Rethinking Predictable Communications.

Predictability at work can drive trust and engagement. Employees like to hear certainties and feel confident in their role and position at work. 

But predictability doesn't mean employees need regular corporate with impersonal emails. Why?

A recent report by Karian and Box in the UK researched the communications methods by leaders for almost 900,000 employees.

What did they find? 

Some highlights:

• Emails are the most relied-on channel among half of the UK workforce. However, only two in three of those who commonly receive leader communications via email trust them. 
• Trust is even lower among the 16% of employees who hear from their leaders in one-way leader articles on intranets / internal news channels. 
• To make the most of their role in driving engagement, leaders need to create an environment where employees feel their ideas and feedback are genuinely listened to and actioned.

If many people don't trust one-way emailed leadership communications, why bother?

The key to driving engagement and trust is two-way communication and proof that your leaders listen to employees. Yet two-way channels are some of the least used to host conversations. Maybe it's time to try an alternative technique?

First, you can stop putting everything in an email and work with your leadership to leverage short-form audio. Soundbites are a great way to build trust and facilitate authentic discussion. Get leaders to respond to questions and feedback in short Soundbites. You don't need to hold back until you host a Town Hall or write another email. And, you can use Soundbite to solicit feedback as well. 

In summary, we recommend you try using Soundbite for communications. With short-form audio, you will increase messaging effectiveness and foster greater trust within your organization.

Link to report: https://www.karianandbox.com/insight/20/ic-uk-2021-the-most-comprehensive-study-of-uk-employees-communications-and-engagement-preferences-report

And to keep reading, check out What can be better than email?

About the report's author:

Ghassan Karian is the Founder and CEO of Karian and Box. Ghassan works closely with C-suite and senior leaders to shape organizational change. Before establishing Karian and Box in 2006, he spent ten years in-house, serving as Director of Internal Communication for British Gas, ICI plc, and Rolls-Royce plc.

https://www.karianandbox.com/

About this blog's author:

For 15 years, James Tyer has designed and facilitated processes and enabled technologies that help change to happen successfully. James helps large communities of people work together and is the author of Social by Design. James helps design the facilitation process, build bridges between silos, and teach/coach new ways of working and collaborating.