Dive Brief:
- Quartz reports that Infosys released a video with staff testifying that business at the India-based tech company is normal without a CEO and turmoil at the top. Former CEO Vishal Sikka left abruptly on Aug. 18 after three years at the helm, leaving top management in an upheaval and the company's stock in a frenzy.
- Infosys went into damage control mode following Sikka's departure, but hasn't yet found someone to head the company. Unidentified employees in the video, which was shared on Facebook and Twitter, gave "business is going on as usual" testimonies, says Quartz.
- Communications and marketing specialists criticized the video for not having an inspiring enough message, not being clear about its target audience and being untimely, now that the company has stabilized, says Quartz.
Dive Insight:
Communicating any bit of information to employees is always preferable to communicating nothing at all. But the information must be, above all, truthful, clearly stated, shared regularly and timely. In a highly connected world, both external and internal messaging will be watched closely by employees.
Organizations that don't communicate regularly or at all fuel the office grapevine. That's where 79% of employees say they get most of their information, according to a Generation Now study by Kollective. The void that unshared information forms is often filled by gossip and innuendo.
Studies also found that employees prefer to get information in face-to-face settings from the CEO, their supervisors and HR.
A majority of employees (75%) in an EmployeeChannel, Inc., study said that HR communicates with them "never or rarely." HR leaders can reverse this figure by leveraging their influence with CEOs and C-suite members to keep employees informed about strategic changes in their organizations. HR also can keep employees better informed about the topics they find the most complex, such as 401k plans and benefit options.