Communicating to a diverse workforce : Employees' perceptions of symbolic corporate identity elements

Purpose – This paper aims to determine whether language proficiency, race and education levels influence employees' perceptions of symbolic corporate identity elements of Lonmin Platinum, a mining company operating in the development context of South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The nature of the endorsed symbolic corporate identity was determined by means of personal observations and semi‐structured interviews with managers. To determine employees' perceptions a quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted with a stratified quota sample of 508 company employees. Questionnaires were divided between the five business units of the company, each with its own corporate identity. Facilitators (speaking a variety of languages) were used to assist semi‐literate and illiterate employees. The data were analysed by means of basic descriptive statistics such as frequency tables and contingency tabulations. Findings – It seemed that race and educational level did not influence employees' perceptions of symbolic corporate identity elements. However, employees proficient in English, faired better when required to identify logos and company structures. This implies that when communication has a more informational character, Lonmin Platinum should consider communicating in different languages, suited to different educational levels. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research could not necessary be generalised or be applicable to the whole mining sector. Originality/value – This research is the first of its kind within the complex mining and minerals context of South Africa and provides a framework from where future research can be conducted and explored, which would provide a knowledge base for the management and communication of an endorsed symbolic corporate identity to a third world context with diverse workforces.