How many times have you said to your employees:
"My door is always open"? If, on those occasions, no one subsequently crossed the threshold of your office, you can be sure that your trite offer to hear out employee ideas and concerns was rejected as being insincere.
"Don't just talk opendoor policy. Practise it by walking around and talking to employees," say the editors of Communication Briefings, a monthly bulletin that is circulated throughout North America. "Allow people to disagree and to come up with new ideas."
Managers should have personal contact with their employees, the editors say. One way to break the ice is to step away from the "management huddle" in social settings and have a word or two with the people who work for them.
"Put more emphasis on face-to-face communication;' the editors urge. "Don't rely mainly on bulletin boards, memos and other written communication [such as e-mail]."
It is the job of the manager to coax employees into opening up. Reprovingly telling employees that they should "not stand on the sidelines" will not work.
"Concentrate on building credibility," the editors advise management. "Managers who lack credibility and fail to create a climate of trust and openness aren't believed, no matter how hard they try to communicate."
Communicating better with employees will affect the bottom line positively. Conversely, failing to communicate effectively, say the editors, will lead to "poor cooperation and coordination, a lower level of productivity, undercurrents of tension, gossip and rumours, and increased turnover and absenteeism."
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