Creating an Open Climate for Communication

by Daisy Saunders
Founder, Big Eyes International

How do you . . . create an open communications environment for your firm?

Summary: In an open communication climate, employees feel free to express opinions, voice complaints, and offer suggestions. This freedom of expression is fundamental to creativity and innovation. Creating such a climate where employees feel free to speak their minds can be a daunting task. But it is well worth the effort, as the end results are better teamwork; enhanced work relationships; and increased job satisfaction, innovation, and creativity.

Manny is the principal and owner of a small architecture firm. There are 10 employees, and on numerous occasions Manny has boasted that they operate like a close-knit family. He is proud of the way everyone pulls together to serve their clients. However, for the past two years, work has been decreasing and Manny is determined to change this trend. At the weekly team meeting, he makes a concerted effort to get ideas on how to further serve and expand the firm’s customer base. To his surprise, no one offers any suggestions.

Frustrated and at a loss as to why he is unable to get ideas from his team, Manny hires a consultant to facilitate a creativity/brainstorming session. All staff members were open to having such a session. At the beginning of the meeting, Manny informed the facilitator that he had to leave for a 30-minute conference call but would return as soon as the call was over.

When Manny left the room, the facilitator again solicited feedback on how the staff felt about the session. He got an earful. The overall consensus was that although Manny boasted about his “open door policy” and interest in their ideas, over the years most of their suggestions had been ignored. So, they simply stopped giving them. Some people even felt that Manny had an “I’m the boss” or “do it my way” attitude and were reluctant to approach him with their concerns or suggestions.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

Although Manny had a team that pulled together when necessary, he had inadvertently and unknowingly failed to create a work environment that fostered an open communication climate. In such a climate, employees feel free to express opinions, voice complaints, and offer suggestions. This freedom of expression is fundamental to creativity and innovation.

Seven characteristics of open environments
An open communication climate has seven distinct characteristics:

1. Employees are valued. Employees are a reservoir of information. They want to be heard and feel they are making significant contributions in their workplaces. The manner in which you hear them will shape, to a large degree, whether they feel valued. Nothing is more demoralizing than asking employees for suggestions, then ignoring them without clearly explaining why. Ultimately, this affects the employees’ attitude, which in turn impacts customer service. On the other hand, when you recognize an employee’s suggestion—whether you implement the suggestion or not—it builds confidence in the company and reinforces to employees that their efforts can make the organization better.
2. There is a high level of trust. Trust forms the foundation for open communication, employee retention, and employee motivation. Individuals who trust the people with whom they work are self-assured, open and honest, willing to take risks, less resistant to change, and inclined to act in a trustworthy manner. In contrast, individuals who distrust the people with whom they work tend to be less productive because they feel unsupported and alone. Trust can help an organization survive and achieve a competitive advantage. A key factor in maintaining a high level of trust is always to tell the truth.
3. Conflict is invited and resolved positively. Conflict itself isn’t good or bad—it’s just inevitable. Make it work for you by using it to invite normal give-and-take dialogue with employees. When dealing with conflict, be open-minded and listen. Take into account the employees’ feelings about the situation and find areas within their position in which you can both agree. If at all possible, strive for a win/win. If you don’t have conflict, you don’t have innovation and creativity.
4. Creative dissent is welcomed. In an organization where the leaders are committed to fostering an open communication climate, dissent is not only welcomed but rewarded. Employees are encouraged to think, question, and form independent judgments and take responsibility for changing the way business is done. One way to encourage employees to think is initiating a suggestion program, which allows employees to come up with ideas on how to improve the company, for which they are in turn rewarded. Being able to express ideas allows employees to feel as if they contributed to the company in a positive way.
5. Employee input is solicited. A key requirement for all world-class quality efforts is that all employees, at all levels be involved to their fullest abilities. Do not limit open communication to staff meetings. Create a questionnaire or grievance form in which employees can express concerns in a guaranteed confidential manner, and then discuss it openly during a meeting. This method will help to provide information regarding your company and establish a sense of involvement, improves working relations, and increases security for the employee.
6. Employees are well-informed through formal channels. Although the grapevine can be a credible information source, avoid the concomitant miscommunication and use formal vehicles (meetings, memos, e-mail, etc.) to keep employees informed. If you don’t use these tools, you are putting your company at risk due to lack of knowledge, interaction, support, and formal communication.
7. Feedback is ongoing. Feedback (positive and negative) is the tool for improved performance. Annual performance appraisals aren’t enough. People need to know regularly how they are doing. Giving feedback that is specific, descriptive, and focused on the person’s behavior and not the person. An example of specific and descriptive behavior is, “Chris, you did an exceptional job presenting that bedroom addition to the Smiths. Your attentiveness to the needs of their growing family and your knowledge of the design details were excellent.” This is said as opposed to saying, “Good job on the project, Chris.” The latter is neither specific nor descriptive and makes it sound as though you’re not engaged with Chris’s efforts to improve. Feedback must be ongoing and given in effort to resolve problems without placing guilt, and building relationships instead of “being right.”

Creating a communication climate where employees feel free to speak their minds can be a daunting task. But it is well worth the effort. The end results are better teamwork; enhanced work relationships; and increased job satisfaction, innovation, and creativity. It can also make a world of difference in your workplace and ensure a trust-worthy exchange among employees.