THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS

Objectives:

 Define good and effective communication

 Enumerate Ten Commandments for good communication

 Identify signs of good communication

 Distinguish different employee communication media

 Explain the nature of grapevine

 Discuss the suggestion system

 Explain how to communicate employee benefits

 Explain how to communicate company policy in promotion, demotion,

transfer and layoffs

Good and Effective Communication

Communication in the workplace provides employees with important

information about their jobs, organization, environment and each other.

Communication can help motivate, build trust, create shared identity and it provides

a way for individuals to express emotions, share hopes and ambitions and celebrate

and remember accomplishments. Establishing an effective working relationship with

each employee takes time and effort. Competent managers make their efforts to

communicate with employees, recognize employees’ strengths and support their

development.

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 Communication is the process of sharing information, thoughts and feelings

between people through speaking, writing or body language. Effective

communication begins with encoding or the skill of relaying a message in a clear,

direct way that allows the receiver to correctly decode the message. Decoding is

another essential component of effective communication, a skill that requires the

receiver to ensure that he properly heard and understood the message being sent. The

key to properly encoding a message is knowing the audience while active listening

is required to correctly decode a sent message. Body language is also known as non

verbal communication. It includes posture, position of hands and arms, eye contact

and facial expressions.

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The Ten Commandments for Good Communication

1. Always try to give feedback based on facts and not on opinions or emotions

which might upset or offend the other person.

2. Always try to empathize or to see a situation from the other’s point of view.

3. Criticize using neutral language and tone of voice.

4. Say what one mean without becoming sarcastic.

5. If a person wants something from others, he must ask, don’t command.

6. Give the other person a chance to speak, don’t slip into railroading.

7. Explain why something needs to happen, don’t threaten.

8. Don’t give advice or opinions if people don’t ask for it.

9. Be to the point, avoid vagueness at all cost.

10.Don’t talk down or up to others, avoid diverting the conversation to trivial

matters.

Signs of Successful Communication

Communication is about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the

information. Effective communication is how a person conveys a message so that it

is received and understood by someone in exactly the way you intended.

1. Be a good listener - people often focus on what they should say but

effective communication is more about listening than it is about talking. Listening

well means not just understanding the information being communicated but also

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understanding how the speaker feels about what they’re communicating. When a

person really listens, he makes the other person feel heard and understood which

can help build a stronger, deeper connection

2. Pay attention to nonverbal signals – non-verbal communication or body

language includes facial expressions, body movement and gestures, eye contact,

posture, tone of your voice and even muscle tension and breathing

3. Keep stress in check - to communicate effectively a person needs to be aware

of and in control of his emotions and that means learning how to manage stress

4. Assert yourself - being assertive means expressing ones thoughts, feelings

and needs in an open and honest way while standing up for oneself and respecting

others. It does not mean being aggressive or demanding. Effective communication

is always about understanding the other person not about winning an argument or

forcing ones opinions on others

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Employee Communication Media

In today’s market in which survival depends on retaining talent and delivering

high levels of customer satisfaction, no organization can afford to fail at

understanding how to communicate effectively to its employees. The following

helps put the communication media into an at a glance perspective.

The Grapevine

Grapevine communication is the informal communication network within an

organization. It is used to spread information bypassing the formal communication

structure. Just like the grapevine plant it spreads in random ways and it goes where

it can. The grapevine is formed by individuals and groups in an organization. The

people in the groups have something in common that links them together. Grapevine

communication is often used to spread more than rumors, its used to spread gossip.

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When gossip is being spread through the grapevine, peoples reputation’s, careers

and lives can get destroyed very rapidly

The Suggestion System

Refers to a variety of efforts businesses make to solicit and utilize input from

their employees in hopes of achieving cost savings or improving product quality,

workplace efficiency, customer service or working conditions. These efforts range

from simply placing suggestion boxes in common areas to implementing formal

programs with committees to review ideas and rewards for those that are adopted.

Formal suggestion systems let employees know that their ideas are valued. It may

increase motivation and foster loyalty and teamwork among employees.

Communicating Employee Benefits

Educating employees about their benefits can be a tough job. The challenge

is to take a large volume of information that is complex and confusing and present

it to the employee in a format that is easy to understand. When employees know how

to use their benefits, plan participation increases and per person program costs go

down. Educating employees about their benefits can be a tough job. The challenge

is to take a large volume of information that is often complex and confusing, and

present it to the employee in a format that is easy to understand. Effectively

communicating with employees about their benefits must be a year round effort and

should not be confined to blurbs of information only during open enrollment periods.

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Communicating Company Policy

Employers are required to have certain work rules in place and can also

implement optional rules for employees. Effectively communicating policies is

important so that employees understand the rules and documented communication

of those rules makes it easier to enforce them. The firm needs to make sure

employees are aware of the rules before they have the chance to break them and want

to give periodic reminders as well. Giving employees the work rules is the best way

to make sure that they get off to a smooth start in the business. If employees know

what the rules are, they may be less likely to break them.

Promotion

While employee promotions positively affect engagement and motivation,

very few organizations widely communicate their promotional policies for

recruitment or employee retention. Employers may be missing out an opportunity

to enhance its ability to attract, motivate and retain employees by not sharing

general information about the guidelines or processes associated with promotions

Transfer

A transfer occurs when a classified employee is appointed to the same or

similar position in another department. Most transfers will occur as a result of a job

posting.

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Demotion

A demotion is the compulsory lowering of an employee’s job rank, job title

or status.

 Poor employee performance

 Disciplinary actions

 Position elimination or organizational restructuring

 Employee desired reduction in responsibility