Face to Face Communication Key to Easing Employee Communication
A great way to stop the uncertainty often felt by your employees is to create an environment of confidence by communicating with them well and often. In difficult times, the rumor mill works overtime among your employees and you need to respond to the rumors fast. It is critical for senior management to talk freely and honestly with the workforce in order to keep the rumors in check. This article gives five strategies to help ease employee anxiety and stop the rumor mills in their tracks.
1. Availability
As a senior leader, you need to be accessible and visible to your employees. When there is a problem, don’t wait until all the details of the solution have been fleshed out before informing your workers. Instead, inform them of your progress along the way as the decisions are being made. In uncertain times, it is more important than ever to be accessible. You’re not just there to share information with the workforce, but to build trust with them along the way, and dispel rumors as they spring up.
2. Don’t Hide From Bad News
You have nothing to gain by withholding bad news from your employees – they know times are tough and that your business will have to adapt in order to survive. If you try to pretend that everything is perfect, your employees will lose their trust in you, and communication will become harder. Letting your employees know when changes need to be made is the best thing you can do to stop rumors. When employees trust you to tell them the bad news, they will stop believing office gossip and wait to hear the truth from you.
3. Emphasize Personal Communication
Its easy to deliver bad news via memos or e-mail communication. While personal communication takes more time, it is key to the continued productivity of your employees, which is a core priority. Studies have shown that trust is developed through face-to-face communication as well as that your message is more clearly understood via personal delivery methods. While there is always the chance that you are asked a question you don’t have a good answer to, this should not be an area of concern. Your employees are much less concerned with your perfection as they are with your honest effort to communicate directly and keep them in the loop.
4. Listen
Face-to-face communication is two-way, which is a massive advantage. You will often find that your employees have great ideas that can help you, but listening doesn’t have to be about finding answers. Your employees will be motivated by the knowledge that their ideas and feelings are valued, and it can help them engage with the business and with you.
5. Admit You Don’t Have All the Answers Yet
Be honest with your employees about the knowns and the unknowns. They will understand that you don’t know all the answers yet, and will trust you more and understand the situation better by being told where the uncertainties lie. It is not productive to promise things you can’t yet deliver, it is better to discuss the chances and prospects for success.
Communication is the bedrock of good management practice, and the only way to get the best out of your workforce. Make sure you communicate openly, honestly, and readily.
Wendy Mack is a professional advisor, trainer, and author with a focus in leading and communicating change. Contact Wendy at, or download her free e-book, Transforming Anxiety into Energy at www.WendyMack.com.
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