Improving communication - challenging the status quo - Feedback - Community Feedback

4 Improving communication - challenging the status quo

5 Oct, 2017 12:37

I recently embarked on a quest to understand from employees at all levels of the business how they found communication generally - the results were interesting and to summarise, communication was poor from the top, divisive in the way some was shared and could be better. The senior leadership team took this on board at the time but have recently suggested that actually there is no issue and fed back that my assessment comes from naivety - I am new in role (4 months in - covering for the head of HR). Interested to see if anyone else has had to tackle this attitude and any helpful thoughts/ suggestions on shifting their mind-set?

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Elizabeth Divver | 0 Posts

5 Oct, 2017 13:58

Hi Carly

I have a degree of sympathy for your SMT. My perception is that most staff surveys identify communication as an area that could be improved. However, in your case you are not just hearing a vague "could do better".

How did you go about your quest? Were you gathering anecdotal evidence by talking to people, or was this a finding from a survey? I ask as the method you used to form this view will affect the credibility of the result.
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Carly Varney | 0 Posts

5 Oct, 2017 17:21

In reply to Elizabeth Divver:
Valid point (I may add my delivery of feedback was much more tactful and diplomatic than my summary on here!). It was gathered through interviews with staff - so yes anecdotal, and was a section of an online survey that we had recently carried out. Thoughts? It may be worth noting that there is no communication below SMT level in place - no newsletters, no intranet updates, no department meetings, no all staff meetings - there is instead a very active staff rumour mill....
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David Perry | 0 Posts

6 Oct, 2017 20:59

In reply to Carly Varney:
Many bosses think they communicate enough. Most employees don't agree.

Machavelli, says that mushrooms grow better in the dark, the less they see the more they'll concentrate on growing.
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David | 0 Posts

7 Oct, 2017 07:43

In reply to David Perry:

You were no doubt thinking too David about that smelly substance that Machiavellian managers produce and cover the mushrooms over with in order to keep all the mushrooms completely in the dark but make them profitable.
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