http://www.watsonwyatt.com Latest Watson Wyatt Communication Articles and News en-us Copyright 2009 Watson Wyatt Worldwide http://backend.userland.com/rss091 1/5/2009 9:03:07 PM 20 WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 19, 2008 — U.S. employers are stepping up their communication to workers about financial performance and solvency to help alleviate growing levels of stress and anxiety caused by the recession, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm. [GLOBAL]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=20279What actions should retirement plan sponsors take in response to the financial crisis? In a new consultants’ roundtable, Watson Wyatt experts from around the world discuss the key issues that defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors are facing and strategies to address them. [GLOBAL]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19974Companies provide retirement benefits for many reasons, including worker recruitment and retention. But if a defined benefit (DB) plan is no longer the appropriate solution, two significant questions arise: What should replace it? What’s the best way to inform employees? [GLOBAL]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19975As the impact of the global economic crisis takes hold, a quarter of U.S. employers expect to make layoffs in the next 12 months. However, most companies are focusing on increased employee communication and smaller cost-saving measures, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19962Watson Wyatt Suggests Communication Tenets for Senior Executives. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19849Employers establish contingency plans based on lessons from previous economic slowdowns SINGAPORE, 1 September 2008 — Employers in Asia Pacific are better prepared for a downturn compared to the United States, according to a forthcoming report by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global consulting firm. More than eight in 10 employers in Asia Pacific (84 percent) and Europe (80 percent) have established contingency plans. More than six in 10 employers in the United States (67 percent) have adopted a contingency plan to be implemented in the event of further economic decline. [SINGAPORE]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19689Southwest Airlines, The Container Store, FedEx, Google. These companies have incredibly strong brands that resonate with consumers and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. But it’s also important that the brands these companies have established — the messages about “who we are” and “what we stand for in the market” — resonate with employees. Companies that achieve this brand buy-in from both customers and employees develop what Watson Wyatt and Brodeur Partners (a unit of Omnicom Group) call “employee passion.” [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19667How many of your employees “don’t really know what to expect” from managerial communications? Their questions may seem clear-cut: <i>Where do I fit into the organization? What is expected of me? How can I grow my career and financial opportunities?</i> But the answers are not always easy or clear for managers and employees. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=19397UK - April 22, 2008 - Analysis by Watson Wyatt of figures published this week by HM Treasury shows that the contributions paid by UK Government departments and employees to public sector pension schemes are less than the cost of the new benefits being earned, as measured in Government accounts. [UNITED KINGDOM]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=18992Significant Increase in Communication to Boost Benefit Enrollment. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=18638Companies with the most effective employee communication programs provided a 91 percent total return to shareholders from 2002 to 2006, a recent Watson Wyatt study has found. The return was only 62 percent for firms that communicated least effectively. Moreover, a significant improvement in communication effectiveness is associated with a 15.7 percent increase in market value. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=18462WASHINGTON, December 4, 2007 – Six communication practices distinguish high-performing companies from their competitors, according to a new study by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=18385Imagine this: The chair of a global <i>FORTUNE 500</i> company asks management for an inventory of all incentive compensation plans. The CEO thinks the company probably has 10 to 20 plans, but he passes the request along to the chief human resource officer. Then the HR executive asks the global head of rewards. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=17925Is your organization using technology to facilitate improved employee communication? If not, you could be missing an opportunity to make a difference to the bottom line. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=14404Producing summary plan descriptions doesn't have to be a nightmare. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=11604WASHINGTON, August 7, 2007 – Most employers that offer a consumer-directed health plan say communicating with workers about these plans is their greatest challenge. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=17669Many U.S. employees don’t understand how their health care coverage works and admit their familiarity with the most basic health care vocabulary needs improvement, a new survey has found. As a result, employers may benefit from efforts to improve employee health care literacy. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=17625WASHINGTON, July 9, 2007 – Many U.S. employees don’t understand how their health care coverage works and admit their familiarity with the most basic health care vocabulary needs improvement, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=17548Take a look at the most successful organizations today, and you’ll find they share two important characteristics: a corporate culture where employees thrive and employees who align their decisions with business strategy. But it’s becoming harder for companies to offer the appropriate performance management, customer service and diversity management instruction necessary to create that environment. That’s largely because corporate spending on face-to-face training is an increasingly precious resource. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=17274Communication challenges topped the list of employer concerns during the recent annual benefits enrollment process, a poll by Watson Wyatt Worldwide has found. [UNITED STATES]http://www.watsonwyatt.com/search/parser.asp?ID=17139