All Mastering Employee Communication: Key Benefits, Effective Methods, and Best Practices
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Mastering Employee Communication: Key Benefits, Effective Methods, and Best Practices

Author: Ravijojla Novakovic Last updated: February 22, 2024 Reading time: 15 minutes

Employee communication is the staple of a healthy workplace. Effective communication between management and employees, as well as between employees themselves, is essential for keeping workplaces informed and engaged.

Moreover, it is imperative to keep employee communication at its highest level during this pandemic, when many employees work from home. 

In other words, effective communication with employees is not just an option but a necessity. Employee Communication is about creating a two-way information flow, fostering dialogue, and promoting understanding within an organization. 

This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to understanding the fundamentals of employee communication.

We will delve into the basics of employee communication: its benefits, methods, and best practices. But before we start, get these 70 questions employees use to evaluate their employers. 

The Evolution of Employee Communication in the Changing Workplace 

The workplace landscape is in a state of constant flux, with a noticeable shift towards employee-centric environments.

This transformation signifies a growing recognition among employers that employees are the lifeblood of their businesses. 

As a result, organizations are adopting best practices from various domains to ensure their employees remain engaged and productive.

A critical component of these practices is employee communication, which is intricately woven into an employee’s journey from start to finish.

Employee communication has evolved to reflect global communication trends, including the use of social networks and the facilitation of two-way communication across multiple platforms.

Employees are increasingly empowered to voice their opinions to management and share information more freely.

Fortunately, this departure from traditional hierarchical structures offers numerous benefits for organizations.

What Is Employee Communications?

So, what exactly is employee communication?

In essence, employee communication encompasses all interactions between management and employees and among employees themselves. 

It’s important to note that employee communication is not just about the information disseminated by management to employees but also the feedback and insights shared by employees with management.

This two-way exchange is a vital aspect of effective employee communication.

Employee Communication Benefits

percentage of employees who think that workplace failures are caused by ineffective communication

Effective employee communication fosters a culture of transparency, boosts employee morale, and promotes a sense of belonging. Employees who are well-informed and feel heard are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and productive. 

Moreover, open and clear communication can improve problem-solving, innovation, and team collaboration. It also allows for timely feedback, which is crucial for continuous improvement and growth. 

Effective employee communication is not just about disseminating information; it’s about creating meaningful connections and fostering a positive work environment. Therefore, investing in employee communication strategies is beneficial and essential for any organization aiming for success.

When employee communication is effective, it has many benefits. However, these benefits are sometimes hard to grasp since their effect is often not directly observable.

For example, it is hard to measure how exactly employee communication impacts your employees’ happiness, but we know that 86% of employees think that workplace failures are caused by ineffective communication and lack of collaboration. 

Here are some of the main benefits of employee communication. 

1. Employee productivity increases 

connected employees and productivity connection statistic

McKinsey research shows that when employees are connected, productivity grows by 25%. Since your employees’ work is often interconnected with their peers, it is no surprise that effective communication and collaboration methods are crucial for productivity and employee motivation.

Moreover, employees rely on effective communication tools that enable them to stay connected. 

2. Keep your employees informed and safe 

The world pandemic has changed the state of employee safety immensely. Almost all companies worldwide have had to change their company policies for workplace behavior, attendance, and health-preserving measures to keep their employees safe. 

As the updates on frequent hand sanitation, wearing masks, or working from home had to be communicated fast, companies with effective employee communication channels found it easier to keep their employees informed and safe. 

According to Perceptyx, when employees found their company’s communication about COVID-19 poor, only 30% of them believed their employer’s #1 concern was their health.

In comparison, 96% of those who were satisfied with the communication regarding COVID-19 thought their companies really do put their health first.

3. Employee innovation 

Here is an interesting statistic: 45% of employees agree that overcoming the middle management “permafrost” layer is one of the top challenges companies face to successfully innovate.

However, if best employee communication practices are implemented, employees have a way to break the traditional hierarchy and reach those in charge to push their innovative ideas.

4. Employee collaboration 

28% of professionals say that poor communication is the number one reason for failing projects. This is no surprise since project completion often relies on properly aligning all team members’ work.

As projects are often dynamic, employee communication is the key to agility and successful cooperation. 

5. Improved company culture 

It probably does not surprise you that effective employee communication is the key to an open and collaborative company culture.

This kind of culture is especially important when employees work remotely and rarely see each other face-to-face. In fact, remote workers say that communication is one of their biggest struggles. 

