Human Resources: In A Troubled Economy, Executives Agree Effective Employee Communications Must Be Tailored

NEW YORK: June 2, 2009 – Doing business in a troubled economy is changing the way major corporations across the United States communicate with employees, according to a group of human resources (HR) and benefits communications leaders representing a wide array of industries and FORTUNE 500 companies. Attendees of a special Buck Consultants Communications Advisory Team (CAT) conference agreed that employee communications must be tailored, personal and unconventional.

“These are unprecedented times for many businesses and this was the first time we have convened a group of clients to share ideas on a particular issue of widespread concern,” said Donald R. Sanford, managing director of Buck Consultants’ Communication practice. “But as increasing jobless rates, and declining sales and consumer confidence continue to impact the workplace, Buck gathered a cross-section of its clients to share experiences and identify new opportunities and strategies.”

With a focus on improving communications service and tools, CAT sessions covered a wide array of subjects including enrollment communications, total rewards portals, interactive on-boarding tools, wellness and healthy living programs, retirement communication and other HR and benefits topics.

Key conclusions included the following:

· Employee communications must be tailored to succeed. It is essential to align communication programs with each organization’s corporate culture and objectives. In many cases, effective communications need to be tailored for specific sub-sets of employees.

· In a challenging economic environment, a “personal approach” to employee communications can help relieve employee anxiety. Layoffs cause concern and the workforce that remains can become less productive. CAT attendees cited how face-to-face communication by top leaders successfully outlined the steps to a new vision for the organization.

· The road to wellness is paved with customized strategies for success. To overcome the initial employee resistance many wellness programs experience, CAT attendees are developing unconventional approaches. These include targeting specific health issues, such as diabetes or breast cancer, and relating improved health to personal appearance or financial savings.

The CAT conference was developed and convened by Buck Consultants, an ACS company and one of the world’s leading human resource and benefits consulting firms. Feedback gathered during the CAT conference was consistent with a national survey developed by Accountemps and released in February 2009, which reported better communication as the most common way businesses are attempting to raise workplace morale. In that survey, 37 percent of executives said their company used increased and improved communication to improve employee morale.

About Buck Consultants
Buck Consultants, an ACS company, is a leader in human resource and benefits consulting with more than 1,500 professionals worldwide. Founded in 1916 to advise clients in establishing and funding some of the nation’s first public and private retirement programs, Buck is an innovator in the areas of retirement benefits, health and productivity programs, human capital management, compensation, and employee communication. News and other information about Buck Consultants are available at www.buckconsultants.com. Buck is an independent subsidiary of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.

ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with approximately 74,000 people supporting client operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process outsourcing and information technology solutions to world-class commercial and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." Learn more about ACS at www.acs-inc.com

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