Improving communication
HRgsf
56 Posts
I am looking for ways to get employees to discuss how to improve communication. I have held employee meetings (with food) to try to elicit suggestions, but it was like talking to a pile of bricks -- except bricks might have been more responsive. It's frustrating because we always score low on communication on employee surveys, so it's like they want to complain but not give any ideas for improvement. I'd appreciate any suggestions!
Comments
i agree - maybe giving them some direction may be helpful in getting them to talk. also, make sure that no one from higher management is in the room when you're meeting. employees will probably be hesitant to share suggestions with the higher-ups being in the room.
People are sometimes unwilling to voice their opinion in a group or even on a one-to-one if they feel what they say will come back to haunt them later. Have you spent time watching how people do or don't communicate or interact in your company? Does there seem to be a problem with employees speaking with one another about their work? Does one person make another feel inferior just by the way they speak with them or act toward them? What is the body language (You can determine a lot by this)? Do people assume others know what they are speaking about?
Once you have determined what might be causing the problem, you can start to implement changes. You can't expect changes overnight and/or you may have to revise what you are doing several times.
When we hold employee meetings we ask that they anonymously write down items for discussion for the agenda which we review prior to the actual meeting. We then address the comments/suggestions with the group. This has worked well and seems to open the door to improved communication during the meeting. After using a few times employees were more apt to openly ask questions and share ideas without hesitation.
Another idea would be to remember to ask good questions. If you are a manager, you want to inspire critical thinking without causing confusion or silence from the group. Some tips to remember (from The Mentoring Advantage by Florence Stone):
1) Monitor the time between the question being asked and the reply. (If the employee doesn't respond in ten seconds, you need to rephrase the question).
2) Don't talk after you ask the question. (Give the employee an opportunity to answer).
3) Think before you ask your question. (Consider the goal of your question and ask yourself if the reply will take you in the direction in which you want the conversation to go).
4) Don't lead the employee. (That will just get you the answers you want to hear, not the honest answers that will move everyone forward in achieving the development goals on which you have agreed).
5) Dig with your questions. (More in-depth inquiry may trigger a little discomfort for the employee(s) and yourself, but safe superficial questions will do little to provide insights into how your employee is thinking).
6) Don't expect rapport between you and your employee(s) immediately. (Back off and give your employee an opportunity to communicate thoughts).
Hope this helps!
I agree with earlier posts that soliciting suggestions in a group format doesn't always work. You'll get a few "talkers" (those that are most verbal naturally) and many others will not say a word. Consider this recommendation:
Our HR team spends time each week "walking the floor" with no purpose other than to say hi to people, answer questions they have, and ward off issues while they are small. This approach, which includes working off-shift hours to catch all employees, has helped improve our communication tremendously. We encourage managers and supervisors to do the same- it's not just "HR's job" to ensure communication works.
We've also placed a Q & A white board in our main hallway. It's divided in half with black tape. On the left side, employees can write comments, voice concerns, or write a question. On the right side, someone from management will respond. The only caveat is that the comment or question must be initialed and dated.
Hope these ideas help...
Kristy Martin