1.5 - About University

8.2 D IRECT L EADER- TO-EMPLOYEEC OMMUNICATION S TILL W ORKS B ESTContributed by Ursula Wohlfarth, inspired by research studies by the International Association of BusinessCommunicators (IABC), the IABC Research Foundation, and Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Also inspired by StephenCovey and Hendrie Weisinger.Successful leaders communicate effectively and treat employees like adults. If presented properly,they know that employees typically handle bad or negative news well. What employeesdon’t handle well is uncertainty and being kept in the dark. Studies support this view and showthat companies emphasizing employee communications (e.g., viewing communication skillsas a core leadership competency or as a key criterion when promoting employees) benefit froman 18 to 24 percent improvement in shareholder value (data from various Watson Wyatt WorkUSA studies). This tool will help you plan a successful large-scale, direct employee communicationsstrategy.C OMMUNICATION WITH FRONTLINE EMPLOYEESFrontline leaders are pivotal senders and receivers of information within organizations. Theyhold the lion’s share of responsibility for communicating with frontline staff. Companieswhose employees rank their immediate supervisors as their most desired source of informationinclude AT&T, BHP, Cadbury, Schweppes, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Forte, GE, GM,General Tire, Hewlett-Packard, and Telecom Australia. As a concrete example, 83 percent ofGeneral Motors employees in the United States rank their supervisors as their most trustedsource of information.G UIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONFrontline leaders must continually seek opportunities to share information with staff, and toreinforce and make available information that is provided from the top levels of the organization.Being fully understood requires that leaders open up two-way channels of communicationto hear and deal with staff concerns. Thus, frontline leaders must be accessible to employees,and encourage regular feedback to ensure that communication is working. Corporategroups also have a role to play in developing integrated communications strategies that supportbusiness goals. Therefore, face-to-face contact between senior managers and frontlineleaders is critically important.236 SECTION 8 TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION