Communication has been called the glue that hold organisations together to the electricity that powers up a place. It remains a vital and crucial tool to use in building, sustaining and protecting corporate reputation. Here’s some tips that can revive and empower your communication efforts:
3.1 No doctor will prescribe treatment without a proper diagnosis. Conduct a communications audit. A Communications Audit can be compared to a financial audit or to a medical check up. Likewise, a Communications Audit will evaluate the "health" of an organisation’s formal and informal information systems. The undertaking of such an audit should be the starting point for any communications programme. It will show both positive and negative aspects – So that you can learn from both.
3.2 Change your approach instead of trying to change the way your workforce communicates. Remember Richard Saunders words: "The only way to get a significantly different result is to do something significantly different".
3.3 Make communications with staff a Board priority. Misunderstandings can cost you dearly. As one manager once said on CNN in a panel discussion : "What’s the point in training people – The competition just poaches them". So the other panelist replied : So, watch them stay".
3.4 Communicate, communicate, communicate. Keeping employees in the dark just doesn’t wash any more.
3.5 Implement coaching strategies in your organisations. What is more effective than a manager coaching and communicating face to face with his employees in an amicable, trustworthy but performance orientated way?
3.6 Encourage the formation of cross functional teams to break up traditional organisational " silos". Develop training packages that will equip people used to working in traditional departments to be able to function in cross functional teams. Use new tools such as blogging to enhance this process.
3.7 Build relationships with all stakeholders. This way you will foster cross functional communication and participation.
3.8 Build effective organisational and interpersonal communication practices into the Performance Management system. " That which is not inspected will
never be respected".
3.9 Use various tools, mechanisms and means to communicate. Read books such as " NLP at work" by Sue Knight". This book will give you more insight as to how different people communicate. Use visuals, intranets, blogs, newsletters, payroll inserts, videos, but never forget the power of one – on – one.
3.10 Make communication your responsibility. You know that communication is at best an imperfect science – Therefore assume responsibility for ensuring that your listener understands.
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