Communicating with Employees about Business Strategy

Every ship requires a clear destination before it sets sail, and your company should rely on a solid business strategy to provide the method for reaching the destination that you decide upon. Employee communication is one of the key elements of solid management strategy, and ensuring that your employees understand the goals and methods behind their day-to-day labors along with their place in the big picture can help provide additional motivation and create engagement in your workplace.

Many companies have a series of informational taglines and outlines that serve as their business strategy communications. You may provide printouts of these to new hires or have them posted in conspicuous locations around the office to help reinforce the message, but The Globe and Mail offers a few other suggestions for helping to get the message across. Follow-up is crucial, and you should give employees every chance to ask for clarification on the messages they receive through employee communications. Many otherwise solid leaders fall into the trap of sending clear communications without verifying that they were read, heard, or otherwise received.

Annual, quarterly, monthly, or even weekly employee communication meetings can help ensure that your workers understand the necessity of the company's strategy and how developments in the industry at large or in the workplace can affect those goals and principles. Many employees who seem slow to respond in one-on-one meetings may become more engaged in group meetings or through email communications. Allowing multiple avenues and opportunities for employee communication with management provides the access your workers need to understand their place in the business and how their actions affect the company as a whole.

You should always strive to maintain clarity whenever issuing employee communication memos and other written works. Emails and printouts can live for years in tracking and file systems, and even minor errors can lead to future confusion and problems. According to Nexxt's Julie Shenkman, the effects of spelling errors in communications can cast doubt upon your work as a whole. Emails riddled with spelling or grammatical errors show a lack of concern or ability on the part of the sender. This can cause conflict instead of helping to prevent it. Precise and clear information delivery helps keep communication problems to a minimum. An open-door policy for questions involving company strategy and vision can also allow your workers to feel safer requesting clarification of employee communication memos or emails.

When your company communicates its strategy and values clearly and openly with workers, it makes it easier for them to remain engaged and give their all to your projects. This can increase productivity and morale. Helping employees stay on track with regularly employee communication updates and paying careful attention to the messages that go out and how they are worded and received is a big step towards an effective and engaged organization.

(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)