1. Employee Communication Preferences at CHS Lisa Moorhouse Final Project University of St. Thomas Dec. 18, 2007

2. Who is CHS? Fortune 200 company Provides essential energy, grains and foods resources to enrich lives More than 6,000 employees

3. The Challenge How to best use available resources to ensure that employees know what it is they need to know about the company to understand where they fit and help them do their jobs.

4. Research Question Do CHS employees have an identifiable method of preferred communication delivery for specific messages?

5. What We Wanted to Know Gauge how well informed employees feel about CHS. Determine how employees prefer to receive information about CHS. Understand current technology use and accessibility among employees.

6. Methodology 25-question, paper-based survey mailed to employee homes Sent to 2,500 out of 6,000 employees Conducted February-March 2007

7. Results A total of 787 surveys were returned for a response rate of 31.5%. Demographics of response group are representative of entire organization. –Business Unit: 59% classified as Ag Business –Job Function: 42% operations/production

8. CHS Employee Communications Keeps Me percent

9. I feel that I understand the company’s vision and mission percent

10. How important is in-person communication? percent

11. How important is the Directions newsletter? percent

12. How important is the intranet? percent

13. How Employees Prefer to Receive Information percent

14. Employee Use of Technology Most-used technologies –Computer –Cellular phone –E-mail –Web sites Least-used technologies –iPod/MP3 –PDA/Blackberry

15. Methods of Internet Access 73% of employees report using a cable, DSL or wired broadband connection. 6% report having no access.

16. New Technologies 29% of employees value being able to download audio files of company-related information. 55% of respondents are not aware of blogs.

17. Research Question Do CHS employees have an identifiable method of preferred communication delivery for specific messages? Yes.

18. Key Findings The majority feel fully to adequately informed by current communication efforts. Employees prefer a mix of communication methods. Employees prefer print and online equally. Fewer than half of the respondents know new technologies.

19. Recommendations Rely on mix of communication tools. Explore newer technologies. Help managers and supervisors convey business goals and strategies. Regularly collect information about employee communication preferences.

20. Questions?