7 July 2008
Communication takes pole position during challenging times
"Face time is critical" say senior leaders.
New research published by MAP Consulting shows senior leaders are placing a greater emphasis on internal communication during difficult business times. Face-to-face comms is noted as being of the utmost importance.
Renewed focus on communication
The research is based on a survey conducted this past May among 239 CEOs, presidents and general managers from across the US. It paints a cautious picture for economically challenging environments.
Corporate headcounts appear to have settled with the stabilization potentially being from a desire to "hunker down" and wait for the economy to improve. Yet communications features prominently.
Survey respondents indicated that when the chips are down, leadership messages are critical, and tend to center on reminding employees of the need for hard work, while tactics to improve morale include increased face time, personal recognition and consistent messages.
Key communication strategies
If communication is vital, what information are leaders sharing? Strategies, company finances and company business results were presented as key communication topics, and by far, face-to-face meetings with employees are the preferred method of communicating.
Most respondents said they communicate to employees at least once a month, while nearly 1 in 3 communicate to their employees at least once per week.
Tactics to improve morale include increased face time, personal recognition and consistent messages.
Consistent messages
The most frequently mentioned message from leaders to employees is that the company is doing well, which helps employees to focus on the business.
Asking employees to improve customer satisfaction is also mentioned, "because improved customer satisfaction equals improved revenue, which equals better company performance and employee comfort."
CEOs are also spending more face-to-face time with employees and using it to reassure them that the economic downturn will pass and that their company is stable. Comments on ways to do this included:
- "Face time, and lots of it.”
- “Employee lunches with a Q&A period.”
- “I have increased my 1-on-1 employee "talk" time at work stations to better deal with concerns in at more personal manner”
- “I am trying to visit all of our traveling employees and reassure them.”
Maintaining a positive attitude, expressing confidence and reassuring employees that the downturn isn't caused by them were further messages communicated by senior leaders.
Increased recognition efforts
Employee recognition, however small, was also high on the agenda. Just because budgets were slashed doesn't mean you can't say "well done" to employees for good work.
In fact, during challenging times it's even more important to recognize and reward staff, as Bob Nelson emphasized at the SHRM conference in Chicago last month: "Organizational, cultural and financial benefits are realized through positive employee recognition and effectively engaging your entire workforce."
Just because budgets were slashed doesn't mean you can't say 'well done' to employees for good work.
Comments from survey respondents suggest sales contests, recognition of milestones, training and motivation, company fun days, increased incentives and even buying lunch for certain achievements are all methods being employed to reward and recognize good work or effort.
Have your say
In the days of constant news and rapid, many-to-many communications, bad news can travel faster than ever before. Many employees may be worried about their postion.
Has your leadership team increased its communication frequency? What tactics are they employing in these challenging economical times?
Feedback
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