Mushrooms
or magic?
Let’s face it, employees are the company’s greatest
asset, yet how often do they find themselves working
in the dark? No information at critical times,
poor feedback and no real map of the corporate
direction. Employees and managers respond emotionally,
intellectually and have their own agendas, too
- a fact much overlooked in the business of internal
communications. Typically they are faced with
silence during bouts of business upheaval, are
unheard when they have constructive criticism,
downsized during cutbacks and unrecognised on
a day-to-day basis.
Now these may just be employee perceptions, but
in the business of communication – that’s reality.
The truth is that people in all their diversity
have a dazzling range of skills, ideas, creativity
and disciplines that go unseen and so unharnessed
by the corporation. They are left at the door
when an employee arrives for work.
It can be different. Improving internal communication
channels, thinking differently about how knowledge
is shared and aligning people’s best efforts with
corporate direction can significantly boost employee
satisfaction and motivation. Introducing effective
listening, without having to wait for the annual
survey, helps to identify problems before they
escalate and reduces the impact of the grapevine.
Good communication values the company’s greatest
assets. |
