by Patti Dunham, M.A., MBA SPHR
Communication, communication, communication. Why is it that that word haunts many organizations? Anderson Consulting estimated in a 2001 survey that 82% of organizations conducting an employee satisfaction survey listed communication in the bottom fourth of satisfactory responses. As I breathe a sigh of relief in finding that statistic, I was relieved to learn that I was not alone.
My reaction to the news that my organization received a "significantly needs improvement"rating in terms of organizational communication is probably not surprising to many of you. Upon receiving those results, my mind raced. What else can human resources do to improve communications? We have a monthly newsletter! We have bulletin boards full of information! We have an Intranet updated weekly! We send out messages on our payroll check stubs! Our supervisors/ managers are communicating at the weekly team meetings! Our senior management has quarterly town meetings! We just conducted open enrollment meetings for benefits! What else could we possibly do?
My "ah-ha" moment came early one evening. "Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves" says The Duchess. As I watched Alice in Wonderland with my daughter, these comments to Alice reminded me of the survey and our score (or lack there of) in communication. It reminded me how quickly our best intended efforts may be lost in the communication itself. Email, Intranet, Internet, newsletters, web conferences, conference calls, all resourceful uses for communication that may ultimately be sabotaging our best intended communications. It wasn’t really the amount of communication disseminated; it was how we were doing it. "Take care of the sense", the Duchess’ reminder to pay attention to the message and all else will follow became my communication mantra. I began to tackle communication and looked at the three ‘musts’ in effective communication: the right messenger, the right message, the right way. Using the appropriate tools and appropriate channels opened the door for communication success and ensuring that the I took care of the "sense".
A considerable amount of research has pointed to the significance of a supervisor's communications to his or her employees. Often the most trusted source of information and the most reliable source of answers to urgent questions, supervisors can have a major impact on employee focus and morale, especially during times of transition and change. Be sure you are using this valuable resource appropriately and be sure that your supervisors have training in effective communications. We don’t ask our supervisors to supervise without support, don’t ask them to deliver important messages without support. Finally, be sure you are using the right messenger. Supervisors are important in communication but there are times when they are not the appropriate source of the communication. Review the message being delivered and determine who would best deliver it. Consider all of the sources: human resources, payroll, senior management, and other staff and use your best judgment in where the message should originate.
As I looked at the messengers I was using, I felt that in most cases I was relying heavily on my supervisors but questioned whether or not the message was being communicated correctly. Remember the three parts of effective communication: the right messenger, with the right message, the right way. I was relying on this group of people to serve as the right messenger in most cases but began to realize that they may not be effective in delivering the right message. Was what I wanted to have communicated actually getting communicated the same way it was delivered to the supervisor?
Remember the childhood game, "telephone"? Telling a story to one person, who tells it to another, who tells it to another….and in the end the story becomes quite the tale! We have all played it once or twice, if not as a child, as an adult in a communications class to remind us of all that can go wrong. As a human resources professional or manager do we think about that effect when we attempt to communicate? Are you comfortable that the message you give to Supervisor #1, is effectively communicated ‘down the line’. Do you even know what it sounds like by the time it gets to Employee Z? Take the time to ensure the message is clearly communicated and that all questions are answered to avoid misunderstandings. Spend the time on the front end to ensure that by the time Employee Z gets the message, it is the same that was communicated to Supervisor #1. To do this, you may wish to customize a tool for the communicator’s use. When using others to deliver your message, remember each has their own style. Helping them to communicate the message appropriately with information and tools will help to avoid a bad case of “telephone”. Also, recognize if your chosen messenger is not effective in delivering messages and do not use them. Deliver the message yourself or find another mode of delivery.
A 1999 Watson Consulting Survey showed that employees preferred face to face communication rather than memos, newsletters, or other written communication. Impossible you say? Well, I must agree, to a degree. As we all are trying to do more with less, spending more time with face to face communication may seem next to impossible. But remember that for each small step today, the communication gap will shrink and it will continue to get easier and actually quicker. Of course, there are times when it is important to get the message in writing as well but one does not preclude you from delivering it in more than one way. One of the most successful steps I took in “taking care of the senses” was to force myself to spend 15 to 20 minutes every morning to walk through the workplace and make myself accessible to staff. These 15 minutes of face time, greeting employees, answering employee questions directly, and face to face interaction appear to have made all the difference in the world. Rumors are stopped quickly, accurate answers are given immediately, and employees put a daily face on Human Resources, not just a face behind the desk and at important meetings. I was effective in making communication a priority and employees saw that. As with my daily walk arounds, I showed employees that I was committed to being available and encouraging face to face interaction. Communication is important all year, not just with high-profile projects. Make sure they see that coming from human resources.
Finally, one cannot talk effectively about communication without bringing up the lost art of listening. I remind everyone to listen to your employees, to your supervisors, to everyone. What is working, what isn’t working? Are you hearing comments about that ridiculous email that went out about privacy in the workplace? Was it an appropriate means of delivery? Foster an open dialogue. Participate in brown bag lunches with no topic to open up lines of communication. For something less formal, be sure to go to the cafeteria or lunch area and sit with staff for lunch - don’t hide in your office to get more work done. You will be amazed at what you learn during a thirty minute lunch break. Listening, is a very important part of effective communication.
Communication is truly, going back to the basics. In looking at how far the human resources function has come, I am reminded that no matter how brilliant the department’s strategic thinking or how technologically advanced, unless the basic HR needs of the organization is satisfied we cannot be effective as a strategic partner. It’s time to get back to the basics to become a full member of the organizational team. Think back to The Duchess, "Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves". When we communicate effectively, we build bridges to understand how, what, and why we do things - and that is why we are all here.
Patti Dunham is a Sr. Human Resources Consultant with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. If you have any questions feel free to contact her at:
Patti@StrategicHRInc.com.
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