Where CEOs and comms leaders align on the state of the workplace

The best leaders know how to distill an idea down into a cleanly packaged, easy-to-understand message that resonates with a given audience. Whether you’re a CEO, CCO, or manager, communication skills are essential for leaders in today’s workplace.

But with so much change in the world of work over the past five years it’s worth asking — where do comms priorities for leaders stand now?

Ragan and a leading research firm HarrisX answer some of the most pressing questions about today’s workplace through the 4th Annual Survey of Communications Leaders. The report collected responses from 437 CEOs and other comms leaders to gauge their perspectives on how communications tie business priorities, employer reputation, and hybrid work tie together. A deeper analysis of where leaders do and don’t align on given issues sheds light on how you can better communicate and lead in a workplace with shifting norms.

CEOs and other leaders both prioritize employee comms

Leaders were asked to rank the comms functions that were the most valuable to the organization. Both CEOs and other comms leaders ranked employee communications as a top priority.

The biggest divide exists among the value of employee wellness. 29% of CEOs ranked employee wellness as a top 3 priority, while it didn’t make the top five for other comms leaders.

This suggests that CEOs, who have their finger on the pulse of the business every day, believe that employee wellness has an impact on the bottom line and company perception. And it’s contrary to much of the criticism of the wellness industry in 2024.

For example, when a CEO announces a wellness initiative like Summer Fridays, it’s more likely to resonate throughout the ranks of the organization and in turn, impact the employer brand. The stronger the employer brand, the better the employer’s reputation. The better the employer’s reputation, the better chance there is to hire top talent, and the better opportunities there will be for bottom-line growth. When wellness messages come from the top (and are echoed by other comms leaders), they set a cultural precedent that helps shape a positive workplace.

All leaders support hybrid work

Over the past year, we’ve seen a big push in RTO processes that call employees back to their desks full-time or part-time. When motivations for RTO include a perceived need for increased productivity or maximizing ROI, a leader’s stance on workplace arrangements stands to have a major impact on employee trust in leadership.

The survey revealed some interesting patterns regarding what workplace policies the leaders’ companies used and the ones they thought should be implemented, including:

• 11% of leaders said their companies currently work remotely, while 12% said they should do so.
• 59% of leaders said they work on a hybrid schedule, while 63% said they should do so (both figures are 4 percentage point year-over-year increases).
• 30% of leaders said their organizations work in the office full time, while 25% said they should do so (both figures are slight drops from last year).

The data is pretty clear — leaders as a whole support hybrid work. Communicating that desire to employees is a great way to build mutual trust and engagement. Showing your employees you trust them to perform well in a hybrid situation gives them often-desired autonomy and creates a culture of mutual respect that makes your company a desirable place to be.

Download the key findings report here, and stay tuned for more coverage in the coming weeks.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.