There is no question that there is more communication than ever today. In our daily lives, many of us receive a myriad of communications from multiple sources - emails, TV, podcasts, phone conversations, work meetings, the Internet… and we somehow still have time for our families. The problem, though, is that our sources of communications have clearly increased significantly, while our ability to “hear” has decreased. As the old saying goes, a good conversationalist is a good listener.
In the last week, several incidents have convinced me that we have a hearing crisis. We tend to communicate on the basis of “need to know,” rather than on a foundation of openness and participation. The most blatant example is corporate communication of layoffs. These decisions always seem to be arbitrary and made in a vacuum by consultants and HR staff that have no actual understanding of the business. This is of course the perception of the employees and to an extent, this is due to the lack of active engagement and conversation by management with staff.
We need to try new methods. For example, rather than simply laying people off, why not retain some at lower wages and let them join teams to develop new methods to reduce costs, generate new income and create new positions for themselves? Organizations that have an ongoing two-way conversation with employees will find that cutbacks, although certainly not welcomed, to not be as arduous since it will not be the first time that they have discussions with employees. Smart managers read the landscape and begin preparing employees as part of their regular communications. Even in a bad economy there is hiring, although limited. Transferring an employee to an open position in the company is a win-win situation.
A more revolutionary step is allowing employees to discuss cutbacks and recommend solutions. In other words, engage employees early on in the process to work towards a solution.
• Are there cost-saving measures that could be implemented that management is not aware of?
• Do the employees have any ideas on how to cut out costs outside of layoffs?
• Do employees have ideas about other revenue sources?
One would think that this is a conversation that is always ongoing between management and employees, but too often management takes a command-control position where employees who work on the front line are not asked for input into the process. So decisions are made in isolation, mistakes are made and resources are misused. Organizations need to leverage all the ideas from their employees and that is what will see them through the tough times, not the decisions of the few sitting in their Ivory Towers.
What is missing is that new idea discussions are being replaced by obsessions about being laid off and what people are going to do. When these discussions do occur, they are frequently done in isolation so the developer can try to take complete credit. What frequently results are mistakes and misuse of resources because critical issues were ignored in the isolated development. Defensiveness and isolation replace planning, communication and innovation.
Technology can play a role as well, allowing you to tap into the ideas not just of your employees but also your customers and the general population. Some may consider YouTube, Facebook and Twitter useless gossip networks. However, they have incredible communication potential to receive feedback and test ideas. For example, instead of developing a boring traditional video for a new product, we are developing a series of entertaining and to-the-point YouTube videos that consumers can enjoy and learn from. In this way, we accomplish several goals - branding, demand generation, customer education, product feedback, idea testing, etc.
There are simple actions required to improve communication:
Organizations and individuals with more open communication are more effective. Practices like “need to know,” are simply obsolete. The more people know, the more effective they can be. The lower in the hierarchy communication is allowed, the more effective it is. This is not a one-time event and needs to be ingrained in the organization’s DNA.
Focusing on the communication process as well as the substance can improve effectiveness. We worry about the communication and not the process of the communication. Quite simply we need more one-on-one and informal communication. That will help develop the relationship, understanding and trust that is simply missing from the emails, presentations, reports and meetings that dominate most communications. There is no substitute for a face-to-face conversation.
Communication also needs a “WIN-WIN” instead of a competitive environment. We all know positive feedback is received more favorably but we continually revert to criticism, blame, and one-upsmanship in pressure situations. We frequently follow political positions rather than respecting the expertise, experience, or opinions of our colleagues. Tap into the knowledge of the group as a whole, rather than relying on the wisdom of the few.
In summary, we have tons of input to listen to and need to consider the environment, format and purpose of the communication. Too often, our goals, style, parameters, time constraints etc. dictate our communication. Instead, we need to make our purpose and listeners much more of a priority. In short, the process and circumstances of communication may be more important than what is said.
