How to Implement a Communication Program to Increase Employee Morale

Employee morale, job satisfaction and employee engagement issues have at least one thing in common -- communication. Employees who receive regular workplace communication feel the company appreciates and values their contributions enough to keep them informed about organizational changes, workplace policies, company success and other matters about the business and the overall workplace. Implementing a communication system requires understanding workforce needs, current communication deficiencies and consistent improvements to developing workplace communication. Implementing employee communication that improves employee morale must have certain elements to be effective.

Instructions

1. Determine the current level of your organization's employee morale and why low employee morale exists, if it does. One of the primary reasons for low morale is lack of communication, but other reasons may include ineffective leadership, working conditions and unresolved workplace issues, such as lack of promotional opportunities, performance appraisal results, compensation practices and productivity demands.

2. Conduct an employee opinion survey to determine employee sentiment about various workplace matters. Develop survey questions about work hours, pay and benefits, working relationships with supervisors and managers, and employee recognition and rewards. Analyze survey responses, and design action plans that address the most important issues. Encourage honest, candid responses from employees by providing assurance that survey answers are confidential and anonymous. Work to maintain the confidential nature of employee responses.

3. Develop an action plan that focuses on the various forms of workplace communication. Construct a list of communication ideas. Company newsletters, employee suggestion boxes, all-staff meetings, leadership training on communication methods and regular employee surveys are all effective ways to communicate with the workforce. Prioritize these types of communication methods according to feasibility and cost.

4. Discuss communication methods with upper management. Present your research, survey response analyses and action plans to company leadership. Support from the highest level of your organization is especially important in implementing a communication program. Provide company executive leaders with an announcement to employees about what steps the company will take to improve communication. In some cases, simply hearing firsthand from the highest level of management is sufficient communication on its own to convince employees of how important they are to the company.

5. Develop training for supervisors and managers on the best ways to communicate with their employees. Supervisor and manager communication with employees includes how to conduct performance appraisals effectively, how to give informal yet constructive feedback to employees on a regular basis, and how to resolve employee issues or conflict using communication techniques.

6. Incorporate your new communication methods into company philosophy, mission and values. If appropriate, plan a fanfare event that announces newly created communications. Launching a company newsletter or establishing an in-house social networking site is perfect for this type of event. Create excitement about the inaugural issue of a company newsletter. Invite contributions from employees, and involve employees in the writing, editing and publishing of a company newsletter. Enlist IT staff expertise to create a private social networking site for posting company-specific information. Install employee suggestion boxes for soliciting anonymous employee comments that could become part of a regularly distributed company newsletter.

7. Continue to consider new ways to communicate with employees. Don't allow your communication plans to start out on a high note only to slowly disappear because of lack of interest or participation. One of the functions of company leadership and the human resources department is maintaining employee communication. If necessary, enlist the talents of interested staff. Monitor and upgrade employee communication whenever possible to constantly refresh your communication methods.

References

• Inc.: The Golden Rule of Employee Communication
• "Entrepreneur": Wanted -- Fully Engaged Employees
• "Phoenix Business Journal": Good Employee Communication is Critical
• New York State Society for CPAs: Encouraging Employee Communication
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Establish Employee Communications Channels

Resources

• HR.com
• Society for Human Resource Management
• National Human Resources Association
• The American Society for Training & Development
• Workforce Management