Communication: Smell the change

On an intimate level, wooing has evolved from women being hit over the head and dragged by the hair to a cave to consummate new found 'love', to being wined and dined with no concrete promise of reciprocation for the suitor. Similarly, employees need to be wooed with effective communication and appropriate action to gain their trust, even though there's no guarantee of increased discretionary effort on their part.

What is effective communication?

Drawn-out strategies, rigid policies and rhetoric are 'offences' that belong in the past when it comes to effective communication. It's businesses that demonstrate a commitment to change - particularly in the way they communicate with their people - that are more likely to have motivated and productive employees. Getting the basics right is a good start.

• Listen
By hearing and digesting employees' voice, organisations demonstrate sincerity and a genuine interest in their greatest asset: employees. Noting what they communicate at employee gatherings, followed by implementation and ongoing feedback will keep employees engaged.

• Non-verbal communication
It's not what a business communicates, but rather what they do that will dictate employees' behaviour. What is your business culture saying? Are employees' braai and elevator conversations praising or lambasting your organisation's modus operandi? Let the brand ambassadors - or lack of - speak for themselves.

• Emotional intelligence
It's often only spoken of in the context of employees. How is your business fairing in this critical area? Boasting a leadership team that excels in terms of producing peaked sales statistics, but lacks dismally in terms of people skills and therefore emotional intelligence, will produce a robotic workforce that can easily be lured to the opposition if the right carrot is dangled.

• Walk the talk
Leadership's example, commitment and involvement in employee communication account for 70% of the success/failure rate of strategic and change initiatives. Effective communication is still seen as a nice-to-have tick box by many managers, rather than an integral strategic component of business. Therefore less than 50% of managers are able to motivate employees effectively in the face of change.

Communication and change

In his book Leading Change, John P. Kotter points out reduction of costs; improved quality of products and services; and new growth opportunities as drivers for organisations' pursuit of change.

These can only be achieved by an engaged and motivated workforce. The quickest way to get employees' backs up is to force change down their throats without ample prior warning, as well as articulating and equipping them to deal with what's coming. Kotter cautions against common mistakes that curtail employees' adjustment to change:

1. Indulged complacency: A sense of urgency needs to be instilled and maintained from the start
2. Uncommitted leadership: If the leaders aren't seen to be living the change, the organisation's dead in the water
3. A lack of vision: A floundering business cannot expect the workforce to jump when it shouts 'change'
4. Uncommunicated vision: Leaders must explain the vision to employees so that it makes sense to them
5. Distracting obstacles: Don't let obstacles divert from the organisation's vision
6. Neglecting short-term wins: Celebrating these wins is crucial to buoying employee morale
7. Premature declaration of victory: This could sabotage achievement of the ultimate goal
8. Unchanged company culture: The relevant changes need to be fully entrenched in the company culture

In the absence of effective, evolved communication employees' inherent resistance to change is compounded. Communication helps to 'nurse' them along this journey that is everything but comfortable, even for the die-hards amongst us.

References:

• Melcrum.com
• Leading Change by John P. Kotter