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Without communication it is doubtful that your organization will run at its peak performance. Employees need to know what is wanted, how to complete tasks and what their expectations are. Without this knowledge people will not be on the same page and will likely not follow the business objectives. A communication strategy is more about setting the right tone for your business and communicating these expectations to your employees than it is about simply piling memos around their desks. Proper communication will improve decision making on the floor, increase performance, and hold people accountable for their actions. Expectations There are two components to any communication strategy. The first component is called “expectations”. These expectations are provided in the company’s mission statement, employee handbook, job description, culture and policies & procedures. These expectations constitute the basic information your company wants its employees to know. When employees are having a difficult time knowing how to handle a situation or what they are supped to be doing they will look towards these basic and formal documents to get an overall understanding. Once they have this basic knowledge they will look towards culture and other communication methods to define further the details. Direct Communication The second component is “direct communication” which is situation specific information that is sent over email, in memos, phone calls, and conversations by the water coolers. This information constitutes situational information about how to solve a particular problem. Much of this information is informal in nature and difficult to track. As the leader of an organization you must set the example of how and what problems to solve, how to interact with your colleagues and what which problems are important enough to solve. Formal direct information typically involves email, phone calls, memos and postings. The employees send this information to each other in order to communicate about particular problems. Such information can come from the top and move towards the bottom but also may move upward through the ranks. Formal Communication Organizations have the most control over formal communication. The most common forms include employee handbooks, policies & procedures, memos, and postings. Typical direction communication also includes emails, meetings and phone calls. Some companies might use marker boards, cell phones, beepers, postal service, and videos. The method your company uses depends on whether or not your employees are centralized or spread out over a number of locations. Murad Ali, a two-time published author, writes articles and offers advertisement space for businesses. Visit http://www.thenewbusinessworld.blogspot.com
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Communication, strategy, business, expectation,
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