The Power of Communication in Enhancing the Employer-Employee Relationship for Success

Effective and consistent communication is the key to any successful employer-employee relationship. Communication is used to transfer information to the audience about the organization’s mission and vision, policies, and procedures, tasks and duties, and various activities within the company (Musheke, M. & Phiri, J., 2021). Hence, it ensures employees get motivated and organizational operations run smoothly. This blog will discuss the role of communication in enhancing employer-employee relationships by increasing their engagement.

Effective Communication Strategies:

When achieving organizational goals and expectations, effective communication plays a critical and strategic role. Where there is no effective communication, it can result in poor job satisfaction, employee engagement and lastly the lack of productivity. Hence it is mandatory for Managers or employers to maintain consistent and effective communication. The extent to which a manager accomplishes corporate goals depends on his ability to communicate effectively (Herich, 2008). Below mentioned are a few practicable communication strategies. 

Transparency in communication:

Transparency in communication can build trust and create a strong employer-employee relationship. Especially, when Managers become transparent in sharing the expectations, challenges, and other decisions, employees feel engaged in the organization, minimizing the chances of misunderstandings and conflicts.

Active listening:

Being a good listener is a great leadership quality. Hence, employers should not monopolise employees; instead, they should listen attentively to the expectations and concerns with mutual understanding and empathy. Leaders must empower and support employees to solve problems and control quality (Fletcher, 1999). This will create a good work life for them for they will have emotional security to express their genuine thoughts to their superiors. Besides, employee feedback provides a platform to improve work conditions for them like their engagement, and job satisfaction.

Multiple Communication methods:

Communication methods should be diverse from having personal meetings to emails to video conferencing to memos. When there are more options, more chances will be there to convey messages to everyone effectively.

The Benefits of Effective Communication:

Increased Employee Engagement:

When communication is done effectively, employees feel that they are involved. They know what they are expected of and what is their role and work accordingly. This will create an engaged, productive, motivated and committed workforce. 

Strengthen the team bond:

Effective communication not only enhances the employer-employee relationships but also that with other employees in the same team. Openly sharing thoughts can enhance the abilities of decision-making and problem-solving leading to strengthening the team bond which will naturally impact the level of productivity. Collaboration enhances the quality of work, promotes innovation, and creates a sense of unity and shared purpose (Renz & Wilkinson, 2015).

Improved Employee Satisfaction:

When employees feel their concerns are acknowledged and their expectations are heard by their employers, their job satisfaction can be elevated.  This, in turn, can lead to reduced turnover rates and increased employee loyalty (Nembhard & Edmondson, 2006).

Effective communication is mandatory to build productive and engaged employer-employee relationships. It can nurture employee engagement, satisfaction and team bonds. One practical example of an effective communication method is Google's "Thank God It's Friday." This provides a good platform for Google's employees to voice their concerns and thoughts directly to senior management where they can actively engage in creating strong relationships between employer-employees. Correspondingly, employers should innovate platforms to conduct consistent communication effectively.

References:

Fletcher, M. (1999). The Effects of Internal Communication, Leadership and Team Performance on Successful Service Quality Implementation: A South African Perspective. Team Performance Management, 5, 150-163. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/13527599910288966. Accessed on 24th November

Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268-279.

Herich, L. B. (2008). Effective Communication. New Delhi: Purkus Publishing Company.

Musheke, M. & Phiri, J. (2021). The Effects of Effective Communication on Organizational Performance Based on the Systems Theory. Open Journal of Business and Management.  

Nembhard, I. M., & Edmondson, A. C. (2006). Making it safe: The effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(7), 941-966.

Renz, A., & Wilkinson, H. (2015). Collaboration in public services: The challenge of regulation. Public Administration, 93(2), 395-410.