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Live
Wires: HR's Role in Employee Communication
Imagine floundering helplessly in deep water while your swim coach
stands around hypothesizing about how you got in over your head,
pontificating on the merits of becoming a lifeguard, or admonishing
you to listen more carefully to instructions. Let's face it; when
you're drowning, you need a life raft. Until you're out of danger,
you are in no position to join the swim team.
Employee
communication is like that. Until an employee's basic needs for
safety, security and belonging are satisfied, s/he is not particularly
open to learning (or caring about) the larger organizational picture.
I am often amazed at how much time and energy employers spend
thinking about their mission, values, etc. when the things that
matter most to the everyday employee - having a manager who provides
valuable feedback, understanding how to do their job, feeling
free to approach a manager with advice/suggestions - get ignored.
And this is where HR can shine.
HR staff can play a vital role in making sure employees are psychologically
ready to hear, and support, the mission, values and goals of the
organization. They can also help the corporate communications
department translate organizational messages effectively, consistently,
and frequently - and enhance employee communication, drive business
value, and attract and retain top talent.
No
News is Not Good News
Ideally,
HR is the "live wire" that keeps communication between employers
and employees running smoothly. A first step is keeping employees
informed about organizational decisions. There are lots of business
reasons to keep employees in the know; employee trust is built
by telling employees how decisions are made, how they affect the
employee, and what the employee can do to contribute. Companies
that practice a high degree of information sharing enjoy a 1.8
percent higher shareholder value.
There's
also a practical reason; they're going to find out anyway. Between
the Internet, the rumor mill, and job-switching employees, the
real story of what is going on at your company is out long before
you have time to craft, a less-than-objective message.
This
is especially true during times of organizational change or interpersonal
tension, when employees are fearful and insecure. A 1998 Pricewaterhouse
Coopers survey of 350 organizations found that HR departments
emphasized motivation and communication during periods of growth
but not during periods of difficult organizational change. Yet
it is precisely during times of change that employees most need
to be kept motivated and informed. Unless the workforce is appropriately
informed about the reasons for a particular organizational change,
about the processes that will be involved and the outcomes to
be expected, negative rumors and misinformation will fill the
vacuum. As a result, individuals' reactions range from distraction
from their day-to-day work to their exodus from the company. Properly
planned and targeted communications can help reduce unnecessary
fear and resistance to change. In doing this, the HR department
can help the organization maintain a competitive advantage.
The
communication vacuum often happens on an interpersonal level,
too. During stressful times, managers often respond by keeping
sensitive information close to the vest. Their decisions become
more delayed and cautious, leaving their employees wandering in
the dark. Yet this approach backfires; the computer glitch that
delays paychecks will turn into gossip about a pending layoff
or a struggling bottom line.
In
a similar vein, I've seen numerous offensive behavior complaints
turn into lawsuits - not because the investigation itself was
inadequate but because the complaining employee was not informed
about its process, progress, or outcome. Without that information,
anxiety rises, perceptions are distorted, and the possibility
of a peaceful resolution deteriorates.
People
need to be told before a change, during a change, and after a
change about the activities, requirements, and results of their
efforts. Communication strategy is a key to success during organizational
transitions, and HR can take a lead in crafting one. However,
care should be taken for the HR function not to be seen as the
owner of the change process. The ownership should reside with
the employee.
For Employees, The Buck Stops Here
While
top execs must be involved, HR and the corporate communications
department play a role in taking the message framed by upper management
and ensuring that it is communicated frequently, consistently,
and effectively throughout the organization. This doesn't necessarily
mean human resources should be in the same department as corporate
communications; in my experience, many employers view their communications
department as the source of public image wizardry and organizational
speech writing. Human resources won't profit from a "spin doctor"
image; instead, they need to be seen as trustworthy, accessible
and honest.
However,
a united front - shared by HR, the chief executive and the corporate
communication function--demonstrates to employees that the company
places a premium on employee communication. HR and communications
should work closely to coordinate a variety of formal and informal
communication channels. HR should also be involved in measuring
how the organization's communication efforts affect employee recruitment,
retention, satisfaction and turnover. HR should measure whether
benefit communications are clear and result in decisions that
benefit employees and the organization.
HR
also should measure whether corporate messages related to strategic
initiatives and goals are being heard and understood by employees
to ensure that they are doing the right things and are, ultimately,
productive. The benefits of bringing the two measurement programs
together are several:
*
HR and communications issues overlap so there is a natural benefit
from assessing the issues together rather than separately;
*
Communications issues can have a strong impact on other HR "outcomes"
(such as employee motivation and organizational commitment), so
measuring them separately can miss the chance to assess these
important linkages;
*
Synergistic strategy formation at corporate level is highly desirable
and a silo approach to measurement is unlikely to help achieve
this, particularly in two areas as closely aligned as communications
and HR; and,
*
There can be cost-efficiencies in combining measurement programs.
