Improving Internal Communication

Great communication is a balancing act, even for the most sophisticated companies. Too much communication feels overbearing; too little and the company feels distant. Too much sharing and honesty may decrease morale in troubling times; but glossing over the reality of the situation is disingenuous. For companies to strengthen their internal communications, they need to follow seven steps.

1. Choose The Right Medium

Not every medium is appropriate for every type of communication. Posters and signs in the break room are a good reminder about company picnics, but may not be the most appropriate way to discuss ways to improve customer service. A good medium captures the eyes of employees and fosters a sense of intimacy with the employees receiving the message.

2. Include Interactivity

The proper medium for the message should always be coupled with appropriate ways for employees to engage with and comment on the messages. Effective communication moves in both directions, from management to staff and vice versa. Communications that do not allow interactivity or comment from staff members feel more like an edict or a command than an attempt at authentic communication.

Discussion boards and online forums are becoming an increasingly popular way for employees to interact with internal communications. Rather than seeing their inboxes flooded with messages, employees can log into the forums and interact only with the messages that apply to their jobs.

3. Communicate with a Purpose

The best internal communication is succinct and addresses a single issue. Communicating in this way accomplishes a few goals. First, it occurs regularly, rather than in one giant message each month or quarter. Second, employees are far more likely to read and retain a short message than a four-page email. Finally, managers are forced to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the medium, and may need to consider a change from an email to a staff meeting or training session.

4. Eliminate Generalizations and Drive-By Accusations

Nothing makes an employee more defensive than an unfair attack against his or her job performance, and far too many pieces of internal communication include snide remarks or jabs at employees or departments. If there is a problem with performance, managers must address the issue one-on-one, in private, not in a public forum like a company-wide or departmental email. Getting rid of the unfair generalizations and comments about performance makes employees more receptive to the message within the communication, because they are not immediately on the defensive.

5. Plan First

The worst meetings are those where it is clear from the first minute that the person who called the meeting has no plan; the organizer simply rambles on until he or she is finished talking, and most of the topics get lost in a disorganized mess. Meetings, and even written communication, require planning and forethought. There must be a clear progression of ideas, one leading seamlessly into another, so attendees feel a sense of purpose in the meeting, email, or newsletter.

6. Dedicate Time

Whether the communication occurs in a formal meeting, or happens through an email, employees need time to process the information and ask questions. If the agenda for the meeting is so full that there is not adequate time for discussion, then the meeting organizer needs to re-evaluate the topics and plan on scheduling more frequent meetings in the future. In an online forum or discussion post, management must check the thread periodically for several days so that slow responders have a chance for their voices to be heard.

7. Follow Up

Most internal communications suffer from a lack of follow up. Management sends out a message or holds a meeting, then never addresses whether discussed changes have been implemented, if there have been improvements in performance metrics, etc. Communication must be ongoing to be effective in the long term.

Internal communications establish a company-wide message and ensure everyone on staff is working toward the same goals. These seven steps to improving internal communication can help facilitate more open and honest discussions between management and staff.

Employee perception towards interpersonal relationship and measuring their attitude need to be examined for bringing effective combination among organizational members. Organizational characteristics and their likely impact on the communication climate needs to be considered for improving organizational communication. Organization need to be flexible and responsive for improving communication. Removing certain communication barriers will definitely help in improving organization communication . come of the previous research studies may be more useful for developing the subject insight.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d74f/ce848669ba68f7a8929a9ec1a108758a98b9.pdf

https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/seven-steps-to-improving-organizational-communication/

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/performance-management/improving-organizational-communication-and-collaboration-with-technology/

Very interesting question!

Information system can improve and streghthen the communication of organizations..

Organizational communication can improve only if there is Openness and Trust in the organization. Transparency should be encouraged. It is important that one feels comfortable and not threatened while voicing his/her thoughts. Active listening should be encouraged.

Take advantage of digital technology. Create a wiki and add team members to it

For Example: Employees have dual reporting relationships, however data is not being received. This type of communications gap is causing a service gap that is slowing down the flow of information and frustrating the employees.

It is essential to improve internal communication in your organization. In general, you can improve your internal communications through many ways, such as, encouraging sharing, input and dialogue, and also through making objectives and goals public.

Matrix structures are complex. While they make sense on paper, in practice they come with a lot of challenges. Each situation comes with its own dynamics, but in all situations, communication improves when leaders are committed to being transparent, consistent in how decisions are made, and accountabilities are clearly defined. All of this requires regular check ins and opportunities for people to provide feedback given the pace of change and the need to continually adapt the way work is done in order to meet the needs/expectations of the market.

-Listening people's needs and opinions (Participation & Involvement)

-Doing team meetings or 1:1's to provide feedback to team members

-Sending an internal newsletter about current projects, events or any other activities related to the team.

-Get their opinions about how to improve organizational communication through surveys

Adjustments of emotional and cognitive dimensions of employees may possibly play a substantial role related to improvement of organisational communication. Kindly look in to the following article:

Article The Relationship between Emotional Dimensions of Sustainable...

Good article SMART Psychology skills training helps employees deal with emotional issues in the workplace giving them support with complex interoffice or personal issues.

Dear Dennis,

The structure of an organization and its corporate strategy are directly related to the corporate culture. Initially, a culture diagnosis should be made. Then you can analyze the communications - through different communication audits, and the results of them will give rise to opportunities for change.

Regards,

Yanica

Well said Yanica, in my opinion Organizational culture is alot like building a house it must have a good foundation or a robust safety strategy.

Dear Dennis,

A good metaphor about culture! Communication is the connecting element of culture and other constructs - images, identities, reputation.