Prove the worth of communication

Prove the worth of communication

Not all managers are convinced of the argument that good communication not only improves employee morale but also business performance.

Alex Jaconelli, development manager at Scottish & Newcastle, has tackled the problem head-on by providing them with proof from their own workforce. He conducted a survey of 150 employees at a workshop, asking them to think of the best and the worst managers they had worked for.

Next they were asked to imagine that they currently worked for their best manager but were offered a promotion working for their worst manager. How much money would it take for them to move?

Those on the lowest pay scale said it would take at least a third of their current salary before they were tempted. Those on higher salaries said that no pay rise would make them move.

The team then asked the employees to describe real-life examples of what the best managers did. Unsurprisingly, they made them feel included and involved by communicating with them regularly.

In a separate exercise, Jaconelli took two similar teams with the same working environment, but one with a manager who was an active communicator and one who wasn't. It was easy to see from the teams' monthly performance results which team performed best.

Source: The Business Communicator.