Why Your Communications Stink

A friend was giving me a tour of her company’s manufacturing operations last year. We stopped by a large communication center, a wall that was covered with pictures, maps, diagrams, and copy, all explaining the move the company was about to make. I spent some time reading the descriptions of the new facilities, the anticipated benefits of the move for the company and its employees, and the schedule for the move. I was impressed with the amount of information presented and how it was all displayed. It was apparent that the company had obtained professional help with the layout and content of the communication center and the material it contained.

Nonetheless, it soon became apparent that the time and resources invested in the effort had not paid any dividends. A few weeks later, my friend told me that the operators at her company were holding a union vote. The workforce was altogether upset with the move and was making its displeasure known the only way it knew how.

Many of the organizations I’ve worked in and with just didn’t do a good job of communicating new information, especially when substantial changes were afoot. Like my friend’s employer, they assumed that a “one-shot” overview of the upcoming change was enough. In my own work, clients are often eager to “launch” a new initiative with an “all hands” town hall at which the top officers announce their excitement about and commitment to the project. A few months (or weeks) later, everyone is wondering what happened to the new program given that no further information has been forthcoming.

All information, but especially new information that announces and describes coming changes, needs to be distributed often and through a variety of channels. “Often” means “frequently”… “a lot”… “over and over again”… “repetitively”. I tell students and clients that there’s no such thing as overcommunication. Continually transmitting change information provides a strong signal that what the leaders are continually communicating is important. It also helps assure that everyone is getting the message. Finally, it helps create space for employees to respond to the message. If you hear just one message regarding leadership’s commitment to increasing diversity in the organization, how likely are you to take it seriously? If you hear about that commitment continuously, aren’t you more likely to take the message seriously?

“Through a variety of channels” means “every which way you can think of”…town halls, department meetings, team meetings, bulletin boards, lunchroom TVs, newsletters, e-mails, posters, and, especially, face-to-face. The use of a variety of channels assures that the message will be distributed in a variety of ways, increasing the chances that everyone will hear the message. More channels also provide more chances to hear the message in a way that is accessible to a variety of listeners.

The most effective communication channel is face-to-face. I had a client that was seeking to create two employee teams as a start to its initiative to improve employee engagement. Two weeks later, there were no volunteers for the teams. I asked the plant manager what had been done to recruit volunteers. He apparently hoped that pinning up a sheet of paper would create the energy and interest needed to start a new initiative within his plant; he told me that he’d posted a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board.

I gave a short lecture on the value of face-to-face communications, then accompanied him onto the shop floor to approach several operators about the effort to increase their participation in solving problems and addressing the own frustrations. Within an hour, we had enough volunteers to fill both teams.

Another past client was Ohio’s Department of Transportation. The deputy director of the Cleveland district talked with each of the more than 400 employees of the district each year about his goals and strategic vision. He spoke to some individually and others in small groups. In every case, there was time to discuss his message and answer managers’ and employees’ questions, and address their concerns.

His approach wasn’t efficient, of course. Meeting with more than 400 employees took a lot of his time each year. He saw that time, though, as an investment in the performance of his district, which was the most complex and had the largest budget in the state. Still, he saw that investment returned many times over; the district was the best performing of twelve districts in Ohio.

Do your communications “stink”? If they’re getting results like my friend’s employer did, then yes. Even if not, you might be getting sub-par results from your change initiatives that have their source in poorly planned, poorly executed communication strategies. You can fix it, though: use lots of channels, especially face to face, to transmit your message over and over again repeatedly, time and again. (The redundancy is intended.) This requires effective planning, of course. What messages will go into which channels? How will the effectiveness of the messages be assessed? What forms will especially the face-to-face channel take?

Ad hoc posting of bulletins and sending broadcast emails won’t work. A significant part of carrying out any change effort will need to be devoted to planning these communications. On the other hand, the downside of ignoring this groundwork can be significant. On the other hand, the rewards of good communication design execution can be substantial.

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