源内苍:Stimulate employees to communicate

Stimulate employees to communicate


With the above;


Encouraged to inspire employees to exchange their opinions, concerns and emotions, is indeed a difficult task. To win this challenge, you must focus on three key issues: the exchange to become your company's priorities, and let each employee know that you value the exchange; to provide staff with the opportunity to talk with management; confidence-building atmosphere.
  
 Speaking of the exchanges between the organization and staff, we do not lack of tools. In fact, the channels of communication is smooth? In many cases, the answer is no. The management of the organization to keep the employees may release information, but employees rarely, not even to the higher feedback. Efforts to adapt to today's evolving market environment, lack of communication may become a big problem.

    University of Denver Stephen Erbschloe made a study showed that the reason why the 46 companies that he studied the face of the Internet has brought business opportunities to move slowly, the main two reasons: the exchange of the poor and administrative confusion.

    How can employees are willing to talk to you? How to put your company into a lean, balanced and adaptable machine? If you discuss this issue with human resources experts and interpersonal communication experts, can be summed up in three necessary conditions to improve the exchange of standards:

    * To enable the exchange to your company's priorities, and let each employee know that you value exchange.

    * To provide staff with the opportunity to talk with management.

    Confidence-building atmosphere. Without trust, employees may be reluctant to share their ideas and opinions with others. In today's streamlining, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions to become the mainstream of the times, employees are often afraid to speak their minds.

    In your organization, how to effectively encourage two-way communication? Very simple, to show them that you value their opinions. Donald Sheppard, is a company specializing in internal communication strategy consulting firm Sheppard, Chief Executive Officer of the Associates, Inc., he said: you need to pass the most important information to employees is that the solution to any problem, never will never be a one-way exchange of information has always been interactive, so that everyone participate in the discussion. "In other words, you must ensure that employees know that you are willing to listen to their opinions.

    Encourage employees to a higher level of exchange, one of the key is clearly expressed hope that such exchanges, to encourage such exchanges. In such an exchange occurs, you will pay attention to it, and reward "3M (Minnesota Mining) manager for the exchange of change, Barbara Perkins says. 3M, "company clearly expect employees to carry out cross-organizational structure of exchanges, the new point of view is always to be encouraged," Perkins said, "It's all part of the measures to maintain the spirit of innovation efforts within the company."

    Importance to communication often require different departmental managers for collaboration and team action, for example, responsible for human resources and internal communications departments need to be unified pace. According to the Unisys computer company's internal communications consultant Denise Baron, the statement, the Unisys is the same situation.

    "The person in charge of our human resources department is an active supporter of the exchange, and made earnest efforts, for example, in close collaboration with the people participating in the exchange, in order to improve internal communication," she said. By the person in charge of the Human Resources Department, the general manager of the company and employees to participate in exchange a coalition camp staff have fully demonstrated the great importance of staff exchanges.

Try to expand channel

    In order to effectively motivate employees to participate in exchange activities, you need a variety of formal and informal channels of communication. Formal channels may include recommendations process, corporate intranet forum or feedback form; informal channels may include some staff meetings and other types of face-to-face conversation. "Employees must be aware of all formal and informal channels of communication," Pasley-Stuart human resources consulting firm, Anne Pasley-Stuart, On the Road.

    The LD DeSimone, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota on a regular meeting, which not only provides a chance to talk, but more importantly in is to provide a good opportunity to listen to. "He arranged most of the time to listen to the views of staff, to understand the thinking of the staff meeting." Perkins said. In the beginning of each meeting, DeSimone is always clear and concise description of this meeting is introduced for the employees that they might be interested in business or topics of the latest progress, Perkins recalls.

    Subsequently, the meeting commenced the agenda is mainly by the employees' questions and (management) to answer, discussion topics is not set in advance, there is no provision to limit the scope of the problem.