Of course, effective employee communication also contributes to the overall employee experience, which is a composite measure that indicates your employee turnover rate, team profitability, and more. 

6. Increased employee engagement

Clear communication in the workplace can also increase employee engagement, which is crucial for the success of the company.

Some studies suggest that companies with good communication strategies, like open and honest communication and constant feedback, contribute to employees trusting the employer more and thus increase their engagement.

Employee Communication Tools and Methods 

There’s a myriad of ways to engage in communication with your employees. However, it’s crucial to understand that not all employee communication methods yield the same results, and not every communication mode is suitable for every organization. 

Exploring various options, experimenting with different methods, and making data-driven decisions is essential. Let’s delve into some of the well-established methods of employee communication.

Email 

adults prefer using email statistic

Even though 26% of employees think that emails kill their productivity and only one third of emails are actually opened, email remains a common employee communication tool.

As younger generations prefer communicating in other ways, email is still preferred by 74% of adults as a method of commercial communication. 

A good way to reach more of your employees and ensure they read your emails is not to overcrowd their inbox and personalize. Therefore, you need to target your audience and use personalization techniques to catch your employees’ attention – just like a marketing pro.  

Intranet 

Astonishing 31% of employees report never participating in their company’s Intranet, which proves it is a poor way to get information out. Intranet is usually complex and heavy-duty and does not bode well with new technologies that facilitate more leaner user experience.

Live meetings 

Of course, live meetings are a great way of employee communication. However, they are only supplementary ways of communicating, and as we have seen during a pandemic, they are not always possible.

Live meetings are usually a great way for groups of less than 10, and they are most efficient when there is a clear agenda.

Online meetings 

Naturally, online meetings became very popular during times of increased work from home. They are the next best thing to live communication, including video and sound.

This type of employee communication is desirable, but online meetings are also more efficient with fewer participants and with a clear agenda. Also, it is best to keep the camera turned on whenever you can. 

Employee surveys 

Employee surveys are a great way to determine what your employees think or feel. However, since employee communication should go in both directions, management is expected to respond to issues raised in surveys. Following up on employee survey results has a significant impact on employee engagement. 

Social media 

Social media is changing how we communicate worldwide and impacts employee communications. Companies use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to communicate company updates with employees or share useful resources. However, every company should establish Social Media Policy to regulate communication rules and exclude the possibility of negative comments or rude behavior. 

Interesting fact: 81% of Millennials ideal working environment includes top-notch technology over perks and benefits.

Employee communication apps 

Apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams are successfully mirroring their non-professional counterparts – WhatsApp and Viber – and are enabling fast and easy communication among employees. These apps are easy to set up and use but are mostly used for less formal communication and used together with email as a mean of more “official” communication. 

Collaboration tools 

When working on a project, many teams still use email or other traditional communication methods. However, employee collaboration tools enable employees to collaborate on projects as they happen. This Kanban-style solution enhances project-oriented communication for everybody involved. 

How To Implement Employee Communication Strategy

There are several practices that have proven to give the best results when it comes to the effectiveness of employee communication.

Once again, it is important to note that the same style and method of communication does not fit all companies.

It is important to keep experimenting and adjusting your communications to your audience – your employees. 

Here are some of the best employee communication practices. 

1. Mobile experience 

It is sad that only 9% of companies use mobile phones and apps as communication channels, even though 85% of employees use more than one device to communicate at work. 

Most of the web traffic comes from mobile phones, and it is crucial to enable employees to receive and send messages as they would in their private lives – through their mobile phones.

2. Leadership involvement 

statistic about how employees believe CEOs should engage on social media

When executives are involved in a company’s communication strategy, employees deem them more credible.

In fact, research shows that 81% of employees believe that CEOs who engage on social media are better equipped to lead their companies.

Therefore, try to explain to your leadership how they can easily boost employees’ morale by directly addressing them. 

3. Using video 

Video is not only a great media tool; it is an excellent way to deliver information in a human way that resonates with your employees.

Employee communications may seem overly formal, disengaging, and passive. With video, you give your employees the next best way to direct face-to-face communication. 

Propose to your senior leaders to make videos on company updates and important news once per month to increase trust in leadership and improve employees’ loyalty. 

4. Don’t overcrowd inboxes 

As seen above, employees receive too many emails on a daily basis, and they do not read all of them.

This is why it is important not to overcrowd your employees’ inboxes. You should decide which information is unimportant or engaging for your employees and omit it from your regular updating practice. 

