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Communication To be a manager is to be a communicator – the two are inextricably linked. An effective manager needs to communicate upwards, sideways and with his/her team all the time. Employees have a stake in the business, so it is essential that they are kept fully informed regularly and that their views and opinions are sought. Poor communication can cause many problems. What is more, one of the two most common reasons why employees feel demotivated is that they don’t know what’s going on and no-one’s interested in their views. Good communication can improve the performance of your business, so take time to do it well. The Intellect HR guide takes you through the following essential pointers to effective communication:
Ensure it is two-way. Many managers focus only on communications downwards
– giving information to their people. However, for communication to be really
effective it must be two-way. You need therefore, to give information to others and to
gain information from them by asking questions.
Decide what to communicate. Many managers are too secretive: whilst confidential
information clearly has to remain confidential, some take the view that "information is
power" and forget to impart to their team the key information needed to do a job
effectively and efficiently. If you are keeping something from your team, ask yourself
why. There may be a good reason, but most issues relating to the business, its
performance and its future plans should be shared. This will create a greater sense of
ownership and involvement amongst your team and may lead to some really good
suggestions as to how you can grow and improve the business.
Decide when to communicate. Communication should be timely. Share information as
things happen. Avoid the temptation to store up your communication until the next
monthly meeting! By then, it may seem like history and you may have lost the
opportunity to gain the input of others.
Decide why you are communicating. This will influence how best to do it. Is it to
share information? Is it to persuade? Influence? Is it to gain feedback? Is it to prompt
action?
Make it relevant to your audience. The art of good communication is to tailor the
message to the recipient. Consider, for example:
Choose your method. There are lots of ways to communicate. Select the right
combination for the right circumstances. Here are a few:
Review the effectiveness of each method from time to time, to ensure that
you are using the most effective combination. For example, at the
end of a team meeting, take five minutes to conduct a review –
what went well? What could we do differently next time?
Good communicators make the message interesting by giving a human twist,
telling a story, using analogies, giving examples…. etc.
The recall rate of the spoken word improves when supported by good visual aids, but is still only around 30%! |
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