When Communication Channels Break – Part 2

I’ve always championed communications, as it is a valuable tool with which to teach and to learn. I believe that the people who “operate” the company understand the immense value of having open dialogues that expand our boundaries and lead to creativity. These people are the employees who know the details with which any company actually completes its processes to reach a tangible result. In this portion of the company, I believe that there is great potential that is waiting to be tapped.

The problem seems to stem from the wall that has been erected between the people who “run” the company, the executives, and the employees. Because they are so focused on the overall picture and their company’s position within the business community, they are not tuning into the messages that are desperately being sent by their employees. And many of these messages contain answers to the dilemmas that they are trying to overcome.

I read an intriguing question in LinkedIn, where the following was posed: Why don’t we see more CEOs on the plant floor? I believe that one of the responders had a wonderful insight that I concur with, and that is that management should be included in this question because that is their job. During the time that I worked in Corporate America in the manufacturing world, I can count on one hand the times when I saw a manager actually working on the plant floor with the intent to understand production operations. As a matter of fact, this lack of education is not only at the management level, but company-wide. When I had asked people in different organizations to describe how the company operates and organizations interact, I was appalled that many of them didn’t have a clue. So appalled, that I made a simple diagram that depicted my understanding of inter-departmental operations through practice: Operations Chart. The lack of organizational connectivity shows how undervalued communication is in corporate practices.

It is wonderful to hear our managers spout out the latest industry acronyms and strategy terms, but it’s sounding like a competition to see who is more knowledgeable just for the sake of it. Knowledge is meant to be used, and that means that it must be practiced. It’s really difficult to practice a strategy in real-time conditions when you’re spending the majority of your time in meetings. Undercover Boss, a show on CBS, is a timely reminder of how powerful it can be when communication channels finally open between employees and management. I wish that more companies would get the message.

As a technical writer, I’ve sat in some new development meetings. And in order to get invited to those meetings, I practically had to threaten a manager because he did not see the value of a technical writer’s input. I explained that I might be able to provide some insight as I wouldn’t be viewing the product through the eyes of an engineer or manager, but through the eyes of a potential user. After all, I was creating a “communications platform” between customers and the company. Another frightening thing that I uncovered was how little communication actually happens at these meetings. Gantt charts, Powerpoint presentations, system’s analysis updates, cost-to-benefit ratios, and on and on. These meetings seem to be a symptom of a much darker condition infecting Corporate America: Disconnection. Our management needs to wake up!

If managers would take just one recommendation from a former employee, that is to see the value that each and every employee contributes to the company’s bottom line. They may be a number in your financial planning charts, but you are severely undervaluing the innumerable benefits that you get when that employee is engaged and empowered. Stop trying to talk to your customers, because it’s your employee that deserves your ultimate loyalty!