, only 45 percent of employees believe that their manager usually acts on employee feedback.

Decision Deficit

A possible reason for the disconnect between managers and employees may be that many managers do not feel empowered to communicate, or even make, decisions.

Sixty-one percent of Saudi managers believe that making decisions increases the chances of being blamed if something goes wrong. One-fifth (20 percent) admit to following decisions made by others without fully thinking through the consequences. Forty-eight percent of managers believe that keeping a low profile at work will help ensure their position is safe.

An Information Vacuum

The lack of effective communication by managers has led many employees to look elsewhere for the information they need. Only 53 percent of Saudi Arabia employees think their manager is very useful for obtaining important information, while 46 percent rely on external media and friends for information about their job.

Managers themselves admit that the responsibility for communicating with employees is often pushed off to specialized departments such as marketing (25 percent), human resources (25 percent) or internal communications (38 percent).

Ten percent of Saudi managers say they don't know who is responsible for internal communications in their company. Twenty-seven percent of managers believe it is not necessary for staff members to understand how their job connects to their company's business objectives. Only 69 percent of managers in the Kingdom agree that it is a priority to keep staff members informed, compared with 86 percent of all managers across the GCC.

Alec Peck, general manager, Bahrain & Saudi Arabia, Hill & Knowlton Middle East, said, "The findings of the Middle East Corporate Reputation Watch 2008 indicate that organizations in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf generally can do a better job of structuring their internal communications effectively. There is real potential for companies across the region to improve morale and productivity by creating structures and systems for employee communication.

Importantly, there is also an opportunity to empower managers with the skills to cascade information down through their organization. To achieve this, managers need practical advice and the right tools so that they can communicate with employees in a way that is meaningful, relevant and accessible."