Today’s corporate workspace is very different than what it was say 10 years back or, it won’t be wrong to say 5 years or 3 years back. The environment at the workplace is changing at a rapid pace. Earlier the hierarchy communication pattern was more on the levels or post basis and there was a lot of information loss in this process as there were no mechanisms for feedback.
Top-down approaches to employee communication are no longer relevant in the new, relationship-based paradigm. Organizations believe that while it is easy to communicate downward, the real test lies in getting the information right from down to upward level effectively. This can only happen if the employees are motivated to speak their mind that the organization can guard against lost opportunities, project delays and initiatives that lack of dialogue may cause.
No company today wants to lose potential employee. Firms are using various methods of corporate communication including internal newsletters, bulletin boards, periodic staff meetings, intranet, employee opinion surveys, blogs, executive chats, instant messaging, etc. to communicate to them effectively as they don’t want to lose them on miscommunication.
The modern communication patterns have helped in disseminating information easily and on a faster pace, especially in a situation where the workforce is spread across the globe.
Blogs play an important role in the exercise as companies and directors find blogs as an excellent mechanism for collecting feedback, expanding networks and knowledge sharing across a global employee base. The corporate sector is trying to innovate on various tools of communication to make the exchange of information more effective.
A good communication system helps the employer to get closer to their employees and ultimately benefits the company. It helps in better customer service, encouraged clarity of purpose, enhanced employee motivation and dedication to the company, fostered teamwork, inspired productive staff input, and established the organization’s transparency and integrity. It also helps in motivating the employees, building team, and helping you to deliver exceptional service. This permits clarity and helps employees to understand their connection to the company and its goal.
Some of the patterns used today in the communications at the workplace are as follows
1. Power Lunch: provides an informal platform over lunch for associates and senior management to interact with various individual and organizational subjects allowing them to exchange views, opinions and suggestions.
2. Internet Surveys: Many organizations have various formal and informal surveys among employees on a fortnightly basis on various issues, concerns and suggestions that employees have.
3. Open House: It allows the management of a company to discuss organizational developments and highlight the objectives for the future while communicating the organization’s long and short term vision and goals. It also enables associates to offer suggestions for improvement of various processes and get answers to their queries from the management.
4. Others: Many companies follow the customized pattern which is tailor made as per the needs of the employee and the employer but the motive behind them is same. The message to the employee is clear.