    Perkins according to the ratio of the number of participants and the number of participants to measure the level of interest of employees, she said that every time people are always participate and returned questionnaires from the meeting during the whole staff was very positive view. Employees DeSimone for taking the time to meet with them impressed, "Perkins, analysis," they appreciate in this way and I think DeSimone like this "fair exchange" forum, employees like. "

    However, employees are often reluctant to directly express their thoughts. Even in the most open corporate culture, some employees have a good idea, but for some reason difficult to openly express.

   In this case, these employees can be considered to allow them to remain anonymous feedback system, the use of reliable suggestion box is another option. Moreover, modern technology (Internet and electronic means of communication) to provide more ways of expression.

Confidence-building atmosphere

    Organizations for the views of the staff's approach, also directly affects the future be able to receive what type of feedback. If the employees know that even the most acerbic comments can be positive, honest response will not have any unpopular, will have a sense of trust in the minds of employees. But if the opposite situation: if their feedback is ignored, or organization of countermeasures for only for superficial, or employees to tell their own views of retaliation, they would not dare to honest feedback.

    Baron pointed out that the Unisys Chief Executive Officer Larry Weinbach is to promote the corporate culture gradually become the driving force behind trusting atmosphere. She recalled Weinbach in the office the next day through television speech to all employees, 'Hey, write to me, I will answer, I would like to know that you have in mind.' "Began to change the atmosphere of the plan. The Weinbach personally read, and candid reply to every incoming e-mail the news spread, he continued to receive feedback from the number of exponential growth, has received more than 4,000 e-mails within a few months.

    The only way to motivate employees to participate in or encourage employees to feedback is to create an atmosphere of trust so that people know they can freely express their views without fear of the retaliation of the organizations, "said Baron," confidence-building takes a long time and we very lucky to have a good open channels of communication leader, he began his first day on the exchanges set up a clear framework. "

    KPMG LLP, responsible for the exchange of a partner and Executive Director Jim Simon noted that some of the issues discussed in interviews with the staff, so that information passed to the other employees through electronic and print media. "We sorted out the different categories the main points of the employees to ask questions, answer their questions frankly, will return the information attached to the end of the weekly e-mail newsletter," he said.

    Simon believes that the more able to build trust, because this will always be honest with the answer is passed to a wider audience, not just on the spot to hear the staff to understand the truth. The peggy Walkush is high-tech companies SAIC (Internet content providers, the main IC sales) is responsible for a director with the relationship between shareholding employees, she was always an open response to a direct, honest two-way communication and employee feedback. "We found that employee ownership has numerous problems, they are to challenge your ability, you can only ready for this, and to be patient and happy to answer."

    But Walkush also believes that an atmosphere of confidence-building does not mean that allow vexatious or inappropriate requirements. "You have to understand where the line is," she said, "We would say: 'This is what we give you information about stock prices; you have no right to look at the resolution of the Board of Directors; those elected members of the Board's work.' You must be very clear where the boundaries with staff exchanges, what things they have the right to intervene, which have no right to know? "

    Eastman Kodak (Eastman Kodak), Dotty Luebke, a director in charge of employee communications, increase confidence in the concept of the new content. Luebke often important communication activities before, during and after, select the part of employees to provide feedback. She spoke of colleagues working in other organizations are often very surprised, because Kodak employees are often the major decisions of the company formally announced before already know the exact message, and also asked to provide feedback. Even so, Luebke also never encountered in these exchanges employees undermine confidence, the disclosure of confidential situation. "You should trust your employees," she said, "with the people you work with, also want the company to successfully."

    How can we understand the exchange's efforts to increase the effectiveness of? Ironically, the answer is: If employees are not so frequently communicate with you is a good sign. The original Perkins told 3M of a Senior Manager of formal and informal communication with staff often. Senior manager said: "I intend to continue meeting with these people until they no longer have the problem can be put forward so far."

    This is precisely the reality of the Unisys e-mail, Larry Weinbach received from the staff "has been reduced to almost nothing". In some organizations, the lack of feedback may be concerned about because the management is not enough. But Baron (in Unisys to) employees are no longer ignorant of, but they do not want to know more to worry about more things they know they should stand in the position, they also know the direction of the company, as to the past they had problems in the future will be a step-by-step solution. "