There
are different aspects of communication you can measure. If your
audience received the message, if they understood what they read
or heard, if they actually believe it and what actions they took
based on the communication they received." Most importantly, you
can measure the organizational outcomes related to these actions.
Lay
It On the Line
Sure,
employees are curious about quarterly returns, company values,
and the CEO's opinions. But, they first want to know about the
day-to-day issues that have a direct impact on employees' life
at work; in fact, research shows that 70% of what employees want
to know involves their own work group. By satisfying employee
needs for this information, HR professionals can help them absorb
higher-level corporate messages.
For
example, by measuring and monitoring employee needs, HR can keep
their pulse on how effectively existing management practices satisfy
basic employee communication needs. Through focus groups, surveys,
and training, they can identify, and remedy, deficits in performance
management, coaching, and employee satisfaction. They can also
ensure that employees are not promoted to management without gaining
the necessary interpersonal skills to be effective leaders.
This
is particularly critical for front-line managers, where the most
common communication glitches occur. In fact, the first communication
breakdown between front-line managers and employees is in how
they define "communication." When managers are asked to define
communication, they tend to think of specific relatively infrequent
tools or events, such as meetings and performance appraisals.
Employees, on the other hand, view communication as an on-going,
everyday process that provides the information they need to do
their jobs. If managers are the ones who lead communication and
they think it's something different than their customers - the
employees - there's a problem.
In fact, questions about team performance or a work group's role
in the overall organization won't matter until employees know
how they are doing and where their job fits in. Of course, the
ultimate need for employees is to align their role in the organization
with those larger questions and with the needs of a customer and
the organization's marketplace. Properly led, people tend naturally
to respond with the most vital workplace question of all: How
can I help? The posing of that question by the individual worker
is the beginning of personal commitment and a response to the
quality of one's immediate leadership.
From a practical standpoint, this means keeping in touch with
how much managers talk to their employees - and what this means
to the bottom line. Answers to questions such as "How frequent
is the communication you get from your manager?" are good to know.
But to find out what the impact of communication is on productivity,
on retention, on some of the core business results that communication
should be supporting, also ask employers if they receive the information
they need to perform their job effectively would tie more directly
to the bottom line.
This
applies to HR-directed management development training as well.
In their communication skills training, managers can be taught
to start their employee communication with the end goal in mind.
For example, in their performance management efforts, managers
can be taught to consider the actions their employees need to
take to meet their performance goals, what their employees need
to know or believe to take those actions, and how to build credibility
so that employees are receptive to hearing these messages.
Walking
the Tightrope - and the Talk
Human
resources play the unique role of being a partner with the business,
as well as a consultant to each individual within the business.
A really good HR professional is able to maintain equal credibility
with both sides of the employment equation. On the employee side,
her role as advocate involves effective listening, counseling,
coaching and resolution of issues on behalf on her employees.
In this role, the HR manager provides employee development opportunities,
employee assistance programs, organization development interventions,
due process approaches to problem solving, and regularly scheduled
communication. By fostering effective methods of goal setting,
communication, and empowerment, the HR professional helps establish
the organizational culture and climate in which people have the
competency, concern, and commitment to serve customers well.
Which
brings us to the employer side. There is clearly the need for
HR to have a strategic link to the business. If, for instance,
the business imperative is to "increase widget production by 15%
over last years goals"; the HR mission, vision and tactical plans
should align with and support the attainment of this direction.
HR as business leaders must continually measure and distribute
their monthly results (as they relate to attraction, retention
and people productivity) among all managers. Through this data-driven
communication strategy, senior management feels secure that HR
is a productivity, rather than employee, advocate. Which, of course,
empowers HR to offer the programs, systems and initiatives that
maintain trust and credibility with employees.
The
Bottom Line
"Transport
of the mail, transport of the human voice, transport of the flickering
pictures; in this century as in others, our highest accomplishments
still have the single aim of bringing men together." French aviator,
Antoine de Saint-Exupery said this sixty years ago and it's still
true today. Human resource professionals, in their dual role as
strategic business partner and employee advocate, are the "live
wires" in the organizational communication network. Without their
help, even the most carefully crafted organizational messages
are likely to fall on deaf ears.
NEED
A SPEAKER FOR YOUR HR AUDIENCE? CONTACT DR. JOHNSTON
TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP!
Dr.
Joni Johnston, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Psychology, is a popular speaker who speaks to national human
resource audiences on such timely topics as "How to Turn
Employment
Liability into Employee Retention," "The Psychological
Road From
Employee to Plaintiff: How to Avoid Wrongful Termination Lawsuits,"
and "Dealing With Psychiatric Disabilities at Work."
To
contact her to speak to your group, e-mail
jonij@workrelationships.com.
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