Czaro Strategic Communications

Workers want to feel good about their work and know that the role they play is important. They want to take pride in their company and be a part of their company’s growth. For these things to happen, leaders need to communicate effectively.

Many of the problems that occur in organizations are the direct result of people failing to communicate effectively. It’s a key factor in employee turnover.

Whether speaking before all the employees in a town-hall meeting, in a departmental forum or individually, leaders should focus on five key communications practices:

• Frequency. How often leaders should communicate with their workforce depends on the news and the setting. Public companies have quarterly reports to shareholders, so regardless if your company is public or private, large or small, employees should receive the same information at the same frequency. Sharing information within the department or individually can be more frequent and cover more issues.
• Honesty. Tell the truth. If your lies come out you’ll never regain your credibility.
• Both sides of the coin. Workers want to know the good and the bad. Did you land a new account? Lose three? Are sales increasing, flat or falling? Where is the company the strongest and where is it struggling? Employees want to hear the happy news and they might have solutions for the troubling news.
• Clarity. Just because you know what you said doesn’t mean everyone else understood you. Leaders have access to more information than line workers, so they should avoid talking over peoples’ heads. Don’t expect everyone to be able to fill in the blanks or connect the dots.
• Rumor mill. Tell the entire story instead of dancing around the issue. That’s how rumors start, and once they start they take on a life of their own.

It doesn’t matter what the job market is like, employees are always looking for new opportunities. With the economy gradually improving, companies need to focus on employee retention or they’ll likely lose high-quality workers.

Open and honest communication is only one variable in warding off employee turnover, but I think it’s the most important. Weigh in – share your keys to employee retention.