Communication is key to running a company or business that functions well and smoothly. But how can you establish an open dialogue with your employees? Have you ever thought about instituting the “open door policy” in your company? This policy would mean that any employee at any time can go to any manager or person higher up with an issue they have. The employee does not necessarily have to follow a “chain of command.”
Your employees might be a little hesitant to partake in this policy in the beginning, that is why it is very important to establish an open dialogue with your employees first. Let your employees know they can talk about anything and they will be heard. Below you will find a few tips that can help bring openness to the communications in your company.
- Let the employee know their thoughts and opinions are important. Listen to any suggestions or ideas your employees may have to better the business, or even if they have a complaint about something that needs to be changed. Make direct eye contact, do not interrupt and truly listen to what your employees have to say. After all those base level employees are the ones who know how the daily operations of the company run. Schedule either companywide meetings or just one on one meeting with your employees to gather input and ideas from them.
- Provide your employees with updates about the company and workplace. By filling in your employees on important matters they will feel more connected to the company, workplace, and the leaders. It is better to find things out “straight from the horse’s mouth,” rather than hearing it “through the grapevine.” Granted you probably can’t nor should you disclose every single little detail but the important matters that will affect the whole company should be disclosed to your employees by you not the grapevine.
- Leave office doors open — literally. When doors are closed most people are hesitant to knock on the door for fear of disrupting something important occurring behind it. If you leave your door open your employees will feel more comfortable coming to you when they need to.
- Promote casual conversations between employers and employees. By having openness between employers and employees you will make the employee feel less separated by “ranks” in the office. This can be done easily by having employers (leaders) walk around the office and engage in conversations with the employees on a regular basis.
As with anything else in life communication is best done when everyone can speak freely without fear of rejection or judgement. If you as the employer can create an environment where your employees feel comfortable having a voice your company will thrive.
