Employee communication

Employee communication is more than just a tool for conveying messages; it plays an essential role in fostering a rich company culture, empowering employees to connect, communicate, and engage, and building trust within the organization.

In this blog post, we will explore what employee communication is, and why effective employee communication is essential for the well-being and prosperity of an organization. We will also cover three best practices for implementing an effective employee communication strategy.

What is employee communication?

Employee communication is defined as the process of exchanging information between employers and employees. It can take many forms, including face-to-face meetings, e-mails, newsletters, intranet postings, and more.

In many ways, employee communication can be seen as the core of internal communication. It helps to ensure that employees as well as employers are on the same page, as well as keep everyone aware of the company’s goals and objectives.

Effective employee communication builds trust and has a proven impact on everything from employee engagement to bottom-line productivity within the organization. For example, the findings of a recent study by the European Journal of Business and Management Research suggest that “business communication has a significant impact on the level of employee performance in an organization.” 

This makes employee communication an essential factor when it comes to the success of any organization.

Why is employee communication important?

We mentioned above that employee communication has a proven impact on everything from employee engagement to bottom-line productivity. These are far from the only areas that benefit from effective employee communication within the organization.

Here are seven areas for which effective employee communication is essential to ensure the well-being and prosperity of an organization:

1. Information flow

When it comes to daily operations, employees are on the frontline. They need clear, timely, and relevant information to do their jobs effectively — regardless of whether this information concerns product changes, company policies, or emergency alerts.

Effective employee communication ensures that the right people receive the necessary information at the right time. This can help empower employees to make informed, timely decisions, supporting increased employee performance across the organization.

2. Company culture

Employee communication is an important aspect of organizational culture. In fact, effective employee communication can help shape and foster the culture of a company.

According to a 2021 study on the impact of organizational culture and communication on employee productivity published in the Journal of Management and Administration Provision, a positive company culture that values effective communication, teamwork, and employee empowerment can lead to increased productivity and success.

This demonstrates that effective employee communication plays a significant role in helping to shape and foster a positive company culture and further organizational goals and objectives.

3. Feedback culture

Employee communication should not be exclusively top-down — in fact, two-way communication is critical for a thriving organization. Research shows that companies with ongoing two-way communications often avoid crises, or endure crises of shorter duration or lesser magnitude than companies who do not support ongoing two-way communication.

An essential aspect of two-way communication within organizations is employee feedback. Mechanisms that encourage feedback from employees offer insights into ground-level challenges, innovative solutions, and employee sentiment, all of which are essential for the prosperity of the organization.

4. Change management

When it comes to change management, employee communication is essential. Whenever there are changes within an organization — be it an introduction of new tools, a shift in strategy, or an organizational merge — the employees are at the heart of these changes.

An exploration into the sources and role of knowledge sharing to overcome the challenges of organizational change implementation found that employees in public sector organizations tend to oppose organizational change because of ineffective communication.

This suggests that knowledge sharing through effective employee communication can be used to overcome the challenges of implementing organizational change, ensuring smoother transitions, greater buy-in, and faster adoption.

5. Trust and transparency

We mentioned earlier that effective employee communication can build trust. When employees feel they are kept in the loop, and when leadership communicates openly about positive news as well as challenges, it fosters a sense of trust, belonging, and transparency within the organization.

This is further supported by a 2021 study published in the Journal of Business & Tourism, which revealed a significant positive relationship between communication strength, organizational trust, and employee engagement.

6. Collaboration

Effective employee communication plays a key role in breaking down silos within larger organizations. By sharing best practices, success stories, or even challenges, employees can learn from one another and improve their collaboration within and across departments.

For example, studies have shown that healthcare professionals, such as those in the operating theater, benefit from clear communication and a shared understanding of team roles and structure, all of which is facilitated by effective employee communication.

7. Engagement and morale

Employee engagement is crucial for the success of any organization. Engaged employees are more productive, have higher job satisfaction, and are less likely to leave the company.

Regular, clear, and transparent communication helps in keeping employees engaged and motivated. This is supported by research published in the Communicare Journal for Communications Sciences in South Africa, which shows that employee communication strategies that prioritize collaborative, open, and transparent communication can lead to high levels of employee engagement.

Best practices for implementing an effective employee communication strategy

To implement an employee communication strategy, there are a number of best practices to consider to ensure that your strategy will be effective.

Here are three best practices to take into account when implementing an effective employee communication strategy in an organization.

Set your objectives

For your employee communication strategy to work, you need to know exactly what you want to achieve.

For example, you could be looking to raise awareness about your vision and mission within your employee ranks in order to inspire employees to act as organic brand ambassadors. Without setting your objectives, however, it would be difficult to know how to work towards that goal.

To set your objectives, you should clearly define the goals you are looking to achieve through your employee communication strategy. You should also ensure that your communication objectives are aligned with the broader goals and values of your organization.

Make sure your managers lead by example

Your managers set the tone for employee communication. This means that in order to ensure two-way communication and employee voice within the organization, your managers need to be the ones to initiate communication and lead by example.

This can mean:

• Listening: Fostering a culture of listening where employee input is genuinely considered and valued.
  Openness: Encouraging openness and transparency from all leaders and managers, sharing not only successes but also challenges and failures.
  Feedback channels: Establishing clear channels through which employees can give feedback, ask questions, or raise concerns.
  Timely updates: Providing timely updates to prevent the spread of rumors and to build a culture of trust.

Leverage the right tools

A best practice for improving your employee communication is to modernize and optimize your employee communication tech stack. Tools such as apps, collaboration platforms, and internal social networks can help to enable employee communication and foster dialogue and knowledge sharing within the organization.

Empact Communication & Collaboration is one such tool: an employee communication app which enables real-time collaboration and communication for collective problem solving and seamless interactions across the organization.

The app is designed to empower employers and employees to connect, communicate, and engage. By keeping employees informed about relevant updates and fostering a shared understanding, Communication & Collaboration facilitates knowledge sharing and strengthens teamwork. This helps to foster active participation, create transparency, and build trust across the organization.