Making Communication In The Workplace
Why is it that, when so many businesses commit so many resources to internal communication, people always seem to say that communication in workplaces is a significant problem? One reason is that too often we take “communication” for granted. After all, we know how to talk to people, don’t we? In organization surveys (and also in exit interviews) employees frequently say that no one ever tells them anything or listens to them – but managers say in reply that they seem never to stop communicating with employees on important matters. Poor communication – or perceptions of poor communication - can be directly linked to increased operating costs and reduced efficiency because of lower productivity of people, employee dissatisfaction, employee turnover, absenteeism, lack of understanding of business strategy and lack of common direction
In most cases, when people criticize communication in an organisation, the concern is expressed in general terms such as “communication is bad” or “we are never given enough information”. Such criticisms are hard to respond to and do not really identify specifically what the problem is with communication. (So the response is often to change nothing about the way communication is delivered - on the assumption either that there is nothing really wrong or that nothing can be done. The other reaction is to just to do more of what is already being done – thereby worsening the “problem”.)
As a first step, it is important to understand that communication is more than simply talking to people or giving information. There are a number of reasons why communication may not be effective. To apply a “generic fix” or to make changes to address the wrong cause of the breakdown will, in all probability, deliver an outcome that is not greatly improved.
Just as people learn in different ways, people absorb communication in a variety of ways. So, it is important to ensure that the “style” of communication is varied to ensure that everyone will...
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