The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation and Xerox’s Buck Consultants have released findings from a survey looking at employer-employee communication.

Among the findings are that the most common communication vehicles organizations use to engage employees and foster productivity are email and intranets, 83% and 75% respectively. In addition, half of employers are communicating through Facebook, IM, and Twitter.

"This year’s respondents reported slight increases in use of social media tools, and more of them say they have established internal and external policies for appropriate workplace use of social media," said Robin McCasland, past chair, IABC Research Foundation. "When managed effectively, social media can be a great addition to an existing employee engagement strategy. Employees and job candidates alike can read employer news and anecdotes that reinforce a strong, positive culture."

"Listening to employees is essential to employee engagement and retention. Yet surprisingly, 32 percent of survey respondents indicate that their organizations rarely or never conduct employee listening activities," said Bruce Spiegel, principal at Buck Consultants. "This is a huge opportunity for organizations to mitigate their risk of employee turnover and diminished performance."

The survey was given to about 900 communication professionals. It did find that most top executives do not participate in internal or external social media.