Articles

Responsive Organizations and the New Era of Communications

In today’s world of hyper-connectivity and rapid change, responsive organizations need employees who are informed, engaged, and prepared to meet the challenges of an increasingly fluid and flexible work environment. To thrive in an age where disruption is the norm, companies must have a communications strategy to strengthen engagement and boost productivity. Although the specific roadmap for change will differ for each business, here are some core practices to get you on your way:

• Build better leaders: In its 2015 report, State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders, Gallup found that employees who are supervised by highly engaged managers are 59% more likely to be engaged themselves, than those supervised by actively disengaged managers. Developing communication tools, training and resources to help shape, mentor and grow leaders at all levels is a vital investment not only in those individuals, but in your company’s ability to attract and develop elite talent.
  
  
• Treat employees like customers: Responsive organizations encourage an open flow of communications. Millennials, especially, crave greater transparency, want to collaborate, and are comfortable using social platforms to express their points of view. So offer employees regular feedback channels for sharing opinions, challenging ideas, and proposing solutions. Employees who feel they have a say in the decision-making process are more engaged and invested in their company’s success.
  
  
• Preserve some boundaries: Technology has given us the power to communicate and collaborate anytime, anywhere. While younger employees are fairly comfortable with a permeable work-life boundary, be judicious about pushing that boundary. According to the World Health Organization, physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth-leading risk factor for death for people all around the world. So for your employees’ health and well-being, allow opportunities for downtime so they can unplug and unwind.
  
  
• Move HR from transactional to transformational: If your HR professionals operate as service providers rather than business partners, you’re still living in the industrial age. Responsive organizations invest in training and development of HR staff to hone their financial acumen, analytical abilities, and communication and consulting skills to help leaders achieve strategic goals.
  
  
• Leverage social tools for behavioral data: There’s a wealth of valuable people data on social media. Responsive organizations know how to use popular social tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and identify emerging tools to source top talent, boost their employment brand, and learn what factors most influence an employee’s decision to stay or leave.
  
  

As we move to a more decentralized and destabilized business environment, there’s a greater need than ever for communication strategies that can help responsive organizations strengthen leadership, nurture talent and build capabilities for sustainable success.

This article was written by Mari Fukuyama of Hill, Barolet & Associates LLC.