An organization can be likened to a family. Just like the different members of a family contribute in different ways, so do the employees of an organization. And like in a family, effective communication between/among the employees of an organization is highly necessary. Not only will it allow the employees to stay abreast of latest developments and receive information necessary for business operations but it also allows the promotion of visibility, transparency, and fairness within the organization.
In this series, we’ll look at the importance of effective internal communication and what steps you can take to promote it within your organization.
Importance – Why?
Is there really a necessity for focus on internal communication? Don’t all the employees know everything that they need to know already?
Not if you’re not the CIA. No business function can function completely in its silo. Different departments are dependent on one another and have to share data and information for effective functioning of business operations. Effective communication can reduce any gaps or redundancies that might occur.
Contribution from everyone: Every employee has his/her own set of skills and level of expertise of which the business might demand only some. Your geeky programmer could also be a creative illustrator. Your marketing manager might have studied engineering and has some new ideas about enhancing the technical aspect of your products. They might have some ideas about the product or business which can solve some of the current business challenges.
Answers could come from anyone. If your organization has an effective internal communication that gives employees a chance to voice their ideas and opinions, you’ll be putting to good use a lot of skill and expertise that would otherwise have gone to waste.
No rumor-mongering: There are very few things that can propagate faster than rumors. Nor are many things as invasive and de-motivating.
Person X has been promoted faster than Person Y because he was closer to the boss. Department B is shutting down because of lack of resources for its upkeep.
End all such rumors by giving out accurate updates periodically so that the exact same information is communicated to everyone at the same time.
