Limited Communication Leads to Decreased Employee Confidence
There seems to be a correlation between the state of the economy and the effectiveness of most corportate communication. As early as last fall, studies were finding a growing gap between how much communication employees were getting from their company leaders and how much they’d like to get.
This February, Harris Interactive conducted an online survey of 1,200 U.S. workers and found that 90 percent of employees are feeling a decrease in confidence in the top management of their company – due in large part to a lack of communication.
Larry Turner, CEO of Roundhouse Advisors, points out that “employees will fill any void of information with their own assessment of the situation.” When company leaders aren’t communicating, employees often come to the conclusion that management has no idea what they are doing.
So how do you assure employees and re-build confidence, even when you don’t have all of the answers? John Cowan, Editor at Ragan Communications, recently suggested:
Communicate as much as you can, and do it promptly before the rumor mill can twist the facts around. If you don’t have the answer to a question, just say so. Then do your best to find it and share it.For more on the topic, check out:
- Larry Turner’s article: Tough Times Requires Greater Employee Communication
- My e-book: Transforming Anxiety into Energy
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There is a great line in the 1970s song “The things we do for love” by 10CC. The line goes
“Communication is the problem to the answer”
And in this environment, this seems to sum it up.