Poor levels of trust within an organisation can sabotage its chance of success – but it can be earned through leadership’s clear and consistent communication, writes Alan Tyrrell.
Trust is in short supply in the Irish workplace, according to a new research report entitled The Inside Story. The report, which was commissioned by PSG Plus, found that while trust is often cited as the most important ingredient for success, it receives mere lip service in many organisations. When work-place trust is low, it breeds employee disinterest and disengagement. Worse still, it can lead to serious industrial relations and productivity issues with the potential to damage an organisation’s reputation and profitability. The report found that larger companies fare worst when it comes to trust, employees’ understanding of company goals and positive recommendations from employees. On the specific question of trust in the workplace, the report found that just 20 per cent of employees trust their employer to keep them fully informed of important changes.
Poor internal communication is a key contributor to this trust gap, which in turn leads to low employee engagement and ultimately low productivity with an associated negative impact on the organisation’s bottom line. Firms of all sizes can cultivate a culture of trust by implementing some simple but effective measures, as outlined below. Before jumping in, however, business leaders should consider two vital elements of successful internal communication – employees and implementation.
Engage your employees
Successful organisations remember that employees are the foundation of their success. Organisations with high levels of employee engagement typically generate higher levels productivity, have lower rates of absenteeism and fewer workplace accidents. Employee engagement has a direct impact on an organistaion’s external reputation also. When asked if they would recommend their employer to family and friends, just 17 per cent of respondents in the 25-34 year old category stated that they always talked positively about their employer. With growth opportunities increasing throughout the economy, the need to engage and empower employees through open, honest dialogue is critical to success. If employees do not know what success looks like, however, it will be hard to achieve it. Worryingly, the research shows that just one in five people feel that everyone in their organisation understands the company’s business objectives and their role in achieving them.
To keep employees informed of the organisation’s objectives, it is vital that management commits to a policy of regular, open, two-way communication and actively encourage dialogue – particularly around difficult or sensitive issues. Doing so will have the two-fold benefit of building trust while increasing clarity around
individuals’ roles and what is required of them.
Empower your team
A consistent, clear and cohesive internal communication strategy is central to success, but implementing such a strategy can be tough. Opening lines of communication at all levels of an organisation will empower employees and encourage increased engagement with their work. When an organisation’s employees feel empowered to contribute or critique, a culture of equality, innovation and success becomes possible.
Direct communication between a manager and her or his team is the most effective way to bring about changes in workplace behaviours. Communication activities such as role reinforcement, contextualising activities within business successes, and sharing both good and bad news can eradicate doubt among employees about their role and their overall importance to the organisation.
Five tips for successful internal communications
An organisation’s communication strategy should be simple, actionable and meaningful if it is to achieve the desired results. Here are five practical tips to help you get started.
1. Keep employees informed: ensure transparency within the company and maintain open lines of communication from the top down to create a happy, motivated workforce. The benefits stretch far beyond the bottom line as open discussions help build a strong community and create a culture where employees feel confident within their roles and willing to outperform expectations. An increase in informal, face-to-face contact between line managers and their teams is a simple step that will ensure all news is company-led rather than rumour-led.
2. Share the goal and vision often: the PSG Plus report suggests that just one in four employees fully understand their organisation’s overall objectives and their own role.
If employees don’t fully understand what is expected of them and how they can contribute to the overall success of the business, they will never perform to the best of their ability. By communicating consistently, motivation will increase and a marked improvement in productivity can be expected.
3. Listen and take action: informing employees of company updates and news is just one side of the equation. It is more important to listen to feedback and act upon it. Actively seeking the opinions of employees and showing a genuine interest in their development will demonstrate commitment to their success as an integral part of the business. Bottom-up communication as well as top-down communication is the winning formula for effective internal communications.
4. Acknowledge and reward: it may sound simple, but acknowledging an employee’s hard work with a straightforward ‘thank you’ is sometimes all that is needed. Regular feedback and positive reinforcement can also motivate and inspire employees. As well as feedback and direction, allocate budget within the internal communications model to reward employees with meaningful training and softer rewards, such as thank you vouchers.
5. Measure: adopt tools to measure the effectiveness of your internal communications strategy on an ongoing basis. If you don’t, you won’t know if it’s working. Survey staff, review targets, and revise initiatives that aren’t working. This exercise will allow you to maintain effective internal communications and foster a happier, more productive workforce.
Conclusion
The best business leaders know that their organisation’s greatest asset is their people. However, The Inside Story shows that the majority of employees in Ireland believe their workplace suffers from poor trust and poor communication, resulting in low levels of positive endorsement from employees and poor levels of engagement.
Approaching your teams with simple, actionable and meaningful communications will have a measureable impact on your workplace environment and your bottom line. Whether you work in banking, food production, retail, professional services or any other sector, the key to sustainable competitive advantage rests in having an engaged workforce that is empowered to perform to the best of its ability. Organisations that think about communications inside the box will inevitably generate success outside the box.
Alan Tyrrell is Director of PSG Plus, the corporate reputation division of communications group, PSG.