One of the most important points in the work environment is internal communication. It is the key to motivation, it is what allows people to feel that they can express themselves and that their ideas will be heard, valued, they will surely feel at ease in their workplace; generating greater employee loyalty to the company, greater commitment. This becomes a strategy for the Human Resources area.
A great deal of proven experience in different companies shows that having effective communication channels (supervisors know employment policies and employees know what their rights are) will be less likely to cause misunderstandings or feelings on the part of employees that they are not part of the company team. As corporations become increasingly complex, numerous communication channels must be created so that information moves up, down, and laterally within the company's organizational structure.
The information that is sent and received in communications is of two types: on facts and on feelings. Facts are pieces of information that can be measured or described objectively. For example, the cost of a computer.
Feelings are the emotional responses of employees to decisions or actions made by managers or other employees. A case in which the company must be especially careful with the feelings of its employees is when it is going through a restructuring process or decides to reduce the size of its plant and consequently make considerable layoffs.
How communication works
Communication begins with a sender who wants to send a message to a receiver. The sender must encode the message and select a communication channel that is capable of transmitting it to the receiver. When it comes to conveying facts, the message can be encoded in words, when it comes to conveying feelings, the message can be encoded in body language or tone of voice.
Because there is a high possibility of misunderstanding, when something important is communicated it is important that there is a possibility of feedback. In this way it is possible to clarify the true meaning of the message. The type of communication that allows feedback is called bidirectional communication, since the sender and receiver can interact with each other. There is another type of communication in which there is no feedback called one-way communication.
Downward communication enables managers to apply the decisions they have made and influence employees at the lower echelons of the company hierarchy. Upward communication enables employees at the lowest levels of the company to communicate their ideas and feelings to decision makers at the highest levels.
How to facilitate effective communication
Information in companies a source of power and a strategy as mentioned above. Today companies increasingly depend on what knowledge workers have mastered to provide a service or produce a product. Knowledge workers transform information into a product or service and need large amounts of disclosure to properly do their jobs.
The most important methods for the dissemination of information within a company are the following:
The Employee Handbook:
The necessary information is found so that the employee achieves an excellent performance in his functions as well as the conditions and regulations of the company.
The philosophy, culture of the organization and the rights and duties of each employee (receive uniform and consistent treatment) Inform supervisors of the way to evaluate and prevent them from making arbitrary decisions towards employees, which would have negative repercussions for disgruntled employees.
In some of the states of the United States they suggest that the manuals of the employees are nothing more than an implicit contract between the company and the employee that limits the freedom of the former to dismiss the latter without just cause.
Some companies have gone above and beyond to protect themselves. They ask employees to sign an acknowledgment of receipt stating that the employee has received the manual and that it will be sent to them to find out about the company's rules, regulations and policies, bearing in mind that it is in no way a contract.
In spite of everything, the employee manuals can help to avoid or solve labor problems. A company can communicate in detail a policy of nepotism through the employee manual (nepotism is a practice is to treat family members with respect to other workers in the organization)
Waiting for a situation to emerge to establish a policy can be costly. On one occasion, two lawyers from a major Chicago law firm fell in love and decided to divorce their respective spouses to marry. So while on their honeymoon, the company decided to establish a policy that prohibited employee marriage. One of the two had to leave the firm and it was the woman who finally resigned. Because this company did not have any policy in this regard before the couple married (in fact it seemed a policy that had entered into force retroactively, it was intended for this specific couple) the woman filed a lawsuit against the company and received a six-figure dollar award.
Written communications:
Memoranda are a useful means of transmitting changes that occur in the different policies and procedures of the company that are not reflected in the employee's manual. For example, when there is a change in coverage of a specific type of medical procedure. Financial reports should.
Reach out to employees so they know the company's results and receive feedback on its overall performance.
Newsletter:
It consists of a small monthly publication where you can find information about important events of meetings and changes in jobs or news of the organization
Electronic communication:
Electronic mail or e-mail is a system through which the different employees of a company can communicate with each other through written electronic messages that are sent through the terminals of personal computers connected to a network. This means is quick to convey financial results or key company events to a large number of employees.
One of the problems is that, being very easy to use, it contributes in some cases to excessive information. In addition, people tend to print all the messages received, causing an avalanche of papers that is precisely intended to be avoided by email.
Meetings:
They facilitate dialogue and promote personal relationships, especially between employees who do not usually interact with each other frequently because they are separated.
Meetings are usually held at different business levels. Poorly planned meetings can become a phenomenal waste of time, resulting in reduced business productivity.
Withdrawals:
They have gained popularity among American companies in recent years. The retreat consists of taking a group of employees to a quiet place such as a mountain refuge where work is mixed with recreational activities such as golf.
Other types of companies often take advantage of these retreats to announce promotions or important events that cause changes in the organization.
Informal communications:
Commonly called as office rumors, it consists of exchanges of information that occur spontaneously between office employees without a meeting being scheduled but rather arising spontaneously. The information that is usually transmitted is information about measures taken by the company, either for or against it.
Management through walks:
Used to control informal communication. It consists of the director walking around the company so that employees at all levels have the opportunities to make suggestions, complaints.
Employee attitude studies:
What the employee is asked to do is respond how they feel about the work they do, their supervisors, their promotion opportunities, the quality of the information they have received. The answers that give different subgroups to the study of employee attitudes. The responses given by different subgroups to the study can be compared with the responses of the total population of employees, so that managers can identify the groups that have the worst internal relationships and thus provide the attention they need.
Appeal procedures:
They allow employees to respond to management actions and discuss management decisions.
The least regulated is the open door program, the common denominator of this type of program is that employees have direct access to any director or manager of the company. It has two important advantages: it makes employees feel more secure and confident with the company, and directors act less arbitrarily.
Employee Assistance Program:
They help the employee to face personal problems that interfere with his performance in the job, such as, drug or alcohol abuse, family violence. When an employee's problem interferes with their performance, the employee is considered a troubled employee as the decline in productivity begins, in their physical appearance, among other factors.
The procedure consists of four steps:
1st step
Identification of employees with problems, that is, identification by themselves and by the supervisor
2nd step
Advice through employee assistance programs. If the employee refuses help and is fired if his problem has a major negative impact on the job
3rd step
If the problem is resolved, the employee continues working if we do not resort to treatment
4th step
We did not find the previous situation of the problem solved, continue working, in the event that the treatment is not successful, the employee is fired
Suggestion system:
It is designed in order to solicit, value the valuable ideas of employees. Directors must follow the following three guidelines to design the suggestion system:
* have a suggestion evaluation committee in order to objectively evaluate the suggested ideas
* Apply the accepted suggestions and give thanks to the person who made it
* Establish the value of the reward to the benefit that the suggestion represents for the company
Recognition awards:
They publicly thank the employees who make notable contributions to the company. These people often become role models for others within the organization, making known what behaviors and achievements are valued. Mc Donald's Employee of the Month Award consists of a sign posted in each of the restaurants for employees and customers to see
In order to effectively undertake any of the aforementioned methods, it is important that the supervisors when obtaining the information from the employees must act on them to achieve the change that is expected, otherwise the employees will see it as a study in vain and will surely not return to to collaborate.
Second, the information should be used ethically, it should not be used in a negative way (dismiss an employee for being unhappy). Third, some of the methods should be used confidentially, for example, by a consultancy.
