Communication, Involvement and Participation

Communication in the workplace is a process used to transfer information or instruction from one individual to a group or another individual.

In the recent years, employee engagement has increased in importance because the more engaged the employee, the less likely they are to leave an organization (Adkins, 2010). An engaged workforce equates to a company being more profitable and performing better on business outcomes (Adkins, 2010). The author will research how a leader’s communication style affects employee engagement within their organization. This research will help companies determine additional trainings or coaching that leaders can participate in so that employees are as engaged as possible.

To be an effective communicator in an organization, one needs to be o alert of both formal and informal communication. Also knowing how the organizations interact with employees through mutual adjustments, direct supervision, and standardization. The traditional model of communication is often used in corporations today. The traditional model states that information mainly travels downward, from managers and supervisors, to the regular employees.Decision making is the responsibility of the organization's manager, and since employees like to know what is happening, they usually find out information from the grapevine.

Communication is define as “Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange (encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning. In general, communication is a means of connecting people or places. In business, it is a key function of management--an organization cannot operate without communication between levels, departments and employees”

The organisation’s practices greatly contribute to employee engagement levels. Integration of interactive human resource policies enhances employee involvement in decision making, which in turns motivates them thus enhancing employee engagement (Aon Hewitt 2012). Introduction of effective

Communication is “the process of relaying information between or among people by the use of words, letters, symbols, or body language” (Cherry & Jacob, 2011, p. 381). Communication is a two- way process; the message conveyed by the sender needs to be heard and understood by the receiver. It is important for “leaders to communicate regularly and consistently with staff” (Shifflet & Moyer, 2010, p. 252). Some

Understanding the communication process in managerial position is very important. It guides the communicator in conveying the right message to the right recipient. The mode of communication determines the content of information channelled, and where the managers feel that the information is urgent; they will opt for the right means of communicating. According to the case study in consideration, effective communication leads to positive outcomes from the employees work. It boosts the loyalty displayed by workers towards their work positions and enhances transparency and freedom of expression.

Employee may affect the performance and at the same time the attitudes of their co-workers in business operation. When business grows, engaging employee is identified as one of the major strategy to help establish initiatives, processes as well as goals to help build positive environment (Cotton, 1993). On the other hand, employee can hesitant to change due to uncertainty. Managers in an organization are supposed to get employee to become much engaged and involved in progressive improvement. Employee involvement entails the way business may improve their performance through dedication and cultivating employee interests.

In other nations meeting the altruistic and simple human needs of being part of something greater than yourself are the driving forces to an engaging environment (Vorhauser-Smith, 2013). According to Major Angelo’s actions of communicating with employees and developing a relationship with them demonstrate how leaders begin to create an engaging environment. According to Harter & Adkins (2015), employees whose manager communicate with them through meetings are practically three times more likely to be engaged as employees whose managers do not hold regular meetings with them. Another method to engage employees is by ensuring they understand their goals and helping them understand the big picture of how their role impacts the whole organization structure.

Those individuals with high job satisfaction tend to have positive feelings towards their job, their colleagues and the company that hired him or her. On the other hand, those who are not satisfied have strong negative notions towards their organization (Robbins and Judge, 2015). Employee involvement has a direct correlation with job satisfaction. Companies that allow their employees to be involved in the decision-making process and give them the freedom to show their talent through their work, has become the forefront of employee engagement. For many years, businesses have been following archaic traditions in the sense of people would go to work, complete their hours under supervision and go home. Today, employees look forward to going to work for a company where the workplace is more friendly and connected (Suma and Lesha,

Organizational communication began to arise in industrial businesses in the 20th century, analyzing the communication channels and the ways that information flows inside an organization (Cheney, 2007). Nowadays, every kind of business activity bears upon communication and functionality depends on competency of managers and employees to communicate efficaciously (Clausen,

Martin, M., Whiting, F. and Jackson, T. (5th edition). Human Resource Practice: page 168, Fig 6.3

This factsheet looks at internal communication rather than external communication (for example, with customers, investors or other stakeholders). It may be helpful to read it in conjunction with our factsheet on ‘employee voice’ which covers the history of employee involvement, the mechanisms of two-way communications, and its potential benefits. Our factsheets on employee voice, engagement and branding are also relevant.

They are listened to and the employees see that their opinions count and make a difference. Employees speak out and challenge management where appropriate. A strong sense of listening and of responsiveness permeates the organisation, enabled by effective communication’ Gennard at el (2014) p.329. Although Marchington (2010) argues traditionally, voice has been used primarily in relation to union based and broader forms of participation, rather than direct employee involvement, because this was seen as the principal way in which workers could gain influence at work’ However the CIPD suggest that there are some benefits to directly communication with staff and allowing for an employee voice. ‘Employee voice is the means by which employees communicate their views on employment and organisational issues to their employers’ CIPD (2016). Marchington (2010) also claims more recently, analysis has shifted to examine non- union models of indirect voice. Overall the employee voice has influence as suggested by the CIPD ( 2016) It’s also seen as a central pillar of employee engagement. ‘It is difficult to assess in any useful way the level of employee engagement without systematically consulting the employees themselves’ (Gennard at el 2014 p.317) As an attempt to address engagement amongst employees, according to XpertHR (2016) Employers can use engagement surveys to measure levels of engagement, which can help them to identify

Communication is the transfer of information in either a written or verbal form or by pictures. Managers spend a lot of time receiving different kinds of communication and analyzing the information and then passing forward the necessary information to others. This can be done either informally or in a formal setting.