In almost every survey employees place communication problems at the top of their frustration list.
Most managers spend so much time and effort communicating, it's hard for them to believe it could be a major problem. The paradox is that while employees are frustrated by a perceived lack of communication with their managers, most managers feel they are outstanding communicators. Almost 80% of managers think they are better communicators than they actually are.
Communication may not be the problem and in most cases employee's don't need more information. Most of the information employees receive doesn't get read and what is read isn't usually understood. The problem is that most managers communication is filled with so much "static" that the message is not understood, supported, or accepted by employees.
What causes this "static"? One factor is the proliferation of communication methods including email, voice mail, meetings, conference calls, cell phones, pagers, memos, video, intranets, newsletter, etc. With so many options, we tend to pay more attention to how we're going to communicate that what we're going to communicate, it more about the method then the message.
We have forgotten that communication is a two-way process. In order to connect with employees and create the understanding, support and acceptance critical to success we need to start with "Building Trust".
"Building Trust" is the core of communication. Without trust, does it really matter how "charismatic" you are or how "wordsmith" or how well you speak in front of your team.
Along with building trust we must "Share Knowledge". One of the best investments of a manager's time is teaching the team "the business of the business". Sharing knowledge and teaching employees the business of the business is the key to building understanding. The more information managers share about the "why" behind the "what" they are trying to accomplish, the more employees will see the overall organizational vision, and the more they will accept and support the plans and strategies necessary to achieve that vision.
In order to finish this post and not go into to much detail and start to bore you I will end with that "providing feedback" and "walking the talk" are extremely important in improving your overall communication effectiveness.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Helpful Information
We all wonder were we should go to find information and like most people you pull up Google and try to type in what you are looking for, however it is not always the greatest. I have tried to compile a few sites that will help anyone find HR information (Please realize that some of these sites are Utah specific):
www.SHRM.org(Society Human Resource Management): All HR professionals should know about this site and it can provide a lot of helpful information.
www.HR.Com: To be honest I haven't used this site a ton but I have been a subscriber to the magazine for years and have always loved the information and articles it produces.
www.HRMGuide.com: has some excellent HR information.
www.DHRM.Utah.Gov: If you ever need to know anything Utah law specific you can use this site, the only problem with it is like most Government sites it is not really user friendly.
www.YouTube.com: I know this sounds really stupid but if you ever need a job description and you are the type of person that likes visual display instead of reading it you can get some great information. I will post some of the videos in later posts to give examples.
www.DOL.gov: This site can give you a link to every states specific website to find out what laws apply. Like I said before the Government sites and be hard to navigate through so be careful on what information you use.
www.OSHA.gov: I know for a lot of HR professionals and pretty much anybody else that has not worked in the Safety and Compliance department of a company does not know much about OSHA. Unfortunately I worked closely with OSHA regulations for over 5 years in a Healthcare setting so I became really familiar with the regulations.
I know these few websites only touch the surface on how many sites are available but it is a good starting point and I will continously post new sites in the my future posts.
www.SHRM.org(Society Human Resource Management): All HR professionals should know about this site and it can provide a lot of helpful information.
www.HR.Com: To be honest I haven't used this site a ton but I have been a subscriber to the magazine for years and have always loved the information and articles it produces.
www.HRMGuide.com: has some excellent HR information.
www.DHRM.Utah.Gov: If you ever need to know anything Utah law specific you can use this site, the only problem with it is like most Government sites it is not really user friendly.
www.YouTube.com: I know this sounds really stupid but if you ever need a job description and you are the type of person that likes visual display instead of reading it you can get some great information. I will post some of the videos in later posts to give examples.
www.DOL.gov: This site can give you a link to every states specific website to find out what laws apply. Like I said before the Government sites and be hard to navigate through so be careful on what information you use.
www.OSHA.gov: I know for a lot of HR professionals and pretty much anybody else that has not worked in the Safety and Compliance department of a company does not know much about OSHA. Unfortunately I worked closely with OSHA regulations for over 5 years in a Healthcare setting so I became really familiar with the regulations.
I know these few websites only touch the surface on how many sites are available but it is a good starting point and I will continously post new sites in the my future posts.
Introduction
A quick bio on myself. I am 31 years old with a Bachelors Degree in Business Mangement and have over 12 years experience in Human Resources. I started working as a Human Resource Assistant right out of High School and worked my way up as I went to school. I have worked in the Healthcare, Insurance and Call Center industries within those 12 years.
I have been married to my wonderful wife for almost 10 years now and we have two beautiful kids, Kennedy (6) and Zacary (3). I was born in Utah and ironically lived in Utah for the first 27 years of my life but the last three have been a rollercoaster that has taken us to Texas and back to Utah then to Idaho and now back to Utah.
I wanted to start this blog to go along with my Twitter posts to network with other professionals. I hope to provide a gread deal of information and a chance for others to ask questions that might be in need of help.
I have been married to my wonderful wife for almost 10 years now and we have two beautiful kids, Kennedy (6) and Zacary (3). I was born in Utah and ironically lived in Utah for the first 27 years of my life but the last three have been a rollercoaster that has taken us to Texas and back to Utah then to Idaho and now back to Utah.
I wanted to start this blog to go along with my Twitter posts to network with other professionals. I hope to provide a gread deal of information and a chance for others to ask questions that might be in need of help.
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