How well do you communicate with your employees?
I’m not talking about walking around the office and saying hello. I’m talking about keeping them informed about what’s going on in the company, sharing important news about new products, talking about issues that may impact business and taking time to recognize those who have gone above and beyond.
Many businesses say they do a good job at communicating, but ask their employees and you’ll get a different answer. One of the biggest complaints employees have about the company they work for, is lack of communication from the beards.
Granted, small business owners are often reluctant to share too many details about their business and corporations soil their pants every time they have to divulge anything about the business for fear it may impact stock price or perception.
Here are some tips that you can use to improve communications in your own company:
- Hold monthly lunch meetings with your staff to give them an opportunity to sit down with you, discuss anything that they feel is important for the business and to find out how they’re are doing. This personal interaction is essential for making your employees feel that you, as the owner, are accessible and willing to listen. A couple pizzas go a long way!
- Hold a quarterly staff meeting with your employees to give them a “state of the company” update. Highlight key “wins,” recognize those who have provided customers with exceptional service and those who have completed special projects that have benefited the business. Also give them a roadmap of what is to come as well as briefing them on what has been accomplished.
- When new employees are hired, walk them around the office and introduce them to the rest of the staff – even if they are in different departments. Follow that up with a staff email introducing the new employee, his/her expertise, what he/she will be doing in the company and their contact information. A small paragraph from the employee his/herself sharing their excitement in their new job can add a personal touch.
- If you’re bringing in a new product line or launching a new service, let everyone know and share in the excitement! I know of many companies that don’t share new product information with the entire team which only leads to the “I didn’t know we did that” statement to be made, which is simply unacceptable.
- Don’t just communicate with your employees when there is bad news to share. If the only time your employees hear from you is to complain or announce that Mary Smith is no longer with the company, this isn’t helping communications or morale.
- Include all stakeholders in the decision making process. If you’re operating as teams, and five out of six members of the group in charge of redesigning the widget you’re releasing in the 4th quarter are invited to an important meeting to discuss a possible design change, don’t let the neglected team member find out about the change through the grapevine.
- Don’t be afraid to communicate! Many business owners are reluctant to share information with employees. Informed employees are knowledgeable and happy employees. Communication is essential to building strong morale within the company.
Probably the most important part of employee communication is being able to deliver bad news. It happens to all businesses at some point in time. The most important thing to remember is that the bad news is to be delivered with empathy and the company should provide whatever support is needed. You don’t want to turn the delivery of bad news into a public relations nightmare. If handled correctly and with consideration for the employees involved, you can avoid a lot of headaches.
Yes, communication is important – regardless of the size of your company. It’s your business, they’re your employees and they are the people that are responsible for making sure all of you have a paycheck each Friday. As valuable members of your team, and the ones responsible for your success, aren’t they worth it?