What does ‘communication’ contribute to your ‘bottom line’?  Increased shareholder value, increased sales, greater staff engagement and hence increased motivation and reduced staff turnover; improved customer loyalty – all linked to effective communication.

So what is left to say about communication? Well, when all is said and done, there is more said than done!

When people are surveyed one of the most common complaints against organisations is lack of communication.  And what is the usual remedy?  Many businesses confuse ‘communication’ with ‘broadcast’ – and when told they are not communicating adequately – they ‘turn up the volume’; or ‘open up more channels’; or both – but they just broadcast more, which is not communication!

So what is communication?

A handy definition of communication is ‘creating understanding in the minds of others’.  This is helpful on two counts, as it focuses our efforts to communicate, not on ‘what we want to say’, but:

• On the understanding of the ‘listener’
• And on what the ‘listener’ wants to know

How do we do this?

We make messages understandable by:

• Using the most appropriate/accessible medium/channel
• Using clear jargon free language (buy a copy of The Sun for great examples)
• Creating interactive communications – it is only communication if people can ask questions and/or express their views

We ensure relevance by:

• Identifying what people need to know
• Listening to ascertain what people want to know
• Keeping the messages topical and focused on the world of the recipient
• Lack of information; too much information; outdated or irrelevant information
• Over-use of email and similar media and not enough face-to-face contact
• People’s questions do not get answered
• People give their thoughts, ideas and views, and they ‘disappear into a black hole’
• Another common mistake is to enthusiastically open up too many communication channels and then fail to use them regularly enough.

What can go wrong?

Ten top tips for effective communication

1. Have one, two or maximum three communications mechanisms which are used regularly – such as web-casts; social media; all staff meetings; Team Briefings; etc
2. Start with the information/issues in the business – and think about who needs to know what, by when and why

And then

1. Carefully craft messages for the target audience, choosing words carefully
2. Test important messages with a ‘critical friend’ before wider dissemination
3. Keep the content as relevant as possible, which often means having ‘local’ versions of core messages
4. Communicate through the most appropriate channel for the target audience
5. Ensure that there is a mechanism for quickly getting answers to people’s questions
6. Encourage people to contribute their ideas, thoughts and feelings
7. Feedback to demonstrate that you have heard their ideas and value them
8. Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your communication: internal and external communication

Finally, control communication carefully – this is how your business ‘shows up’ in the world – make sure it does ‘show up’ and that it shows the right image.

John Kirkham HR Specialist Practical Growth Solutions