Effective and contented workers are the foundation of a successful company. Making sure that employees' opinions, worries, and suggestions are heard is one of the finest methods to increase their level of happiness. Yet, the management of the company much too often fails to notice this by accident.
A condition where individuals are able to freely share their views and ideas to one another is known as open communication. Open communication at the core of an organization's culture may have the following effects:
- Enhanced employee engagement: When workers feel at ease discussing their ideas, they are more likely to interact with their bosses. This may deepen their commitment to the company and boost output.
- Greater inclusion, equality, and diversity: Everyone has a right to be heard. Encouragement of employees to express their opinions and speak out makes more individuals feel included and increases the likelihood that they will provide helpful criticism. Additionally, it fosters employee trust in their employer, which positively affects employees' feeling of belonging at work, according to almost two thirds of workers.
- Increased levels of productivity: Motivated workers are more likely to feel appreciated and valued. According to studies, employees who have a sense of being heard at work are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform at their highest level.
In contrast, a company may suffer if there is a closed channel of communication inside the workplace. A company's brand may suffer from low morale, unfavorable reviews on websites like Glassdoor, and finally, employee attrition are some of the consequences of preventing employee communication.
Five Strategies To Promote Candid Communication At Work
Fortunately, putting into practice a plan that encourages employees to speak out isn't as difficult as one may believe. Examine these five suggestions to promote candid communication at work.
1. Show respect, honesty, and interest in the objectives of your staff
Honesty from all parties involved is necessary for open conversation. Company executives should make sure that the highest standards of respect are maintained in all company communications and that staff members understand this is also required of them. Remind someone that their opinions are valued but that they must be expressed politely if they speak in a different way. Establishing open communication in the workplace requires taking this crucial step.
Respect may also be shown by being aware of and giving workers' aims top priority. People often become aware of an organization's vision, values, and purpose when they join it. But often, it's a one-sided conversation, and workers' ambitions and objectives aren't covered at that time.
Leadership may effectively customize learning and development initiatives that provide the most benefits for both staff people and the company by taking into account their aspirations. Creating a mentoring program and promoting involvement may also guarantee that the mentees' professional objectives are fulfilled, provide mentors a chance to advance their management abilities, and perhaps even increase business earnings.
2. Make frequent checks in
Managers may remain in contact with their staff by conducting a weekly, one-question survey that is intended to give anonymous feedback, since over half of workers desire their company surveyed them more often. Companies may ask employees a new question every week and provide management the responses for assessment using an affordable survey system or a performance management platform with surveying features. This will assist company executives in resolving worker complaints before they escalate.
In order to fully reap the advantages of surveys, organizations need to make sure they are conducted correctly. Business executives should plan how to create and administer staff surveys, evaluate the data, and create an action plan based on the findings.
3. Request anonymous recommendations
Having a permanent, judgment-free space for employees to voice their ideas might be helpful in addition to providing surveys to them. Employers have to think about putting in place an online suggestion box system that lets staff members provide ideas and criticism in an anonymous manner. This serves to remind employees that they have the authority to suggest ways to make their workplace better. It could also motivate people to bring up topics with management that they wouldn't normally feel comfortable talking about.
4. Take comments into consideration
It's important to address employee input if you want to keep lines of communication open at work. Communication is, after all, a two-way street, and the culture of your business depends on employees feeling heard.
CEOs should put in place a mechanism to recognize and consider every piece of input they get. This might include going over survey findings in meetings with your team or at company-wide town halls.
Not every suggestion has to lead to change, but it should always be recognized and taken into account. This will make it more likely that workers will support the culture of open communication.
You could be astonished at the amount of wise words and creative suggestions you get after your organization offers channels for transparent communication. Naturally, some of the recommendations won't be positive. Company executives should keep in mind to recognize and resolve such issues as well as the fact that it's beneficial for staff members to have a channel for exchanging ideas.
5. Evaluate how well your open communication strategy is working
It takes more than just asking for and analyzing comments to determine if you've created an open culture and what needs to be improved. To achieve it, you must gather and examine pertinent quantitative and qualitative data. Business executives may choose to measure the following sample data points, which are provided by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM):
Qualitative information, such as firsthand accounts of how workers' views and opinions have improved as a result of using an open communication approach
Quantitative information, such as rates of employee satisfaction, productivity, and turnover
A collaborator to assist you in fostering candid dialogue
Small company owners are busy and growth-oriented, so it may be highly beneficial to have an objective outside group evaluate or enhance your communication efforts. That and more is possible with a professional employer organization (PEO) like ExtensisHR.
