Employees tend to be happier and more loyal, supervisors and managers have lower stress levels, and companies are generally more profitable. The benefits are extensive.

When there is poor communication, the opposite is often true. It can result in employees feeling ineffective, uncared for and underappreciated.

Morale, achievement, employee satisfaction and productivity all reduce, and this can lead to a lack of concern for their jobs and increased griping about the workplace.

Open communication helps everyone to feel responsible for the business, and employees feel valued when their opinion is at least heard if not acted upon.

Addressing challenges in the workplace tends to have the most positive outcome when it’s a collective activity. It’s unlikely than one individual is going to be able to come up with the perfect solution to all aspects, particularly when the issues often span across different roles and departments. 

Open communication fuels ideas and discussion around topics of concern. Through inviting input, discussion and different perspectives, better decisions can result. 

The most effective method includes gaining input from employees.  With their voices heard, employees sense they have a stake in the success of the organisation, and that management is not just aware of the issues but acting upon them in a considered manner. 

If the company is suffering from financial challenges, a manager may wish to keep this information from staff, but this doesn’t tend to have strong results. Staff may feel unnecessarily pressured and may not be willing to put in as much effort as a result. If a path of openness is taken, with employees and management working toward the same goal, it can be motivating. Employees are likely to put in addition effort if they know what’s at stake. All feel responsible. Increased productivity also tends to lead to increased employee satisfaction.

Employers across industries benefit from an understanding of how to encourage open communication and how to develop appropriate actions in response. It can be initially disconcerting, telling people what to do carries an air of certainty and enables managers to feel in control in the short term at least.  Paradoxically, giving employees more control is a more sustainable approach. 

Open communication enables employees to communicate about problems, and identify solutions.  It also fosters early reporting, supporting early intervention.  

In the next three articles on this topic we will explore employers enabling open communication, times when employees need to speak up, and the importance of injured workers speaking up.