May 2006
Hidden Communication - It’s not what you say…
Employers are increasingly focussing on communication at work, spending time and money developing policies and practices which are designed to ensure that employees understand the company aims and recognise the role that they have to play in achieving these goals. However according to recruitment specialists, Thorpe Molloy, employers could find that it is their unspoken messages which are having the greatest impact on their employees and ultimately on staff retention levels. They are advising employers to think before they act to ensure that their actions are not undoing their good work in terms of promoting communication.
According to Brett Solomon, Senior Consultant at Thorpe Molloy Recruitment Ltd this can be a problem for smaller companies. “Employers and managers in smaller organisations sometimes act without thinking through how their actions will be perceived by their employees. This hidden communication can impact on staff morale and consequently on retention rates.
“Seemingly trivial things like the availability of chocolate biscuits for meetings or switching to a cheaper brand of tea or coffee can easily be misinterpreted by staff. For example if an employer was to buy a cheaper brand of coffee for the office because their normal brand was not in stock they would probably think that they were doing the right thing by ensuring the coffee stocks were not completely depleted. However it is possible that employees would interpret the switch to an inferior brand of coffee as a reflection on the company position. The importance and meaning that is given to things like coffee and chocolate biscuits should not be underestimated.”
Employees tend to be a sensitive breed and do not always react predictably to change. Brett comments, “Employers could also find that if they decide to stop doing something because they perceive that it is no longer adding value and do not explain this reasoning to their employees this could also be misinterpreted. Whilst employers should not feel that they have to explain their every move to their employees it is important that they recognise the potential consequences of their actions and take the necessary steps to mitigate them. This could actually be used as an exercise to promote internal communication and to boost morale.”
Brett adds, “If a company has always provided bacon rolls on a Friday morning but this has now come to be expected and therefore from the employer’s point of view is no longer achieving the goal of doing something that is appreciated by the employees it is not surprising that they might want to ring the changes and do something different to provoke the looked for response from the employees. Employers could let staff know that they are no longer going to be providing bacon rolls and ask them for ideas on what they might like in place of these. As well as ensuring that there is no miscommunication this would also serve to promote communication between the employer and the employees.”
In order to prevent hidden communication from taking place Brett advises employers to ensure that they think through the possible ramifications of seemingly innocuous acts. “Employers should not become paranoid with regard to how their actions are perceived by their employees rather they should extend the focus on internal communication to making sure that they do not allow rumours to start to circulate. This can be achieved by evaluating their decisions for their impact on employees, something that should be done as a matter of course, as this will impact on staff morale and therefore on the business bottom line.”
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