Communication is one of the most frequent issues in many organizations. Regardless how big or small your teams and organization - there are challenges about communications. An assumption that having the right people who tackle and disseminate information to your entire organization does not guarantee success.
Executives and management team members have the same problem. Many delegate their communication tasks to their reporting staff. Some takes the initiative to communicate directly to employees. Others will hire external party to handle their communications for both externally and internally. Integrating an effective communication flow is essential.
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When an organization aspires to become one among the 'high performance organization' that will be operating, they consider 'effective communication' as the major part of their strategy.
"It is very important to have a strategic approach in communicating your business goals, target markets, long /short term objectives, programs and initiatives, actions that will take place globally or domestically, responsibilities and expectations, new hires and succession plans, policies and procedures, rewards and compensation. These are essential facets of human capital and resources management, that will be used by your valuable assets - your human capital / employees" - said Juntee Terrenal, President and Global Director, JNT Consulting Global Resources.
In a recent survey published by Accounttemps-Canada, it emphasized on "lack of communication" as a big problem shared by CFO's who participated.
Source Acknowledgement: Accountemps Survey
The graph above identified that the highest mistake that
companies make in managing their employees is lack of communication. The graph confirmed that there is a lot of work to be done within the companies that were surveyed.
Per Accountemps, please find below the five things recommended to be communicated to employees regularly, to quote;
1. "Here's what's happening." Whether it's updates on the company's financial performance, department initiatives or group projects, keep staff abreast of organizational information that affects them and their responsibilities. Keeping people in the dark will lead to tension and rumours.
2. "Do you have what you need?" Take the time to find out if your team members have the right resources to perform their work effectively.
3. "Thank you." Thank and praise staff (http://www.accountemps.com/recognition) who go above and beyond. Call attention to successes by highlighting them in staff meetings and sending a groupwide email recognizing those who help and copying relevant managers.
4. "What challenges are you facing?" Often, employees are hesitant to voice concerns when problems arise. It's essential to proactively ask staff members what's going on and how you may be able to help.
5. "How can we improve the company?" Invite staff members to suggest things they can do to help achieve business objectives. You may be pleased to discover how innovative and resourceful your employees are.
Kathryn Bolt, Canadian president of Accountemps noted, "Employees want to be kept current on company news and able to have access to their supervisors". Source:
Press Release: Accountemps – Thu, Apr 26, 2012
“People are becoming more fearful for their jobs, even panicky, and when things go awry they do one of two things: They pull into their shell or they start lashing out at other folks,” said, Jeff Cohen Source: Talent Management
Technology is viewed as contributory factor of the deteriorating state of communication today. Meg Clara, director of recruiting and human resources at Caiman Consulting, criticized the disruptiveness of electronic communication such as texts and emails in forming personal and professional relationships. By conducting conversations through devices, workers lose out on person-to-person interaction and the etiquette that goes with it.
In January, Harvard Business Review offered an insight that, "The combination of vitality and learning leads to employees who deliver results and find ways to grow. Their work is rewarding not just because they successfully perform what’s expected of them today but also because they have a sense of where they and the company are headed. In short, they are thriving, and the energy they create is contagious." Source: HBR
Perspectives:
Economic stress and uncertainties are omnipresent amongst workforce of today, and it is affecting employee behavior. In addition, emerged discouragement and desperation , the non-stability of business environment combined with new technological trends socially influenced the quality of corporate communication.
While the above survey graph was conducted in Canada, the contexts of the issues are similarly faced by many organizations in the United States and other parts of the world.
Considerations to note in order to achieve effective communication are by understanding about the following:
1. the content
2. the context
3. the form of the language being used
4. the recipients of the information
5. how this information will be used
Comments:
We like to hear about your insights. You can email your comments to: info@jntconsulting.com or write in the provided message field at the end of this article. JNT Consulting has its headquarters in San Jose, California and is "Your Partner for Growth & Development”, “Your Professional Coach”, and “Your Provider of Global Resources”. You can contact us by calling +1 650 241-3207 or visit our website. Reference:
4 Twitter/JNTConsulting
5 http://finance.yahoo.com
6 http://accountemps.rhi.mediaroom.com
7 http://hbr.org/
8 http://talentmgt.com
