Communication “The Talking Stick”
Effective communication is critical to any organization and can help it in many ways. In fact, communication plays a role in product development, customer relations, and employee management – virtually every facet of a business' operations. Employees are a key targetgroup because they often serve as the conduit to other targetgroups. If employees are informed and engaged, communications with other constituencies are likely to be strong as well.
“Communication”, the word in itself is overrated and often all the failures or gaps in progress are attributed to Communication.Productive hours of work are often credited to identify where the Communication gaps were and how it could be improved.Everyone directly or indirectly involved gives unsolicited advise on Improving Communication.
What can members do?
“Communication” holds an important position in the Performance Management Process with leaders identifying it as a key training need of their subordinate or teams hardly giving any attention or self interospecting internally to improve Communication.
In one of our HR Conferences,one of Senior HR Professional who was to retire in next 3 months confided in us that his boss wants him to Improve on Communication and he was confused what ingredient should he add to refine his communication.He felt it was funny and crazy that this Management word was the tool for many to avoid the pain of the identifying the room for improvement in teams across the companies.
Tip:
Communication in Organisation has to be structured and should follow the protocol and should be crisp and clear.However sometimes certain communications lack this ingredients and the end results make it really difficult for all to correct the situation .
The undercurrents of Organisation’s Communication add in the spices to make it more defensive or reactive rather than a well thought over communication.Moreever in some situations,the Communication channels being one way,it becomes difficult for the downthe line team to engage with their bosses to clarify their thoughts.
Communication in today’s era is not limited to the four walls of Office Conference room .Organisations succeed or collapse like a pack of cards within seconds with the vigilant Social media interventions.Social Media has made the world a small arena cutting across geographical distances.
SMART phones and internet has made it possible for the family connect over a video call and live in the moments whether good or bad in real time basis.Similarly,the Organisations have woken upto the fact that it is essential to be equipped with all latest communication platforms to name a few like Skype,ZOOM,Watsapp video,Cisco Webex etc to connect for business.
Leadership have shown trust and commitment towards business continuity by connecting with teams via this platforms during uncertain,unforseen calamities like COVID-19.
In India,earlier,had heard many leaders commenting that work from home is not for their business.However now have observed that many of these leaders have shed their apprehensions aside and invested time to connect with teams to discuss plan A ,B ,C to carry on business using the social media and other well known platforms.
Employees having their roles aligned to work from home have been proactive to respond to this call of their Management.
What was earlier an informal connect for the family is the new normal formal communication channel for many of us wanting to work during this Pandemic affected business scenario.
Communication plays a fundamental role in all facets of business.We at Synergy believe that Communication plays a very effective Win-Win role in :
1. Nurtures relationships
Relationships are built and can be maintained by positive commitment to carry on with others. Communication will be key to this process – without effective skills, it will be difficult to properly construct and foster productive relationships.
2. Facilitates innovation
It is very important for an employee to feel comfortable in transperantly and clearly communicating new ideas,stories,thoughts and with this environment around creative inputs and innovation will be a welcome initiative. In addition, if staff are unable to convey their ideas due to limited communication skills, it is likely that the idea will not be implemented to its full potential resulting in employees disengaged with the Company.
3. Fosters effective teamworking
Transperant,Open communication within a workplace is the essence and vital ingredient for a cohesive and effective team will emerge.
Clear and diplomatic ,polite ,emphatic communication within a team also tends to boost employee morale. It is essential to disseminate strategic decisions at relevant intervals to direct the employees towards the Company’s objectives and vision, they will feel more secure within their role. Regular internal communication can also lead to an improved work ethic if staff are reminded of achievements and feel that they are working towards a common goal.
Leaders do believe keeping their teams informed of all strategic decisions at regular intervals to facilitate the changemanagement process and handhold and guide the teams.
4. Managing employees
Employees are the assets and what I have observe is When managers are effective communicators, they are more able to inform staff adequately of their responsibilities and what is expected from them. Good communication skills also helps managers to provide constructive feedback to their staff, build better relationships, and understand personal goals that staff may wish to work towards.
5. Contributes to growth of the company
It is an accepted and well researched fact that lack of communication or too much of Communication can lead to the collapse of any organisation. Whilst that is a bold statement – without proper marketing collateral and communication internally and externally, most organisations will struggle to survive. Communication can also lead to productivity and helps to avoid unnecessary duplication leading to delays in the implementation of policies.
6. Ensures transparency
When regularly communicating both internally and externally, organisations remain more transparent. This is important in building trust in your brand, in your services and also internally when it comes to the trust that employees have in higher management. Tony Deblauwe from Examiner adds that ‘when tough decisions need to be made, transparent leaders will have an easier time explaining why’.
Further Our PMS design is designed in a manner that Team meetings are a regular feature resulting in Individuals taking keen interest in meeting their decided KRA in sync with Organisational Objectives thus creating a Cadence of Accountability and Keeping a compelling Scoreboard to highlight achievements.
To overcome various of such Miscommunication,we at Synergy have advised our clients to have regular Town Hall Meetings(meetings with small group of Employees).This forum is essentially used to communicate and engage with employees to disemminate all Company related information.