6 Reasons Why Employee Communication is Important for HR
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Published on: 02 June 2022
Last Updated on: 09 November 2024
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Employee communication is the process of sharing information and knowledge between employees within an organization. Common channels of employee communication include email, intranet, internal newsletter, meetings, and town halls.
Employee communication is important because it helps to ensure that the organization’s employees have access to the necessary information they need in order to do their jobs effectively.
By providing this type of information, you can help increase productivity by ensuring that they have all of the tools they need at their disposal in order to complete tasks on time.
It also enables them with critical knowledge about new policies or changes being made within your company as well as keeping them up-to-date on what is going on with projects or company events such as awards ceremonies or holiday celebrations that may be happening soon so that everyone knows how much work went into making something happen from the start until finish.
In the old days, employee communication meant a constant stream of memos that traveled to each and every employee. This would often use up far too much paper, and some of the memos were inevitably redundant.
Of course, with the rise of technology, communication has moved on to the digital space. Where once we sent out memos as emails, we can now use an employee communication platform that has begun to revolutionize employee communication.
Employee communication software is especially important for large-scale companies where there are many employees. This is because personal relations tend to get more distant due to the sheer population of a company.
And it’s only through employee communication that the higher-ups can remain in touch with their employees and even add their own personal touch.
Let’s dive in:
1. Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is the level of emotional commitment an employee has to the organization.
It is a leading indicator of financial performance, and it affects a company’s ability to attract and retain talent.
Engaged employees are better brand ambassadors for your company because they’re more likely than disengaged employees to recommend your products or services to friends and family (57% compared with 43%).
Engaged employees will also stay longer: 76% say their employer meets or exceeds their career expectations, compared with just 46% of those who are not engaged.
Related: The Employee Experience: How to Make Your Workers Happy
2. Employee Retention
One of the most important aspects of employee retention is that it reduces turnover costs.
Research shows that companies have an average tenure of 3 years, which means that after three years, an employee will leave their job or be let go from a position at the business.
That means you have to find new people to fill these positions every year, which can be difficult when searching for candidates with specific skill sets or who already know everything about your company culture.
In addition to this, there are many other costs associated with employee turnovers, such as severance payouts and training fees; however, if you have good communication with your current employees, then they will be more likely to stay longer than they would otherwise.
Related: Employee Scheduling: 3 Challenges and Solutions
3. Workplace Morale
Morale is important for your organization because it influences productivity.
When employees feel valued and appreciated, they’re more likely to work hard on behalf of the company.
They’ll also have a greater sense of loyalty, which means less turnover and more time spent on tasks that are critical to the success of your business.
In addition to how morale affects an organization’s bottom line, there are individual benefits as well—namely that when managers take care of their teams’ needs, those managers will be better able to support them in return.
For instance: imagine you’re an employee who has been working his or her tail off over a period of months under tight deadlines; if your manager suddenly decides he doesn’t want anything else out of you until tomorrow morning (and then still only wants five minutes), how do you think this will affect both his/her relationship with him/herself?
4. Better and Meaningful Relationships in the Workplace
Communication is about trust and respect, but it’s also about more than that. It helps build relationships. For example, if you’re having trouble getting a certain project done, don’t just tell your boss or co-worker what’s going on—tell them why.
If you’ve been working late every night to get something finished, say so and explain how it affects your personal plans (and how they might be able to help).
And if one of your employees is struggling with something outside of work and needs some space or support from their manager during this time, tell him or her that directly instead of letting things fester under the surface.
By communicating regularly with your team members in an open way, both professionally and personally (it’s okay!), you can create a better working environment for everyone involved—from managers down to assistants—which will ultimately lead to happier employees who feel valued at work because they know their boss cares about them not just professionally but personally as well!
5. Increased Productivity
You may think that employee communication is a waste of time and money, but in reality, it’s one of the most important factors in improving your company’s productivity and profitability.
A recent study found that employees who feel appreciated and valued are more likely to stay with their companies, which directly impacts the bottom line.
Employees who feel connected to their team and business are also more likely to be engaged at work.
And while it’s true that employees can be motivated by bonuses or commission-based pay, these rewards go away when you stop paying them—so they’re not sustainable over time.
As long as you’re communicating regularly with your staff, giving them growth opportunities, and treating them like people instead of numbers on a spreadsheet (which should go without saying), then you can keep them engaged long term!
6. SMART Communication – Helps Increase Employee Understanding, Motivation, and Performance
SMART Communication is a shorthand for creating concise and effective employee communication. Its goals are:
Specific – well-defined
Measurable – the employee can actually measure progress towards their goal and how much more work needs to be done
Achievable – reasonable for someone in that position to achieve, not too difficult, and not outside of their control (for example, if it’s beyond the scope of their role)
Relevant – important to the team/company as a whole or to the employee’s specific job/role in particular (if they’re tasked with driving sales across all regions)
Time-bound – when they’ll be completed
Conclusion
The importance of effective internal communications can not be overstated. The need for clear, consistent, and comprehensive employee communication is one of the most important things you will do as an HR professional.
Communication with employees is critical to building a supportive work environment, ensuring that employees feel they are part of something bigger than their job tasks, and helping them understand what it takes to meet company goals.
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