Employers who communicate regularly, openly and honestly with their employees benefit from good employee relations and greater productivity. It is important to note that this communication must be two-way between both employer and employees. A number of working systems should be set up to help employees keep in touch with activities in their own and other departments, and publicised such that employees know about these modes of communication.

Features of good communication

n            An employee handbook should be provided which contains terms and conditions of employment, facilities for employees, and other helpful information. This handbook should be regularly updated and placed on the organisation intranet (if available).

n            Employers should communicate the organisation’s financial and growth progress and prospects as fully and regularly as possible (as far as regulatory constraints on market sensitive information for publicly listed organisations will allow).

n            Every manager should be made aware of his or her responsibility for  communication with employees and be accountable for it. As well as regular one-to-one meetings with their direct reports, managers should also hold communication meetings with their whole team at least once a month, to update employees on events in the organisation and not just the department.

n            Organisations should consider including representatives from different levels in the organisation (including official union representatives) on their management and planning committees. Committees often find the added insights very beneficial to developing and communicating the organisation direction and strategy.

n            Organisations should regularly request feedback from employees through, e.g. employee surveys, focus groups, etc.

n            Organisations should consider a range of communication channels such as newsletters, notice boards and suggestion boxes.  Possible communication channels are listed in Appendix V for reference.

n            Organising staff social functions and recreational activities can raise morale and improve communication between departments and levels