5. Make information available  

statistic showing how much time is spent on searching the right information to do jobs effectively

Instead of giving your employees too much information, make it easy for them to find information when needed.

Create a portal or webpage where your employees can find useful info on company updates, policies, videos from leadership, guidelines for certain procedures, and more.  

Moreover, research shows that almost 20% of business time is wasted by employees searching for information to do their jobs effectively.

This is why it is also useful to make learning resources available to facilitate informal employee training. 

6. Target your audience 

All your employees do not need to know everything that is going on in your company – and this goes in line with reducing the number of emails you send to your employees.

However, it is vital to know how to segment and target your audience.

Maybe you need to send some info to managers only, or maybe only employees in a certain region will have use of certain info. 

7. Social media policy 

To regulate how your employees interact on your social media channels, creating and making everyone aware of social media policy is vital.

Try to reduce the possibility of foul language, bullying, and negativity. However, you should allow for constructive feedback and showcase your open communication culture. 

8. Enable managers to communicate with their employees 

The most important step for successful employee communication is to have a good manager-employee relationship.

Hierarchical silos are hard to break as it is, but without engaged managers, your efforts to improve the state of employee communication could be fruitless. 

Employees need to rely on their direct managers, so you must encourage your managers to always be in touch with their teams.

Once again, employee surveys are just one tool to improve team communications. Other practices include regular employee feedback and employee recognition practices.  

How To Improve Employee Communication

If you notice any communication problems among your employees, addressing them in a timely manner is crucial. Understanding where the issues are coming from can help resolve them effectively.

Effective communication is the foundation of any successful business. Poor communication can lead to various problems, resulting in lost time and money. However, improving communication to make it transparent and effective requires effort and hard work.

To help you improve communication between employees, here are some tips that you can follow:

Encourage employees to ask questions

In order to establish a conducive environment for effective and efficient communication, it is important to encourage employees to speak up, share their ideas, and ask questions whenever they are unsure about something. The team leader, who represents the company and guides the employees through their daily work process, should lead by example in building this relationship.

It is important to remind employees that they are free to express their ideas or concerns anytime and that all questions are welcome. This way, the team leader will be able to understand the employees’ concerns and address them in a timely manner.

Offer constructive feedback

Constructive feedback encourages communication, ensures employees that they have support in their work, encourages career growth, and reminds them that they are not left alone.

Feedback is perhaps one of the most important parts of communication with employees because only through feedback can employees improve their own work.

But as easy as it sounds, constructive feedback can be easily misunderstood, so team leaders and managers must know how to give it.

Have regular 1-1 meetings

1-1 meetings are just as important as team meetings because even though the day’s goal is to get work done, team leaders and managers must pay attention to each team member individually.

In this way, they can get to know the employees better, discuss their concerns and questions, and encourage them to communicate openly and transparently.

Organize meetings with the whole team

Group meetings are often met with resentment among employees, but they play a big role in the flow of information.

Companies demonstrate transparency through team meetings, and coordination between employees and the manager is facilitated. Meetings, where the whole team is involved, are important to facilitate the communication of current activities and convey important information to everyone.

Act on the feedback from your employees

Effective communication among employees cannot be achieved if superiors do not take the demands and needs of their employees into consideration.

Therefore, it is important for leaders to actively seek feedback from their employees and establish a safe and uninterrupted space for communication to take place.

What Is the Difference Between Employee Communication and Internal Communication?

Internal communication and employee communication are two terms that are often used interchangeably. However, there is a small difference between the two concepts.

Internal communication primarily refers to the process of transmitting information within a company. It plays a crucial role in keeping employees informed and connected with each other. This type of communication includes memos, meetings, collaboration platforms, and other tools commonly used for workplace communication.

On the other hand, employee communication is more focused on how information is shared between employees and their employers. It mainly involves providing employees with updates about their daily tasks, policies, and other relevant information that they need in their everyday work.

Conclusion

To summarize, employee communication is a multifaceted aspect that hinges on a variety of factors. However, the complexity of this issue should not deter you from experimenting and introducing innovative modes of communication within your organization, especially considering the rapid evolution of the employee communication landscape.

Successful employee communication is an integral component of the employee experience. It’s not just about transmitting information but about fostering a culture of openness, mutual respect, and engagement.

By investing in effective employee communication strategies, organizations can enhance productivity, boost morale, and ultimately drive business success.

Remember, we’re here to assist you in providing an exceptional employee experience at every stage.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn how we can help transform your organization’s employee communication practices. Together, we can navigate the dynamic world of employee communication and create a thriving workplace environment.

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