For instance, ExtensisHR provides the following services in addition to complete human resources, employee benefits, and risk and compliance services:
- Committed human resources managers to support small companies in creating strategies for employee surveys, mentoring programs, and open communication
- Affordably priced access to 15Five, a top performance management software that enables performance trend monitoring, employee engagement surveys, feedback collection, weekly check-ins, one-on-one meetings, and more
- A comprehensive knowledge foundation for learning and growth that covers training subjects including teamwork, communication, disengagement, and cooperation
Read Also : What are the key components of successful project management, and how do you prioritize tasks?
Ola Hansen 
Effective and contented workers are the foundation of a successful company. Making sure that employees' opinions, worries, and suggestions are heard is one of the finest methods to increase their level of happiness. Yet, the management of the company much too often fails to notice this by accident.
A condition where individuals are able to freely share their views and ideas to one another is known as open communication. Open communication at the core of an organization's culture may have the following effects:
In contrast, a company may suffer if there is a closed channel of communication inside the workplace. A company's brand may suffer from low morale, unfavorable reviews on websites like Glassdoor, and finally, employee attrition are some of the consequences of preventing employee communication.
Five Strategies To Promote Candid Communication At Work
Fortunately, putting into practice a plan that encourages employees to speak out isn't as difficult as one may believe. Examine these five suggestions to promote candid communication at work.
1. Show respect, honesty, and interest in the objectives of your staff
Honesty from all parties involved is necessary for open conversation. Company executives should make sure that the highest standards of respect are maintained in all company communications and that staff members understand this is also required of them. Remind someone that their opinions are valued but that they must be expressed politely if they speak in a different way. Establishing open communication in the workplace requires taking this crucial step.
Respect may also be shown by being aware of and giving workers' aims top priority. People often become aware of an organization's vision, values, and purpose when they join it. But often, it's a one-sided conversation, and workers' ambitions and objectives aren't covered at that time.
Leadership may effectively customize learning and development initiatives that provide the most benefits for both staff people and the company by taking into account their aspirations. Creating a mentoring program and promoting involvement may also guarantee that the mentees' professional objectives are fulfilled, provide mentors a chance to advance their management abilities, and perhaps even increase business earnings.
2. Make frequent checks in
Managers may remain in contact with their staff by conducting a weekly, one-question survey that is intended to give anonymous feedback, since over half of workers desire their company surveyed them more often. Companies may ask employees a new question every week and provide management the responses for assessment using an affordable survey system or a performance management platform with surveying features. This will assist company executives in resolving worker complaints before they escalate.
In order to fully reap the advantages of surveys, organizations need to make sure they are conducted correctly. Business executives should plan how to create and administer staff surveys, evaluate the data, and create an action plan based on the findings.
3. Request anonymous recommendations
Having a permanent, judgment-free space for employees to voice their ideas might be helpful in addition to providing surveys to them. Employers have to think about putting in place an online suggestion box system that lets staff members provide ideas and criticism in an anonymous manner. This serves to remind employees that they have the authority to suggest ways to make their workplace better. It could also motivate people to bring up topics with management that they wouldn't normally feel comfortable talking about.
4. Take comments into consideration
It's important to address employee input if you want to keep lines of communication open at work. Communication is, after all, a two-way street, and the culture of your business depends on employees feeling heard.
CEOs should put in place a mechanism to recognize and consider every piece of input they get. This might include going over survey findings in meetings with your team or at company-wide town halls.
Not every suggestion has to lead to change, but it should always be recognized and taken into account. This will make it more likely that workers will support the culture of open communication.
You could be astonished at the amount of wise words and creative suggestions you get after your organization offers channels for transparent communication. Naturally, some of the recommendations won't be positive. Company executives should keep in mind to recognize and resolve such issues as well as the fact that it's beneficial for staff members to have a channel for exchanging ideas.
5. Evaluate how well your open communication strategy is working
It takes more than just asking for and analyzing comments to determine if you've created an open culture and what needs to be improved. To achieve it, you must gather and examine pertinent quantitative and qualitative data. Business executives may choose to measure the following sample data points, which are provided by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM):
Qualitative information, such as firsthand accounts of how workers' views and opinions have improved as a result of using an open communication approach
Quantitative information, such as rates of employee satisfaction, productivity, and turnover
A collaborator to assist you in fostering candid dialogue
Small company owners are busy and growth-oriented, so it may be highly beneficial to have an objective outside group evaluate or enhance your communication efforts. That and more is possible with a professional employer organization (PEO) like ExtensisHR.
For instance, ExtensisHR provides the following services in addition to complete human resources, employee benefits, and risk and compliance services:
- Committed human resources managers to support small companies in creating strategies for employee surveys, mentoring programs, and open communication
- Affordably priced access to 15Five, a top performance management software that enables performance trend monitoring, employee engagement surveys, feedback collection, weekly check-ins, one-on-one meetings, and more
- A comprehensive knowledge foundation for learning and growth that covers training subjects including teamwork, communication, disengagement, and cooperation
Read Also : What are the key components of successful project management, and how do you prioritize tasks?