Table of Contents
- Need for Communication
- Targeted Areas and Methods of Consistent and Effective Communication
- Challenges in Communicating with Multi-generational and Diverse Cultural Employees
- Communication and Virtual Employee
- Successful Communication Strategies of other Companies
- Training and Development as a Communication Tool
- Conclusion
- References
Employees play a key part in the success of an organization because they carry out essential tasks that add value. Employees have to be managed well so that employers can obtain the best from them. The human resource department is the most important unit within an organization since its main focus is on the management of the employees.
Organizations have to put in much focus on the human resource department so that their employees can be managed effectively and have the best outcome from them. However, many challenges are evident in the human resource department. The major challenge within the human resource department is communication with the employees as well as with other departments within the organization.
The human resource department entirely relies on information so that it can carry out its operations effectively. Therefore, communication must be effective so that the department can access all kinds of information required.
According to Darwina Marshall, the director of MACU’S Human Resource Department, if one is not an effective communicator, one will not be successful in Human Resource. This paper will focus on how to develop and ensure that successful company communication protocols followed for a small to medium-sized company.
Need for Communication
In the human resource department, there are reasons why there is a need for communication. One of the reasons is to help the employees and other departments understand the employment laws. Every organization has to ensure that they understand employment laws to be able to know how they should carry the affairs of the employees (Lengnick-Hall & Beck, 2011).
Also, the employees have to understand employment laws so that they can know their rights. The human resource department should be able to communicate effectively so that different stakeholders within the organizations can be familiar with these laws.
The second reason for the need for communication within an organization is to increase employee engagement. Communication helps the human resource department to understand the need of the employees and be able to meet them (Lengnick-Hall, & Beck, 2011). In the process, the connection between the human resource department and the employees develops and this will make them contribute more to the organization.
The third reason as to why there is a need for communication within the human resource department is to ensure the workplace is stress-free. Communication helps the human resource department to understand some of the factors that cause stress among the employees (Welch, 2011). The human resource department will then be able to come up with measures that will ensure their factors are eradicated hence improving the condition of the workplace.
Targeted Areas and Methods of Consistent and Effective Communication
Various areas within the organization can be targeted in ensuring effective communication. One of the areas is the employment laws. In the process of ensuring effective communication, employment laws should be communicated so that every stakeholder can understand and abide by them.
Abiding by these laws will ensure that they are not infringed. The second targeted areas for effective communication by the human resource department is on the health of the organization (Welch, 2011). Communication is important because it helps in explaining how the organization is moving.
Certain methods of communication have to be embraced to ensure effective communication in human resources. The first method of communication that can be used by human resource managers is verbal communication. Verbal communication entails the use of language to pass information from one party to another. This mode of communication requires that a person should be fluent in the language used to speak (Zheng, Hu, Wang & Xiang, 2012).
The second method of communication that is essential in human resources is written communication. In this case, the information intended for a particular person is recorded and it can be used for future reference. The third method of communication is non-verbal communication (Zheng et al., 2012). In this mode of communication, gestures and other body languages can be used to pass the required information within the stakeholders of the organization.
The last mode of communication that can be used in the human resource department is visual communication. In this case, visual communication involves the use of photographs, images, and other forms of graphical representation to convey the required information.
Challenges in Communicating with Multi-generational and Diverse Cultural Employees
Employees in a certain workplace may come from different backgrounds. The challenge of having such employees is that communication is difficult since their languages tend to vary. As a result, several challenges are experienced when communicating with multi-generational as well as diverse cultural employees. One of the challenges is the language barrier.
Employees coming from different cultures may be used to a specific language; hence it may be difficult to communicate with them (Mishra, Boynton & Mishra, 2014). On the other hand, there may be a language barrier when having a multi-generational workforce because the younger employees may find it difficult to speak with the older workers.
The second challenge in communication with a diverse cultural workplace is the difference in non-verbal language. Different non-verbal language may lead to misunderstanding; hence the employees will not get the intended message (Mishra, Boynton & Mishra, 2014). The third challenge especially in communicating with multi-generational workers, is the channel used.
Most of the young employees prefer communication to be done on their digital devices (Mishra, Boynton & Mishra, 2014). Therefore, when information is made using the traditional model such as posters, it may not reach the young employees.
Communication and Virtual Employee
The advent of technology has come along with a lot of advantages and one of them is the virtual employee. Virtual employees are individuals who work remotely with the help of digital devices. Communication with the organization is vital for such employees so that they can understand what they are supposed to do.
Communication with these employees can be done by using various features such as video conferencing facilities. These features will enable the employees to get all the information required for them to work even though they are remote.
Successful Communication Strategies of other Companies
Other companies have employed various communication strategies that have ensured that it succeeds in its activities. One of the communication strategies that other companies have used in their operation is communicating with the employees. Communicating with the employees has helped these companies to understand their needs and they have come up with measures to deal with them and make sure the employees are satisfied (Dozier, Grunig & Grunig, 2013).
The second successful communication strategy that has been used by other companies is timely communication. In this case, such companies have learned the art of communicating information within the period that it is required so that it can serve its intended purpose. The third communication strategy of other companies is inclusive communication.
In inclusive communication, all the employees are involved in the decision-making process. The fourth communication strategy that has been adopted by other companies in the open communication. In open communication, every person is free to give their ideas, opinion or feedback on various matters within the organizations.
Training and Development as a Communication Tool
Training and Communication is one of the most important activities that human resource managers can use to empower employees. However, training and communication can be used as a communication tool within an organization. Training and development is an exercise that is carried out to help employees gain new skills that are required to enhance their productivity within the workplace.
In a way, training and development is a communication tool in the sense that the new skills and knowledge are communicated to the employees so that they can become experts in some of the areas within the workplace (Dozier, Grunig & Grunig, 2013).
Conclusion
Concluding, it is evident that communication is one of the essential elements of the human resource department. In every organization, information and the most critical aspects which leads to success. Thus, communication ensures that information is easily passed from one person to another effectively.
Through communication, employees will be conversant with important aspects such as employment laws. Therefore, it is recommended that proper measures should be undertaken to eradicate all the challenges and ensure that there is effective communication within the human resource department.
References
- Dozier, D. M., Grunig, L. A., & Grunig, J. E. (2013). Manager’s guide to public relations and communication management. Routledge.
- Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing capacity for organizational resilience through human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 243-255. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053482210000355
- Mishra, K., Boynton, L., & Mishra, A. (2014). Driving employee engagement: The role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), 183 -202. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2329488414525399
- Welch, M. (2011). The evolution of employee engagement: communication implications. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 16(4), 328-346. Retrieved from https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13563281111186968
- Zheng, K., Hu, F., Wang, W., Xiang, W., & Dohler, M. (2012). Radio resource allocation in LTE-advanced cellular networks with M2M communications. IEEE Communications Magazine, 50(7), 184-192. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6231296/